January 22

Read: Luke 1:67-75

Blessed be the Lord God… for he hath visited and redeemed his people… that we… might serve him… in holiness and righteousness.., all the days of our life (Luke 1:68-75).

Holiness Is Central

The doctrine of holiness has been called “the central idea of Christianity,” “the supreme message of the church,” “the keystone in the arch of God,” and “the holy of holies of the Christian church.” Why do men who study the Bible and God’s work in the human heart thus magnify the supreme importance of this experience and life? It is because holiness is the central truth in our Christian faith.

A great saint and a careful theologian testified that he was converted one day and went on into the experience of Christian holiness the next. He often said that he got converted so that he could get sanctified. In this attitude he was entirely scriptural. We are saved in order that we may be sanctified wholly, just as we are sanctified in order to live a life of holiness.

There are other great and vital truths in God’s plan for our salvation: Christ atoned for our sins; He died for our redemption; through His sacrifice we may be justified by faith. These are important; but standing alone they are incomplete. They are important in the same sense that every mile of a journey is important. But without the doctrine of holiness they are as a man who travels far toward home, only to end his journey one mile short of his hearthstone, Holiness is as that last mile; it is not the entire journey, but it is an advanced stage of our salvation for which all of the earlier steps have been taken.

He who has pardoned surely will cleanse thee, All of the dross of thy nature refine. Cleansed from all sin, His power will enter, Fill you and thrill you with power divine.

— Mrs. C. H. Morris