I remember as a student pastor being asked the question by district credential boards: How often do you preach about holiness? This used to be a question on annual pastor’s reports and district license renewal forms. I have not done an annual pastor’s report for a few years, so I do not know if this is still a question. My answer to this was simple: always. Every sermon somehow preaches holiness. I have come to see how that answer was a bit simplistic and perhaps a bit naive but I still think there is some truth to it.
An obvious question is, What constitutes a holiness sermon? The answer will depend on what’s definition or description of holiness. If we talk about holiness in broad terms, it involves being remade into God’s image of love and righteousness through the power of Jesus’ death and resurrection and the spiritual infilling of the Holy Spirit within us. Holiness is the gospel; the gospel is holiness. In this regard, if a sermon is Christian, it is on the topic of holiness, otherwise, it is not Christian. It is a psychological lecture, story-telling time, or Jewish homily. Any sermon that is Christian must lead people to Jesus. I have heard too many sermons from pastors that were not Christian and thus not holiness.
One can more narrowly define holiness as a doctrine in the order of salvation in systematic theology. This is how a lot of people think of it and perhaps what the question on credential forms intends. In this regard, holiness is the act of totally committing ourselves to God and allowing God to fill us with the Holy Spirit. Thus, one might preach a “holiness” sermon or a series on “holiness.” It might include a sermon on entire sanctification, walking in holiness, holiness as transformation, or many other narrow topics. I would like to make a few suggestions about this narrow definition of holiness.
Every sermon, if it is to be effective, must call people to decision in regards to who is Lord of their lives. If a pastor preaches exegetical sermons, the topic of a passage may determine how to state the question or invitation. Some passages will speak very specifically about matters of salvation and lend themselves very nicely to a traditional narrow holiness sermon. Other passages will deal with broader topics and the preacher will need to connect these topics to transformation in Christ. Not every sermon will deal with the doctrine of holiness but every sermon must present Christ as the answer to life’s needs. Otherwise, it is not a Christian sermon.
I have heard some pastors almost apologize for preaching holiness, as if the church people might be offended by good ole’ holiness preaching. This is a sad misunderstanding of both people’s capabilities and what good ole’ preaching is or was. If we believe holiness is at the heart of the gospel, then we must preach it with fervency and urgency, not as a side topic we cover once or twice a year. If we do not present people with the goal of Christlikeness and freedom from the power of slavery to sin, we should not be in the pulpit. We should are missing the reason Jesus died on the cross. We are neglecting the power of the empty tomb.
Finally, we must not muddle the message by poor explanation of what holiness is. If we as preachers cannot explain it to a child or to the most learned person in our congregation, then we have several options. The best option is to read our Bibles, read them deeply, study the details, come to understand the central message of the whole Bible. Another option is to read quality books or go back to school. A third option is to take a sabbatical and relive holiness in our own lives until it saturates who we are. Whatever we do, holiness is not an option for the preacher.
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