We must be disciples who center our message on Jesus Christ and whose method is Pentecostal—by the power of the Holy Spirit. In order to do this, we must recognize that we need clearly articulated biblical standards, boundaries, and spiritual goals to guide our lives. In the past, we used to discuss theological terms such as “holiness” and “sanctification.” However, years of abuse has led people to equate “holiness” with “legalism” and avoid the term so much that our children do not have it in their vocabulary. “Sanctification” is another term that few can define and they do understand the concept of discipleship, obeying all that Christ commanded. Our mandate is to be holy as God is holy (Lev. 11:45). Therefore, we must address this core theological value.

The Biblical Foundation

There are numerous occasions when believers are commanded to be holy. For example, “I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy” (Lev. 11:44). “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them, ‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy’” (19:2). “You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own” (20:26). The New Testament has this command as well, “For it is written, ‘Be holy, because I am holy’” (1 Peter 1:16).

This command was vital for the creation, ongoing existence, and future of a people group formed by God to serve as an example to the nations of the world. God took them from the bonds of Egyptian slavery to be a powerful nation than continues today. As He formed them, they needed rules, regulations, boundaries, discipline, and a future. He set the standard so high that they could not fulfill it without His help; be holy as I am holy.

In the Old Testament, the emphasis was on the nation of Israel being the family of God first and foremost. This meant they won the world to God by bringing outsiders into their community of faith and becoming Jewish. Whenever the Israelites interacted with the nations around them, often they accepted their idol worship and, as a result, their behavior before the Lord became offensive.

In the New Testament, believers in the book of Acts impacted their Jewish community with their strong Christian witness in three ways. First, believers were empowered by the Holy Spirit with signs, wonders, and miracles and, thus, ministered like Jesus. This fascinated the Pharisees as they noted the disciples were “ordinary men.” Second, believers were empowered to form and live in Christian community. Jews and Gentiles, men and women, young and old, rich and poor, slaves and freed all formed the community of faith because they were each saved by Jesus Christ. Their ability to thrive, as seen in Acts 2:42-38, was a powerful testimony to the nations that Christ’s love changes lives and transforms society. Third, believers displayed a life of holiness that Jewish followers could not deny. While the believers followed Christ, they lived by standards that honored God and aligned with God’s Word. Had the believers failed to exhibit a standard of holiness in any of these areas, it would have invalidated their witness and faith and sentenced them to being a cult.

When the believers shared their love of Christ to the Gentile world, their life and ministry honored the message they proclaimed. The Gentiles came to Christ because of the signs, wonders, and miracles that accompanied the message believers presented. The love exhibited by believers in Christian community was a witness to unbelievers that following Christ changes lives and transforms society. Again, the standards of living within the community of faith served as a testimony of God’s love.

Believers also testified to the Gentile world when they lived as model citizens, even in a society that held polar opposite beliefs. In Romans 13:1-10, Paul taught the church to be submissive to the governing authorities and fit into society. For example, “Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor” (v. 7). Their ability to be separated unto God and yet live as respectable citizens in the Roman world would present a powerfully effective testimony of God’s love and transformation.

Holiness is so much more than achieving a spiritual status by observing rules and regulations. Holiness is choice of our heart and mind to be in an intimate and relationship with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Jesus said:

Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.” (Matt. 15:17-20)

The Apostle Peter revealed that we are more than just workers in the Kingdom of God and that we play a special role: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9). So, we are called out of the darkness and away from our former nature to flourish in the light of God’s love and be the people that God created us to be.

The book of Colossians provides excellent insights on how a life of holiness is to be lived in any generation, situation, and location. In Colossians 2, Paul taught that we are freed from the condemnation and judgment of following rules. We have “died with Christ to the basic principles of this world” (v. 20) and are made “alive with Christ” (v. 13). He finished the chapter with this warning about rules: “Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence” (v. 23)

In Galatians 5, Paul shared how believers can live in holiness. He started with, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free” (v. 1) and continued, “But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather serve one another humbly in love” (v. 13). Then, Paul provided us with the key relationship: “So I say, walk by the Spirit” (v. 10). He listed the acts of the flesh and contrasted it with the fruit of the Spirit (v. 23). He concluded with, “Against such things there is no law” (v. 23b) and “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit” (v. 25). We can fulfill our mandate to be holy if we allow the Holy Spirit to empower, enable, and guide us.

Scripture provides ample teaching to equip us to live a holy life. We can label this “holiness” or “sanctification” or “discipleship.” Whatever the name, we must identify these issues, live them daily, and set our standard high to live a life that glorifies and honors God.

Our Pentecostal Forefathers

As the Assemblies of God gathered for the first General Council in 1914, they addressed the predominant issue of sanctification. The issues did not focus on whether one must live a holy life to honor God but rather on how a person becomes sanctified. Rodgers, the Director of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center, provides insight into these foundational days of the movement:

One of the first major divisions within Pentecostalism pertained to the issue of sanctification. Some held to a radical Wesleyan view that it is possible for the sin nature to be eradicated following an instantaneous experience of sanctification. Many who disagreed advocated a more traditional Wesleyan view (termed ‘Finished Work’), contending that sanctification is progressive, not instantaneous, and that perfection is not possible on earth. Most Assemblies of God founders adhered to the latter ‘Finished Work’ view.”10

The primary perspective taught emphasized a point of salvation, the process of being saved as we walk with the Lord during our lifetime, and complete salvation when we enter heaven. Thus, our being set apart unto the Lord is done legally, progressively, and ultimately.

The doctrine of holiness soon created conflict when it came to the pragmatic matter of its application in everyday life. On the one hand, a leading teaching emphasized that a believers attain holiness by keeping rules and regulations, as defined by the local Assemblies of God church. Thus, dress codes and strict regulations as to what a believer could or could not do in the areas of personal entertainment often served as a litmus test for one’s spirituality. On the other hand, some people proclaimed that holiness was a personal matter of the heart only; therefore, it was not to be a concern for anyone else.

The Doctrinal Committee and the Executive Presbytery approved the official position paper of the Assemblies of God concerning holiness. It addresses both sides of the issue: man-made rules and regulations versus personal Christian liberty. It defines legalism and worldliness as stated by the General Council Bylaws, Article IX, Sections 2 and 6. It declares that believers must address “matters of conscience,” void making legalism a basis for salvation, urges believers not to love the world or the things of the world, and to avoid activities that would take one’s eyes off of the Lord. It concludes by saying: “Though some Christians may err on the side of legalism and others on the side of permissive license, the Assemblies of God maintains and teaches a biblical position that honors God out of a heart of loving obedience.”11

Why Must We Address This Value?

We must address the theological value of holiness because the Assemblies of God is a worldwide movement that touches the lives of people in various cultures, customs, political views, worldviews, and who hold differing ideas of what the term means. Rather than create a definition of holiness and demand that people around the world comply, with no regard for their history and current context, we must encourage one another to obey the commands of Christ (Matt. 28:19), to be in step with the Spirit (Gal. 5:25), and spur one another on to love and good deeds (Heb. 10:24). At the same time, we cannot be so permissive in the expression of our faith that we are no different than the people we should be reaching with the light of God’s love. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in The Cost of Discipleship, called this “cheap grace:” “Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession … cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”12

Our challenge is to empower believers in local churches worldwide to balance the attitude of living in their freedom in Christ with Bonhoeffer’s teaching: “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.”13 I submit that the church must steadfastly teach “a biblical position that honors God out of a heart of loving obedience,” as stated by the Assemblies of God position paper on legalism. They must allow for people to live their faith in a way that is appropriate to their life context as long as their expression is biblically appropriate and accomplishes the goal of obeying everything that Christ commanded.

We must clearly proclaim what the Bible teaches and willingly admit that we are stating our opinions in matters that the Bible does not expressly address. Our understanding of God’s Word is often an expression of what we have been taught during the varying seasons of our personal spiritual journey. Other factors, such as personal experiences, the worldview of the society in which we lived, and how people in our lives interpreted their life experiences and how they imparted that to us, contribute to the building of our personal theology. We must resist the temptation to consider our personal beliefs as biblical or timeless truths that apply to any situation in the world.

In our proclamation of biblical teaching, we must be unapologetic in standing for truth and righteousness, as taught in the Bible. God’s Word provides clear teachings about how one can live a life of holiness and how to be sanctified. At the same time, we must allow other individuals to express their faith even though it is not something that we would do personally. Just as the Lord allows for many denominations and movements in the Kingdom of God, we must allow and respect various personal expressions of faith within the Assemblies of God.

We are not seeking unity for the sake of peace but allowing for personal expression of one’s faith to honor God so that we maintain our goal of glorifying God by obeying Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. E. N. Bell, who served as the first chairman of the Assemblies of God, gave such a warning:

So we do not intend to make creeds written by men a test of fellowship. Do not be afraid of the General Council on that line … It is a sure sign of fanaticism when a man feels he must cast you out in order to be honest and true to God just because you don’t see works of grace or some other doctrine just as he does. That is exactly the sectarian spirit which has split up Christendom into over 300 fighting sects to disgrace the name of Jesus and the unity of the Gospel of the Son of God.14

Network211

Network211 is a ministry that values holiness and works diligently to provide content online that will help believers apply truth and grow in their personal relationship with Jesus Christ. As previously stated, we present the gospel in our evangelism websites. We respond to people who write to us, not as counselors, but as believers who will share the Truth of God’s Word. Should counseling be needed, we direct people to the appropriate Christian counselors to continue the journey with them. Network211 leads people to “The Jesus Path” where they can find content to help them journey with Christ. The four steps are:

1. Jesus is the Answer reveals who Jesus is and how He can change your life.
2. Walk with Jesus is a series of videos that help you take your first steps as a new follower
   of Jesus Christ.
3. Grow with Jesus guides you through vital personal developmental stages as you grow in
   your relationship with the Lord.
4. Serve Jesus prepares you in the basics of servant leadership so that you can share the
   Gospel of Jesus Christ in all areas of your life.

The Jesus Path is an introduction to Global Christian Center (GCC), the Network211 online church found at www.GlobalChristianCenter.com. This site provides thousands of articles, videos, and devotions that help individuals learn how to obey Christ and to live a daily life that honors Him.

Currently, Network211 is averaging approximately 65,000 visitors a month to GCC and this group represents 244 countries and territories.

10. Rodgers, “Fully Committed: 100 Years of the Assemblies of God,” 8.

11. Assemblies of God (USA) Official Web Site, “Legalism,” accessed September 25, 2017,
https://ag.org/Beliefs/Topics-Index/Legalism.

12. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “Dietrich Bonhoeffer Quotes,” Goodreads.com, accessed September 25, 2017,
https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/29333.Dietrich_Bonhoeffer.

13. Ibid.

14. William J. Molenaar, “Christian Unity: A Founding Principle of the Assemblies of God,” Assemblies of God
Heritage, 34 (2014), 62.