Author: Wick

Written by my Bishop and friend (I say friend not to name drop, because if he were listing people he’d invite to come watch the game with him, I’d probably not be on it. But to imply he’s much more among those he leads than the title suggests.) David Kendall, of the Free Methodist Church.

The main topic of this chapter is pointing out that by focusing so much of our discussion on Holiness on the OT aspects of God, and the Pauline writings of the NT, etc…we’ve missed some stuff. The “good news” of the Gospels has a lot to do with Holiness, and it is woven all over the Kingdom of God and the mission of His followers.

He gives a quick background of Holiness in the OT. I was afraid for a repeat of chapter 2, but thankfully his was brief, and connected well to the person/faith of Jesus Christ. A quote that I think marks well what “Holiness” was in Jesus’ day:

When I was growing up, it was all a lot easier. You kinda just followed the adults that were in your life. They “created” the way things were. No reason to ask questions. No reason to rock the boat. Nothing to question.

It became a pattern. It was a part of life on such a daily basis that I never really thought much about it. Day in, day out, it was almost like breathing or eating. Something you just do, not something to think about or analyze.

Then in youth group age even, I became blindly optimistic. I actually DID think about it, and still it made sense. Made sense to the point where I became passionate about it. I got to the point where I thought I knew what I was talking about. I told other people how THEY should think. I told my perspective and my thoughts simply because I couldn’t understand why anyone would ever think/believe differently. My youth pastor had given me a Wednesday night to speak to the group, and it was part of my entire message that night. Looking back, I’m sorry for those I neglected to love.

Then I went to college. It seemed to be a “free for all” there. Sure, you’d meet some people who would back up your beliefs, but over-all…who knew what anyone actually lived by. People in college just want you to know how cool they are without trying to be cool. How trendy or hip they are. There are some that would deny any belief in it just because belief of this type was thought to be “childish” or “unnecessary”.

Then I graduated college…and entered the “adult” world. The world where it seemed to matter less and less on a regular basis. Once in a while it would still come up. I’m a youth pastor, so you can imagine it would come up sometimes. But overall, on the regular grocery shopping, mall walking, movie watching kinda days…nothing.

Then I became a father. I looked forward to sharing this with my family. To talk with my daughters as they continued to grow and develop an understanding of the world around them. But recently something changed. Something has happened. I have a 2 year old.

I no longer believe that toilet paper has to face towards you, coming up from closest to the wall. Because when you do this, 2 year olds can just swat the heck out of it, making the toilet paper spool completely onto the floor.

Written by Kenneth Waters, Sr., a professor of Biblical Studies from Azusa Pacific University. He talks about several interesting balances of the theme throughout the New Testament.

It’s spoken of as being both applicable to the mind AND heart. Not only our intellect, but also how we “feel”, or emotions and what-not. I like that he emphasizes not only the absence of certain things, but reminds us that scriptures also talk about the PRESENCE of others. It’s not simply about “purifying ourselves of certain (bad) things”, but is also about love, generosity, kindness, humility, mercy, justice, service, etc. being present in our mind and heart.

Along the same lines, holiness is described as being both inward AND outward. It’s not just about feeling/thinking these things…but also a life that displays the fruits of them. Seems obvious, but it’s so easy to live without actualizing this understanding.

He also describes holiness as talked about both holistically and singularly. Meaning, it’s this “overarching” thing that encompasses all other virtues (listed above). But at the same time, it is “complimentary to the others”.

Holiness is discussed in the NT as both corporate AND individual. The corporate level, which we sometimes glaze over or use as a “feel good bonding time” so that everyone will hold hands or whatever….is actually quite a radical concept. The fact that scriptures extend this “holiness” to being descriptive of all of Israel because of their relationship with the believers in Christ among them.

He talks a bit about Holiness as being a process (Phil 1:6), a goal (1 John 3:3), and a possession (though I might say “gift”, see previous aspects of this post) at the same time.

Then he goes on a 6 page discussion of Holiness in the Old Testament that makes me wonder if he knew the entire chapter before his would be “Holiness in the Old Testament”. But to his credit, he points out the connections between the OT and NT, although he could’ve spent less time on it.

I really enjoyed his section on Christ being the “herald and hallmark of all holiness”. He connects Christ with being the “in-breaking of the Kingdom of God” (Matt 1:23, Mark 1:24, Luke 4:34), and then moves on to what it means for all of humanity. Finally, he closes with a tribute section to John Wesley. Seems a bit forced, like he wanted to make sure anyone who loved Wesley would applaud his whole chapter. But still, as the book is mostly written/read by Wesley supporters, it makes sense.

He drops a bunch of phrases Wesley used to describe holiness. The one listed here that caught my life at this point is “salvation continued”. Although I would’ve liked to hear more about holiness as being a pursuit/living out of Christ, who is the in-breaking of the Kingdom of God. But I’m sure that’s coming later in the book. Altogether a really good chapter on biblical holiness, both OT and NT.