Holiness Church Paper_T. Garner

8/3/2019 Holiness Church Paper_T. Garner

1/4

Cathy Davis & Tiffany Garner

The Holiness Church

What is the Holiness Church all about you may ask? Holiness groups have often been caricatured

as "holy rollers," or confused with snake-handling cults. Not only are such images for the most

part false, but they hide from view one of the most significant traditions of ethical and social

witness in all of Christendom. The "Holiness" church, is one that is least noticed or understood

by those outside the conservative tradition.

The Holiness Movement began in the 19th century in the United States among Protestant

churches although historians recall that the holiness movement had its beginnings in the 1830's

with Phoebe Palmer and her sister, Sarah Lankford. She began to promote holiness teachings in

the Tuesday Meetings, prayer meetings in her sisters home in New York City. The ministers

and leading laymen affected by these prayer meetings, as well as what developed into a career

for Palmer as a lay evangelist. It was stated that Phoebe Palmer had a surprising impact, for a

nineteenth century lay-woman, on the theology of the holiness movement. Palmer can, in a

sense, be considered the "founding mother of the Holiness Movement.

The official inaugural founding date of the modern Holiness movement occurred in 1867, the

year of the organizing of the National Camp-meeting Association for the Promotion of Christian

Holiness, eventually to become known as the National Holiness Association and even later as the

Christian Holiness Partnership. The proponents of the Holiness Movement held Wesleys

theology that the road to salvation is one from a willful rebellion against both divine and human

law to the perfect love for God and humankind. It was characterized as part of people's attempt to

attain a sinless existence here in this life rather than waiting for heaven also known as the

doctrine of sanctification. Originally, the Holiness Movement was a direct outgrowth from

Methodism and the ideas of John Wesley. He had called for perfection to be a goal for all true

converted Christians because a God who is great enough to forgive sin must also be great

enough to transform a sinner into a saint. Wesley held that by a special work of grace after

salvation, the Holy Spirit would eliminate the root of original sin. This event is often called


2/4

entire sanctificationor eradication. As a result of this work of grace, a believer is able to

live free of conscious sin. In this state of Christian perfection, a Christian may still grow in grace

and maturity and is still subject to human weaknesses. Furthermore, the experience of entire

sanctification is no guarantee that the believer may not later fall from grace. Nonetheless, a

Christian can enjoy perfect love in which he, from pure motives, pursues after holiness without

taint of sin.

During this timeframe of the holiness movement, a sect of the Holinesss movement soon

emerged, creating additional doctrine that further expanded the current belief system of some

Holiness followers. Benjamin Hardin Irwin, a former Baptist minister became convinced that

there was a distinction between the baptism of the Holy Spirit at entire sanctification, and the

baptism of fire which subsequently brought down power to the believer. He sought, and claimed

to receive such a baptism. Irwin organized the Fire-Baptized Holiness Church in Anderson,

South Carolina, which later merged into the Pentecostal Holiness Church. Inspired from early

English Methodists that testified to an experience beyond salvation and sanctification, which

they called "the baptism of burning love, in 1895 Irwin constructed the doctrine of a "third

blessing" for those who had already been sanctified. This was the baptism of the Holy Ghost and

with fire, or simply the baptism of fire. This would be the endowment of power from on high

through the Holy Spirit.

From 1900s on, majority of those involved in the Holiness Movement followed Wesleys

teachings that salvation was a two part process. The first step involved conversion or justification

in which one is freed from the sins he or she has committed in life. The second step was full

salvation in which one was freed from the burden of sin and the flaws in his or her human

character which causes he or she to sin. Holiness churches sometimes embraced the more

outward signs of the Holy Spirits work among believers with the practice of speaking in

foreign or secret languages unknown to the speaker but translatable by someone else present.

This practice is usually referred to as speaking in tongues. One of the distinctive features of the

Holiness traditions they have is the Holiness ethics which has been described as the "revivalist"

which prohibits smoking, no drinking, no cardplaying or gambling, no theatergoing, no dancing,

excessive jewelry or make up. Since then, the Holiness Movement has spread throughout the


3/4

country and into the world. Another recurrent theme in Holiness churches has been involvement

with and ministry to the poor and oppressed." Sociologists have told us that Holiness churches

are "churches of the poor"; they are more nearly the product of the turning of certain church

people to the poor. Many holiness churches in America today are little more than "store-front"

churches, often among the poor in Americans urban areas. Additional beliefs of the Holiness

Church include God is the one and only true living God and they also believe in the trinity (The

Father, The Son, & The Holy Spirit). Holiness members firmly believe in Nine Spiritual Gifts

the Apostles had from the early church, which they believe were not done away still exist today.

(Nine gifts including: word of wisdom; word of knowledge; faith; gifts of healing, working of

miracles; prophecy; discerning of spirits; divers kinds of tongues; interpretation of tongues, 1 Cor

12: 8-10)

Today there are a number of Holiness denominations represented in the United States, including

the Pentecostal Holiness Church and the Pentecostal movement, the Church of God, the

Assemblies of God, the Church of the Nazarene, the Pilgrim Holiness Church and the Salvation

Army are described as "Holiness Meetings." William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army,

had a strong Holiness background and included important Holiness doctrines in his own

organization. Even today, Sunday morning services in the Salvation Army are described as

"Holiness Meetings." The Church of the Nazarene is, however, the largest Holiness

denomination to date. There are also Churches of Christ (Holiness) U.S.A. which is trinitarian

with a Holiness empahsis. They believe in water baptism, and partake the Lords Supper as a

memorial and held to be an ordinance of the church. Foot washing, speaking in tongues are also

practiced, but they are not regarded as an ordinances. The church emphasizes the Holy Spirit is a

indispensable gift to every believer. There are numerous Holiness congregations and

denominations throughout the United States that are focused on Connecting Holiness People

Everywhere...Challenging the Church to Revival & Evangelism... Calling All to the Holy Life

including the Church of Christ Holiness sect which are scheduled to host their annual conventionentitled Holy Ghost Power in Durham, NC 2012.


4/4

References:

Holiness Movement definition

US Church Info.com Holiness Christian Beliefs

Congregational Holiness Churches

The Holiness Churches: A Significant Ethical TraditionChurch of Christ (Holiness) U.S.A

The Gospel Trumpet: Holiness Movement Timeline

The Holiness Movement: New Religious Movements

Documents

Holiness Church Paper_T. Garner