Holiness Pentecostalism

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The Azusa Street Revival at the Apostolic Faith Gospel Mission AFM on azusa street.jpg
The Azusa Street Revival at the Apostolic Faith Gospel Mission

Holiness Pentecostalism is the original branch of Pentecostalism, which is characterized by its teaching of three works of grace: [1] the New Birth (first work of grace), [2] entire sanctification (second work of grace), and [3] Spirit baptism evidenced by speaking in tongues (third work of grace). [1] [2] The word Holiness refers specifically to the belief in entire sanctification as a definite, second work of grace, in which original sin is cleansed, the heart is made perfect in love, and the believer is empowered to serve God. [3]

Contents

Holiness Pentecostalism emerged under the work of ministers Charles Fox Parham and William Joseph Seymour, the latter of whom, beginning in 1906, led the Azusa Street Revival at the Apostolic Faith Gospel Mission. [4] The testimony of those who attended the Azusa Street Revival was "I am saved, sanctified, and filled with the Holy Ghost" in reference to the three works of grace taught by Holiness Pentecostals, the oldest branch of Pentecostalism. [1] According to church historian and theologian Ted A. Campbell, this three-part pattern is often explained by stating "Holy Spirit cannot fill an unclean vessel", so the cleansing of the heart that takes place in entire sanctification is necessary before a person can be filled or baptized with the Holy Spirit. Inheriting the Wesleyan-Holiness doctrine, Holiness Pentecostals teach entire sanctification is a definite second work of grace, accomplished in an instantaneous crisis experience, that cleanses the heart of the recipient from all sin and imparts to him/her the power to accomplish that to which he is called. It is evidenced by love for God and love for neighbour. [1] Holiness Pentecostals operate within the framework of Wesleyan (Methodist) theology with the exception of the uniquely Holiness Pentecostal belief in a third work of grace (traditional Wesleyan theology affirms two works of grace—the New Birth and entire sanctification). [5] William Joseph Seymour and Florence Crawford published The Apostolic Faith newsletter, which disseminated the teachings of the Holiness Pentecostal movement. [6]

Holiness Pentecostals teach that believers should dress and behave in a manner becoming unto holiness, and as such, historically, Holiness Pentecostals (such as the Apostolic Faith Church and Calvary Holiness Association) traditionally adhere to holiness standards, which include modest dress, as well as abstinence from alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. The holiness standards vary based on the group and while many Holiness Pentecostal denominations such as the Apostolic Faith Church have specific 'holiness standards', other denominations in the present-day, such as the International Pentecostal Holiness Church, have general principles of living contained in their covenant. [7] [8]

Holiness Pentecostals are distinguished from Finished Work Pentecostals, the other branch of Pentecostalism that separated from Holiness Pentecostalism after William Howard Durham in 1910 began to promulgate his view that "salvation and sanctification occurred for the believer at the time of conversion". [9] [10]

History

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William Joseph Seymour.jpg
Charles Fox Parham and William Joseph Seymour, two ministers who established the Pentecostal Christianity

Pentecostal Christianity was established under the work of Charles Fox Parham and William Joseph Seymour. [4] Charles Fox Parham was originally a Wesleyan-Holiness preacher, and in 1901, under his ministry "a student had spoken in tongues (glossolalia)" and Parham thought this to be evidence of baptism in the Holy Spirit. [4] Parham established a Bible school to train students in what he called the "Apostolic Faith" (Holiness Pentecostalism). [4] William Joseph Seymour, originally a Holiness Restorationist minister in the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana), met Charles Fox Parham in Texas through Lucy F. Farrow and there, Parham encouraged Seymour to attend his classes. [4] Seymour did this and then accepted Parham's teaching of a third work of grace (Spirit Baptism evidenced by speaking in tongues). [4]

At the home of Richard Asberry on Bonnie Brae Street in April 1906, Seymour and other Christians spent a month fasting and praying, after which they received the third work of grace. [4] Word spread of this and crowds began to gather to hear Seymour's preaching. [4] To accommodate the increasingly large number of people who wished to attend these services, William Joseph Seymour secured a deconsecrated African Methodist Episcopal church on Azusa Street, which they renamed as the Apostolic Faith Gospel Mission. [4] There, church services lasted into the nighttime. [4] The Apostolic Faith Gospel Mission had a lower room where people became entirely sanctified and an upper room where people prayed to receive the third work of grace. William Joseph Seymour would only let believers who had received the second work of grace (entire sanctifiation) into the upper room. [1] At the Azusa Street Revival, the testimony of those who attended the Azusa Street Revival was "I am saved, sanctified, and filled with the Holy Ghost". [1] The reporter Frank Bartleman wrote that "Pentecost has come to Los Angeles, the American Jerusalem." [4]

William Joseph Seymour and Florence Crawford published a newsletter titled The Apostolic Faith to spread word of Holiness Pentecostal teaching; this was distributed at no cost to recipients. [11] At that time, the Apostolic Faith Gospel Mission held three services a day, all days of the week, and there "thousands of seekers received the baptism of speaking in tongues." [11] When Florence Crawford moved to Portland, she began the Apostolic Faith Church there. [6]

Denominations

Bible colleges

Camp meetings

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Speaking in tongues</span> Phenomenon in which people speak words apparently in languages unknown to them

Speaking in tongues, also known as glossolalia, is an activity or practice in which people utter words or speech-like sounds, often thought by believers to be languages unknown to the speaker. One definition used by linguists is the fluid vocalizing of speech-like syllables that lack any readily comprehended meaning. In some cases, as part of religious practice, some believe it to be a divine language unknown to the speaker. Glossolalia is practiced in Pentecostal and charismatic Christianity, as well as in other religions.

Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement that emphasizes direct personal experience of God through baptism with the Holy Spirit. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, an event that commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ while they were in Jerusalem celebrating the Feast of Weeks, as described in the Acts of the Apostles.

The Apostolic Faith Church of Portland, Oregon, also known as the Apostolic Faith Mission of Portland, Oregon, is an international Holiness Pentecostal denomination of Christianity, with nationwide reach and headquartered in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was founded in 1907 by Florence L. Crawford, who was affiliated with William J. Seymour and the Azusa Street Revival of Los Angeles, California. By 1908 Crawford had independently founded what would become the Apostolic Faith Church. Since July 2000, the Superintendent General of the Apostolic Faith Church has been Darrel Lee.

The Holiness movement is a Christian movement that emerged chiefly within 19th-century Methodism, and to a lesser extent influenced other traditions such as Quakerism, Anabaptism, and Restorationism. The movement is historically distinguished by its emphasis on the doctrine of a second work of grace, which is called entire sanctification or Christian perfection. The word Holiness refers specifically to the belief in entire sanctification as a definite, second work of grace, in which original sin is cleansed, the heart is made perfect in love, and the believer is empowered to serve God. Churches aligned with the holiness movement additionally teach that the Christian life should be free of sin. For the Holiness movement, "the term 'perfection' signifies completeness of Christian character; its freedom from all sin, and possession of all the graces of the Spirit, complete in kind." A number of Christian denominations, parachurch organizations, and movements emphasize those Holiness beliefs as central doctrine.

Oneness Pentecostalism is a nontrinitarian religious movement within the Protestant Christian family of churches known as Pentecostalism. It derives its name from its teaching on the Godhead, a form of Modalistic Monarchianism commonly referred to as the Oneness doctrine. The doctrine states that there is one God―a singular divine spirit with no distinction of persons―who manifests himself in many ways, including as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This stands in sharp contrast to the doctrine of three distinct, eternal persons posited by Trinitarian theology.

The Azusa Street Revival was a historic series of revival meetings that took place in Los Angeles, California. It was led by William J. Seymour, an African-American preacher. The revival began on April 9, 1906, and continued until roughly 1915.

The Statement of Fundamental Truths is a confession of faith outlining the 16 essential doctrines adhered to by the Assemblies of God USA. These doctrines are heavily based on other evangelical confessions of faith but differ by being clearly Pentecostal. Of the 16 articles, four are considered core beliefs "due to the key role they play in reaching the lost and building the believer and the church". They are the doctrines concerning salvation, the baptism in the Holy Spirit, divine healing, and the Second Coming of Christ. The Statement of Fundamental Truths has undergone several permutations since its original adoption in 1916 despite common claims that it has remained largely unchanged.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Pentecostal Holiness Church</span> Pentecostal denomination

The International Pentecostal Holiness Church (IPHC) or simply Pentecostal Holiness Church (PHC) is an international Holiness-Pentecostal Christian denomination founded in 1911 with the merger of two older denominations. Historically centered in the Southeastern United States, particularly the Carolinas and Georgia, the Pentecostal Holiness Church now has an international presence. In 2000, the church reported a worldwide membership of over one million—over three million including affiliates.

Sanctification literally means "to set apart for special use or purpose", that is, to make holy or sacred. Therefore, sanctification refers to the state or process of being set apart, i.e. "made holy", as a vessel, full of the Holy Spirit of God. The concept of sanctification is widespread among religions, including Judaism and especially Christianity. The term can be used to refer to objects which are set apart for special purposes, but the most common use within Christian theology is in reference to the change brought about by God in a believer, begun at the point of salvation and continuing throughout the life of the believer. Many forms of Christianity believe that this process will only be completed in Heaven, but some believe that complete entire sanctification is possible in this life.

In Christian theology, baptism with the Holy Spirit, also called baptism in the Holy Spirit or baptism in the Holy Ghost, has been interpreted by different Christian denominations and traditions in a variety of ways due to differences in the doctrines of salvation and ecclesiology. It is frequently associated with incorporation into the Christian Church, the bestowal of spiritual gifts, and empowerment for Christian ministry. Spirit baptism has been variously defined as part of the sacraments of initiation into the church, as being synonymous with regeneration, or as being synonymous with Christian perfection. The term baptism with the Holy Spirit originates in the New Testament, and all Christian traditions accept it as a theological concept.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William J. Seymour</span> African American holiness preacher

William Joseph Seymour was an African-American holiness preacher who initiated the Azusa Street Revival, an influential event in the rise of the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements. He was the second of eight children born to emancipated slaves and raised Catholic in extreme poverty in Louisiana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Fox Parham</span> American preacher and evangelist (1873–1929)

Charles Fox Parham was an American preacher and evangelist. Together with William J. Seymour, Parham was one of the two central figures in the development and early spread of American Pentecostalism. It was Parham who associated glossolalia with the baptism in the Holy Spirit, a theological connection crucial to the emergence of Pentecostalism as a distinct movement. Parham was the first preacher to articulate Pentecostalism's distinctive doctrine of evidential tongues, and to expand the movement.

Within many denominations of Christianity, Christian perfection is the theological concept of the process or the event of achieving spiritual maturity or perfection. The ultimate goal of this process is union with God characterized by pure love of God and other people as well as personal holiness or sanctification. Other terms used for this or similar concepts include entire sanctification, perfect love, the baptism with the Holy Spirit, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, baptism by fire, the second blessing, and the second work of grace.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assemblies of God USA</span> Pentecostal Christian denomination

The Assemblies of God USA (AG), officially The General Council of the Assemblies of God, is a Pentecostal Christian denomination in the United States and the U.S. branch of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, the world's largest Pentecostal body. The AG reported 2.9 million adherents in 2022. In 2011, it was the ninth largest Christian denomination and the second largest Pentecostal denomination in the United States. The Assemblies of God is a Finished Work denomination, and it holds to a conservative, evangelical and classical Arminian theology as expressed in the Statement of Fundamental Truths and position papers, which emphasize such core Pentecostal doctrines as the baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, divine healing and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

The Fire-Baptized Holiness Church was a holiness Christian denomination in North America and much of the denomination was involved in the early formation of Pentecostalism, the advent of which caused a schism in the church; it continues today in the following denominations: International Pentecostal Holiness Church, Fire Baptized Holiness Church of God of the Americas, Bible Holiness Church and Wesleyan Holiness Alliance.

Finished Work Pentecostalism is a major branch of Pentecostalism that locates sanctification at the time of conversion; afterward the converted Christian progressively grows in grace. On the other hand, the other branch of Pentecostalism—Holiness Pentecostalism teaches the Wesleyan doctrine of entire sanctification as a definite second work of grace, which is a necessary prerequisite to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Finished Work Pentecostals are generally known to have retained the doctrine of progressive sanctification from their earlier Reformed roots, while Holiness Pentecostals retained their doctrine of entire sanctification from their earlier Wesleyan roots.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Howard Durham</span>

William Howard Durham was an early Pentecostal preacher and theologian, best known for advocating the Finished Work doctrine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second work of grace</span> Christian belief of interaction with God

According to some Christian traditions, a second work of grace is a transforming interaction with God which may occur in the life of an individual Christian. The defining characteristics of the second work of grace are that it is separate from and subsequent to the New Birth, and that it brings about significant changes in the life of the believer.

Pentecostalism is a renewal movement within Protestant Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal relationship with God and experience of God through the baptism with the Holy Spirit. For Christians, this event commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the followers of Jesus Christ, as described in the second chapter of the Book of Acts. Pentecostalism was established in Kerala, India at the start of the 20th century.

Protestant theology refers to the doctrines held by various Protestant traditions, which share some things in common but differ in others. In general, Protestant theology, as a subset of Christian theology, holds to faith in the Christian Bible, the Holy Trinity, salvation, sanctification, charity, evangelism, and the four last things.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Synan, Vinson (30 January 2012). The Century of the Holy Spirit: 100 Years of Pentecostal and Charismatic Renewal, 1901–2001. Thomas Nelson. ISBN   978-1-4185-8753-6. Most of the first generation of Pentecostals were from this holiness stream that had its roots in Methodism. ... When the Pentecostal movement began, these "Holiness Pentecostals" simply added the baptism in the Holy Spirit with tongues as "initial evidence" of a "third blessing" that brought power for witnessing to those who had already been sanctified. With the news tongues experience, sanctification was seen as a prerequisite "cleansing" that qualified the seeker to experience the "third blessing" of baptism in the Holy Spirit. An early prophetic utterance stated ominously that "My Spirit will not dwell in an unclean temple." Seekers were encouraged to abandon all the roots of bitterness and original sin so that nothing would block their reception of the Spirit. In fact, it was told that Seymour would not admit seekers to enter the upper room to seek the baptism until he was satisfied that their sanctification experience had been certified downstairs. The historic Azusa Street testimony was "I am saved, sanctified, and filled with the Holy Ghost."
  2. ↑ Barrett, David B. (July 1988). "The Twentieth-Century Pentecostal/Charismatic Renewal in the Holy Spirit, with its Goal of World Evangelization". International Bulletin of Missionary Research. 12 (3): 119–129. doi:10.1177/239693938801200303. ISSN   0272-6122. S2CID   149417223.
  3. ↑ "Sanctification (In Depth)". Apostolic Faith Church . Retrieved 12 June 2024. For this reason, the experience of sanctification is also sometimes referred to as "holiness." The verb sanctify has three basic meanings: "to make holy or purify," "to consecrate or to separate from ungodliness and dedicate to God," and finally, "to hallow." A study of these words reveals that sanctification is the purification of the heart of a person—a dedication to God and an eradication of the sin nature. A holy and sanctified person, then, is one who has been consecrated or set apart to serve God and is cleansed from his old sin nature.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Synan, Vinson. "Pentecostalism: William Seymour". Christian History Institute. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  5. ↑ Bagheri, Alireza (13 April 2021). Abortion: Global Positions and Practices, Religious and Legal Perspectives. Springer Nature. p. 93. ISBN   978-3-030-63023-2.
  6. 1 2 Alexander, Estrelda Y.; Yong, Amos (1 January 2009). Philip's Daughters: Women in Pentecostal-Charismatic Leadership. Wipf and Stock Publishers. p. 24. ISBN   978-1-55635-832-6.
  7. ↑ "Holiness in Appearance". Apostolic Faith Church. 2024. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  8. ↑ Gardner, J. Talmadge; Ely, Bob; Nisbett, Michelle; Spencer, Shirley G. (2021). Manual (PDF). International Pentecostal Holiness Church. p. 63-71.
  9. ↑ Anderson, Allan (13 May 2004). An Introduction to Pentecostalism: Global Charismatic Christianity. Cambridge University Press. p. 47. ISBN   978-0-521-53280-8. Those who resisted Durham's teaching and remained in the 'three-stage' camp were Seymour, Crawford and Parham, and Bishops Charles H. Mason, A. J. Tomlinson and J. H. King, respectively leaders of the Church of God in Christ, the Church of God (Cleveland) and the Pentecostal Holiness Church. Tomlinson and King each issued tirades against the 'finished work' doctrine in their periodicals, but by 1914 some 60 percent of all North American Pentecostals had embraced Durham's position. ... The 'Finished Work' controversy was only the first of many subsequent divisions in North American Pentecostalism. Not only did Pentecostal churches split over the question of sanctification as a distinct experience, but a more fundamental and acrimonious split erupted in 1916 over the doctrine of the Trinity. ... The 'New Issue' was a schism in the ranks of the 'Finished Work' Pentecostals that began as a teaching that the correct formula for baptism is 'in the name of Jesus' and developed into a dispute about the Trinity. It confirmed for Holiness Pentecostals that they should have no further fellowship with the 'Finished Work' Pentecostals, who were in 'heresy'.
  10. ↑ Leonard, Bill J.; Crainshaw, Jill Y. (5 December 2012). Encyclopedia of Religious Controversies in the United States: [2 volumes]. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p. 306. ISBN   978-1-59884-868-7. Finished Work Pentecostalism is inseparable from the influence of William Howard Durham (1873–1912). A Pentecostal minister based in Chicago, Durham was active throughout the Midwest and in parts of Canada. In 1910, he began to preach on "The Finished Work of Calvary", a message that rejected the Wesleyan understanding of sanctification as a distinct second experience of grace separate from conversion and which bestowed "Christian perfection" on the recipient. For Durham, both salvation and sanctification occurred for the believer at the time of conversion, when the believer appropriated the "finished work" of Christ on the cross.
  11. 1 2 Montier, Carolyn; Montier, Gerald (11 July 2011). Remembering the Past Apostolic Faith Mission Celebrating the Present Apostolic Faith Church of God. p. 4. ISBN   978-1-4567-4020-7.
  12. 1 2 3 James Leo Garrett, Systematic Theology, Volume 2, Second Edition, Wipf and Stock Publishers, USA, 2014, p. 395; "Those branches of the Pentecostal movement in the United States which arose from the Holiness movement have retained the Wesleyan doctrine of entire sanctification and made baptism in or with the Spirit to be the third essential experience (e.g., Church of God, Cleveland, Tennessee, Pentecostal Holiness Church, and Church of God in Christ)."
  13. ↑ Jones, Charles Edwin (1983). A Guide to the Study of the Pentecostal Movement. Scarecrow Press. p. 705. ISBN   978-0-8108-1583-4.

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