Holiness Movement

Background

The Holiness movement grew out of the doctrine of "Christian perfection" taught by John Wesley. Wesley held that a regenerate believer could, by faith, be cleansed from the inclination to sin and thereby attain a state of perfect love for God and neighbor. The Holiness movement called this experience "entire sanctification" and gave it particular emphasis. Entire sanctification refers to the cleansing of the heart through a further work of grace received after regeneration. As American Methodism grew rapidly in the nineteenth century, concern arose that this teaching had been obscured. Meanwhile, amid the revival atmosphere of the Second Great Awakening, revivalists working outside Methodism, such as Charles Finney, also preached Christian perfection.

Development

• 1840s: Phoebe Palmer, a New York Methodist, began leading in 1840 the "Tuesday Meeting" that her sister Sarah Lankford had started in her home. Palmer presented Wesley's teaching in accessible terms. She taught that those who lay themselves wholly on the altar and believe God's promise receive holiness immediately.
• 1843 and 1860: Amid disputes over slavery and other issues, the Wesleyan Methodist Church (1843) and the Free Methodist Church (1860) broke away from American Methodism. Both denominations placed great importance on the doctrine of holiness.
• 1867: A camp meeting held in Vineland, New Jersey, led to the formation of the National Camp Meeting Association for the Promotion of Holiness. The movement subsequently spread across the country.
• 1880s–1900s: As conflict with Methodist leadership intensified, a succession of independent Holiness denominations emerged. In 1908, several Holiness bodies united at Pilot Point, Texas, to form the Church of the Nazarene. The Salvation Army, founded in England by William Booth, also embraced the doctrine of holiness.

Results and Influence

The Holiness movement's teaching of a "second work of grace" received after regeneration carried over into Pentecostalism. Figures active in Holiness circles, such as Charles Parham and William Seymour, emphasized baptism in the Holy Spirit accompanied by speaking in tongues. This current of thought led to the Azusa Street Revival of 1906.

The Holiness movement reached Korea through the Oriental Missionary Society, a mission founded in Tokyo, Japan, in 1901 by Charles Cowman and Ernest Kilbourne. Kim Sang-jun and Jeong Bin, who had studied there, opened a Gospel Mission Hall in Jongno, Seoul, in 1907; this is generally regarded as the beginning of the Korean Holiness Church. Korean Holiness churches uphold as their core doctrine the "Fourfold Gospel" of regeneration, sanctification, divine healing, and the Second Coming. Today, bodies such as the Korea Evangelical Holiness Church, the Jesus Korea Holiness Church, the Korea Nazarene Church, and The Salvation Army Korea Territory belong to this tradition.

Assessment

Holiness denominations hold that the movement revived Wesley's spirit and extended personal piety into social reform. As evidence, they point to its work for the abolition of slavery, the temperance movement, and relief for the poor. It is also frequently noted that the movement opened the way for women to preach and lead communities, as Palmer's example shows.

The movement has also drawn criticism. Within Methodism, some charged that it caused division in the church. Some scholars argue that Palmer's teaching oversimplified holiness by reducing it to an instantaneous experience. Presbyterians in the Reformed tradition regard sanctification as a gradual, lifelong process, holding that the inclination to sin is never wholly eradicated in this life. From this standpoint, B. B. Warfield and others criticized perfectionism. The strict codes of conduct observed by some Holiness groups have also drawn charges of legalism.