• Holiness Teaching is Biblical

• 1 Peter 1:15-16

• Holiness Teaching is part of our Salvationist Heritage

Importance of Holiness Teaching

"Holiness to the Lord is to us a fundamental truth."

Importance of Holiness TeachingWILLIAM BOOTH – Salvation Soldiery

A Passion For Holiness Teaching

• “To insist upon holiness . . . That is the one thing!”

• Hall writes of Brengle, “One passion—holiness: for himself, for The Army, for the whole world of professed followers of the Holy Son of God.”

SAMUEL L. BRENGLE – IN PORTRAIT OF A PROPHET

"Will the doctrine of holiness become "a relic possessing a measure of historical interest but of no present value?"

Importance of Holiness TeachingFREDERICK COUTTS – The Splendor of Holiness

Importance of Holiness Teaching

• “The greatest threat of all today for Salvationism is a perceptible neglect of holiness teaching.”

SHAW CLIFTON – New Love

Importance of Holiness Teaching

• “Explicit, well-informed teaching about sanctification is in danger of becoming a neglected art in our ranks.”

SHAW CLIFTON – New Love

Our Holiness Message

But what is “explicit, well-

informed teaching about

sanctification?”

Holiness Defined

• “The doctrine or Christian holiness is the conviction that, within the limitations of our humanity, the sanctifying grace of God is sufficient to free the Christian heart from the power and presence of inner sin, and to fill it with pure love for God and man, and to impart power for Christian life and service in this present world.”

• W. T. Purkiser

“Christian perfection is that love of God and our neighbor, which implies deliverance from all sin. This is received merely by faith. It is given instantaneously, in one moment. We are to expect it, not at death, but every moment; that now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation.”

Importance of Holiness TeachingJohn Wesley – A Plain Account of Christian Perfection

Theology in TensionTheology in Tension

THEOLOGY

MYSTERY SELF-REVELATION

Language (Bible, Ours, Theirs)

Culture (Bible, Ours, Theirs)

Social Location

Interpretation (Our level of skill in Reading/Reasoning/Discerning)

More [Discuss additional factors.]

Additional

Challenges

The Wesleyan Quadrilateral

SCRIPTURE

TRADITION

REASON

EXPERIENCE

The Interdependent and Correlative

Relationshipof Theological

Sourcesas identified and prioritized

by Don Thorsenin The Wesleyan

Quadrilateral.

Tools for developing our theology

THEOLOGICAL PROCESS

QUESTIONING

LISTENING

TESTING

FORMULATING

REFLECTING

Theology in Theology in the Trenchesthe Trenches

S. S. teachers - Corps leaders, friends – relatives,

customs & culture of our Corps and our families our own personal reflections

Theology in Theology in the Trenchesthe Trenches

HOW WILL YOU

DECIDE

WHAT YOU BELIEVE?

Theology in Theology in the Trenchesthe Trenches

Theological Spectrum of Reflection

Source: Grentz, Stanley J. & Olson, Roger E. Who Needs Theology. Dowers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996. p.26.

FolkTheology

LayTheology

MinisterialTheology

ProfessionalTheology

AcademicTheology

Theology in Theology in the Trenchesthe Trenches

A MODEL FOR DETERMININGOUR BELIEFS

1. GATHER AND ANALYZE INFORMATION2. FORM INITIAL BELIEFS3. TEST BELIEFS4. REVISE / RESTATE BELIEFS5. APPLY YOUR BELIEFS TO YOUR LIVING6. KEEP AN OPEN MIND

The question isn’t, “Do I have a holiness theology?”

The questions are:

1.Do I have sound holiness theology?

2.Does my holiness theology translate to my daily living?

3.Can I effectively communicate my beliefs about holiness to others?

OFFERING—TRANSFORMEDCatherine Booth – Papers on Godliness

“What a deal there is of going to meetings and getting blessed, and then going away and living just the same.”

OFFERING—TRANSFORMEDCatherine Booth – Papers on Godliness

“People meet together, and pray, and talk, and sing 'Whiter than snow,' and they don't believe it any more than do the heathen.”

OFFERING—TRANSFORMEDCatherine Booth – Papers on Godliness

“What is the reason He does not do something for us, and come down in the same plentitude of spiritual power as He did at Pentecost?