Recently I was on a youth camp and in one of the workshops I talked about the history and beliefs of the Church of the Nazarene. I was talking about how the church evolved out of several holiness movements within the United States and how these movements where mainly serving to drug and alcohol addicts. I mentioned that John Wesley said ‘There is no holiness but social’ when I was interrupted by one of the teenagers who asked: “Are we still doing that today?” I asked back what she meant by that. “Are we still working with drug and alcohol addicts? Are we still socially living out holiness?” Good question don’t you think?

In the workshop were people present from almost every church within the district. They all shared a little about what they do in their church. Others said that they are not really busy amongst the ‘poor’ and one teenager was totally shocked by the fact that her church doesn’t do anything in this area.

We were continuing talking about how the internal change, or also called sanctification, results in an external action and not vice versa. All of them started thinking how much of that kind of holiness is really present in their church environment. Fact is that we see more and more evidence of a simulating holiness that is mainly based on keeping the forms, traditions, and customs right. A kind of holiness that tries to work vice versa. The question we all should ask ourselves is: Is there any evidence for true holiness – stimulating holiness? And is there any evidence that this kind of holiness makes a difference in your church environment.

Maybe the question to begin with is a question we all need to ask ourselves: To what extend am I dragged into a simulating holiness, which I perceive to be real? Getting lost in the maintenance of an institution by holding up the forms, traditions, and customs can gradually takes place number one on your priority list. Maintaining the institution is not wrong if the intention is that the church can fulfill its mission because maintenance is not the mission.

Further, to what extend are you a person living a stimulating holiness? Are you stimulating others into a relationship with Jesus by serving them? Again such holiness is stimulated by the Holy Spirit himself who works the internal change that transfers to an outward reaction – serving others.

To be honest we all have a little of both – but what are your priorities? We all enjoy the simulating holiness because that is what we are good in and it gives us at least the impression that we do something good. We also see instant effect of our actions because if nothing changes we were successful. Stimulating holiness can sometimes go unnoticed in our perception but God sees it. What a joy if we can do something with what the Holy Spirit does in us! I am sure that is why John Wesley found most blessing in servanthood and links it directly to sanctification.

“Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.” Hebrews 13:2

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