Holiness
Holiness an Attribute of God
“Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?” (Exodus 15:11)
“And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.” (Isa. 6:3)
“And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.” (Rev. 4:8)
God Must Be Worshiped in Holiness
“Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering and come before him: worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” (1 Chronicles 16:29)
“Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.” (Psa. 30:4)
God’s Throne and Dwelling Place
“God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness.” (Psalm 47:8)
“For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit.” (Isaiah 57:15)
“Be silent, O all flesh, before the Lord: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation.” (Zechariah 2:13)
“Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and thy glory.” (Isaiah 63:15)
Holiness Becomes God’s House
“Thy testimonies are very sure: holiness becometh thine house, O LORD, forever.” (Psalm 93:5)
“The aged women likewise, that they be in behavior as becometh holiness.” (Titus 2:3)
The Church of God Is Called a Mountain of Holiness
“The Lord bless thee, O habitation of justice, and mountain of holiness.” (Jeremiah 31:23)
“Thus saith the Lord; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the Lord of hosts the holy mountain.” (Zechariah 8:3)
“The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and the dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain saith the Lord.” (Isaiah 65:25)
God Speaks in Holiness
“God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice.” (Psalm 60:6)
“Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets; all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome, because of the LORD, and because of the words of his holiness.” (Jeremiah 23:9)
The Way of Holiness
“And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” (Isaiah 35:8-10)
The Courts of Holiness
“But they that have gathered it shall cut it, and praise the LORD; and they that have brought it together shall drink it in the courts of my holiness.” (Isaiah 62:9)
The People of God Are Holy
“The people of thy holiness have possessed but a little while: our adversaries have trodden down thy sanctuary.” (Isaiah 63:18)
“And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the Lord: and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken.” (Isaiah 62:12)
“And the Lord hath avouched thee this day to he his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments; and to make thee high above all nations which he hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honor; and that thou mayest be an holy people unto the Lord thy God, as he hath spoken.” (Deuteronomy 26:18-19)
“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9)
We Are Called unto Holiness
“Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14)
“But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:15-16)
“For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.” (1 Thessalonians 4:7)
“That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.” (Luke 1:74-75)
“For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.” (Hebrews 12:10)
A Perfect Holiness Attainable
“Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” (2 Corinthians 7:1)
Fruit unto Holiness
“But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.” (Romans 6:22)
The foregoing scriptures are but a few out of the many plain texts from the word of God teaching us the glorious doctrine of holiness. Some professing Christians look upon this doctrine as unscriptural and impracticable, but in the light of the gospel of Christ there is no other doctrine taught than holiness. The very fact that God, and Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, the word of God, and heaven, and all the celestial hosts are holy, at once suggests to every reasonable mind the utter necessity of holiness in the heart and life of man. The apostle says that “we are his workmanship, created in Jesus Christ unto good works.” (Ephesians 2:10)
Were we to look upon depraved humanity in the image of Adam, we would see nothing but sin and unholiness; but God has brought into existence a new order of creation in Christ Jesus. The first Adam is a sad and irreparable failure, and in him we see nothing good. All who are living according to the flesh are dead in trespasses and sins, and of course are unholy; but the second Adam, which is Christ has brought redemption and life, in whom there is purity and holiness. The old man is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, which must be put off. The new man is created in righteousness and true holiness, which must be put on. The reason some do not comprehend the doctrine of holiness is, they are yet living in the old creation, hence their nature and mind are corrupt. It is utterly impossible for such to be holy in this condition. The command, “Be ye holy,” (1 Peter 1:15-16) does not apply to them. They are not God’s people. The first step for such to take is to repent, which if they obey they will be brought into the kingdom of God’s holiness; into the new creation, the workmanship of God in Christ Jesus. Bless the Lord, O my soul, for this new creation of purity and holiness. All the living creatures of heaven bow before him that sitteth upon the throne, saying, Holy, holy, holy! and every sanctified heart on earth can join the blessed anthem of praise and adoration with the consciousness that the all-cleansing blood of Christ has reached its inmost depth and purified it for the habitation of the heavenly guest, the Holy Spirit. The pure heart is God’s dwelling-place on earth. Jesus says “If a man love me, he will keep my words and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” (John 14:23)
Thus we see that God not only dwells in the high and holy heaven, but also upon earth in the hearts of His obedient people. Who could consistently believe that God would dwell in a corrupt heart? “He… shall be in you,” (John 14:17) is the promise of Jesus. “At that day [the day when the Holy Spirit comes into the heart], ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.” (John 14:20) Oh, the depths of the riches of this wonderful redemption, that God would forgive the guilty sinner, then purify his heart and make it His earthly abode. This is His will toward every son and daughter of Adam’s race. He will create us in the image of Christ, so that we may truly serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life. This can be called none other than the way of holiness. It is God’s own way, and is truly a highway too high for anything unclean to pass over. It is on a perfect level with heaven itself, and yet it is a highway here upon earth for all the ransomed of the Lord to travel upon. It is so plain and simple that no one need be led astray. “The wayfaring men though fools, shall not err therein.” (Isaiah 35:8) A wayfaring man means one who is on the way, one who lives on the way, as a seafaring man is one who lives on the sea. This way is so safe that though a man may be simple in the estimation of the world, and may be called a fool, yet if he keeps obedient to God he shall not be led astray. “No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon.” (Isaiah 35:9) This indicates a very safe way, where we need not fear any evil. Everything of the flesh or the old man is ruled out, and none but the redeemed shall walk there. We see therefore from the description of the prophet that this is a highway, a clean way, a simple way, a safe way, a way of songs and everlasting joy, which necessarily constitutes a way of holiness.
This is the way upon which the people of God are truly returning to Zion. This Zion is the scriptural name of the church of God. The people of God have been led into captivity of ecciestiastical bondage (Babylon), and the pure light of the gospel of holiness has been darkened by the creeds and doctrines of men, but God is revealing to His own that sanctification is a Bible doctrine; they seek for, and obtain it, and thereby every sectarian yoke is broken, His people find themselves upon this highway of holiness and at home in Zion, the church, free from the bondage of sectism. This is the work of God Himself, and will not cease until every one of His people are brought home to Zion, upon the way of holiness. This is the highway that is left “for the remnant of his people.” (Isaiah 11:16) This remnant shall be gathered out of all the creeds of men into the one fold, into the true unity of Christ. “For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one.” (Hebrews 2:11)
The prophet foresaw this blessed return of the people of God and tells us “they shall call them, The holy people.” (Isaiah 62:12) There are some who call themselves holiness people, but the prophet says we shall be called, “The holy people.” Holiness factions and sects have actually sprung into existence, which declare that sectism and division is necessary. This class of holiness is not that described in the foregoing scriptures. Bible holiness will in every individaul instance destroy everything out of men’s hearts that separates or divides. Divisions are the outgrowth of carnality and not of the Spirit of God. Every profession of holiness, therefore, which sanctions division and sectism cannot possibly be the holiness of the Bible. This may seem to some a strong assertion, but it will stand the test of the word of God.
No scriptural unity will ever be effected among the people of God outside the experience of sanctification. Men have repeatedly laid other foundations, but all to no avail. It is a source of great satisfaction to know that wherever the Holy Spirit has the right of way in the hearts of men, there is found true apostolic unity, both in spirit and in doctrine. This is a well authenticated fact which is demonstrated in thousands of hearts today. The holy people are one people, and all are willing to be measured by all of the word of God, which proves to the “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17) The apostle teaches us that God imparts unto us his holiness: we are “partakers” (Hebrews 12:10) of it. It is not an experience which we by our efforts can attain to, but upon the clearly defined conditions of His word we come into possession of his holiness. It is all wrought within us by Himself. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.” (Titus 3:5) Bible holiness is truly an imported article directly from God out of heaven. Some imported goods in this country are much more expensive and of better quality than those of home manufacture. Many of our people prefer to pay the extra expense in order to obtain the better quality, and usually are abundantly satisfied with their purchase. This may serve to illustrate this blessed holiness of the Bible. Men’s professions are sometimes like an inferior homemade piece of goods. It soon wears threadbare and betrays its quality, but the genuine imported article of Bible holiness proves satisfactory in every respect, and the more it is worn the better it becomes. It has cost us everything, but it proves to be worth more than everything to us. The reason why some people have failed to get it is, they are unwilling to pay the price. They are deceived by the false doctrine that they do not need to consecrate their all, and hence have accepted a holiness manufactured by man, a homemade article which will never stand the test. A definite, absolute consecration to the loss of all things will never fail to procure the genuine article of true Bible holiness, which will stand the wear of every trial of life and the test of the judgment.