In the days leading up to John Wesley, what could be described as a “falling away” had occurred. He saw a great need for living a holy life. Those who agreed with him began preaching what we would call living a sanctified life. They were methodical in their belief system, hence the word “Methodist.” As you can imagine, many did not like what they were preaching. While Wesley is generally remembered as the father of the Methodist Church, he was more accurately the father of the “Holiness Movement.” They encouraged people to be saved and to pursue sanctification. To live a life that was radically different than the world. As Jesus said in John 17:14-16, “In the world, but not like the world.”

The holiness movement gained momentum in the 1800’s, not just in America but around the world. A hunger for more of God would lead to the Pentecostal renewal of the early 1900’s. While millions would embrace this move of God, those who had built a religion that allowed them to incorporate a more liberal lifestyle while still appearing to be religious, not only mocked what was happening, but did everything they could to make holiness appear as a radical movement. It was radical in that it called for living by the standards of scripture rather than the doctrines of man.

C.S. Lewis said, “Human history is the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God to make him happy.” While that obviously has a greater pull on those who don’t profess to be Christians, in my lifetime, I have witnessed that same struggle with people who do profess to be a Christian. Rather than seeing how close we can get to God, there seems to be a mentality among many of seeing how much I can live like the world and still go to heaven. I know God is the ultimate judge, but it seems like a sad way to live when we put the things of this world ahead of God.

When you mention “holiness,” the external, more oft than not, gets the attention, rather than the internal. The truth is, the external will be a reflection of the internal. If the heart is right, the outside will be right. If you approach that from the opposite direction, it doesn’t always hold true. Jesus addressed that in Matthew 23:27, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.” You can dress up the outside while the inside is full of sin and corruption.

What does God expect? It is found in 1 Peter 1:15-16, “But as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; (lifestyle) Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”

I will close where I began. Hebrews 12:14, “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see God.”