I want to discuss a misconceived subject – the subject of holiness. The ironic element of this whole discussion is that the subject of holiness is highly misunderstood the most, in Holiness churches.
Allow me to begin by saying that I believe in Biblical holiness. That is, I believe in holiness as the Bible teaches it, and I believe in it to no other extent. After reading this blog, some will accuse me of not believing in holiness; some will label me a compromiser. However, I am a Bible preacher, and I am not concerned with the labels that men may attach to me. The above verse, Hebrews 12:14, is one of the most misunderstood verses of the whole Bible, especially in Holiness churches. I encourage you to read the entire post before establishing a conclusion, and feel free to contact me if you wish to discuss any area of disagreement.
About thirteen years ago, I heard a Holiness preacher expound on Hebrews 12:14, which reads, “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.” This preacher, after reading the verse, made this statement – “Now, the Bible did not say ‘Follow peace with all men, and Baptist,’ but it does say, ‘Follow peace with all men, and holiness.’” In this man’s mind, holiness is a denomination. It is a group of churches. In his mind, if you go to a Baptist church, or a Methodist church, you cannot possess holiness, because you do not go to a Holiness church. Although this man is a great man, he is wrong on this issue. You can go to a Holiness church, and be just as unholy as you can be. When the Hebrew writer says, “Follow peace with all men, and holiness,” he is not referring to your attendance of a Holiness church.
I have heard other Holiness preachers use this verse to preach a strict adherence to “holiness standards.” To them, holiness is a standard. It is a dress code. It is a rulebook. It is abstaining from worldliness. I have heard Holiness preachers, after reading the above-mentioned scripture, begin to preach their standards as the plan of salvation. Listen to me closely. We are not saved by keeping anyone’s list of anything. Keeping a list of “standards” will not get you saved, or keep you saved. Dressing a certain way will not make you holy. You can dress modest, with no jewelry, no make-up, and so forth, and be as lost as you can be. Let me go further. When a person makes their way to an altar of prayer, and they ask the Lord to save them, believing on His word, they are saved when they rise from the altar. They are so saved that if they begin to keep a certain set of standards, it will not make them any more saved than what they are. We are in a sad condition when we preach that doing certain things will make us more holy than what the blood of Jesus can. As far as I’m concerned, if you preach this mess, you are not preaching the word of God. You have departed from the gospel long ago.
You may say, “Brother, don’t you believe in living right, and having standards?” I absolutely believe in living according to the Bible. However, living according to the Bible does not save anyone. I do not live by the Bible to try to be saved; I live by the Bible because I am saved. I am not “more saved” because I live a certain way. The word, “holy” means “pure; free from sin.” There is only one thing that makes clean and pure – the blood of Jesus Christ. I am saved by the blood of Jesus; I am kept by the blood of Jesus; I cannot add to the blood of Jesus. The blood of Jesus, according to I John 1:7, is the only thing that “cleanseth us from all sin.” Living a certain way won’t cleanse. The blood cleanses. That, my friend, is Biblical holiness. Man is filthy in his sin, but when he comes to Jesus Christ, the blood of Jesus cleanses him from every sin, without exception. Yes, it is certainly true that a genuine conversion will produce holy living. I am not negating that. But I am negating any act of “living a standard” in order to be saved.
I’ve heard it all. Some Holiness preachers take this verse, Hebrews 12:14, to say that you must keep certain standards to be saved. I am not taking cheap shots at anyone, but I am declaring real situations – real places I have been – to illustrate a point.
I preached years ago for one crowd that believed that holiness meant that men should abstain from wearing a necktie. If you preach that it is a sin to wear a necktie, you are not preaching the Bible. And, to call yourself a preacher, you are shaming the rest of us. Biblical holiness has nothing to do with whether or not I am wearing a necktie. It is a sad day in Holiness churches, when we think that taking a necktie off (or putting one on, for that matter) makes us more spiritual. Their idea of the necktie is that a person must be proud if he wears one. If you really believe that wearing a necktie is a result of pride, then PREACH AGAINST PRIDE. You have Bible verses that are against a man being proud. Preach the Bible. And leave it at that. If a preacher preaches against pride, and I am sitting in the congregation, the Spirit of God can convict me if I am proud because of my necktie. Just preach the Bible.
Years ago, I got acquainted with the bunch that spray-painted their belt buckles. It’s laughable, but I’m not joking. This bunch started out preaching against jewelry, and from there, they started preaching against wearing anything that shines. That’s outright stupid. When we are more concerned about shininess of the belt buckle than we are the lostness of the soul, we have hopelessly strayed from the Great Commission. We have forgotten our purpose of reaching for lost souls, pulling them out of the fire. I am in no way associated with the spray-painting bunch. That is not my crowd.
Several years ago, I was at a Holiness campmeeting. Bro. Leon Buzzard, a great man of God, was talking about the “Super-duper Holiness bunch.” He said that he had been acquainted with the crowd that preaches against wearing sandals, or any type of shoe that reveals the toes. I wonder if this crowd has read Mark 6:9, where Jesus commanded His apostles, “But be shod with sandals.” That’s right; Jesus COMMANDED his disciples to wear sandals. In Acts 12:8, the angel of the Lord told Peter, “Bind on thy sandals.” I agree with Bro. Don Rich, who said, “I have more Bible for wearing sandals than I do for wearing the shoes I’ve got on.” If you think it’s a sin for a person to show their toes, go preach that gospel in foreign lands, where people don’t even have a pair of shoes of any kind to wear. If wearing open-toed shoes, or sandals, is a sin, then it’s a sin in every instance, in every age, in every country, without exception. When I am at my home church, sometimes I play the bass guitar. When I am playing the bass, I am sitting on the platform. We have several ladies that get up on the platform to sing. After the service is over, I cannot tell you what kind of shoes any of those ladies wore. When we are having church, the type of shoes that people are wearing is the furthest thing from my mind.
As you can tell, this mess can go on and on. Let me just bring out a couple points to conclude. First, it is noteworthy to understand that liberalism is wrong. Preachers become liberal when they fail to preach the entire word of God. They omit parts of the Bible, and as a result, become liberal. However, the ultra-strict bunch has forgotten that it is EVERY BIT AS MUCH A SIN to ADD TO the Bible as it is to TAKE AWAY FROM the Bible. As for me, I intend to stay with the Bible. I don’t want to omit parts of it; nor do I wish to take away from it.
Secondly, if you need rules and standards, there are plenty of those in the Bible. You’ll have a full-time job just trying to do what is actually in the Bible, without adding to it. The Bible says, “Owe no man anything.” How are you doing with that? You mean you’ll send me to hell because my belt buckle shines, and you’ll turn around and disobey the Bible and be indebted to someone? The Bible condemns those “whose God is their belly.” Don’t preach about my shoes and my necktie if you’re as big as a gas stove. My point is not to tell you that you’re going to hell if you weigh a certain amount or have a debt. My point is to show you that there’s a lot in that Bible. There’s plenty to do without adding to it. Let’s work on doing what it actually says, and throw this nonsense out the door.
It is my prayer that I can reach my hands into the fire of hell, and pull lost souls out. If someone comes to church where I am preaching, I am not concerned about their necktie, their shoes, their belt buckle, their short-sleeve shirt, the length of their hair, how much jewelry they are wearing, or whether or not they have a television. I’m concerned with getting them to Jesus. Whatever they’re doing that’s wrong, we’ll teach them later. What they need more than anything is Jesus. They need the blood to cleanse them of their sin. And, when they rise from the altar after repenting of their sins, they are just as clean and holy as Jesus Christ Himself, because Jesus imparted His righteousness to them. This is holiness, and without it, no man shall see the Lord.
Allow me to begin by saying that I believe in Biblical holiness. That is, I believe in holiness as the Bible teaches it, and I believe in it to no other extent. After reading this blog, some will accuse me of not believing in holiness; some will label me a compromiser. However, I am a Bible preacher, and I am not concerned with the labels that men may attach to me. The above verse, Hebrews 12:14, is one of the most misunderstood verses of the whole Bible, especially in Holiness churches. I encourage you to read the entire post before establishing a conclusion, and feel free to contact me if you wish to discuss any area of disagreement.
About thirteen years ago, I heard a Holiness preacher expound on Hebrews 12:14, which reads, “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.” This preacher, after reading the verse, made this statement – “Now, the Bible did not say ‘Follow peace with all men, and Baptist,’ but it does say, ‘Follow peace with all men, and holiness.’” In this man’s mind, holiness is a denomination. It is a group of churches. In his mind, if you go to a Baptist church, or a Methodist church, you cannot possess holiness, because you do not go to a Holiness church. Although this man is a great man, he is wrong on this issue. You can go to a Holiness church, and be just as unholy as you can be. When the Hebrew writer says, “Follow peace with all men, and holiness,” he is not referring to your attendance of a Holiness church.
I have heard other Holiness preachers use this verse to preach a strict adherence to “holiness standards.” To them, holiness is a standard. It is a dress code. It is a rulebook. It is abstaining from worldliness. I have heard Holiness preachers, after reading the above-mentioned scripture, begin to preach their standards as the plan of salvation. Listen to me closely. We are not saved by keeping anyone’s list of anything. Keeping a list of “standards” will not get you saved, or keep you saved. Dressing a certain way will not make you holy. You can dress modest, with no jewelry, no make-up, and so forth, and be as lost as you can be. Let me go further. When a person makes their way to an altar of prayer, and they ask the Lord to save them, believing on His word, they are saved when they rise from the altar. They are so saved that if they begin to keep a certain set of standards, it will not make them any more saved than what they are. We are in a sad condition when we preach that doing certain things will make us more holy than what the blood of Jesus can. As far as I’m concerned, if you preach this mess, you are not preaching the word of God. You have departed from the gospel long ago.
You may say, “Brother, don’t you believe in living right, and having standards?” I absolutely believe in living according to the Bible. However, living according to the Bible does not save anyone. I do not live by the Bible to try to be saved; I live by the Bible because I am saved. I am not “more saved” because I live a certain way. The word, “holy” means “pure; free from sin.” There is only one thing that makes clean and pure – the blood of Jesus Christ. I am saved by the blood of Jesus; I am kept by the blood of Jesus; I cannot add to the blood of Jesus. The blood of Jesus, according to I John 1:7, is the only thing that “cleanseth us from all sin.” Living a certain way won’t cleanse. The blood cleanses. That, my friend, is Biblical holiness. Man is filthy in his sin, but when he comes to Jesus Christ, the blood of Jesus cleanses him from every sin, without exception. Yes, it is certainly true that a genuine conversion will produce holy living. I am not negating that. But I am negating any act of “living a standard” in order to be saved.
I’ve heard it all. Some Holiness preachers take this verse, Hebrews 12:14, to say that you must keep certain standards to be saved. I am not taking cheap shots at anyone, but I am declaring real situations – real places I have been – to illustrate a point.
I preached years ago for one crowd that believed that holiness meant that men should abstain from wearing a necktie. If you preach that it is a sin to wear a necktie, you are not preaching the Bible. And, to call yourself a preacher, you are shaming the rest of us. Biblical holiness has nothing to do with whether or not I am wearing a necktie. It is a sad day in Holiness churches, when we think that taking a necktie off (or putting one on, for that matter) makes us more spiritual. Their idea of the necktie is that a person must be proud if he wears one. If you really believe that wearing a necktie is a result of pride, then PREACH AGAINST PRIDE. You have Bible verses that are against a man being proud. Preach the Bible. And leave it at that. If a preacher preaches against pride, and I am sitting in the congregation, the Spirit of God can convict me if I am proud because of my necktie. Just preach the Bible.
Years ago, I got acquainted with the bunch that spray-painted their belt buckles. It’s laughable, but I’m not joking. This bunch started out preaching against jewelry, and from there, they started preaching against wearing anything that shines. That’s outright stupid. When we are more concerned about shininess of the belt buckle than we are the lostness of the soul, we have hopelessly strayed from the Great Commission. We have forgotten our purpose of reaching for lost souls, pulling them out of the fire. I am in no way associated with the spray-painting bunch. That is not my crowd.
Several years ago, I was at a Holiness campmeeting. Bro. Leon Buzzard, a great man of God, was talking about the “Super-duper Holiness bunch.” He said that he had been acquainted with the crowd that preaches against wearing sandals, or any type of shoe that reveals the toes. I wonder if this crowd has read Mark 6:9, where Jesus commanded His apostles, “But be shod with sandals.” That’s right; Jesus COMMANDED his disciples to wear sandals. In Acts 12:8, the angel of the Lord told Peter, “Bind on thy sandals.” I agree with Bro. Don Rich, who said, “I have more Bible for wearing sandals than I do for wearing the shoes I’ve got on.” If you think it’s a sin for a person to show their toes, go preach that gospel in foreign lands, where people don’t even have a pair of shoes of any kind to wear. If wearing open-toed shoes, or sandals, is a sin, then it’s a sin in every instance, in every age, in every country, without exception. When I am at my home church, sometimes I play the bass guitar. When I am playing the bass, I am sitting on the platform. We have several ladies that get up on the platform to sing. After the service is over, I cannot tell you what kind of shoes any of those ladies wore. When we are having church, the type of shoes that people are wearing is the furthest thing from my mind.
As you can tell, this mess can go on and on. Let me just bring out a couple points to conclude. First, it is noteworthy to understand that liberalism is wrong. Preachers become liberal when they fail to preach the entire word of God. They omit parts of the Bible, and as a result, become liberal. However, the ultra-strict bunch has forgotten that it is EVERY BIT AS MUCH A SIN to ADD TO the Bible as it is to TAKE AWAY FROM the Bible. As for me, I intend to stay with the Bible. I don’t want to omit parts of it; nor do I wish to take away from it.
Secondly, if you need rules and standards, there are plenty of those in the Bible. You’ll have a full-time job just trying to do what is actually in the Bible, without adding to it. The Bible says, “Owe no man anything.” How are you doing with that? You mean you’ll send me to hell because my belt buckle shines, and you’ll turn around and disobey the Bible and be indebted to someone? The Bible condemns those “whose God is their belly.” Don’t preach about my shoes and my necktie if you’re as big as a gas stove. My point is not to tell you that you’re going to hell if you weigh a certain amount or have a debt. My point is to show you that there’s a lot in that Bible. There’s plenty to do without adding to it. Let’s work on doing what it actually says, and throw this nonsense out the door.
It is my prayer that I can reach my hands into the fire of hell, and pull lost souls out. If someone comes to church where I am preaching, I am not concerned about their necktie, their shoes, their belt buckle, their short-sleeve shirt, the length of their hair, how much jewelry they are wearing, or whether or not they have a television. I’m concerned with getting them to Jesus. Whatever they’re doing that’s wrong, we’ll teach them later. What they need more than anything is Jesus. They need the blood to cleanse them of their sin. And, when they rise from the altar after repenting of their sins, they are just as clean and holy as Jesus Christ Himself, because Jesus imparted His righteousness to them. This is holiness, and without it, no man shall see the Lord.
