Valuable answers for valid questions about world religions, cults, worldviews and the Christian church
This site contains over 130 pages of free content in articles, videos and audio – it might be faster to use our search function to find what you are looking for
It is important to note here that “holiness” is not defined by avoiding all of those “naughty” habits like smoking, drinking or going to movies or theater. Rather, holiness is living in repentance which is living for the glory of God and not for our own glory.
Holiness is living to honor God with our words, deeds and thoughts instead of seeking to be honored by others – becoming more like Christ Jesus everyday – not by way of “do” and “don’t” but centering our life on the Lord who is Holy – Most high, lifted up, pure, righteous and perfect. We can only be holy i.e. “set apart” for the Lord by first being born again and then we are filled with His Holy Spirit and are empowered to live for Him. We will not achieve perfection this side of life and/or Christ’s second return but we can live our life in pursuit of Holiness.
This definition of holiness is based (to the best of my ability) on the Scriptures and it is a decidedly different definition than that which is/was at the heart of the Holiness Churches which were primarily founded by Phoebe Palmer who was born a Methodist and began to earnestly seek God for direction in her life after losing her husband at a young age. She felt directed to live a life of “holiness” as she thought the Scriptures instructed.
She was one of the very first women to rebel against the Scriptures by ignoring the Apostle Paul’s clear command that we are not to permit a woman to teach nor have authority over a man in the church. Although she is not cited as the first woman to assert authority in the church, her model is followed by all kinds of false teachers and “pastrixes” in the U.S. (Paula White, Joyce Meyers, the false apostle Kathryn Krick).
"A woman must learn in quietness, in all submission. But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. For it was Adam who was first formed, and then Eve. And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into trespass."
The Apostle Paul did not give this command to indicate “value” i.e. that men are somehow more valuable than women but rather to indicate order in the same manner of order observed in a military or para-military environment.
Palmer further reinforced the false teaching of John Wesley’s “Christian Perfectionism” whereby she falsely taught that sanctification (the process by which a Christian becomes more holy and therefore, more like Christ throughout their Christian life) is possible to occur in a believer’s life in an instant as a single event of faith in the same way as justification (salvation). This erroneous doctrine was also known as a “second work of grace” or “Instant Sanctification”. This was in stark contrast to orthodox Christian belief regarding sanctification which states that this necessary “process” of becoming holy in living like Christ is a lifelong endeavor and not a single event.
The Holiness movement embraced the “camp meeting” style preaching of Charles G. Finney in 1867 (a major influence on Phoebe Palmer). The Holiness Movement began as a Methodist “revival” to return to the Wesleyan sanctification process of “holiness” or “love”. It was comprised mostly of groups of believers that rallied around holy living which had its roots in the Pietist movement which influenced the theology of Wesley.
Palmer and her Holiness followers would scorn those pleasures of the world that might render a believer “unholy” such as smoking, drinking, theater, etc. which the Pentecostals of the 20th century would take up with a vengeance. Like the Pentecostals of today, the Holiness churches condemned these minor practices while overlooking more weightier issues of God’s moral law like pride, lust and greed. The Holiness churches soon became an entity unto themselves, moving beyond the “Methodist Movement” by which they had previously been defined.
Because of John Wesley’s influence on Phoebe Palmer, the Holiness churches were (and still are) Arminian in theology, rejecting the total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace and perseverance of the saints doctrines of Calvinists. They became great proponents of abolition, anti-slavery, and equal rights for women issues.
The Holiness Movement further spread overseas as Robert and Hannah Whitall Smith (Hannah being a more prominent minister than her husband in keeping with the example of Phoebe Palmer). This couple took Phoebe Palmer’s teachings and written works to the UK (and later DL Moody and Phoebe Palmer herself would visit as well) the UK version of this movement is known as the “Keswick Holiness Movement” and is still a force for Christianity today through a yearly Keswick convention.
Robert Smith would have a hard time maintaining a position “above reproach” and eventually apostasized from the Christian faith and died a Buddhist and Hannah Smith became a Universalist believing that the precious blood of Christ was unnecessary and that any demon-worshipping pagan would fully accepted in the eternal presence of the God they spent their life (and death) hating. Yet, the Holiness and Pentecostal Movements are built largely on the work of this godless couple.
Many large denominations came from the Holiness churches: Salvation Army, Church of the Nazarene, Free Methodist Church, Church of God, Christian and Missionary Alliance, and Foursquare International. Contrary to popular myth Holiness Churches are still in operation today and tend to be more traditional evangelical in doctrine and liturgy and are not necessarily “Pentecostal” in practice like that of the Pentecostal-Holiness churches which also emerged from the Holiness Churches
Many of the erroneous doctrines embraced by Charismatic Pentecostalism can be traced back to this movement and to the works of apostate couple Robert and Hannah Smith.
No one receives eternal life and eternal presence with God (from Whom all good things come – James 1:17), by belonging to the right church, denomination, world religion, or by having a particular world view. Rather only those who trust in the Lord Jesus (preached by the Apostles in the Bible) for their own sin. We will not trust in a Savior for sins that we either don’t believe we have or that we think aren’t deserving of hell.
But the Bible says that ALL have sin and the wages of that sin is eternal separation from God (death). The good news is that the Bible says that you can know that YOU have eternal life. Click the button below to see if you are genuinely saved from your sins according to the Bible: