The task of the current Doctrine Council is to re-write the doctrine book in modern language. Our founding fathers determined, by the order of the general, a collective of our best teachers would be responsible to take on this task. Lt. Colonel Earl Robinson is the current chairman and the Council has written the first draft of the new book.
This is the text for training Officers and Soldiers regarding the biblical foundation of what we believe. I have spent two years on a search for truth about the doctrine of Holiness. What I have found is: Truth is personal. It comes down to the rules we set for ourselves when looking at the facts. Every line of research begins with a bias. Truth must always be evaluated from a sense of credible faith. Faith is determined by the strength of testimony. When the testimony is wrong the people stray from truth. We declare that all of our doctrines are based on Scripture,
"We Believe that the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by the inspiration of God and that they only constitute the divine rule of Christian faith and practice"
I had the privilege of researching the work of the Doctrine Council for three days in London and was given full access to the Archives. I have learned many things.
The Army world is becoming polarized. One group is traditional, defending history as though it were a holy relic. The other is charismatic, in search of new forms of expression which will bring spirit back into worship. Each group is convinced the other is the barrier to true growth.
What can the Doctrine Council do? It is faced with the task of writing a book defining the rules for Christian faith and practice; yet to reflect the will of the people they would have to write two books. The issue is not history or forms of worship: it is purity.
The issue is not whether we will sound contemporary or what uniform to wear or even sacraments or the gift of tongues. The problem is purity of heart. What distinguishes the 19th from the 20th century soldier is his view of what is right and what is wrong. If we remove the lesson of death of self, and replace it with incremental accumulation of social graces, the result is: selfish people who do good things.
It is not difficult to see how institutions become top-heavy with rules and regulations. The church must be a unified people who have in common the purity supplied by entire sanctification. When the church is managed by people who believe in being good instead of people who are holy by the act of the Spirit of God, the system fails. Why? Because men are trying to manage God's mission with selfish perspective.
A new doctrine book will only be as effective as the people it represents. My conclusion is: I must give testimony to a doctrine that has changed my view of what is right and wrong. The daily witness of my actions will determine the credibility of my doctrinal view. The doctrines of the Salvation Army must be the collective of a people committed to living Holy lives in a broken world. If we yield to the urge to make ourselves look good instead of surrendering self to become holy; we will fade into history as an outdated good idea.
General Coutts in Call to Holiness says:
"The experience of Christian holiness may finally be defined as one in which the whole man is re-directed towards the highest spiritual end - that is, likeness to Christ, and in this he is granted the continual help of the Holy Spirit."
This statement is important to the understanding of process and growth in the Spirit. The next statement in the General's book is misleading:
"The whole man - for in considering this doctrine we must not make the mistake of supposing that holiness means the eradication of any of our normal human appetites. The redirection - yes; but the elimination of none."
This statement has led many modern day salvationists to feel inbred sin is not removed at entire sanctification. It would be incorrect to interpret General Coutts as meaning our founders were wrong in saying:
We believe that it is the privilege of all believers to be "wholly sanctified"," and that "the whole spirit, and soul and body" may be "preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." That is to say, we believe that after conversion their remains in the heart of the believer inclinations to evil, or roots of bitterness, which, unless overpowered by Divine grace, produce actual sin; but that these evil tendencies can be entirely taken away by the spirit of God, and the whole heart, thus cleansed from everything contrary to the will of God, or entirely sanctified, will then produce the fruit of the Spirit only. And we believe that persons thus entirely sanctified may, by the power of God, be kept unblamable and unreprovable before God.
There is a difference between Humanity and Carnality. Humanity means weakness. Carnality is willful disobedience. General Coutts as quoted by his son John in The Salvationist says:
"Christian Holiness is more than poise, though he who knows Christ will know a heart's repose. It is more than the cultivation of courtesy...this experience is nothing less than final dethronement of self and the infilling of the surrendered life to the spirit of Him who is the summation of all virtue."
The General's statement about humanity not being eradicated is dealing with weaknesses in the body and mind not with willful disobedience.
Carnality on the other hand must be destroyed. These two issues must not be confused. The crises of heart purity is a second work of grace, which is the action of God the Holy Spirit for the removal of carnality (inclinations to evil). The danger of leaning too far in the direction of process is that we are tempted to bypass the issue of purity. Without purity there is no maturity. As long as we operate without the work of a pure heart we are managing God's work with a carnal mind.
Godly missions managed by men who still have a carnal mind become impotent. Fruit-bearing is only possible from those whose hearts are pure. Without purity of spirit, soul, and body, there can be no entire sanctification. The crux of this whole issue is: those who insist that there is no second work of grace are denying the need for heart purity.
Great theologians have disagreed on this doctrine. But the testimony and the fruit of those who believe in the destruction of the old nature is incomparable to the declining fruit of today's Army. Where are the testimonies? Where is the fruit? Those who doubt what I am saying need only look at the work filled ministries today which have so little fruit. When we follow the Biblical model of conversion, entire sanctification, maturity, and fruit, we will know revival again.
We must not confuse humanity (human weakness) with carnality (inherited inbred sin). Inbred sin must be put to death. If you will seek this blessing with all your heart God will bring entire sanctification.
This crises so aptly described by general Coutts is essential to Christian holiness. Paul describes the experience in 1Thess. 2:10 "You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed." We too must have God's witness to the final dethronement of self. Paul adds in 1 Thess. 5:23-24 "May God himself, the God of peace, Sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it."
God has not called us to measure ourselves by ourselves. He is the one who calls us to holiness. All spiritual truth requires the test of faith. History and personal testimony is proof. Those who believe for sanctifying fire bear fruit. Holiness fire sets the world aflame with divine energy and the foolish euphoric party life of modern religion will quickly dim in the true light of God.
1.Add a paragraph clearly stating the issue of the death of carnality, which is the crises of purity. Pursuit of Christ-like virtues without this crises is hopeless.
2. The statement, "Holiness is not the eradication of sin", is misleading. It is true, we are never absent the free will to sin. But there is an instantaneous death of the inclination to sinning, which transforms the human soul and turns the believer away from sinful inclinations. This moment of entire sanctification equips the soul with a powerful desire to please God.
3. Reinstate the section defining the conditions of Entire Sanctification found in earlier doctrine books. At present there is no clear step by step description for the soldier on how to claim the blessing of a pure heart. THE BESTOWAL OF SANCTIFICATION, as of every other gift of God's grace, is CONDITIONAL--it depends upon the whole-hearted co-operation of the person to be benefitted.
Assuming that regeneration has already taken place, the necessary conditions are: conviction, renunciation, consecration, faith.
[As you read the earlier Doctrine books you can clearly see our founding fathers believed that inbred sin can be entirely eradicated so we may live without sin.]
4. Repair the earlier amendment paragraph in the holiness doctrine by simply removing the "roots of bitterness" clause. Put the rest of the paragraph back in. Defining entire sanctification as the removal of the inclination to sin is good theology.
We believe that it is the privilege of all believers to be "wholly sanctified"," and that "the whole spirit, and soul and body" may be "preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." That is to say, we believe that after conversion their remains in the heart of the believer inclinations to evil which, unless overpowered by Divine grace, produce actual sin; but that these evil tendencies can be entirely taken away by the spirit of God, and the whole heart, thus cleansed from everything contrary to the will of God, or entirely sanctified, will then produce the fruit of the Spirit only. And we believe that persons thus entirely sanctified may, by the power of God, be kept unblamable and unreprovable before God. (SA Doctrine Book 1913)
E-mail your comments to: Bshiels@midwest.net
Captain William Shiels
P.O. Box 1112
Marion, IL 62959
Also see other Holiness works by this author at http://www.getnet.com/~n6wa/holiness/holiness.html
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