God’s holiness and ours

God is beautiful. The world often is not.
God is loving. People often are not.
God is just. The world often is not.
God is merciful. People often are not.
God is steadfast. People are like grass that withers in the sun.
God is committed. The world can’t be bothered to care.
God is compassionate. People have places to go and things to do.
God is peace. The world craves war.
God is forever. People fear tomorrow.
God is fierce. The world is easily distracted.
God is joy. People often are miserable.
God is holy. The world loves darkness.

Among the top three or fourth verses that animated the early Methodist movement, Hebrews 12:14 has to be one of the least quoted in churches today.

Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.

I wonder why we speak of it so little?

If anything, it often seems, we argue for the opposite, like heart surgeons handing out Haagan-Dazs ice cream on the hospital ward.

Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and you will delight in the richest of fare.

How do we speak of God’s holiness in ways that make people desire holiness for themselves?

Watson: What we are for isn’t good enough

Go read Kevin Watson’s passionate and deeply challenging post.

We are dying because what we are for is not enough. Our imagination and energy have drifted away from proclaiming the gospel with passion, energy, and conviction. When we encounter broken people, too often we are unsure if Jesus is enough.

Jesus is more than enough. And the truth is that he is all that we really have to offer. Thanks be to God, in Christ we are offered forgiveness of real sins, and freedom from sin’s pull on our lives. And as long as we are alive, we have the incredible opportunity to share this message of reconciliation and healing with the world.

If we would only read

Craig Adams thinks that if we would just read our bibles with open hearts and minds, we’d come to share the same conviction that seized John Wesley: true Christianity is inward and outward holiness.

Francis Chan on God’s holiness

Francis Chan said that if he had only one thing to tell people about, it would be to speak of the holiness of God — which he said almost no one really gets right.

One thing I admire about Chan in this video is the way he speaks what he feels is the necessary truth in a way that strikes me as loving and humble.

I notice as well, I’ve been linking to a lot of Calvinists recently. Where are the Wesleyan preachers talking and preaching in serious ways about holiness, sanctification, and other Wesleyan themes?

Methodists: Holiness is essential

without holiness no one will see the Lord (Heb 12:14b, NIV)

We United Methodists talk about John Wesley in a lot of odd ways. We quote him, sometimes wildly out of context. We make jokes about him. Some of us appear at times to have an unhealthy interest in him (raise your hands if you’ve read every volume of his journals).

But for good or ill, he is part of what makes us who we are as Christians. A group of English Christians became convinced of some core truths about the real meaning of Christianity and being a Christian. They put those ideas into practice. And 300 years later, here we are. Of course, in many ways, we are not recognizable in any significant way as spiritual heirs of his. Indeed, some of us appear to take it as a point of pride to not be Wesleyans.

But I’ve found him an important spiritual mentor. When someone asks me what makes United Methodism different from another denomination, I nearly always go to Wesleyan theology. And so, I’m nearly always looking to get a better handle on what makes a Methodist a Methodist.

One answer that I came up with a couple years ago and continue to find confirmed in my reading and experience comes down to one word: holiness. The Hebrews 12 verse quoted at the top of the post is among the most used by Wesley. He wrote over and over about the connection between holiness and salvation. Indeed, he saw them as two different words for the same thing.

Holiness is the state in which our heart is filled with love for God and humankind. It is the place in which we follow the laws of God with joy. It is the condition of soul in which we rejoice in God our savior whatever comes our way.

Before any other doctrine or practice that would become hallmarks of Methodism occurred to John Wesley, he was convinced of this doctrine: without holiness, no one will see the Lord. Indeed, this doctrine was a source of great anxiety for Wesley because he knew he was not holy. Aldersgate was such a relief because he discovered something that explained why he had failed so often.

So, what about us?

Do we accept Wesley’s claim? Do we believe that without holiness it is not possible to see the Lord? Do we believe that the less than holy will be shut out?

And if we do not, what is it that gets us to call ourselves by the name of Methodist?

 

Holiness creates inclusiveness

Here’s an excellent post by Steve Manskar on holiness and inclusiveness.

Open hearts, open minds, and open doors become reality when congregations determine to build and support a culture of holiness centered in Jesus Christ and his mission in the world. Inclusiveness becomes genuine when hearts, minds and doors are open to grace and the power of the Holy Spirit that transforms the world.

On holiness and the new birth

Three exerpts from John Wesley’s sermon “The New Birth” about the nature of holiness.

First, on our lack of holiness:

And in Adam all died, all human kind, all the children of men who were then in Adam’s loins. The natural consequence of this is, that every one descended from him comes into the world spiritually dead, dead to God, wholly dead in sin; entirely void of the life of God; void of the image of God, of all that righteousness and holiness wherein Adam was created. Instead of this, every man born into the world now bears the image of the devil in pride and self-will; the image of the beast, in sensual appetites and desires.

Second, on the meaning of holiness:

For what is holiness according to the oracles of God? Not a bare external religion, a round of outward duties, how many soever they be, and how exactly soever performed. No: Gospel holiness is no less than the image of God stamped upon the heart; it is no other than the whole mind which was in Christ Jesus; it consists of all heavenly affections and tempers mingled together in one. It implies such a continual, thankful love to Him who hath not withheld from us his Son, his only son, as makes it natural, and in a manner necessary to us, to love every child of man; as fills us “with bowels of mercies, kindness, gentleness, long-suffering:” It is such a love of God as teaches us to be blameless in all manner of conversation; as enables us to present our souls and bodies, all we are and all we have, all our thoughts, words, and actions, a continual sacrifice to God, acceptable through Christ Jesus.

Finally, the necessity of new birth:

But “without holiness no man shall see the Lord,” shall see the face of God in glory. Of consequence, the new birth is absolutely necessary in order to eternal salvation. Men may indeed flatter themselves (so desperately wicked and so deceitful is the heart of man!) that they may live in their sins till they come to the last gasp, and yet afterwards live with God; and thousands do really believe, that they have found a broad way which leadeth not to destruction. “What danger,” say they, “can a woman be in that is so harmless and so virtuous? What fear is there that so honest a man, one of so strict morality, should miss of heaven; especially if, over and above all this, they constantly attend on church and sacrament?” One of these will ask with all assurance, “What! Shall not I do as well as my neighbours?” Yes as well as your unholy neighbours; as well as your neighbours that die in their sins! For you will all drop into the pit together, into the nethermost hell! You will all lie together in the lake of fire; “the lake of fire burning with brimstone.” Then, at length, you will see (but God grant you may see it before!) the necessity of holiness in order to glory; and, consequently, of the new birth, since none can be holy, except he be born again.

Here are three touchstones, for those of us who called John Wesley a source of authority, as we attempt to discern what it means to live in inward and outward holiness.

Holiness as highway to heaven

In a letter to a Samuel Sparrow, John Wesley wrote:

We set out upon two principles: 1. None go to heaven without holiness of heart and life: 2. Whosoever follows after this (whatever his opinions be) is my “brother, and sister, and mother:” And we have not swerved an hair’s breadth from either one or the other of these to this day.

This letter was written in 1773. We could go back to 1738 and find him writing nearly the same thing about holiness of heart and life. As he writes, he did not waiver a hair’s breadth from these points.

“None go to heaven without holiness” is a bold claim. Notice it does not say “none go to heaven without Jesus.” This is because Jesus is the means to holiness for Wesley. Jesus has an instrumental role. He breaks the power of sin. His Spirit works holiness in us. But without actual holiness, belief in Jesus does not open the way to heaven either now or in eternity.

I don’t think Wesley would put it exactly that way, but this is my interpretation of his writings.