Holiness

Definition and Meaning

Holiness (聖潔) means "being holy and pure." In a broad sense, it refers to a holy life set apart to God. In a narrower sense, it denotes entire sanctification as taught in Wesleyan theology. Entire sanctification is the experience in which a believer who has been declared righteous (justification) is cleansed by grace from the inclination to sin in the heart and filled with perfect love toward God and neighbor. John Wesley called this "Christian perfection." He explained, however, that it is not a state entirely free from mistakes or weakness but a state in which love has been made perfect.

Biblical and Historical Background

In the Old Testament, "holy" (Hebrew qadosh) originally means "set apart." The words "ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy" (Leviticus 11:45) are quoted again in the New Testament in 1 Peter 1:16. Those who emphasize holiness cite passages such as 1 Thessalonians 5:23 and Matthew 5:48 in support.

Wesley's teaching was carried forward in the nineteenth-century American Holiness movement, which emphasized holiness as a "second blessing" received by faith after conversion. Early Pentecostalism also emerged from this movement.

Holiness in the Korean Church

The Korean Holiness Church is said to have its roots in the Gospel Mission Hall, founded in Seoul in 1907 under the influence of the Oriental Missionary Society. The Holiness Church upholds the "Fourfold Gospel" of regeneration, holiness, divine healing, and the Second Coming as its core doctrine. The Korea Evangelical Holiness Church and the Jesus Korea Sungkyul Church have taught holiness both as an experience received through the Holy Spirit after regeneration and as a life of continued growth thereafter. The Korea Nazarene Church likewise stands in the Wesleyan holiness tradition. The Korean Methodist Church also inherited Wesley's doctrine of "Christian perfection."

Presbyterian and other Reformed churches regard sanctification as a gradual, lifelong process. Following chapter 13 of the Westminster Confession of Faith, they hold that sanctification is not completed in this life, and they therefore generally avoid the term "entire sanctification." Pentecostal churches tend to emphasize baptism in the Holy Spirit, rather than holiness, as the experience that follows conversion.