(History of the Salvation Army) Possessing and Maintaining Holiness — H. Scotney

Holiness as a Practical Christian Experience

Those of you that have been following this series will know that we have endeavoured to make it clear that the doctrine of holiness is not some complicated and abstract prescription but it is something which is within the reach of all of us and something which is practical and functional.

It can be taken home, it can be taken into the kitchen, it can be taken into the bedroom, it can be taken to the office and to work. Here is a doctrine which is really functional. Now it is one thing to make the doctrine intellectually convincing, and this we do try to do, but it is another thing to make it emotionally attractive.

In some books this is called the problem of holiness. I am not too sure that it should be a problem, but we do meet this situation that whilst we see it is clearly taught in God's word, it is indeed God's will for all of us, yet we have to be motivated to claim it for ourselves.

And this I hope is where we will get to tonight. We do believe that this level of experience is God's will for all Christians. 1 Thessalonians 4 verse 3 says, For this is the will of God, even your sanctification.

Five Steps Toward Holiness

Now I have set out here five steps into the blessing of holiness. I would not like it to be thought that this is a stereotyped kind of program. We are all individuals. When you read the testimonies of God's saints you will find that God met them and dealt with them in so many different ways.

We all perhaps come according to our own personality, but whilst the experience may not come to us all in exactly the same way, I would venture to suggest that somewhere along the road we traverse these five steps that I have set out here tonight.

Perhaps not so distinctly as they are set out on this piece of paper, but this is the way. And whilst we may not all walk it in exactly the same manner, but here is the course that takes us into this blessed experience.

And to help you perhaps a little to remember it, I have given you a little bit of alliteration here which may make it a little bit more easily remembered. The first step is a compelling conviction. Romans 7 verse 24 says, O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of death?

Matthew 5 verse 6 is a very well known verse, Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. And Galatians 5 verse 17 strikes a rather different line, and it says, For the flesh lusteth, or fights against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, so that you cannot do the things that you would.

And this is the kind of situation that I guess all of us here have found ourselves in. We have been converted, we are quite sure about that, a whole attitude to God and to his will has been changed, and yet we discover after a while that there are still occasions when self-will asserts itself against the divine will.

We become conscious of failure. We become aware of the fact that we haven't yet reached the standard that we believe God wants us to reach. And there is this longing for something better. Sometimes people almost become cynical and say, well is this all that God can do for me and in me?

But with most of us we have this inner sense or awareness that there is still something that God is able to do, that his salvation can do within us. And so we have this conviction. And I call it a compelling conviction, because it is the kind of conviction that should compel us to do something about it.

For as I have said here on our notes, no one ever receives holiness who thinks he can get along without it. Nobody ever receives holiness who imagines that he can manage all right without it. It is when we are aware of our need and when we feel compelled to seek it that things begin to happen.

Candid Confession of Personal Need

This is followed by a candid confession. It is so very easy to make a general confession. Those of you that are familiar with the Anglican form of service or worship will know that they make regularly what is called a general confession, in which they acknowledge themselves to be miserable sinners, although they don't always look like it.

But it is comparatively easy to make a general confession. But this is a specific confession. We are not confessing somebody else's need. We are confessing our own need. It is so very personal. And it is specific.

We don't say to the Lord, well, I really need the blessing of holiness. But we tell the Lord, I have got a rotten temper or I think impure thoughts. It is a candid and a specific confession without any concealment or self-vindication.

You all know how easy it is for us to rationalize and what we think of as a fault in somebody else we can so easily find a good excuse for in ourselves. But this is a personal and specific confession without concealment and self-vindication.

Some people drop out just there. It is rather interesting that there are dropouts all the way along these five steps. And that is the point where some people drop out. Well the third step is a clean cut.

Clean-Cut Renunciation and Crucifixion of the Flesh

They that are Christ's, Paul said to the Galatians, have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Or writing to the Colossians, he said, put to death therefore what is earthly in you. The writer to the Hebrews said, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us.

Or in the Revised Standard Version, the sin which clings so closely. 1 Thessalonians 5, 22, abstain from all appearance of evil. And other verses could be quoted here. This is nothing less than a calculated crucifixion.

Utter renunciation of every self-centred desire and every known hindrance. Perhaps a little emphasis ought to be put upon the word known there. Upon every known hindrance. This includes doubtful things.

I have already quoted the verse. Abstain from all appearance of evil. It includes separation from the spirit of the world. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing.

It includes anything which might cause a weaker brother to stumble. 1 Corinthians 8, verse 13. Wherefore if meat makes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I cause my brother to fall. You remember the argument that Paul puts up in this letter.

You have all read it. If a weaker brother or if another brother had a conscience about eating of meat, well, Paul saw no problem here himself. But for his brother's sake, he would put that restriction upon himself.

And this we do as salvationists. We do this quite often. We limit ourselves so that we may not cause a weaker brother to stumble. The fourth step. A complete consecration. A complete consecration. Yield yourselves to God.

Complete Consecration and Surrender to God

Paul said in Romans 6, verse 13. Yield yourselves to God as men who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments of righteousness. In the twelfth chapter, present your bodies.

It's interesting that the same word is used for yield and present in our English translation, but in the original language it's the same word. Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

There's a little problem about consecration. It's a word that confuses some people. Indeed there are some people who think that consecration is synonymous with sanctification. But there is a difference.

The word occurs only twice in the authorized version of the Bible. And both those occurrences are in the epistle to the Hebrews. And it's rather interesting that in each occasion a different Greek word is used, and neither of those Greek words have the exact meaning of what we understand by the word consecration.

So you've got a bit of a problem there. And then in the more modern translations, the word consecration is used quite frequently. Although it's almost always a translation of a Greek word which is more accurately translated, sanctification.

So that compounds the problem. And in the authorized version it is. This is one instance where the authorized version is more correct than the New English Bible and other of the more modern translations.

Because it does translate the word here by the word sanctification. You've really got to go to the Old Testament to get a better idea of what we mean by the word consecration. And the word consecration means that which is set apart and devoted to the worship and service of God.

The word occurs quite frequently in the Old Testament. You've all read of the consecration of the temple or tabernacle furnishings and the consecration of the priests. It's rather interesting again that the Hebrew word which is used in that particular chapter to do with the consecration of the priests literally means to fill the hand of.

And whilst I know that most commentators give it a rather different meaning, to me it suggests that we put in the hands of God. We put in the hands of God ourselves so that he may use us as his instruments or his tools just in whatever way he wishes and wills.

And this is how we understand the word consecration. So the consecration is something that I do. Sanctification is something that God does. We're not completely consistent, even in our own song book. And there are one or two cases in our own song book where the word is not quite used in the right sense.

Consecrate me now to thy service, Lord, we sing. But the real idea of consecration is that definite act of my will. Not my emotions or some impulse in an emotional meeting, but a deliberate decision of my will.

When I put myself in the hands of God so that I might be utterly devoted to his service, for him to use as he wills, to send where he wills, I'm completely in his hands. This of course is what we mean when we sing the chorus into thy hands, Lord.

So all this is in the word consecration. And I've said it should be a complete consecration. This is another point where some people drop out. They're quite ready to give God a part. And sometimes they try to pretend that a part is all.

And so often we put up our hands and sing I surrender all. But there's a reservation. There's an escape clause somewhere. It's not really all. I recall the story of the preacher in America who tested his congregation in this way and had them all singing a chorus with their hands raised.

And while their hands were raised he suddenly prayed, O Lord, he said, strike off every hand that is raised untruthfully. And ever so many hands came down all of a sudden. So that we have to be so very careful that when we do this we are truthful.

And all really means all without reservation or limitation. And if you've come this far, and I've prayed and hoping that this is maybe helping somebody here who's just wondered how, if you've come this far, we've come now to the point where a lot of people drop out.

They're quite prepared to take steps 1, 2, 3 and 4. But they drop out just here. For the final step is a confident claim. We have certain promises. We had this in our mind when the Major asked us to repeat those two lines a few minutes ago at the beginning of our meeting.

Confidently Claiming the Promise of the Spirit

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? Or Galatians 3 verse 14, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Or Acts 15 verse 9 speaks about purifying their hearts by faith. So here is the moment when we give him all that he asks and then we take from him all that he offers. It's as simple as that. We've given him all that he asks and we then take from him all that he offers.

And he will keep his promise. He will keep his promise. And faith not only asks, but faith accepts. Now we don't need really to go on praying and weeping and begging and saying, oh give me a heart like thine as we so often do.

We keep on asking, we keep on asking. All we need to do is to accept. For he has promised. How much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? So it's a matter, having of course completed the earlier steps, then faith accepts and says I claim the blessing now.

I claim the blessing now. And if we've done our part, God will do his part and he will not fail us. Some people would say that that is the moment when you receive the baptism of the Spirit. And I thought it might be helpful just to briefly say a little about this term.

Different Meanings of Spirit Baptism

Because there is a good deal of confusion about the term the baptism of the Spirit. It doesn't appear in the New Testament at all. That might surprise some of you. Although there are verses that speak about being baptized in or baptized with the Spirit.

Now various views are held by people, good people. I wouldn't want to suggest here tonight that these people are at all insincere. I have books in my library at home written by very godly people who all take different positions regarding this term.

There are some people who believe that the baptism of the Spirit is synchronous with the moment of justification and regeneration. There are some people who teach that it is to be identified with that crisis moment in sanctification that we were speaking about the other night.

There are some people who teach that the baptism is indicated or confirmed by spiritual gifts, especially the gift of tongues. There are some people who teach that the baptism happened on the day of Pentecost when the church was baptized into the body of Christ.

And it is something which is never to be repeated. And there are some people who draw a distinction between the baptism and the fillings and teach that there is one baptism though there may be many fillings.

And of course some people identify spirit baptism with water baptism. So you will see from all this that it is a term to be used carefully if you use it at all. A term to be used with care and discrimination for the simple reason that it means different things to different people.

There are only seven passages in the New Testament where the term baptism is related to the Holy Spirit. And I have set them out there in your notes. You can look them up. The first four of them are in the Gospels and the first four are really a repetition of the same statement.

Refer to John the Baptist's contrast between his water baptism and the one who was to come and follow him who would baptize with fire. The next two references both in the Acts of the Apostles refer to the same distinction.

So you have really got six out of the seven references all referring back to John the Baptist's contrast. The seventh in 1 Corinthians 12 verse 13 perhaps I should read that to you. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

That verse is worth looking at very carefully for you will see that it teaches us that in Christ the Holy Spirit enters the inmost being of all believers so that they become members of his body, the Church.

All, all believers are initiated into this blessed relationship. It may be worth just noting too that the Holy Spirit is not the baptizer. He is the element in which we are baptized. So it will be seen that the term baptism with or in the Spirit is not directly linked with any particular spiritual experience or ecstatic gift.

It is more directly related to the Holy Spirit's action within us right from the moment of conversion. It is a continuing thing that goes on. The question of sanctification and security is important. Already since I have been here tonight this question has been raised with me by somebody.

Conditional Security and the Possibility of Losing Holiness

Can this experience be lost? Is it possible for an entirely sanctified person to lose the experience? Well if reception of the experience is conditional as it is, we have shown that, obviously retention of the experience must also be conditional.

And I would draw your attention to the word if in these following verses. They are all listed there and you can turn them up when you are looking through these notes. John 8 .31 If you continue in my word then are you my disciples indeed.

John 8 .51 If anyone does my teaching he shall never know what it is to die. Colossians 1 verse 22 to 23 speaks about he wants to present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable in his sight if you continue in the faith grounded and settled.

Hebrews 3 verse 6 And we are his household if we hold fast our confidence firm unto the end. Hebrews 3 verse 14 For we are made partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end.

Hebrews 12 verses 14 and 15 follow peace with all men and holiness without which no man shall see the Lord looking diligently lest any man fall from the grace of God. 2 Peter 1 verse 10 If you do these things you shall never fall.

So you see there is abundant evidence that this experience is conditional. It can be lost. The possibility exists that a sanctified person may at a time of spiritual weakness or under some strong temptation yield and sin either in thought or word or deed.

And this may be as happened to some of us here and we are aware of the fact that in some unguarded moment we have allowed ourselves to be overthrown by a sudden temptation. What happens then? If we allow this situation to continue we are in spiritual difficulty but there is an instant remedy for thank God this is available to all of us.

1 John 2 verses 1 and 2. If any man sin we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins. So that immediately we become aware of this need. We are aware that we have stumbled.

There is the need for immediate confession and the advocacy of Christ. I would just draw your attention to the fact that a distinction is to be made between sin and errors of judgment or unintentional fault or imperfect knowledge.

We need to draw a distinction here and this is why I was so careful in my first talk to give you a definition of sin which allowed for this kind of situation. I don't know everything. I don't know anything about any of you here.

And in my incomplete knowledge I could easily make an imperfect judgment. We make other errors and mistakes quite innocently quite with a good motive and these are not to be regarded as sins for the teaching of God's word is that God looks at the motive of the heart to see whether the motive was sincere or the motive was pure.

There is a point here which is worth taking note of too. The Holy Spirit convicts of sin. John 16 verse 8. And when he that is the Spirit is come he will reprove or as it says in some of the translations he will convince the world of sin.

But Romans 8 verse 26 says likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities. So that a distinction is drawn between our sins and our infirmities. The Holy Spirit convicts of sin but he helps us with our infirmities.

Free Will, Backsliding, and Continuing Obedience

The point that emerges from all of this, this question of security, nothing that God does for us or in us destroys man's free will and responsibility. I hope you have all noticed this in your study of God's word.

At no time does God impose himself upon our free will. He has done so much for us but man must always cooperate with God if he is going to get the benefit of what God has done for him. So that the possibility is always there that self may assert itself against the Holy Spirit.

And backsliding, this is so important to remember, backsliding begins just at that point where we say no to the Holy Spirit. That's the point where it begins. At that moment when we say no to the Holy Spirit.

I've drawn your attention here to the fact that the same Greek word is translated unbelief and disobedience. It's the same thing, unbelief or disobedience. And as a case in point, Hebrews 4 verse 11, in the authorised version says, let us labour therefore lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

And in the revised standard version, the same verse says, let us therefore strive to enter that no one fall by the same sort of disobedience. So that unbelief and disobedience, how do you draw a distinction between them?

At that moment when we disobey, at that moment when our trust fails and we say no, when self disputes with the Holy Spirit, this is the moment where backsliding begins. And the very word suggests that it's a gradual, it's a slide.

But it begins somewhere and that's where it begins. And the slide goes on from that point. Final salvation, and there is a sense in which this is still in the future, final salvation rests on continuing faith and continuing obedience.

And if you think a little bit about those words, the word faith and the word obedience, by their very nature they must be continuing things. The moment they cease to be continuing, it ceases to be faith or it ceases to be obedience.

If it doesn't continue, obedience becomes disobedience. So that they are by their very nature things that continue faith which is expressed in obedience. And here are other verses that support that statement.

Romans 2 verses 6 and 7, to them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honor and immortality eternal life. Or 2 Corinthians 1 verse 24, for by faith ye stand. 1 Peter 1 verse 5, who by God's power are guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Or Hebrews 5 verse 9, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him. There is abundant testimony in God's word that faith is expressed in this continuing obedience. And this is how the experience is maintained.

Warning Against Final Apostasy

The dread possibility of final apostasy also remains. And this is something that we must never forget. We are never so secure that we cannot take ourselves out of God's hand. He won't let us fail, but we can take ourselves out of his hand.

And this dread possibility is always there. Galatians 5 verse 1 and 4, be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Verse 4 says you are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law.

You have fallen away from grace. 1 Timothy 4 verse 1, in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. When I was writing this the other day I thought how topical that is for today.

Giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. Hebrews 3 verse 12, take heed brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God. Hebrews 10 verses 26 to 29, a rather lengthy quotation here, but it is important.

For if we sin deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful prospect of judgment and a fury of anger. A fury of fire which will consume the adversaries.

A man who has violated the law of Moses dies without mercy at the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more, how much worse punishment do you think will be deserved by the men who spurned the Son of God and profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified and outraged the spirit of grace.

So these verses and others are there for you to look up. These verses warn us of this danger. One of the standard books on the doctrine of holiness which I have had in my library ever since I was a cadet.

It is not a new book, it is an old book, but it is regarded as one of the standard works on the doctrine of holiness. Every time I take this book down and refer to it I have a pang of sorrow for it so happens that the man who wrote that book, which is regarded as a classic and a standard, died a backslider after writing that book.

So there is the terrible possibility if we want to know about sanctification and security. We are saved and sanctified and securely kept by divine grace on one hand and on the other hand by the obedience of faith.

You see there is no step in the Christian life that God and man must not take together. No step that we must not take together. How can I know I am sanctified? This question of assurance, how do I know it has happened?

Assurance Through the Word, the Spirit, and the Fruit

It is the devil's business to put doubts in our minds. Sometimes people expect an exhilaration that he is not there. Sometimes people expect miracles to happen or voices to be heard. It does not happen that way with everybody.

And you wonder, am I sure? Has it happened? How can I know? And I have set out here three reliable reference points. These are fixed points. If you are going to navigate, if we are going to do some spiritual navigation, here are three fixed reference points from which we can take our bearings.

And having taken our bearings from these points you can be sure that you are on a celestial course. The first is the testimony of the word. This is important. For God's word we believe to be true. This is the word of God and God does not tell lies.

And God's word can be relied upon. And so we have this testimony of the word. And the word says, if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanseth us from all sin.

That is a definite statement. Or I have already quoted to you Luke 11 verse 13. If ye then being evil know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

Or Mark 11 verse 24, whatsoever things ye desire when ye pray, believe that you receive them and you shall have them. That is a definite statement too. So we have the testimony of God's word. And God is faithful and he will do what he has promised to do, if and when we do our part.

So this witness is in the realm of the mind. This is a process of reasoning faith. Now I've done what God has asked me to do. I've given him what he asked me to give. Now I believe his word. I accept his word.

I believe that he has done, he not only will do, but he has done, what he promised that he would do. So we have the testimony of the word. And then you have the witness of the Holy Spirit. This is the second.

Hebrews 10 verses 14 and 15. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us. Or 1 John 5 verse 6, and it is the Spirit that beareth witness, and the Spirit is truth.

Or Romans 8 verse 16, the Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit. So here is a witness in the realm of our inner consciousness. A spirit answering to another spirit when we are in tune with each other.

And press down the loud pedal, and then just gently put my finger, say on the middle C for example, without sounding the note. Just press down so that the string is free to vibrate. And then if I were to sharply hit the octave C, the note that you would hear singing is this note.

It responds because it's in tune. And you would hear this middle C singing after this note had stopped sounding. Because this is the response when you are in tune. Now this illustration may explain what I mean here.

For if the spirit is within, and my spirit is in tune, you can't help but know it. For this is the response of one spirit which is in tune with another spirit. You don't go out with a pocket torch in the morning to see if the sun has risen.

If the sun is up, you don't need a torch to tell you it's up. And it's like that when the Holy Spirit dwells within. If the Holy Spirit is there, well you will know it, and so will others. This witness then is in the realm of my inner consciousness, and my spiritual perception.

And then the third evidence is the evidence of the fruit. Matthew 7 verse 20,. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Or Galatians 5 verses 22 and 23, that very well known passage,. For the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace.

They are in three groups of three here. Perhaps you have thought about this. Love, joy, peace. And then long-suffering, gentleness and goodness. And then faith and meekness and temperance. This refinement of character, which is the work of the Holy Spirit within us, that we were thinking about the other night when Mrs. Colonel Peterson was talking to us about the transformation of character.

This work that is gradually going on, refining my character so that this fruit is produced in my life, becomes evident to all that we meet. If you have the spirit, as I've said, you will know it. And what's perhaps equally important is, others will know it too.

They will see the fruit. This is the evidence. They will see the transformation that is taking place. And it's worth noticing here too, that the chief evidence of the spirit's indwelling is not the gifts that some people attach so much importance to.

The chief evidence is the fruit. The fruit, even more than the gifts. So this witness is in the realm of personality and social contact. And if these three line up, it's like putting up fence posts. And if these line up with each other, then you can be sure, you can say without any doubt whatever, that it has happened.

And I know the spirit itself beareth witness with my spirit. And I know that he does it now. I have the blessing. How is the experience maintained? Not without disciplined effort. It's not something that stays with you automatically.

Maintaining Holiness Through Spiritual Discipline

It requires disciplined effort. Here again, there must be a full degree of human and divine cooperation. I've suggested that we compare two verses here. And I'll read them to you. 1 Peter 1 verse 5 says, who are kept by the power of God through faith.

And the other verse, on the other hand, urges us to keep himself, to keep himself unspotted from the world. And here you see the human and the divine cooperating so that this experience is maintained.

I've suggested just three things here. I suppose a lot more could be said. But I would think that if you allow your thoughts to dwell on these three steps or three points that I make, you will discover how the experience is maintained.

Taking Time to Be Holy

Take time to be holy. Take time to be holy. 1 Timothy 4 verse 7 in the Knox translation. Train thyself instead to grow up in holiness. Train thyself instead to grow up in holiness. You're all aware of the amount of time that some people give to physical culture.

And the amount of time that some people give to mental culture. And other activities of that kind. Well, spiritual culture requires a regular intake of spiritual food and exercise. It's not something that just comes without some effort on our part or some time on our part.

There must be seasons of prayer. A regular appointment with God. There must be meditation upon the word. And here too, it's not the amount of ground that we cover, but it's the depth with which we cover that ground.

Living in the Secret of God's Presence

It would be better to really handle only a few verses, if they're done with depth, than to boast because you've covered two or three chapters a day. Live consciously in the secret of his presence. If there is a secret about the life of holiness, this is it.

Living in the secret of his presence. Genesis 17 verse 1 in the Moffat translation says, live ever mindful of my presence and so be blameless. And this to me is the secret of holiness. For if you live with that conscious sense of God's presence, we're never out of his presence.

And if you live in that conscious sense that God is with you, you're in his presence, how could you sin? How could you say anything cheap or nasty? How could you say anything which was untrue? This is it.