The Logic Of Holiness Evangelism

If the grace of entire, or "in truth" sanctification, which produces the experience of inwrought holiness, is related to one phase of man's sin problem -- and it is -- then it is logically one part of God's salvation provision for man.

As we would logically expect if the above is true, this work is related definitely to the blood of Christ provisionally; and further, it is directly related to the work of the Holy Spirit in effecting it. God as Father wills it. Christ as Son provides it. The Holy Spirit is the active Divine Agent in accomplishing it. The revealed Word is the instrument by which the Holy Spirit works; and this in response to faith on the part of the receiving subject. It is a part of the sin cure. It is therefore a salvation blessing.

Evangelism is "the precipitation of salvation." It follows obviously that to send forth the truth in a way to precipitate conviction for any part of the remedy provided by Calvary, and further to lead to the exercise of a faith which realizes the remedy a reality in personal evangelism. We have been faulty in referring only to the first work of grace as evangelism. It is genuine evangelism to precipitate in personal experience the knowledge of sin's remedy in all of its phases.

I saw a sign on the bulletin board of a certain church one day which read: "Holiness Meeting at 11:00 A.M. Salvation Meeting at 7:30 P.M. Of course, I understood what was meant by the announcement; but it was based on an error in thinking which I am seeking to correct.

Holiness is salvation as truly as forgiveness. If provided by the blood and wrought by the Spirit, if obtained by faith, if it remedies sin, then it is essentially and logically salvation. It would be well for all holiness people to recognize this truth and practice a correct classifying of the same.

Camp meetings which are advertised as "Holiness Camps" often fail to recognize this truth, and speak of wanting evangelism in the evening services. This very discrimination is damaging to the whole truth. It is based on a failure to properly classify truth. Hungry people attend evening services of camp meetings and should hear definite holiness truth. The whole program of our camps should be recognized as genuine evangelism; the precipitation of both works of grace should be present in the entire program. Of course, it is true that some services of the day may very specially be used to teach holiness people and to deepen and enrich them in God; and some services may be used to issue the clarion call to repentance. Yet the whole program should be recognized and branded real "Bible evangelism."

A failure to recognize the truth I am setting forth tends to minimize holiness and relegate it to a sort of specialization, instead of recognizing it to be the fundamental of the fundamentals in Christian truth, and the need of keeping it in its place as "the central idea of Christianity."

You can work at the remedying of many ills and make little progress because the real remedy for so many ills is wrapped up in the one great provision, namely, the blood-provided, sin-purging, life-empowering baptism of the Holy Spirit. This experience settles so many problems, answers so many questions, and fills so many needs that it pays to stick to the main line of an instantaneous second work of grace instead of bothering with the many symptoms for which this one thing is a complete cure. Amen.

I wish I might issue an effective clarion call to all who know this "secret of the Lord," to be true to the importance, yes, the absolute necessity, of working insistently and persistently at the task of "spreading Scriptural holiness" over these lands -yea to the ends of the world.

Some of us must be very insistent in our setting forth of this truth, or be untrue to our sacred trust. We dare not lower the standard. We will not cease to exalt the truth which honors our living Lord and which embraces such good news to our fellow men.

The gospel of a true double cure, of a full salvation, gives to all men, and to every man who will embrace it, a chance for a new life and an assured hereafter.