Holiness movement

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The Holiness movement is a

"Entire Sanctification... is that great work wrought subsequent to regeneration, by the Holy Ghost, upon the sole condition of faith...such faith being preceded by an act of solemn and complete consecration. This work has these distinct elements:

1. The entire extinction of the carnal mind, the total eradication of the birth principle of sin
2. The communication of perfect love to the soul...
3. The abiding indwelling of the Holy Ghost."[16]

The Church of the Nazarene, a large Wesleyan-Holiness denomination in the Methodist tradition, explains that:

"We believe that entire sanctification is that act of God, subsequent to regeneration, by which believers are made free from original sin, or depravity, and brought into a state of entire devotement to God, and the holy obedience of love made perfect. It is wrought by the baptism with or infilling of the Holy Spirit, and comprehends in one experience the cleansing of the heart from sin and the abiding, indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, empowering the believer for life and service. Entire sanctification is provided by the blood of Jesus, is wrought instantaneously by grace through faith, preceded by entire consecration; and to this work and state of grace the Holy Spirit bears witness."

— Dean G. Blevins et al., eds., Church of the Nazarene: Manual, 2013–2017 (Kansas City, MO: Nazarene Publishing House, 2013), 32–33.

According to Stephen S. White, a noted Holiness scholar from the mid-1900s, there are "five cardinal elements" in the doctrine of entire sanctification:

1. "Entire Sanctification is a Second work of Grace
2. Entire Sanctification is received Instantaneously
3. Entire Sanctification -- Frees from Sin
4. Entire Sanctification -- Is Attainable in This Life
5. Entire Sanctification -- and the Baptism with the Holy Spirit are Simultaneous"^[17]

This experience of

Holiness adherents also hold to a distinctive definition of (actual) sin. They believe that "only conscious sins are truly sins."[21] Historian Charles Jones explained, "Believing that sin was conscious disobedience to a known law of God, holiness believers were convinced that the true Christian, having repented of every known act of sin, did not and could not willfully sin again and remain a Christian."^[22] Historian Benjamin Pettit described the approach of the Wesleyan-Holiness movement as:

1.              "The person who sins is not a Christian but a sinner.

2.              When a person is saved, he is out of the sin business (may but must not sin)

3.              The sinner must repent and be restored to his lost relationship with God.

4.              To sin results in spiritual death."^[23]

In his study of this question, Caleb Black concluded that "the consensus understanding of sin in the Holiness tradition is that sin is an avoidable, voluntary, morally responsible act that those born of God do not commit."^[24] Put simply, Holiness adherents adhere to the definition of sin, as explained by Wesley himself.

"Nothing is sin, strictly speaking, but a voluntary transgression of a known law of God. Therefore, every voluntary breach of the law of love is sin; and nothing else, if we speak properly. To strain the matter farther is only to make way for Calvinism."^[25]

Dr. Timothy Cooley explained, "If this definition is compromised, victorious Christian living becomes meaningless, and entire sanctification an impossibility."^[26] "The definition and consequences of sin are a key theological distinctive of the Holiness Movement as it underlies their entire theological system. To differ on the conception of sin is to destroy the foundation of holiness theology."^[24]

With this definition of sin, Holiness adherents believe while Christians may fall into sin, they also have the God-given power to avoid committing sin, and in this sense be free from sin. Furthermore, not only does God enable this obedience he also requires it. One of the founders of the movement, J. A. Wood, explains "The lowest type of a Christian sinneth not, and is not condemned. The minimum of salvation is salvation from sinning. The maximum is salvation from pollution—the inclination to sin."^[27] Another founder, C. J. Fowler explains that "We teach that regeneration does not allow the committing of conscious sin."^[28] Harry Jessop warns "It should ever be born in mind that believers cannot commit sin without forfeiting justification."^[29] The founder of the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana), D. S. Warner, explains "Holiness writers and teachers, as far as my knowledge extends, uniformly hold up a sinless life, as the true test and Bible standard of regeneration."^[8] This doctrine follows in the footsteps of Wesley who wrote “If a believer wilfully sins, he casts away his faith. Neither is it possible he should have justifying faith again, without previously repenting."^[30]

Lifestyle

Holiness groups believe the moral aspects of the law of God are pertinent for today, and expect their adherents to obey behavioral rules.^[31] Consequently, members of the Holiness movement readily apply Scriptural lifestyle commands to their lives, and view them as generally binding today, and apply these principles in numerous different ways.^[32] "Holiness churches have been distinguished from other churches by their more careful lifestyle. Many churches and denominations in the Holiness movement prohibit smoking, drinking, dancing, listening to inappropriate worldly music, or wearing makeup or flashy clothes."^[33]

Diversity in belief and practice

Christian denominations aligned with the holiness movement all share a belief in the doctrine of

Roots

Though it became a multi-denominational movement over time and was furthered by the Second Great Awakening which energized churches of all stripes,^[37] the bulk of Holiness movement has its roots in John Wesley and Methodism.^[38]

Early Methodism

The Holiness movement traces their roots back to John Wesley, Charles Wesley, John Fletcher, and the Methodists of the 18th century. The Methodists of the 19th century continued the interest in Christian holiness that had been started by their founder, John Wesley in England.^[39] They continued to publish Wesley's works and tracts, including his famous A Plain Account of Christian Perfection. From 1788 to 1808, the entire text of A Plain Account was placed in the Discipline manual of the Methodist Episcopal Church (U.S.), and numerous persons in early American Methodism professed the experience of entire sanctification, including Bishop Francis Asbury. The Methodists during this period placed a strong emphasis on holy living, and their concept of entire sanctification.

Second Great Awakening

By the 1840s, a new emphasis on Holiness and Christian perfection began within American Methodism, brought about in large part by the revivalism and camp meetings of the Second Great Awakening (1790–1840).^[41]

Two major Holiness leaders during this period were Methodist preacher

Also representative was the revivalism of Rev. James Caughey, an American missionary sent by the Wesleyan Methodist Church to work in Ontario, Canada from the 1840s through 1864. He brought in the converts by the score, most notably in the revivals in Canada West 1851–53. His technique combined restrained emotionalism with a clear call for personal commitment, thus bridging the rural style of camp meetings and the expectations of more "sophisticated" Methodist congregations in the emerging cities.^[43] Phoebe Palmer's ministry complemented Caughey's revivals in Ontario circa 1857.^[44] Jarena Lee of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and Julia A. J. Foote of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church aligned themselves with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement and preached the doctrine of entire sanctification throughout the pulpits of their connexions.^[40]

While many holiness proponents stayed in the mainline Methodist Churches, such as

Other non-Methodists also contributed to the Holiness movement in the U.S. and in England. "New School" Calvinists such as Asa Mahan, the first president of Oberlin College, and Charles Grandison Finney, an evangelist associated with the college and later its second president, promoted the idea of Christian holiness and slavery abolition (which Wesleyan Methodists also supported). In 1836, Mahan experienced what he called a baptism with the Holy Spirit. Mahan believed that this experience had cleansed him from the desire and inclination to sin. Finney believed that this experience might provide a solution to a problem he observed during his evangelistic revivals. Some people claimed to experience conversion but then slipped back into their old ways of living. Finney believed that the filling with the Holy Spirit could help these converts to continue steadfast in their Christian life. This phase of the Holiness movement is often referred to as the Oberlin-Holiness revival.^[47]

Presbyterian William Boardman promoted the idea of Holiness through his evangelistic campaigns and through his book The Higher Christian Life, which was published in 1858, which was a zenith point in Holiness activity prior to a lull brought on by the American Civil War.

Many adherents of the

General Baptists who embraced belief in the second work of grace established their own denominations, such as the Holiness Baptist Association (founded in 1894) and the Ohio Valley Association of the Christian Baptist Churches of God (formed in 1931).

Post-Civil War

Following the American Civil War, many Holiness proponents—most of them Methodists—became nostalgic for the heyday of camp meeting revivalism during the Second Great Awakening.

The first distinct "Holiness

American Holiness associations began to form as an outgrowth of this new wave of camp meetings, such as the Western Holiness Association—first of the regional associations that prefigured "come-outism"—formed at Bloomington, Illinois. In 1877, several "general holiness conventions" met in Cincinnati and New York City.[44]

In 1871, the American evangelist Dwight L. Moody had what he called an "endowment with power" as a result of some soul-searching and the prayers of two Free Methodist women who attended one of his meetings. He did not join the Wesleyan-Holiness movement but maintained a belief in progressive sanctification which his theological descendants still hold to.^[56]

While the great majority of Holiness proponents remained within the three major denominations of the mainline

Overseas missions emerged as a central focus of the Holiness people. As one example of this world evangelism thrust, Pilgrim Holiness Church founder Martin Wells Knapp (who also founded the Revivalist in 1883, the Pentecostal Revival League and Prayer League, the Central Holiness League 1893, the International Holiness Union and Prayer League, and God's Bible School and College), saw much success in Korea, Japan, China, India, South Africa and South America. Methodist mission work in Japan led to the creation of the One Mission Society, one of the largest missionary-sending Holiness agencies in the world.

Wesleyan realignment

Though many Holiness preachers, camp meeting leaders, authors, and periodical editors were Methodists, this was not universally popular with Methodist leadership. Out of the four million Methodists in the United States during the 1890s, probably one-third to one-half were committed to the idea of

Southern Methodist minister B. F. Haynes wrote in his book, Tempest-Tossed on Methodist Seas, about his decision to leave the Methodist church and join what would become Church of the Nazarene. In it, he described the bitter divisions within the Methodist church over the Holiness movement, including verbal assaults made on Holiness movement proponents at the 1894 conference.^[70][71] This tension reached a head at the 1898 conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, when it passed rule 301:

Any traveling or local preacher, or layman, who shall hold public religious services within the bounds of any mission, circuit, or station, when requested by the preacher in charge not to hold such services, shall be deemed guilty of imprudent conduct, and shall be dealt with as the law provides in such cases.^[72]

Many Holiness evangelists and traveling ministers found it difficult to continue their ministry under this new rule—particularly in mainline Methodist charges and circuits that were unfriendly to the Holiness movement. In the years that followed, scores of new Holiness Methodist associations were formed—many of these "come-outer" associations and various parties alienated by

Other Holiness Methodists (the "stay-inners") remained within the mainline Methodist Churches, such as H. C. Morrison who became the first president of Asbury Theological Seminary, a prominent university of the holiness movement that remains influential among holiness adherents in mainline Methodism.^[73]

Those who left mainline Methodist churches to form Holiness denominations during this time numbered no more than 100,000.^[62]

Early 20th century

Throughout the early 20th century, week-long revival campaigns with local churches (and revival elements brought into the worship service) carried on the tradition of camp meetings.

Pentecostalism and the Charismatic movement competed for the loyalties of Holiness advocates (see related section below), and a separate Pentecostal-Holiness movement was born. This new dichotomy gradually dwindled the population of the mainstream of the Holiness movement.

Some Holiness advocates found themselves at home with

Cultural shifts following World War II resulted in a further division in the Holiness movement.

Not content with what they considered to be a lax attitude toward sin, several small groups left Holiness denominations of the Methodist tradition, and to a lesser extent Quaker, Anabaptist and Restorationist denominations, to form the conservative holiness movement. Staunch defenders of Biblical inerrancy, they stress modesty in dress and revivalistic worship practices. They identify with classical Fundamentalism more so than Evangelicalism.^[74] While some have pointed out that the broader holiness movement has declined in its original strong emphasis of the doctrine of entire sanctification,^[75] the conservative holiness movement still frequently promotes,^[76] preaches,^[77] and teaches this definition of holiness and entire sanctification, both at the scholarly level,^[78] and in pastoral teaching.^[79]

As the Holiness Conservatives were distancing themselves even further, Mainline Methodism was becoming larger with the merger between The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, forming the United Methodist Church in 1968. A slow trickle of disaffected Holiness-friendly United Methodists left for Holiness movement denominations, while other Holiness advocates stayed in the United Methodist Church and are represented in the Good News Movement and Confessing Movement.^[73] Many United Methodist clergy in the holiness tradition are educated at Asbury Theological Seminary.^[73]

Meanwhile, the bulk of the Wesleyan-Holiness churches began to developed a disdain for what they considered to be legalism, and gradually dropped prohibitions against dancing and theater patronage, while maintaining rules against gambling, as well as alcohol and tobacco use. Continued stances on the sanctity of marriage and abstinence matched similar convictions. In the 1970s, opposition to abortion became a recurring theme, and by the 1990s statements against practicing homosexuality were increasingly common. A devotion to charity work continued, particularly through the Salvation Army and other denominational and parachurch agencies.

21st century

Faced with a growing identity crisis and continually dwindling numbers,

The Church of the Nazarene, the Wesleyan Church, and the Free Methodist Church were the largest Wesleyan-Evangelical Holiness bodies as of 2015. Talks of a merger were tabled,[87] but new cooperatives such as the Global Wesleyan Alliance were formed as the result of inter-denominational meetings.^[88]

The Global Methodist Church is expected to consist of a large number of traditionalists, including those aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement, once a separation agreement is reached by United Methodist Church leadership and conference delegates in 2022 or later.^[89] The Book of Discipline of the Global Methodist Church thus teaches that "a life of holiness or 'entire sanctification' should be the goal of each individual’s journey with God."^[90][91]

At this point the legacy of the Holiness Movement is fragmented between the more conservative branch,^[92] attempting to maintain and revive historic Holiness doctrine and practice, and others more willing to move beyond the doctrine and tradition of the past.

Influences

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The main roots of the Holiness movement are as follows:

• The
  Reformation itself, with its emphasis on salvation by grace
  through faith alone.
• established church
  .
• Philipp Jakob Spener, as well as the Moravians
  , both of whom emphasized the spiritual life of the individual, coupled with a responsibility to live an upright life.
• Religious Society of Friends
  (Quakers), with its emphasis on the individual's ability to experience God and understand God's will for himself.
• The 1730s Evangelical Revival in England, led by
  Entire Sanctification and certain teachings of German Pietism to England and eventually to the United States
  .
• The First Great Awakening in the 18th and early 19th centuries in the United States, propagated by George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards, and others, with its emphasis on the initial conversion experience of Christians.
• The
  Charles Finney, Lyman Beecher, Phoebe Palmer and others, which also emphasized the need for personal holiness and is characterized by the rise of evangelistic revival meetings
  .

The terms pentecostal and apostolic, now used by adherents to Pentecostal and charismatic doctrine, were once widely used by Holiness churches in connection with the consecrated lifestyle they see described in the New Testament.

During the

There are an estimated 78 million classical Pentecostals, and 510 million assorted Charismatics who share a heritage or common beliefs with the Pentecostal movement. If the Holiness movement and Pentecostal/Charismatic Christians were counted together the total population would be around 600 million.[95]

Denominations and associations

Several organizations and programs exist to promote the Holiness movement, plan missions, and promote ecumenism among churches:

• Christian Holiness Partnership
• Interchurch Holiness Convention
• Global Wesleyan Alliance
• Holiness Unto the Lord
• Worldwide Faith Missions
• One Mission Society
• Wesleyan Holiness Consortium
• World Gospel Mission
• Wesleyan Holiness Women Clergy

The Holiness movement led to the formation and further development of several Christian denominations and associations. Below are denominations which historically have substantially adhered to Holiness movement doctrine (excluding

• Association of Independent Methodists
• Apostolic Christian Church (Nazarene)
• Apostolic Faith Church {Mission}
• Bible Missionary Church
• Brethren in Christ Church
• Christ's Sanctified Holy Church
• The Church of the Nazarene
• Church of Christ (Holiness) U.S.A.
• Churches of Christ in Christian Union
• Church of Daniel's Band
• Church of God (Anderson)
• Congregational Methodist Church
• Evangelical Christian Church
• Evangelical Church of North America
• Evangelical Friends Church International-Eastern Region^[2]
• Evangelical Methodist Church
• Free Methodist Church
• Freewill Baptists
  (certain congregations)
• Global Methodist Church
• God's Missionary Church
• Immanuel General Mission (Japan)
• International Fellowship of Bible Churches
• Kentucky Mountain Holiness Association
• Korea Evangelical Holiness Church
• Korea Jesus Holiness Sungkyul Church
• Korea Holiness Church of the Nazarene
• Korea Church of God
• Korea Evangelical Church of America
• Lumber River Conference of the Holiness Methodist Church
• Metropolitan Church Association
• Missionary Church (North-Central District and others)^[2]
• Missionary Methodist Church
• National Association of Wesleyan Evangelicals
• Ohio Valley Association of the Christian Baptist Churches of God
• Original Church of God
• Pillar of Fire International
• Primitive Methodist Church
• The Salvation Army
• Southern Baptist Convention (certain congregations and associations)
• Southern Congregational Methodist Church
• United Holiness Church of Jesus Christ
• United Methodist Church (certain districts and local churches, as well as universities)^[b]
• The Wesleyan Church
• Wesleyan Nazarene Church

Colleges, Bible schools, and universities

Many institutions of higher learning exist to promote Holiness ideas, as well as to provide a liberal arts education.^[96]

See also

• Arminianism
• Theosis (Eastern Christian theology)

References

Notes

Citations