By Harry Edward Jessop

Chapter 20

THE HISTORY OF THE DOCTRINE

(1) The Apostles To Wesley (2) The Wesleyan Period (3) To The Present

(1) The Apostles To Wesley -- The history of the Holiness Movement is alive with interest. It has its origin in the Word of God, and finds its dynamic in the fact of Pentecost. Beginning with portraiture, prophecy, promise and precept in the Old Testament, it finds its fullness of expression in the New, and its unfolding in the history of the church. The Old Testament is, of course, anticipatory, having expressions such as the following: Ezek. 36:25: "Ye shall be clean; from all your filthiness and from all your idols will I cleanse you." Joel 2:28: "And it shall come to pass afterward. .." Zech. 13:1: "And in that day there shall be a fountain opened. ..."

Opening the New Testament, however, the style is noticeably different, and is found to indicate present blessing: Matt. 5:8: "Blessed are the pure in heart . . ." Rom. 6:6: "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him. ..... Rom. 6:11: "Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin but alive unto God." I Thess. 5:23: "And the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly . .. preserved blameless . .." It was with this conscious heritage that the church began, but it has been through a checkered history that the truth has developed; sometimes corrupted, sometimes despised, sometimes seemingly dead, then manifesting itself in unexpected power and victory, ultimately to fall back into another lull; but throughout the changing years it has never been left without a witness. , crude at times though the witness has been.

1. The testimony of fathers. After the apostles, their successors took up the testimony, and such men as Polycarp, Clement of Alexandria, Cyprian, Theophilus, Gregory, Ignatius, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Origen, Clement of Rome, Chrysostom, Cyril of Jerusalem, and others became responsible for the torch.

2. The testimony of medieval times. We use the term "medieval" in its widest sense, as indicating the period from the apostles to Wesley. During this period we may not expect to find an unbroken line of witnesses, clear cut in doctrinal expression and without other encumbrances as though we met them in an old-fashioned Methodist class meeting. Frequently we find only a flickering light, and sometimes what appears to be no light at all; but although it may lie wounded and bleeding, truth never utterly dies. Like its immortal Lord it startles its foes by coming back from the tomb in which it has been sealed, even more radiant than it was before. Early in the Christian era there began to be manifest a noticeable corruption. The combat actually began in the days of the apostles themselves. In the Colossian Epistle Paul is seen coming to grips with what he terms "philosophy and vain deceit" (Col. 2:8, 18) , while John takes up the fight with the Gnostic element which had already begun to creep in.

With the fathers, the light gradually failed. They were good men and suffered far more than we shall ever realize, but it would seem that the strenuous nature of the fight for the faith in general had the tendency at times to dim their emphasis on doctrines in particular. Dr. Lowrey: "The fathers had a morbid spirit and reckless zeal that courted suffering and death. They were more anxious to die for Christ as martyrs than to die in Christ to all sin.

"But leaving the Gnostics and Christian fathers, in whose hands the Gospel doctrine of holiness began to be disfigured and covered with rust, we enter a prolonged period in which the great truth was buried for the most part in the ashes and debris of a fallen church. It was so intermixed with foul thought and practice that many, it must be confessed, who professed it, went, in some cases, to the extreme of shocking excesses. But while smoke can cover a crystal or diamond with a coat of obscurity, it cannot penetrate the substance. It is so with the subject of holiness. Though intermingled and soiled with the mistakes and pollutions of degenerate years yet, as a neglected jewel, it sparkled here and there among the dust and trumpery of medieval superstitions. There were, all along through the Dark Ages, individuals and societies who believed in a high type of Christian perfection, and strenuous efforts were made from time to time to graduate experience up to the ideal standard.

"The doctrine of Christian perfection during medieval times was represented chiefly by five classes of exponents, namely: Fanatics, Ascetics, Mystics, Pietists, and Evangelicals. This line runs from the apostles to Wesley. There are many divergences, more or less sound; but it is a continuous line which, like the railroads, have come up from the scrap iron of absurdity to the steel rail of well-defined faith" Possibilities of Grace, pp. 19, 20).

We shall trace briefly this flickering light of full salvation through the darkened years, using as guide words the classes here suggested, with one addition which we think Dr. Lowrey has overlooked.

a. The Fanatics. They are not all dead, even yet. What a problem these people have created within the church! It is necessary, of course, to differentiate between the fanatic and the hypocrite. A hypocrite professes to be what he is not -- and usually with some selfish end in view; but a fanatic devoutly believes all that he professes, the trouble being that he allows emotion to outrun reason, and thereby loses his spiritual balance. He is frequently driven to his extremes by the laxity of other religious professors around him; but while they lose the steady spiritual glow he, in his overwrought zeal, plunges into the wildfire of excess and thus mars what would otherwise have been a useful life. Strange as it may seem, these wildfire fanatics have been overruled in the divine economy, and while their extravagances are neither to be imitated nor condoned, they are often to be recognized as the only possible medium through which God could keep a light burning even though that light became a dangerous flare rather than a steady flame. Such an one was Montanus, the founder of Montanism, back to whom the history of fanaticism may be traced. He appeared in Phrygia soon after the middle of the second century, and startled the drowsy church with the announcement that in him dwelt the Paraclete in a peculiar degree, and through him and his followers preparations were being made for the return of the soon coming Lord and the setting up of the kingdom. With him were two women, known as "prophetesses" who, in trances and ecstasies, poured forth their "messages." Strangely enough, amid all this confusion, Montanus is said to have kept straight on his doctrine so far as salvation was concerned, and here, in such a hotbed of extravagance, God saw to it that the precious truth of Christian perfection should be sheltered until more congenial surroundings could be found.

b. The Ascetics. Dr. Lowery: "Asceticism is another form of half truth and blurred holiness. This type of piety on its right side may be traced back to the Gospel itself: 'If thine right hand offend thee, cut it off; if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out'; and to Paul, who says, 'I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection.' But this needful discipline was soon pushed to shocking extremes in the form of sour asceticism.

"The first and worst type of this morbid sanctity, and that which gave rise to all the austerities and monastic orders of Romanism, took its rise in Egypt in the second century." But ethical discipline, resembling the hygienic exercise of the body, is, undoubtedly, a Christian duty, and cannot be dispensed with in the race for the highest perfection. 'Exercise thyself unto godliness,' is the Christian regimen. This virtue has been practiced in all ages of Christianity, and out of it has grown, not legitimately, but by perversion, the hybrid of extreme asceticism. We say extreme, for it must be confessed that the purest specimens of the Christian life have been found among the Ascetics. But this Christian duty has been abused, and, therefore, from Origen down, has taken on the aspect of self-torture.

"Asceticism is founded upon the idea of a perpetual conflict between the flesh and the spirit. Adopting practically the heathen and Gnostic notion, that sin is located in the body, they wage war upon its members, and aim to crucify its natural and innocent appetences. And as they cannot get rid of the body till they die, the Ascetics have at all times been obliged to put in a caveat against salvation from all sin in this life. This makes their teaching inconsistent. In one paragraph they are quite on a plane with Wesley and Fletcher; in the next they drop down among the brethren who tell us that a bit of sin is necessary to preserve our humility. How absurd! A deposit of death to keep us alive!

"Among the Ascetics who held to sublime holiness with the remains of some sin may be named Macarius, of Egypt; Nilus, a Greek disciple; and Marcus Eremita. The faith of these men, like Fenelon, Madame Guyon, DeRenty, like Chalmers and Edwards of later times, rose to the verge of full salvation, and yet, like St. Augustine, and the whole Calvinistic school, they were fettered with the servile belief that concupiscence or some sin must remain till death" (Possibilities of Grace, pp. 22, 23). Here, then, we see the beginning of the corruption of the truth which has developed on the one hand into the Roman heresy, and on the other into numerous more subtle ideas which have been styled evangelistic; but through it all the witness has persisted.

c. The Mystics. "Mysticism" is a queer combination of truth and error. By it many have been allured into a maze from which they have never emerged into clear light; and yet, withal, by a strange divine overruling, some of the choicest saints of the ages have been found among these people, and through their instrumentality the truth of Christian perfection has been preserved. Concerning Mysticism Dr. Lowrey writes:

"This form of marred truth figures largely in the ancient struggle for attainment of sublime holiness. Like Asceticism, it took its origin in Egypt in the second century, under Ammonius Saccas, a native of that country. He attempted to lift a lofty standard of sanctity by forming a coalition between the Egyptian, Platonic, and Christian philosophies and religions -- another foolish attempt to blend truth and error, light and darkness -- the first instance of Broad-Churchism. From this cockle and wheat sprung Mystics, which have since ramified into various sects. The Mystics did not differ much in their austerities and the Ascetics, only they were more extreme and, cases, more absurd. And yet as the underlying principle was personal sanctity, it could not perish. On the theory of the immortality of truth and the necessary survival of the fittest, it has outlived every change, defied on, and transfused itself into every spiritual religion, from Ammonius, of the second century, to the eighteenth.

"Its vital element was early incorporated into all that was good and true in Catholicism, and from Catholicism it has been transferred into the Pietism of the Moravianism of Bohemia, the Quakerism of England and America, and finally into the Methodisms that now belt the world. Luther himself was a Mystic and commended mystic theology. The germinal principle of Mysticism in Fenelon, Madame Guyon, De Renty, Thomas a'Kempis, William Law, Spener, Peter Bohler, and largely Wesley and Fletcher. Mysticism was based on the great truth that there is a hidden sense in the text of Scripture which the carnal mind receive. No doctrine is more absolutely true. But some of them rode this splendid hobby to destruction. They ran into hallucination and vagary, and found sense where there was nothing but nonsense. The bottom fact, however, was a truth which has been most hollowing in all ages. For it must be confessed that this principle of superior enlightenment by an unction from the Holy One is Scriptural and, as such, has been aimed at and coveted by all the spiritual from the days of Christ until now.

"The misfortune of the church in all periods has been, not so much the loss of truth, as the corruption of truth; not the extinction of the sparks and embers of the holy fire, but the covering of them with error and superstition. And the duty of the church today is not to discover and put forth a new doctrine, but to burnish up the old; not to coin a new currency out of other and richer minerals, but to rub off the tarnish and dirt from the very fine gold that lies neglected and trampled under foot all around us. The great mission of the ministry is the universal propagation of this faith, and a revival of a corresponding experience" (Possibilities of Grace, pp. 24-26).

d.The Pietists. With the Reformation came a tremendous awakening, but so far as personal holiness was concerned it was merely a beginning. Out of the controversy, however, came the expression of that deep-rooted desire for likeness to God; hence in the seventeenth century came the rise of "Pietism," a movement in Holland and Germany led by one named Spener. The essential mark of Pietism was the quest for individual holiness. It was the necessary reaction against a type of religion that was rigidly doctrinal but laid no stress on a high spiritual attainment in the present life. The Pietists laid stress on devotion rather than doctrine. "The real proof of one's standing in grace and justification by faith lies in love and obedience in the passion for practical holiness." It was necessary and possible for the regenerate to fulfill all the divine commands. There seems to have been no uniform doctrine of perfection among the Pietists, but the movement represents at least an awakening in the direction of the teaching of full salvation now soon to be proclaimed by that great apostle of truth, John Wesley.

e. The Quakers. While in Holland and Germany the Pietists were reviving the teaching of personal holiness, a movement in the same direction was being felt in England. George Fox, Isaac Pennington and others were receiving what was felt to be divine revelation concerning the "inner light." These men were not satisfied with reformation teaching but with deeper insight insisted that the holiness taught by the Lutheran school demanded another emphasis; it was not imputed but real. Thus, on many sides, came signs of awakening, until at last the great evangelical revival burst upon the world.

(2) The Wesleyan Period -- With the opening of the eighteenth century, came the new era of clear teaching on the subject of Bible holiness; yet not even this period may be claimed as a steady witness to the experience, for even since Wesley there has been much to regret. Yet it has never been allowed to sink so low as in those earlier years, for the great evangelical revival did something for the cause of holiness which the passing of the years has not been able to erase. John Wesley was born at Epworth parsonage on June 17, 1703, and died at the ripe old age of eighty-eight years, having been for sixty-five years before the public eye. Of him it is said that, "he was carried to his grave by six poor men, leaving behind him nothing but a good library of books, a well-worn clergyman's gown, a much-abused reputation, and-the Methodist Church" (Wesley and His Century, Fitchett, p. 9). Yet Wesley's legacy to the world was tremendous. Without his contribution we should have been poor indeed. Around him were gathered very ordinary people, mostly poor, many of them having been lifted from a life of squalor and sin; but out of these he fashioned a church and sent it forth on the same great business of evangelism, emphasizing one great fact -- salvation from all sin, for all men, in this life. Two years before his death Mr. Wesley wrote, "This doctrine is the grand depositum which God has lodged with the people called Methodists; and for the sake of propagating this chiefly He seems to have raised, us up" (Letter to R. C. Brackenbury, Esq. )

Many names are worthy of note in connection with early Methodism (the student should see Wesley's Veterans, 7 vols. ): but the outstanding characters of the period, so far as full salvation is concerned, are three whose names have been a blessed memory to every succeeding generation. They are: John Wesley-preacher and traveler, chief exponent of full salvation truth, and founder of the Methodist Church. Charles Wesley-also a preacher, but chiefly a hymn writer and the chosen channel of God to embody the truth of holiness in hymns for the Methodist Church. These hymns are the church's choice heritage, although to many they are nothing more than a relic of a past day. John Fletcher-that, for the sake of convenience, was the English form of the name which he adopted-was a clergyman of the Anglican Church; a scholar, a saint, and a skilled apologist of full salvation truth, as his writings, especially Checks to Antinomianism, will show. The results of this evangelical revival was twofold:

1. Nationally. Affecting the entire land, it brought a moral change into the country at large. Sin was rampant. Darkness was upon the people. Revolution was in the air. Soon, however, a change was recognized, for the entire land underwent a moral clean-up such as only a divine visitation could bring. At this same period France plunged into atheism and red revolution, but by the grace of God, under the instrumentality of Wesley, Britain began to throb with the urge of a mighty religious awakening, the effects of which have never wholly worked themselves out of the national life. Dr. Fitchett: "Wesley may challenge the judgment of mankind by the test of the mark his work has left on the history of the English-speaking race. His contribution to that history may be compressed into a single sentence. He restored Christianity to its place as a living force in the personal creed of men and in the life of the nation. It was a change profound and wonderful, carrying in itself the pledge and the secret of a thousand other changes. For more than fifty years-from the moment he broke through all ecclesiastical conventions and preached on the moors at Kingswood to the rough miners, down to the moment speech failed on his lips in the death chamber at City Road-Wesley was the greatest force in England. And he was a force for all that Christianity means" (Wesley and His Century).

2. Ecclesiastically. Wesley's monument is the Methodist Church-and that is a miracle in itself. Dr. Fitchett: "In the case of Wesley, many of the ordinary elements of power were visibly lacking. He was to the day of his death a poor man, if only because he gave away everything he possessed. He was, at the moment when his career takes the scale of history, a clergyman without a charge, a leader without a party, a preacher with every pulpit in three kingdoms shut against him" (Wesley and His Century). Today that church belts the globe and wherever Christ is known the name of Wesley is soon known also.

(3) To the Present Day -- The revival under Wesley was by no means an isolated event. It was rather a source event. That is to say, within it were forces destined to affect both localities and generations far beyond its immediate range. It would be safe to say that there is no evangelical force today, whatever its peculiar emphasis, which is not indebted, directly or indirectly, to the Wesleyan source. There are, however, distinct channels which must be named as direct resultants of this event because of their emphasis on Wesleyan doctrine. Every land has its own part in the story, but here we can take up only that which concerns the British Isles and America. We join these two countries because in Wesley they possess a mutual heritage; for while it was in the former country that the stream of blessing began, it was from the latter that it flowed back, and that with renewed emphasis. The campaigns of American holiness evangelists and teachers such as James Caughey, C. G. Finney, Inskip, McDonald, Amanda Smith, and others, backed by the writings of Daniel Steele, Asa Mahan, J. A. Wood, T. C. Upham and others, were used to establish full salvation testimony in Britain when again it seemed likely to die, so that today there is a mutual indebtedness in the two countries which neither can disregard.

1. Holiness in the British Isles. We place Britain first for chronological reasons; for it was here under Wesley that the work began, and from this center it spread. We shall trace in barest outline what have seemed to be the outstanding influences for Second-Blessing holiness in that land.

a. The influence of original Methodism. This was discussed earlier in the chapter.

b. The influences within Methodism. While standing nominally for the doctrine of the Second Blessing, the Methodist Church as a whole has now ceased to teach it. Yet within its borders the light still burns; faithful ministers and laymen here and there, often at personal cost, are bearing a loyal witness to the Savior from all sin. The two principal centers avowedly standing for this truth are Cliff College and the Southport Convention.

c. The influences without Methodism. These are numerous. The largest body is the Salvation Army. William and Catherine Booth,, the founders of this organization, were clear and uncompromising exponents of this interpretation of New Testament teaching, and where its officers are truly spiritual it is still a power for Second Blessing holiness and its most effective gathering is the holiness meeting. Beyond this, however, are other smaller but no less effective agencies which, during recent decades, have been raised up to propagate the truth. For many years the chief interdenominational center was Star Hall, Manchester. The fame of its marvelous conventions became internationally known. In Scotland, the Faith Mission was established in 1866 and is still sending out its pilgrims two by two, both in Britain and in Canada, with the message of full salvation. There also the Pentecostal Church of Scotland has borne a loyal witness, later to become affiliated with the Church of the Nazarene. Among the churches in general has been the witness of the Pentecostal League of Prayer. (This is not to be confused with modern Pentecostalism. ) Contemporary with these are agencies as the International Holiness Mission, with its British and South African work. the Emmanuel Church, Missionary Bible School and foreign agencies; the Calvary Holiness Church; and numerous other local and independent works. Mention should also be made of the holiness missionary societies, among which are: The Japan Evangelistic Band, The Japan Rescue Mission, The World Wide Evangelistic Crusade, and a representation of the Oriental Missionary Society which, of course, is American in its origin, but international in its scope.

2. Holiness on the American continent. On the American side this testimony has worked itself out through numerous avenues: churches, associations, camp meetings, conventions, tabernacles, colleges, Bible schools, missionary organizations, and the like. a. The witness of Methodism. It began thus: Wesley had visited Georgia, but being himself without a conscious heart experience had returned to England a disillusioned and disappointed man. Then came Wesley's spiritual transformation and the beginning of Methodism in Britain. Whitefield visited America and did good work. In 1760 Methodists from Ireland arrived, settling in New York and Maryland, and reaching out into Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Another company also landed from County Limerick, and were soon busy in the work of establishing American Methodism. In the British conference of 1769, held in Leeds, John Wesley said, "We have a pressing call from our brethren in New York (who have built a meeting house) to come and help them. Who is willing to go?" Joseph Pilmoor and Richard Boardman volunteered, and two months later we hear Pilmoor on the steps of the Old State House in Philadelphia "delivering a Methodist sermon."

Other Methodists came out, among them Francis Asbury, and soon revival was in the air. Then came the Revolution. Every English preacher except Asbury left the country, and Asbury went into retirement, leaving the Methodists a disorganized, leaderless company. In 1783 peace was signed, and Asbury, with a few local preachers, is again seen. Wesley, seeing the need of separate Methodists in a separated America, ordained Dr. Thomas Coke as its first bishop and, with Richard Whatcoat and Thomas Vasey, sent him to America. Dr. Coke rode a thousand-mile circuit to meet his preachers. In 1784 a conference was held, and the Methodist Episcopal Church came into being, Francis Asbury being elected by acclamation to work with Dr. Coke as Bishop. Until that time Asbury had been only an itinerant preacher.

On Christmas day Dr. Coke called him to the altar rail and made him a deacon, the next day he again called him forward and made him an elder, the next day he laid his hands on his head and called him bishop; and so in Baltimore, with sixty preachers and a membership of two thousand seventy-six, American Methodism was officially born. (For more details see, See These Banners Go, Mead).

Those were days of wonderful blessing. Concerning them much could be written, did space permit. Bishop Asbury wrote: "For the past two years, amid innumerable trials, I have enjoyed almost inexpressible sensations. Our Pentecost is come in some places for sanctification. I have good reason to believe that upon the eastern shore four thousand have been converted since the first of May last, and one thousand sanctified" (Journal). Rev. Henry Boehm's Diary: Writing of Bishop Asbury he says: "There were one hundred forty-six converted and seventy-six sanctified during the day. During the meeting there were reported 1,321 conversions and 916 sanctifications. At sunset they reported 339 conversions and 122 sanctifications." "Here we have the work of God plainly stated in the old Methodist way by the venerable Father Boehm, the sainted centenarian of American Methodism, who was an eye witness and participator in the meetings he reports. It is no wonder that Bishop Asbury wrote in his Journal, 'Our day of Pentecost is fully come"' (Perfect Love, pp. 152, 153).

This, like other spiritual waves, at length subsided and formalism came in, but in 1847 the testimony of holiness again began to revive, and in western New York the Nazarites Movement began to manifest itself. Within Methodist circles bitter antagonism and ruthless opposition developed, focusing itself against Benjamin T. Roberts in the Geneses Conference. This warrior for the faith later became the founder of the Free Methodist Church. The East Coast revival. About this time New York began to feel the throb of Second Blessing holiness teaching through the witness of Mrs. Phoebe Palmer. She and her husband, Dr. Palmer, opened their home for a holiness meeting each Tuesday evening for more than forty years. From practically every part of the country and from many other countries people are said to have come to these services. Dr. and Mrs. Palmer traveled extensively in America, Canada, and in Europe, preaching and teaching this truth.

Associated with this period are the names of a number of mighty men. Bishop Hamline, Dr. George Peck, Dr. F. G. Hibbard, Dr. Nathan Bangs, Dr. Jesse T. Peck, Dr. T. C. Upham, Rev. John Inskip, Rev. William McDonald, Rev. C. G. Finney, Dr. Asa Mahan, and others.

b. The witness beyond Methodism. Holiness may have been the sacred trust of Methodism; it certainly was; but it was no more a Methodist prerogative than Christ and salvation were the exclusive property of the Jewish people. Spiritual forces cannot be localized, and although Methodism led the advance, the time was coming for the bursting of hands and the breaking of barriers. First, there was the organization of the National Association for the Promotion of Holiness, which had its roots in Methodism. Concerning this we give the historical sketch presented by its president, Dr. C. W. Butler, in the Association report, 1932-1936.

"About the close of the Civil War in this country many godly souls in different Christian communities became greatly concerned over the lack of spiritual power in the church of their day and the prevailing worldliness in different sections of the country special meetings were held for the promotion of vital spirituality, or holiness. Some very devout Methodist preachers were especially burdened in spirit because of the waning interest of their church in the doctrine and experience upon which it was founded, and for the spreading of which God seemed to have raised them up. Evangelistic fervor and spiritual power were being displaced by formality and worldliness. John S. Inskip, the illustrious first president of our organization, writing about this condition said: 'It was conceded by all candid minds that something must be done to excite among professing Christians a deeper interest in this momentous theme, i. e. , holiness. The prevalence of worldliness and formality seemed to call loudly for a special effort on the part of those concerned for the extension and ascendancy of evangelical religion.'

"These Methodist preachers came together from time to time for consultation and prayer, and were quite clear as to the great need of a revival of the preaching and experience of holiness in the church; but as to the methods of promoting such a revival, they were not clear. But a message from heaven came to that godly man, W. B. Osborne, of the New Jersey Conference, and, unable to restrain himself, he took the train to New York and hastened to the study of John S. Inskip, and with a soul full of holy passion and fire said, 'I feel that God would have us hold a holiness camp meeting.'

"Inskip was ready for that message, and together they fell on their knees and cried to God for wisdom and guidance. They prayed, waited, wept, and believed, and heaven opened and the glory came upon them as God revealed His pleasure to them; and they rose, clasped hands, and with hearts full and eyes streaming pledged their fidelity to God and holiness. And then and there the Association for the Promotion of Holiness was born. When they separated it was settled that a holiness camp meeting should be held, and by the grace of God there would be at least two tents there. It had also been agreed that other brethren who were like-minded concerning this great doctrine should be invited to meet with them for consultation as to when and where this meeting should be held.

"This brought together in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on June 13, 1867, that company of noble and godly men including the venerable Dr. Roberts of Baltimore, who was made chairman, and Rev. John Thompson of the Philadelphia Conference, who was appointed secretary -- who waited upon God under a profound sense of the importance and responsibility of the subject in hand until the divine plan was revealed to them. It was the most fraternal and religious business meeting any of us ever attended,' writes Inskip. There was one continued earnest invocation for the light and aid of the Holy Spirit. The considerate and deferential manner of everyone who spoke on the occasion was so marked as to convince all present that God had taken the affair into His own hands and would lead us on to victory. Under the guidance and illumination of the Holy Spirit certain things were settled at that meeting.

"To inaugurate a camp meeting movement had already been decided. John S. Inskip and William Osborne settled that. But when and where to hold the first meeting was discussed in the Philadelphia gathering, and Vineland, N. J. , was unanimously chosen. Then came the question of the name. It was not to be an ordinary camp meeting. They had a specific object in view, and that was to spread Scriptural holiness, not among Methodists only, but among all believers, and not only in one particular section of the country, but throughout the land. They cherished the largest catholicity of spirit, and resolved to invite all evangelical denominations to join with them at once in the great undertaking before them. They had faith for a nation-wide holiness revival. So they adopted the name 'National Camp Meeting,' and were careful to set forth the fact that the object of the meeting was the promotion of holiness among believers.

"This did not mean that the conversion of the unsaved was not to be sought after. The multitudes who were saved in their camp meetings proved this. It did mean, however, that the great outstanding object these men had in view was the sanctification of those who had already been justified. And they knew also, as John Wesley said after he had obtained the experience, that 'the more explicitly and strongly believers are pressed to aspire after full salvation as obtainable here and now by simple faith, the more the whole work of God will prosper.' Hence, they determined that the camp meeting which was to inaugurate a great revival movement should be distinguished from all other meetings of like character in that it was a national, interdenominational meeting for the specific purpose of promoting holiness among believers and, thereby, the success and prosperity of the church of Jesus Christ in all departments of soul-saving activity. The National Association for the Promotion of Holiness is now the corporate name of the organization which came into being at the national camp meeting of 1867. "

This association has been the instrument in developing some of the mighty leaders in the interdenominational ministry of this doctrine, among whom should be mentioned: John S. Inskip, William McDonald, Charles J. Fowler, Joseph H. Smith, Henry C. Morrison, Edward Walker, Seth C. Rees, Phineas F. Bresee, C. W. Ruth, and others. In 1910 the Missionary department of this Association was organized for the spread of Scriptural holiness in foreign lands, and has developed its work especially in China, Africa, and India.

Concerning the early days of this movement Rev. J. A. Wood writes: "Never, perhaps, since the days of primitive Christianity, has there been a more general manifestation of the Spirit and power of God to purify human hearts and save sinners than at the services of this Association." The great gatherings at Vineland, Manheim, Round Lake, Oakington, Des Plains, Hamilton, Urbana, Moundsville, Landisville, Cedar Rapids, Wesley Grove, Clear Lake, Old Orchard, Sacramento, Salt Lake, and San Francisco will never be forgotten ... The comparatively low religious life of the whole American Protestant Church at the close of the war felt the impulse and has been benefited by the revival of Christian holiness" (Perfect Love, pp. 274, 275).

In the last ten years the Association held thirty-four national camp meetings in, at least fifteen states, besides tabernacle meetings on both shores of the continent. Colleges and Bible schools followed the organization of National Association. Worldly tendencies in the educational system and the denominational schools began to concern the leaders of this spiritual awakening. This led to the founding of colleges with the emphasis on holiness evangelism. At the same time, these leaders of the new movement recognized the imperative need of definite theological training for the young preachers, both male and female, which led to the organization of Bible training schools to offset the lack which was felt to exist in the theological seminaries.

Distinctive holiness churches also began to appear. These are now both numerous and strong. Their founders recognized, as did Wesley in the beginning, that only organization could conserve the work, and so set themselves to spread and preserve the doctrine along denominational lines. Added to these must be recognized the many independent holiness tabernacles throughout the country, whose leaders are now drawing closer together in their determination to spread the truth. To this end an Association of Holiness Tabernacles has been formed. Holiness literature should also be mentioned here. The books written on this subject have become an extensive library, while the holiness periodicals are far too numerous here to record.