In Holiness (Leader's Manual)

’s IN HOLINESS {leader manual } his presence in us

IN HOLINESS

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HOLINESS AND JESUS SUPPORTING RESOURCES Books: Holiness Unwrapped.

The Salvation Army Handbook of Doctrine.

IN DISCUSSION Take time to discuss the following, remembering to include reference to the suggested Scripture and how it relates to the topic (see page 03 of the ‘In Holiness’ book): 1. Read Isaiah 6:1-8 and discuss how you think you would react to such an overwhelming experience of the presence of God. Isaiah 6:1-8 2. What insights into the holiness of God did Jesus bring when he was on earth?

John 14:6-10; John 17:6, 11, 20-22, 25, 26; Mark 9:2-8; Hebrews 4:14, 15 3. What evidence is there in Scripture that Jesus was ‘truly and properly God’ and ‘truly and properly man’?

Luke 1:35-37; Matthew 1:22, 23; Philippians 2:5-11; Matthew 4:2; John 11:35; Luke 23:46 4. Jesus ‘showed that a holy life need not be distant or separate from others’. How can we do this?

Matthew 9:9-13; Mark 7:1-8; Luke 7:31-35

IN PRAYER Thank God that Jesus shows us what a holy life truly looks like.

Holy and awesome God, we worship and bow down before you. You are utterly pure 01 and perfect, yet you call us to share in your holiness. Thank you for sending Jesus as a man, to show us what a holy life is truly like.

SESSION OUTCOMES •• Recognising that God is in many ways separate and different from us, and deserves our worship and adoration.

•• Recognising that God wants us to have a relationship with him.

•• Understanding that Jesus came to show us what a holy life looks like.

•• Understanding that a holy life does not mean separation from others, but interaction with others.

Activity Ideas •• Read the passage from Holiness Unwrapped (see text on page 08).

•• Find and read some songs in your song book that speak of the holiness of Jesus.

•• Make a list of words or phrases that describe what a holy life looks like. in holiness

HOLINESS AND JESUS one rmy

IN HOLINESS

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rmy leader’s manual

IN HOLINESS

HIS PRESENCE IN US

SUPPORTING RESOURCES Books: The Salvation Army Handbook of Doctrine

IN DISCUSSION Take time to discuss the following (see page 05 of the ‘In Holiness’ book): 1. Study the Army’s tenth doctrine and discuss why this experience is described as a ‘privilege’.

1 Thessalonians 5:23, 24 2. *What might prevent us from being ‘wholly sanctified’?

02 Thessalonians 5:23; Matthew 5:21-24; Matthew 5:27-30; Galatians 5:19-21; 1 Peter 1:15, 16; 2 Timothy 3:2-5 3. Discuss William Booth’s assertion that ‘the greatness of a man’s power is in the measure of his surrender’.

Matthew 18:2-4; Mark 8:34-37 4. What is the difference between being ‘unable to sin’ and being ‘able not to sin’? Which phrase is correct and why?

Romans 7:21-24; Philippians 3:12-14; Romans 6:1, 2, 12-14 Activity Ideas •• Read the passage from The Salvation Army Handbook of Doctrine (see text on page 08). Take time to reflect on each of the points to make sure they are clearly understood.** •• Imagine that someone says ‘I was saved last year, and last week I gave myself fully to God, so that’s it now. Nothing further is needed.’ Discuss how you would answer.

SUPPORTING RESOURCES Books: Holiness Unwrapped.

Dear Lord, we thank you for calling us to live a holy life, and for providing the power for us to do so. Help us not to take this for granted, but to embrace it fully and give ourselves totally to your service.

SESSION OUTCOMES •• Understanding that holiness is for all Christians.

•• Understanding that to live a holy life we need to invite the Holy Spirit to do his sanctifying work within us, and give our lives totally to God. •• Understanding that there is always room for further growth as we will never reach a state of perfection in this life.

•• Understanding the difference between being ‘unable to sin’ and ‘able not to sin’. * In question 2, it is important to note that although we are made holy by the work of God within us, we also need to do our part.

It will not happen without our cooperation. ** The doctrine of holiness is clearly a huge topic and there are many books on the subject. The passage from The Salvation Army Handbook of Doctrine (see text on page 08) is a useful summary. As leader, it would be helpful to study the whole of chapter 10.

IN PRAYER Pray for a greater realisation of the sense of privilege that comes through relationship with God. in holiness

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IN DISCUSSION Take time to discuss the following (see page 07 of the ‘In Holiness’ book): 1. How does being born again mark the beginning of a holy life?

John 3:3; Ephesians 3:16-19; 1 Peter 1:22, 23; Colossians 1:27; Galatians 5:16-18 2. How did Jesus say spiritual birth happens? What makes it real?

John 3:6-8; Romans 8:9-11; 2 Corinthians 3:17, 18; 2 Corinthians 4:18; 2 Corinthians 5:5 3. Jesus and John the Baptist spoke of the importance of the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives. What was the significance of this new teaching?

Luke 3:16; Acts 1:5; Acts 11:11-18; Ephesians 4:3-6 4. Why can’t good works, years of service, abstinence or specific ceremonies sanctify us? What does?

Romans 15:15, 16; 1 Corinthians 6:11; Ephesians 2:4-10; Ephesians 2:22; 2 Thessalonians 2:13

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HOLINESS – THE DOCTRINE one rmy

IN HOLINESS

HOLINESS – THE DOCTRINE

Dear Lord, we thank you for your word, which contains all that we need to know about how to live a life pleasing to you.

Please help us to understand it well and apply it to our own lives.

SESSION OUTCOMES •• Understanding that being born again happens through the work of the Holy Spirit.

•• Recognising that we need to invite the Holy Spirit to come into our lives.

•• Understanding that it is only by the Holy Spirit’s help that we can be made holy. It cannot happen through our own efforts.

Activity Ideas •• Read the passage from Holiness Unwrapped (see text on page 09).

IN PRAYER Pray for guidance to see what is essential and what is not essential for Christian living. in holiness

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IN HOLINESS

HOLY RELATIONSHIP SUPPORTING RESOURCES Book: The Salvation Army Handbook of Doctrine.

Boston Common.

Love – Right at the Heart.

Spiritual Breakthrough.

IN DISCUSSION Take time to discuss the following (see page 09 of the ‘In Holiness’ book): 04 1. How might specific terms for Christian experience help or hinder our understanding of what is essentially a relationship with God? 2. See The Salvation Army Handbook of Doctrine, pages 202-205 (see text on page 10); 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17; 2 Peter 1:3 3. Discuss differences between a ‘rules and regulations’ approach to holiness and our ‘freedom in Christ’.

Galatians 3:1-5; Galatians 5:1, 4-6; Galatians 5:13, 14 4. Responsibility for keeping our personal relationship with Jesus fresh cannot be delegated. Why? John 21:20-22; Romans 14:10, 11 5. ‘Christ in us wherever we go’ is described as ‘incarnational ministry’ and ‘the heart of what it means to be a Salvationist’. Why? John 17:15-19 and 20-23; Colossians 1:27; Colossians 3:1-3 and 15-17 Activity Ideas •• Read the passage from The Salvation Army Handbook of Doctrine (see text on page 10). It may be worthwhile taking some time to explore each of these in holiness

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terms, as there is often some confusion, sometimes due to what people may have heard in other churches.

•• Point 6 in the text speaks of calling something a ‘mistake’ when really it was an act of sin. But it is also possible for the opposite thing to happen – we feel guilty when really it was just a mistake, and we are therefore not to blame.

Consider this: A young girl is left in a room in the house while her mother works for a few minutes in an outside shed. The mother mentions that she has a pile of ironing to do later. The girl loves her mother and wants to help – so she decides to start the ironing. She has often seen her mother do it, but she has never done it herself. Unfortunately she does not understand the temperature control, and she burns her mother’s dress. Discuss whether the girl should be blamed for this. It should bring out the point that it is motivation that is important – the Lord looks on the heart.

•• Read the passage from Boston Common (see text on page 11).

•• Read the passage from Love – Right at the Heart (see text on page 12).

•• Read the passage from Called to be God’s People (see text on page 13).

•• For further study, especially relating to the fact that different people have

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different experiences, see Spiritual Breakthrough by John Larsson.

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IN PRAYER Pray that the presence of Christ in your life will truly mean that he ministers to others through you.

Dear Lord, we thank you that Jesus lives in us through his Spirit. We pray that as a result, we will be used by you to minister to others in his name.

SESSION OUTCOMES •• Acknowledging that there are many ways of describing spiritual experience.

•• Understanding some of the ways in which holiness is described.

•• Understanding that we are each responsible for our own personal relationship with God. •• Understanding that our relationship with Christ leads to ministry to others.

leader’s manual

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HOLY LIFE – THE EVIDENCE SUPPORTING RESOURCES Book: Holiness Unwrapped.

The Way of Holiness.

Essentials of Christian Experience.

Salvation Story.

REFERENCED RESOURCES FOR THIS UNIT This unit relates in particular to doctrine 10 but also relates to doctrines 4 and 7

IN DISCUSSION Take time to discuss the following (see page 11 of the ‘In Holiness’ book): 06 1. List important qualities in life that can’t be measured. Discuss the effect they have on us.

Philippians 4:8; 2 Peter 1:5-8 2. Consider which fruit of the Spirit might require the most attention in your own life.

Galatians 5:22 3. Discuss the absence of aggression in the fruit of the Spirit. How should this be reflected in the way we live?

Galatians 5:22; Romans 12:19-21; Matthew 11:28-30; Matthew 5:28-42 4. Discuss how ‘being transformed’ into the likeness of Christ is a lifetime’s experience.

2 Corinthians 3:18 Activity Ideas •• Read the passage from Holiness Unwrapped (see text on page 13).

•• Read the passage from Samuel Logan Brengle: Heart for God (see text on page 14).

•• Read the passage from Essentials of Christian Experience (see text on page 14).

•• The song ‘Take time to be holy’ (number 790 in the 2015 edition of The Song in holiness

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Book of The Salvation Army) contains much practical advice about growing in holiness. Look at it line by line or phrase by phrase and discuss how it applies to your particular situation.

IN PRAYER Pray that the fruit of the Spirit will grow in your life and lead to greater spiritual maturity.

Dear Lord, we thank you for the beautiful fruit of the Spirit. We invite the Holy Spirit to continue working in our lives to bring this fruit to full maturity and so help us to become more like Jesus.

SESSION OUTCOMES •• Understanding that if we claim to be living by the Spirit, then we should be producing the fruit of the Spirit.

•• Understanding that the more we develop the fruit of the Spirit, the more we will become like Jesus.

•• Recognising that each person’s spiritual journey towards Christlikeness will be different.

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REFERENCED RESOURCES one rmy

HOLY LIFE – THE EVIDENCE one rmy

IN HOLINESS

BOOKS St Augustine’s Confessions.

Holiness Unwrapped, IHQ and Australia Eastern Territory.

The Salvation Army Handbook of Doctrine, IHQ. Born Again in the Spirit, IHQ. Boston Common, Salvo Publishing.

Love – Right at the Heart, IHQ. Called to be God’s People, IHQ. The Way of Holiness, Samuel Logan Brengle.

Samuel Logan Brengle: Heart for God, Australia Eastern Territory.

Essentials of Christian Experience, IHQ. Salvation Story, IHQ.

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FURTHER RESOURCES Authentic Holiness, Australia Southern Territory.

Spiritual Breakthrough, IHQ. WEBSITES www.salvationarmy.org/onearmy www.salvationarmyspirituallife.org @TSAOneArmy What resources would you add?

Let us know by emailing OneArmy@salvationarmy.org or visit www.salvationarmy.org/ onearmy/resources

referenced resources

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PART ONE ‘TO BE LIKE JESUS’, Holy – p 5 in Holiness Unwrapped.

When we think of Jesus we think of someone who is holy - supremely holy. When we look at ourselves we see imperfections, flaws in our character, disappointments and, if we are honest, we will also admit to being something less than we know we could be.

There is a gap that needs bridging.

Jesus came to earth to bridge that gap – and to make it possible for us to live holy lives. He prayed for our holiness (John 17:17-23). In doing so, he indicated it was possible. Would he have prayed for our holiness if it was unattainable?

08 CHAPTER 10 ‘FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION’, Essentials of the doctrine (pp 199-201 in The Salvation Army Handbook of Doctrine.)

For all believers … Holiness is not an optional extra for some believers, but is available to all who accept Jesus as Lord. While described as a privilege, this does not imply that it is a requirement for only some Christians.

The will and work of God It is God’s intention that human beings will be holy (1 Peter 1:16); it is also his work in the life of the believer that enables them to be holy (1 Thessalonians 5:23, 24).

Sanctification, being made holy, is a logical and natural continuation of the process of salvation.

Human choice Although holiness is achieved by the work of God in the life of the believer, it is also a product of human choice. God will not make people holy against their will. Holiness, like salvation, must be freely chosen. This is sometimes described as consecration, leader’s manual

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although there is not always a clear distinction between the terms used for God’s action to make the believer holy and the human pursuit of holiness.

a possibility. There are still remnants of behaviour patterns which can recur. There is still the human tendency to give in to temptation.

Restoring the image of God Holiness is concerned with a restoration of wholeness and full humanity. Growth towards holiness sets us in the direction of recovering the true image of God in us as we allow him to live his life in and through us.

Jesus Christ made true humanity visible by his living. As we move towards wholeness, it affects every aspect of our being, including our relationships with God and other people, our self-image, our attitude to the created order and our being in society.

In the same way, we must not claim sinless perfection in this life. Temptation is part of the human condition, but, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we can successfully resist temptation and not sin. However, we cannot say that those who are sanctified cannot, or will never, sin.

Separation for the purposes of God The root meaning of the biblical words used to describe holiness suggests separation.

This was applied to both people and things, which were set apart from the ordinary, secular world and dedicated to God for worship or service. They became holy by their association with the purposes of God. Holiness is therefore characterised by dedication to God in order to fulfil his wishes.

Ethical and social consequences However, for humanity, holiness is not only concerned with separation, but also has a moral dimension as the believer begins to reflect the character of God. Holiness stresses the ethical and social consequences of salvation. It focuses on the grace of God as a costly grace which calls for changed attitudes, motivation and lifestyle as we begin to reflect the character of God in our daily living.

Holiness is not sinlessness Sanctification does not mean the elimination of all possibility for sinning. Although it is possible through the Holy Spirit not to sin, even when we experience the fullness of God’s sanctifying power, sin remains

Neither can we say that those who experience a fullness of God’s sanctifying power inevitably sin. Those who insist on the sinful imperfection of all believers fail to acknowledge the full benefit and work of the Atonement. When we are born again of the Spirit, sin is not inevitable: salvation brings freedom from the power of sin in the life of the believer.

To insist that believers are necessarily sinful, or that they continue to be prone to personal sin, is to limit the power of the Atonement to bring a thorough change of character and a comprehensive victory over sin. We may sin, but when we do, we recognise that sin is contradictory and foreign to who we are in Christ. When we confess it to God and to anyone we have wronged, we are renewed in grace.

PART TWO ‘HIS SPIRIT HELPING ME’, ‘You must be born again’ – pp 47, 48 in Holiness Unwrapped.

Not one of us asked to be born. We had no choice or say in the matter. There was no possibility of selecting our parents or family. The time, place and circumstances into which we were born were determined without any help from us!

Some are born into riches, loving homes, a Christian environment and security, while others are born into poverty, terror, faithless societies and injustice. There are all kinds of variations on this. The one equalising fact is that everyone born into the world is fully and immediately loved by God. His love is extended to us all (1 John 4:19). The journey through life to discover and fully enjoy that love is different for everyone, and the road is full of choices.

God doesn’t force us into relationship with him. If, having had no say in being born, we decide to turn our back on him, we can. God allows us to exercise our free will. It’s not what he wants (1 Timothy 2:4), but he sees no virtue in forcing people to respond to his love.

On the other hand, the Bible shows that God’s love for us is so strong – so total – that he was able to demonstrate it to the fullest possible extent. Speaking of Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross, when he took the full weight of our sin on his shoulders, John 3:16 records, ‘God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life’.

The story is not only one of sacrifice, it is also of victory. The resurrection of Jesus, which demonstrated his unequivocal power over death, makes eternal life possible for us all (1 Corinthians 15:57).

We can still turn our backs on such love, of course, either pretending it didn’t happen or rejecting it as not having been requested.

But the outcome of God’s loving intervention through Jesus, is that we do have a choice in regard to being born – there’s the chance of new birth that affects our ongoing and eternal life. Put simply, we are invited to be ‘born again’ (John 3:3).

In this sense we are not born equally. leader’s manual

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CHAPTER 10 ‘FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION’, Interpretations of the holiness experience (pp 202-205 in The Salvation Army Handbook of Doctrine.)

The experience of holiness has been expressed in a number of different ways, none of which reveals the whole truth.

Some claim too little and some too much.

Care should be taken to avoid gloomy defeatism on the one hand, and pretentious perfectionism on the other. Among the most well known are the following: 1. Entire sanctification The term ‘entire sanctification’ is derived from 1 Thessalonians 5:23 (IKJV). It expresses the belief that sanctification 10 affects the whole personality and reaches the depths of the soul. The term should not be used, however, to suggest a state of sinless perfection. Rather, it means that we are whole or complete, and are conscious that sinning is foreign to our new being in Christ. If we do commit sin, we acknowledge it honestly, confess it before God, make restitution and move on.

Entire sanctification means that, while we abide in Christ, we are free from the power of sin to undermine, destroy or divide us.

We are free to be what we are called to be (2 Thessalonians 2:13-17).

2. Full salvation ‘Full salvation’ refers to the completion of Christ’s saving work in our hearts.

At our conversion, we may not grasp the fullness, nor claim the full benefit of, the Atonement. Our attempts to live the Christian life may sometimes meet with failure. This failure may cause us to discover that saving grace is also sanctifying grace: that we can be cleansed from all sin, and that we can have victory and fulfilment as disciples of Jesus. We claim – and by the power of the Holy Spirit we experience – full salvation. leader’s manual

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The concept of full salvation, however, should not be understood as a state of spiritual saturation beyond which we cannot, or will not, receive further grace. It simply refers to our faith in, and openness toward, the full gift of God’s grace. A life founded on this full gift, and changed by its powerful content, is a holy life.

Neither should full salvation be confused with final salvation which will be realised only beyond our earthly life.

3. Infilling of the Holy Spirit The infilling, or fullness, of the Holy Spirit is a phrase used to describe the fullness by which we are empowered to live the Christian life and to be witnesses to our faith. As a result, the joy of the Lord expels and replaces defeatist attitudes. Holiness is fullness in the Spirit. In using the term ‘infilling’, care should be taken not to depersonalise God by likening him to fluid that can be poured into us as empty vessels. Furthermore, this, and other interpretations of the work of the Holy Spirit, should not be taken to mean that other persons of the Trinity are excluded.

Rather, the term, ‘infilling of the Holy Spirit’ means that God himself comes into the life of the believer by the agency of the person of the Holy Spirit.

4. Baptism of the Holy Spirit The holiness experience is sometimes described as the ‘baptism of the Holy Spirit’. Baptism is a symbol of dying to ourselves and emerging as new persons in Christ which was used by the Early Church to describe the reception of the Holy Spirit at regeneration. ‘We were all baptised by one Spirit into one body’ (1 Corinthians 12:13). The ‘baptism of the Holy Spirit’ may therefore be considered as distinct from being ‘filled with the Holy Spirit’. Baptism happens once at the beginning of Christian experience, while infilling happens

repeatedly through the Christian life.

the fullness of the grace of God.

However, sometimes baptism and infilling are equated, with the phrase ‘the baptism of the Holy Spirit’, suggesting a movement beyond forgiveness of sins to a Spiritfilled newness of life. We must be careful not to place Christian experiences into separate compartments. God’s sanctifying power is a benefit and work of the same saving grace, whether it is experienced at conversion, or subsequently.

6. Blessing of a clean heart ‘Heart cleansing’ or ‘the blessing of a clean heart’ is a term used to emphasise the removal of unworthy, self-centred attitudes of the mind and heart. ‘Heart cleansing’ implies that our motivation has been purified and all our actions are now driven by love. The concept of purity of motives, however, must be used with great care. Using purification of motives as the basis, we may refuse to admit and confess any personal acts of sin: only ‘mistakes’ are admitted. Purity is a love-gift to which we open ourselves, and which we allow to claim us, but never use to our own advantage.

The term ‘baptisms in the Spirit’ has also been used to describe repeated experiences of infilling or endowments of spiritual power. The use of the term either in the singular or the plural sense can be confusing, leading to lack of clarity.

5. Second blessing The term ‘second work of grace’ or ‘second blessing’ has been used in holiness movements, including The Salvation Army, to distinguish the experience of sanctification from the experience of justification and regeneration, following the teaching of John Wesley. We should be cautious about requiring for every Christian a ‘second work of grace’ that must be chronologically subsequent to the ‘first work of grace’. The sanctifying grace of God is not limited to human timetables or explanations of its effects. For some people, full salvation may be experienced at conversion while for others it happens subsequently. A ‘second blessing’ does not imply that there are only two blessings, or that a second blessing is the final completion of Christian maturity and development. The Wesleyan doctrine of the second blessing relates to experiences of significant spiritual challenge, decision and growth, subsequent to conversion. As a vision of the potential for all believers in Christ, it is a powerful means of encouraging all Christians to partake in

7. Perfect love ‘Perfect love’ is perhaps the most comprehensive description of holiness, although a description which can be simply expressed. Through his sanctifying power, the Holy Spirit fills us with God’s perfect love, so that we begin to love, not with our own, seriously flawed love, but with the unselfish love of Christ. We are thereby equipped for the path of fulfilling Christ’s commandment: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and ‘love your neighbour as yourself ’ (Luke 10:27).

SEVENTEEN ‘JESUS ON HOLINESS’ A thought – holiness remembered, p 120, Boston Common.

A long, long time ago when the Army and its people were young, we longed for holiness. We were defined by a deep personal and corporate conviction that the Spirit of God could fill our hearts with ‘love divine’. We knew that we could be a transformed people. And we believed that leader’s manual

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through this transformation we would do great things for God.

unlovable, and befriend those who have no friends…’.

We would meet just to consider our holiness in a special meeting for the comrades. There was little show and performance but there was fervent prayer and waiting before the Lord. Many knelt at a holiness table, encouraged to come and seek an ever-deepening relationship with God…

These are worthy promises, based on the greatest commandment – to love God and our neighbour. They express well the practical implications of promising to love. They give strong indication of the wholehearted intention of those who sign – but the vows are by no means easy to keep.

Enthusiasm and intention are inspirational, and can motivate others – but on their own they are not enough. Something more is needed – something deeper and lasting – if the promises are to be fulfilled.

The years have changed us (particularly in the West) as we have morphed into our middle age…

We are still a holiness movement, we think (for our memory grows uncertain). And it 12 must be said that we debate the language of holiness more often than we practise it. There is an uneasy feeling that at some point, somewhere, holiness was replaced by abstinence and burning love by best practice. We didn’t mean that to happen.

But we assumed too much about holiness, left too many crucial things unsaid, forgot to explain it to our children and tell it to ourselves. And in not speaking our story its essence has slipped away.

PART TWO ‘SIX PRINCIPLES’ Chapter 1 Love and depth, pp 73-75 in Love – Right at the Heart.

Whoever becomes a Salvationist makes a promise to love. All who sign the Soldier’s Covenant confirm their conviction that ‘the love of Christ…requires from me this devotion of my life to his service for the salvation of the whole world’. Those who are subsequently commissioned as officers bind themselves to ‘love and serve’ Jesus Christ ‘supremely’, and ‘to live to win souls and make their salvation the first purpose of my life, to care for the poor, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, love the leader’s manual

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When we add the command of Jesus that we should love one another as he has loved us, our need for help is all the more apparent – but it has to be his help. Jesus, the source of all love (1 John 4:16), is our supreme example and provider of love. The depth of strength to genuinely love others can be found only in him.

It is true that we often find strength to love as we serve. We realise the Lord is with us – at difficult times and in unexpected ways. We learn from him in relationship as co-workers (2 Corinthians 6:1) – but it is unwise to neglect devoting specific time to being alone with him. It will always be important to give time to hear what he wants to say and receive what he wants to give. Jesus ensured regular quiet time with his Father, seeing it as the source of his strength for ministry (Mark 1:35). If Jesus was aware of his need to be alone with his Father, it is nonsense to think we can serve him adequately without doing the same. For similar reasons, Jesus invites us to share quality time with him (Matthew 11:28).

Yet is seems we often need to remind ourselves of this. We can become obsessed with caring for others, forgetting our own

needs. We take for granted our ‘automatic’ link with God, neglecting to be intentional about asking for what we need to do his work…

Every Salvationist should themselves ensure that they are ‘right at their heart’ – in true, holy relationship with Jesus. To do God’s work we need to be in harmony with him.

We need his presence and guidance and, with them, his blessing. It is through depth of relationship with him that our hearts are made pure, our resources replenished and our spirit of dedication kept alive. There is no substitute for such relationship.

The prioritising of our own spiritual life doesn’t absolve others of the need to care for us – or of our responsibility to care for them – but it does mean we are more likely to work together in harmony. If we enjoy mutual support, our service will be united, more effective and less burdensome – and honour our shared covenant in Christ. We will better impact other lives with God’s grace – thus achieving the purposes for which the Army was born…

No one can delegate to others the responsibility for nurturing their own spiritual life.

When Peter made the mistake of comparing the cost of his own discipleship with that of John’s, Jesus told him not to measure himself against other people’s dedication, adding, ‘You must follow me’ (John 21:22). First of all, within the love of Christ, we are each responsible for ourselves.

Call to celebrate Christ’s presence, p 33 in Called to be God’s People.

There have been times and there are occasions when some Christians suggest

that Christ is ‘received’ during specific ceremonies or within certain forms of worship, or because certain elements are used. But the word ‘received’ is misleading.

If Christ already indwells, we need no ceremony to ‘receive’ him. There are forms of worship which help us appreciate more deeply the presence of God in our lives, or which assist us in being more aware of his working within us, but the presence of the indwelling Christ is already established and it is this which matters above all else.

PART THREE ‘LIKE HIM I’LL BE’ The fruit of the Spirit – pp 69, 70 in Holiness Unwrapped.

13 Measuring or quantifying spiritual experience cannot be done. There is no way we can give ourselves marks out of 100 for our behaviour or obedience to God’s word and will. Trying to do so would be as foolish as it would be futile.

After all, none of us started our Christian journey from the same place. Some of us were taught the faith from an early age and saw it exampled in our parents. Others were taught the faith well, but had poor examples. Others heard a few snatches of the Gospel to a helpful or less helpful extent, and far too many have been taught to treat the whole ‘God subject’ with suspicion. Put varied intellectual capacity, social interaction, health, tragedy, selfworth and other factors into the equation, and we can see that trying to assess each other’s goodness or holy living is inappropriate too.

But we do have a reliable personal check list. The fruit of the Spirit, as listed by Paul in Galatians 5:22, are the Christlike qualities that should be developing growing – within us. He identifies the fruit as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, leader’s manual

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one rmy goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and selfcontrol. This is probably not an exhaustive list, but there’s no doubt that if we have invited the Holy Spirit into our lives, and he is living his life in us, the evidence of his presence should increasingly be apparent.

The analogy of fruit growing is significant, because it implies moving towards perfection or full maturity. Paul, who both preached and embraced holiness, openly indicated that God was still working on him. He hadn’t ‘arrived’ or ‘been made perfect’ (Philippians 3:12). He was moving heavenwards by God’s grace (v 14).

Although we have different personalities and gifts, there is no escaping the fact that if the fruit of the Spirit is not evidenced in 14 us – not seen growing in us – something is wrong and needs attention. These nine clear characteristics of God the Holy Spirit were found in Jesus and by his Spirit they can grow within us. We may develop some more easily than others, but it’s not for us to ‘pick and choose’ the ones we like best.

Jesus, through his Spirit, helps us deal with the difficult ones and if we trust him to do so we will have the joy of identifying how God himself – in a very personal way – is impacting on our daily living. Trust him to do it.

What is holiness? – p 3 in Samuel Logan Brengle: Heart for God. A spark from the fire is like the fire. The tiniest twig on the giant oak has the nature of the oak and is in that respect like the oak. A drop of water on the end of your finger from the ocean is like the ocean: not in its size, of course, but it is like the ocean in its character, in its nature.

Similarly, a holy person is like God. Not that he is infinite as God is; he does not know everything; he has not all power and leader’s manual

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wisdom as God has; but he is like God in his nature. He is good and pure, and loving and just, in the same way that God is.

Holiness, then, is conformity to the nature of God. It is likeness to God, as he is revealed in Jesus.

CHAPTER 3,’ The work of the Spirit’ – pp 20, 21 in Essentials of Christian Experience.

What was there in Jesus that was lacking in the average Pharisee? Not the element of morality. That was present and deserves full marks. Not the practice of religious exercises. The Pharisee’s dress and conduct made him as conspicuous as a Salvationist in full uniform. But with Jesus there was the quality of love which is the first of the fruits of the Holy Spirit’s presence. The ceaseless activity of love as expressed in the life of Jesus is the distinctive element in the Christian experience of holiness. Therefore Christ-likeness is holiness. Where Christ is enthroned, there is holiness. Yet holiness is never an ‘imitation’ of Christ, if by that is meant a self-conscious external patterning.

Christian holiness will spring from the inward possession of that same Holy Spirit who was in Jesus and by whose power He wrought and taught.