Holiness is a Hard Sell
Holiness is a hard sell
today. By holiness I mean the particular
teaching of John Wesley and Phoebe Palmer and those in the American “Holiness
movement” that God had a “second work of grace” that could cleanse Christians
from the inclination to disobey God and fill them with a perfected love so that
they wanted nothing more than to follow God every minute of the day—and God
could perform this spiritual miracle in a Christian’s heart in a moment—instantaneously,
not just after many years. This idea is
a hard sell today—and here’s why I think that’s so:
1. RAMPANT PESSIMISM.
The late 19th
century when the Holiness movement was exploding was a period of great optimism
and this affected people’s outlook spiritually. If humans could do such great
things as construct canals and wonderful machines—God must be able to do even
greater things! Believing that God could completely cleanse a person is easier
when you already are optimistic about human improvement. Such positive optimism is rare today—that
makes holiness a hard sell.
2. PREVAILING GRADUALISM.
Today’s world expects
everything to happen instantaneously when we do a Google search but people believe
everything pertaining to humans takes
a lot of time. Most folk seeking spiritual change believe there are no quick
fixes or shorter ways—everything takes at least “twelve steps.” This makes instantaneous
sanctification a hard sell.
3. REDEFINITION OF SIN AS
HUMANITY
Most folk today equate
sinning with humanity—“Sure, I sin, but I’m only human.” In a world where listeners
believe the only way to be delivered from sinning is to be delivered from
humanity—holiness is a hard sell.
4. UNEALISTIC EXPECTATIONS
Curiously many today have too
high a standard of holiness. They equate holiness with being divine. I’ve heard dozens of times a person challenge
holiness with, “Who lives a holy life—show
me one person who lives the sanctified life and I’ll believe it.” After naming virtually every person I work
with they respond—“Nah, not them—I don’t believe any one of them lives a holy
life.” Then I offer the final answer, “Jesus
of Nazareth.” They invariably balk saying, “Noooooo Jesus
doesn’t count--He was GOD!” Of course they misunderstand the dual nature of
Jesus, but more so, they betray their view of holiness—only God could be holy and thus it is
unachievable for humans. When most folk believe that holiness equals divinity,
holiness is a hard sell.
5. PREFERENCE FOR MODERATION.
In a world of religious terrorists
an increasing number of people have moderated their approach to religion,
shunning extreme calls for total commitment. Most folk today are more
interested in “the balanced life” where religion is given a moderate slice of
their lives and not made the center of everything. Holiness calls for total surrender,
absolute consecration, dying out and making one’s religion the central focus of
life. In today’s world that sounds more like dangerous Islamic extremism than
moderate sensible American citizenship.
IN a world of moderation holiness is a hard sell.
6. WORLDLINESS AS A VIRTUE.
When Christians shun the
world and worldliness and actually seek to be different—even a
“Peculiar people” holiness was an easier sell. We live in a world where
many Christians delight in being no different than the world and will announce
with pride “I’m no different than an unbeliever, I’m a spiritual slob just like
them—a sick person in need of a spiritual hospital.” In this world holiness is
a hard sell.
7. RESISTANCE TO CHARISMATICS.
Many of those the former
holiness movement so resisted the charismatic movement that, once we were
finished exterminating them from our midst, we had little “deliverance theology”
remaining. Where people believe in managing sin and not in deliverance from sin
holiness is a hard sell.
8. DOWNPLAYING HEALING
In a church where miraculous
physical healing is seldom preached, sought, or seen few expect miraculous
physical healings… but they usually don’t expect miraculous spiritual healing
either. That makes holiness a hard sell
9. DISAPPEARING TESTIMONY.
Even if people hear great
and powerful sermons on holiness if they never have heard a recent testimony
from a regular lay person telling about their own first-hand experience few
will seek sanctification. Truth without a human witness is almost always
sterile. Where there are few fresh lay testimonies to deliverance and cleansing
holiness is a hard sell.
10. BANISHING THE HOLY
SPIRIT
Well we have not banished the Holy Spirit, but many
churches have taken the Holy Spirit-as-fire and turned him into a domesticated
bird—sort of some kind of stuffed pigeon, maybe. The former holiness movement outsourced
the Holy Spirit to the Charismatics, and few want him back. Where the Holy
Spirit’s work is overlooked, ignored, or suppressed holiness is a hard sell.
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So, what I’m wondering about
is this: If a preacher still believes
deliverance from purposeful sin is possible in this life, and a “second work of
grace” is also still possible what should she do? I’m not asking if this doctrine is true—but assuming
it is, what would a pastor do in times when a doctrine
is a hard sell?
So, what do you
think?
The
discussion of this column is on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/notes.php?id=161502633
Keith Drury November 2, 2010
www.TuesdayColumn.com