Apprentice 2 Jesus

The Holiness Tradition

Growing up in a Pentecostal church and home, I am fully aware of that word… “holiness.” Too often we go ahead and translate it: “Legalism!” Pentecostals have come to treat this word like Lutherans treat “works.” They are so into “grace” that when any effort of walking toward God is made, or we talk about spiritual growth, they scream: “Pelagian!” (That’s another story for another time.)

In Streams of Living Water, Richard Foster works to recapture this word. Our LIFE group will be studying this on Sunday night, but in preparation, I wanted to link to two great examples he gives of the holiness tradition. I must mention Dietrich Bonhoeffer first, because he uses a LUTHERAN of all things! Plus, Bonhoeffer is one of my heroes. The works of Bonhoeffer are many, and his best known work may be Discipleship, which we have called The Cost of Discipleship. It is still one of my favorite books.

The other example mentioned is Phoebe Palmer. She is not nearly as well known, though her influence is far greater than we imagine. Her book, The Way of Holiness, is still in print.

The way of holiness is a way that trains the heart and transformation follows. Jesus talked about cleaning the inside of the cup, and the outward would be clean as a result.

We need to regain the sense of HOLINESS addressed in Scripture. Quite frankly, I am tired of people using this word as a synonym for legalism. And I’m REALLY tired of people using it as a cop-out for why they don’t go to church. It’s time to get back to the heart of the matter. Get past the crazy rules you thought were in your life growing up. What about you and Christ? What is Christ doing in you…right now? Let’s learn from these great examples, explore more of their powerful lives, and live HOLY before the Lord!