Study on the Holiness Movement No-one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No-one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. [I John 3.6] Reading: 1 John 2:28 3:10 What was it happened to John Wesley when his heart was strangely warmed? : His Journal records: 'In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther's preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation: and an assurance was given me, that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.' The next morning Wesley wrote: 'The moment I awaked "Jesus, Master" was in my heart and in my mouth.' [May 24 th 1738] An Anglican cleric, just returned from a disastrous trip to the American colony of Georgia, he had been influenced by Moravian missioners who challenged the legalistic and Calvinistic expression of faith common at that time and in turn challenged Wesley s own theology. The meeting he attended at Aldersgate chapel was a Moravian meeting. Moravians believed in personal religion and personal choice in religion. It was to prove life-changing. Already a Christian minister, what Wesley 1 P a g e
discovered was a new way in which to understand and experience his faith. In good Puritan tradition Charles Wesley, John Whitfield and others had formed their Holy Club in 1729 determined to methodically practice their Christian faith and discover God for themselves. Hence the name Methodists. Methodists were a movement within the Church of England and remained that until after John Wesley s death. Influenced by the Great Awakening in British America they transported its fire to Britain and by their preaching changed the religious, social and political face of Britain for the next two hundred and fifty years. But that happened because it first happened to them. The idea that salvation was about choice was revolutionary. The Moravians offered more than was commonly accepted. Luther s discovery of salvation by faith was still strongly held in the sense of predestination. God willed the salvation of some but not of others. How did we know if were to be saved? The evidence was in the blessing of God. So work hard. Pursue your calling. Live right. Fear God. The Puritan ethic, the work ethic. Do what the Bible said and God will prosper you. The Roman Catholic belief in salvation by the merit of Christ captured within the authority of the Church and mediated by sacrament was superseded by the Elect, the Righteous Community in this new thinking from Luther; where salvation by faith relied on an assumption that God willed your redemption and would reveal it to you by his blessing, or at least allow you to hope for it; that you were part of it. Only beyond death could you be sure. Ideas of assurance knowing we are saved Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine, O what a foretaste of glory divine 2 P a g e
[SASB 310.1 Fanny Crosby] were not yet. There were stirrings and shifts which became belief systems encouraged by the Dutchman Arminius (1560-1609) who followed after Luther and Calvin and taught that humankind make their own response to God, chose to accept or reject salvation. It wasn t a matter of predestination or once saved always saved our spiritual destiny lay within our control. There was more to it, we had a part to play... Whosoever will may come Becomes an important concept and took time to take hold, only later still could we sing with confidence that For the poor and broken hearted There s hope, and they need never Have a fear about their coming For the Book says, whosoever [SASB 824.3] So says the Salvationist William John McAlonan. And that hope once declared in the open air of England by Whitfield and Wesley became a movement which saw the response of thousands of ordinary people who maybe felt themselves outside of the orbit of the churches. It changed their lives. Literally. We may be saved, regardless of opportunity and background. And if I can know it and give testimony to it how far did it extend? If the boundaries of Calvinism were broken, to where did they lead? What did salvation look like? This spiritual Awakening was a revolution because it changed the way in which people thought and expressed religious ideas. It allowed humankind freedom to 3 P a g e
think, and find God outside of proscriptive systems. But where would that lead us? For us, to the Holiness Movement. Wesley was influenced by the Moravians and their Pietism, living well, living right, being good and ultimately in Theosis being free from sin, missing the mark in order to share the life of God. To become like God, if you will. Brother Charles puts words to it The most impossible of all Is that I e er from sin should cease; Yet shall it be? I know it shall; Jesus look to thy faithfulness! If nothing is too hard for thee All things are possible to me [SASB 407:2 Charles Wesley] Not only may I choose to be saved, but I may choose, by the invitation of Christ, to share the life of God. To be free from sin. The Old Corps To cleanse from all unrighteousness p 33ff Edward Joy 1944 The Second Great Awakening in America the 1830s saw a new emphasis on holiness as a second blessing. Phoebe Palmer was attending meetings for the promotion of holiness in the home of her sister in New York in 1835 when she experienced what she called entire sanctification. Here was something akin to Wesley s warming. She with her husband Dr Walter Palmer became prophets of this experience. William and Catherine Booth were influenced by it and it became part of our Salvation Army theology: Holiness to the Lord is to us a fundamental truth; it stands in the front rank of our doctrines. We inscribe it on our banners... any officer who did not hold and proclaim the ability of Jesus Christ to save his people to the uttermost from sin and sinning I should 4 P a g e
consider out of place amongst us [Waldron 1987:9] From the uttermost to the uttermost was once a familiar Mercy Seat motto. When we think about Going Deeper maybe we need to retrace our steps through our own spiritual history. Salvationists believe that salvation is free to all and received by repentance, faith and regeneration by the Holy Spirit That individuals know it That the spiritual rebirth is to eternal life with God which begins now and results in our sanctification and holiness That our faith expression is one of great freedom and liberty No-one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No-one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. [I John 3.6] John here gives us clear thinking about Theosis When he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is [3:2] he appeared that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No-one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No-one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him [35,6] No-one who is born of God will continue to sin because God s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God [3:9] 5 P a g e
Paul s letter to the Romans has a lot to say about freedom from sin [see chapters 6,7,8] The idea that Christ s sacrifice was a complete work Our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin because anyone who has died has been freed from sin [Romans 6:7] This strong argument which gives us the idea of Full Salvation and challenges the faltering faith which is so often presented as the norm the inevitability of failure. While this doctrine does not claim sinlessness it does claim the ability to recognise and avoid those things which are less than God expects from us, and should our humanity allow us to step over the mark, an immediate restoration on regret. Jesus saves me all the time And Jesus saves me now [SASB 385:chorus Thomas Stephenson] This is the simple understanding of the nature of what salvation is. A living experience of God within us, redeeming us, changing us. The life of God in us sifting out the dross, making us more and more like himself. This outcome of Wesley and Palmer and a host of others recognising there has to be something more than a tottering salvation. It is our heritage. Going deeper might mean for us going back and reclaiming something we have maybe lost on the journey. Jesus saves me now 6 P a g e