Holiness? Yes, Please!

The Salvation Army is a holiness believing branch of the church. One of only a few, I am sorry to say. That said, besides one sermon about 4-5 years ago (by a young Captain), I can’t remember the last time I heard a solid holiness sermon. What’s THAT all about?

One of the problems is that some of our theologians have tried their very best, over the years, to make holiness so complicated no one can understand it! Why do we make it so hard? It is not. We can all understand it and live it.

As a Cadet, I promised myself I would come to understand holiness after a Brengle*-like experience, one evening at camp. What I came to learn was a bit of a surprise to me: holiness is living without sin.

Oh, I know- our Presbyterian friends (and others) would argue against that, till we’re all blue in the face. “We all sin daily!” they would say. But if God commands us to be holy (and he does in 1 John 2:1), then it must be possible.

Here are my thoughts. We all believe Holy Spirit indwells his children. And we all believe we should get as close to God as possible. That closeness is the key. If we commune with God at all times, which Paul tells us to do in 1 Thess 5:17 (and that doesn’t mean walking around all day on our knees!), we should hear his voice warning us if we are about to sin. We then need to heed his voice and obey. It is God himself that keeps us from sinning! If we do sin, it’s our fault, not God’s. He does not want us to do anything against his will and his Spirit will nudge us whenever we need it.

Today, as you go about your daily routine, keep an ear open to Holy Spirit. You can live without sin and be holy.

* Samuel Logan Brengle was one of The Salvation Army's most prominent teachers of Holiness. He has written MANY great books on the subject. Look them up and get reading!