9 Scriptural Reasons for Holiness

The research for this post comes from a message preached by Rev. John R. Church, D.D., in 1968, at the Central Holiness Camp Meeting in Wilmore, KY. Dr. Church was a General Evangelist for the United Methodist Church. The 9 Reasons are Biblically based. This blog merely puts forth the the Word of God. The reader's agreement or disagreement is with the Lord, not the writer.

1. God has sworn that we can be holy, and live it. Luke 1:73-75: The oath which he sware to our father Abraham, That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,  In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.
2. God commands us to be holy. 1 Peter 1:15-16: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
3. It is God's will that we be sanctified. 1 Thess 4:3:For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:
4. God calls us to holiness. To despise this call, is to despise God. 1 Thess 4:7-8: For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.
5. Jesus died that we might be sanctified. Heb 13:12: Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.
6. Jesus is not ashamed of those of those who are sanctified. Heb 2:11:For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,
7. No one can get to heaven without holiness. Heb 12:14:Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
8. God chastens us in order to make us partakers of His holiness. Heb 12:6-10:For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
9. It is God's choice for us. Eph 1:4:According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.

Welcome to the International Wesleyan Holiness Association

Greetings! My name is Barry Jenkins Sr and I am a Director of the International Wesleyan Holiness Association. First, thank you for visiting our blog. Please return often as we will be adding new content on a regular basis. Second, it is fair to ask in this first blog post, "What is the IWHA and why have you started it at this time?" The answer begins in 1976. It starts with my love for books and book stores. I answered an altar call at a Baptist Church in 1974 and began my Christian walk. I graduated from Old Dominion University in 1976 and entered law school that same year in the fall at the College of William and Mary. Across the street from the law school at 255 Richmond Road was a Christian book store called the Maranatha House. Maranatha can be interpreted as "Come, Lord." I was familiar with the term so I knew I was walking into a Christian book store. On an afternoon in the fall of 1976 I walked into the little book store and expected to see what was new in Christian books. Little did I realize that this one event would be a turning point in my life. I met an elderly gentleman in his 80's named Brother J. Herbert Norton who said he was the owner. As I looked around the book store I saw books written by people I had never heard of, e.g. "Uncle" Bud Robinson, J.A. Wood, Bishop Foster, M.W. Knapp, Beverly Carradine and too many more to name. It was explained to me that these were holiness books. Over the next three years I learned much sitting at the feet of Rev. Norton who explained the doctrine of entire sanctification to me. Rev. Norton did not live long enough to see the seeds he planted into my heart bear fruit, but they did. Years later, I would experience what it meant to have a pure heart and be entirely sanctified. I have had several detours in my life, but I always returned back to being in the "holiness crowd." A second person who had a major impact in my life is Rev. Duane Maxey. He was instrumental in providing the tools to enable me to mature in my faith and in an understanding about the doctrine and experience of entire sanctification.

So the answer to the questions, "what is the IWHA and why have you started it at this time," are threefold:
1. To continue the ministry of Rev. Herbert Norton, the Wesleyan Holiness minister that sowed the first seeds into my life about Biblical holiness; and
2. To spread the DVDs and flash drives of Rev. Duane Maxey around the world. These DVDs and flash drives contain a lifetime of materials that can be used by one in the ministry, whether pastoring at home or on the mission field, or for the layman that wants to read the books and stories that will encourage them to walk in Scriptural Holiness; and
3. Finally, and most importantly, to bring honor and glory and worship to the Father, Son and Holy Ghost and to bring the message of salvation to the lost and entire sanctification to the believer.

While I never post to argue and debate, if you have questions that we can help you with, please do ask and we will respond. We also support orphans and widows around the globe. In addition, we allow ministries and ministers to affiliate with us for the purposes of prayer and support.

May you be blessed as you read the books, devotions and blog posts.