What is holiness?

1675–1680 · Stephen Charnock, Discourses upon the Existence and Attributes of God 11

God is only absolutely holy; “There is none holy as the Lord” (1 Sam. ii. 2); it is the peculiar glory of his nature; as there is none good but God, so none holy but God. No creature can be essentially holy, because mutable; holiness is the substance of God, but a quality and accident in a creature. God is infinitely holy, creatures finitely holy. He is holy from himself, creatures are holy by derivation from him. He is not only holy, but holiness; holiness in the highest degree, is his sole prerogative.

1675–1680 · Stephen Charnock, Discourses upon the Existence and Attributes of God 11

As sincerity is the lustre of every grace in a Christian, so is purity the splendor of every attribute in the Godhead. His justice is a holy justice; his wisdom a holy wisdom; his arm of power a holy arm (Ps. xcviii. 1); his truth or promise a holy promise (Ps. cv. 42). Holy and true go hand in hand (Rev. vi. 10). His name, which signifies all his attributes in conjunction, is holy (Ps. ciii. 1); yea, he is “righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works” (Ps. cxlv. 17): it is the rule of all his acts, the source of all his punishments. If every attribute of the Deity were a distinct member, purity would be the form, the soul, the spirit to animate them. Without it, his patience would be an indulgence to sin, his mercy a fondness, his wrath a madness, his power a tyranny, his wisdom an unworthy subtilty.

1675–1680 · Stephen Charnock, Discourses upon the Existence and Attributes of God 11

As the highest heaven is called the heaven of heavens, because it embraceth in its circle all the heavens, and contains the magnitude of them, and hath a greater vastness above all that it encloseth, so is God the Holy of holies; he contains the holiness of all creatures put together, and infinitely more. As all the wisdom, excellency, and power of the creatures if compared with the wisdom, excellency, and power of God, is but folly, vileness, and weakness; so the highest created purity, if set in parallel with God, is but impurity and uncleanness (Rev. xv. 4): “Thou only art holy.” It is like the light of a glow‑worm to that of the sun (Job xiii. 15); “The heavens are not pure in his sight, and his angels he charged with folly” (Job iv. 18). Though God hath crowned the angels with an unspotted sanctity, and placed them in a habitation of glory, yet, as illustrious as they are, they have an unworthiness in their own nature to appear before the throne of so holy a God; their holiness grows dim and pale in his presence.

1675–1680 · Stephen Charnock, Discourses upon the Existence and Attributes of God 11

In regard of his righteousness, he loves righteousness (Ps. xi. 7); “The righteous Lord loveth righteousness,” and “hath no pleasure in wickedness” (Ps. v. 4). He values purity in his creatures, and detests all impurity, whether inward or outward. We may, indeed, distinguish the holiness of God from his righteousness in our conceptions: holiness is a perfection absolutely considered in the nature of God; righteousness, a perfection, as referred to others, in his actions towards them and upon them.

1680–1681 · Thomas Manton, Works, vol. VIII Several Sermons Upon the CXIX. Psalm, Sermon CLVII. Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it

God is essentially, immutably, infinitely holy: he loveth himself so much as he can be loved. His essence and his being is the same with his holiness. Our holiness is a superadded quality. God’s holiness is like a vessel of pure gold, where the substance is the same with the lustre; but our holiness is like a vessel of earth gilded with gold; the substance is one thing, the varnish another. But yet this God and Christ must ever be before our eyes; we must be holy as he is holy; we must always be increasing in holiness. We must come into an abiding state of holiness. There must be some kind of conformity between God and us, and Christ and us; and head and members must be all of a piece. He will shoot farther that aimeth at a star, than he that aimeth at a shrub; so he will be more holy that doth as God doth, than he that doth as sinful creatures do, like himself.

1692 · Thomas Watson, A Body of Divinity, Contained in Sermons upon the Westminster Assembly's Catechism 3.7

God's holiness consists in his perfect love of righteousness, and abhorrence of evil. ‘Of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on iniquity.'

1710 · Matthew Henry, Commentary on Psalms 30.1-5

They believe him to be a God of unspotted purity; and therefore let them sing to him; "Let them give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness; let them praise his holy name, for holiness is his memorial throughout all generations." God is a holy God; his holiness is his glory; that is the attribute which the holy angels, in their praises, fasten most upon, Isa. vi. 3; Rev. iv. 8. We ought to be much in the mention and remembrance of God's holiness. It is a matter of joy to the saints that God is a holy God; for then they hope he will make them holy, more holy.

1754 · John Wesley, Explanatory Notes on Revelation 4.8

God is separate from all things. He is, and works from himself, out of himself, in himself, through himself, for himself. Therefore, he is the first and the last, the only one and the Eternal, living and happy, endless and unchangeable, almighty, omniscient, wise and true, just and faithful, gracious and merciful. Hence it is, that holy and holiness mean the same as God and Godhead: and as we say of a king, "His Majesty;" so the scripture says of God, "His Holiness," Heb. xii, 10. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. When God is spoken of, he is often named "the Holy One:" and as God swears by his name, so he does also by his holiness; that is, by himself. This holiness is often styled glory: often his holiness and glory are celebrated together, Lev. x, 3; Isaiah vi, 3. For holiness is covered glory, and glory is uncovered holiness.

1767 · John Gill, A Body of Doctrinal Divinity Chapter 20. Of The Holiness Of God

Holiness is the purity and rectitude of his nature; whose nature is so pure, as to be without spot or stain, or anything like it: he is light and purity itself, and in him is no darkness or impurity at all; as “he is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity”, so he is of a purer heart and mind than to have one sinful thought in it: his thoughts are not as ours; he is the pattern of purity and holiness, and to be copied after: men should be holy, as and because he is holy; it is one of the imitable perfections of God, in which he is to be followed; though it cannot be attained to, as it is in him, (Lev. 11:44, 45, 19:2; 1 Peter 1:15, 16).

1820 · John Tillotson, Works, Volume 6 141

So that the holiness of God, is not a particular, but an universal perfection, and runs through all the moral perfections of the Divine nature; it is the beauty of the Divine nature, and the perfection of all his other perfections: take away this, and you bring an universal stain and blemish upon the Divine nature; without holiness, power would be oppression; and wisdom, subtilty; and sovereignty, tyranny; and goodness, malice and envy; and justice, cruelty; and mercy, foolish pity; and truth, falsehood. And, therefore, the Scripture speaks of this, as God’s highest excellency and perfection. God is said to be “glorious in holiness:” (Exod. xv. 11.) Holiness is called God’s throne: (Psal. xlvii. 8.) “He sitteth upon the throne of his holiness.” This is that which makes heaven: (Isa. lxiii. 15.) it is called, “the habitation of his holiness, and of his glory;” as if this were the very nature of God, and the sum of his perfections.

1878 · Charles G. Finney, Lectures on Systematic Theology 15

As a moral attribute of God, it is that peculiarity of his benevolence which secures it against all efforts to obtain its end by other means than those that are morally and perfectly pure. His benevolence aims to secure the happiness of the universe of moral agents, by means of moral law and moral government, and of conformity to his own subjective idea of right. In other words, holiness in God is that quality of his love that secures its universal conformity, in all its efforts and manifestations, to the Divine idea of right, as it lies in eternal development in the Infinite Reason.

1895 · John Skinner, The Expositor's Bible: The Book of Ezekiel Part V. The Ideal Theocracy, Chapter XXVI. The Sanctuary. Chapters xl.-xliii

That Jehovah is the one truly holy Being is the common doctrine of the prophets, and it means that He alone unites in Himself all the attributes of true Godhead. The Hebrew language does not admit of the formation of an adjective from the name for God like our word “divine,” or an abstract noun corresponding to “divinity.” What we denote by these terms the Hebrews expressed by the words qādôsh , “holy,” and qōdesh, “holiness.” All that constitutes true divinity is therefore summed up in the Old Testament idea of the holiness of God. The fundamental thought expressed by the word when applied to God appears to be the separation or contrast between the divine and the human—that in God which inspires awe and reverence on the part of man, and forbids approach to Him save under restrictions which flow from the nature of the Deity. In the light of the New Testament revelation we see that the only barrier to communion with God is sin; and hence to us holiness, both in God and man, is a purely ethical idea denoting moral purity and perfectness.

1949 · Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology 4.10

In Scripture the quality of holiness applies first of all to God, and as applied to Him its fundamental idea is that of unapproachableness. And this unapproachableness is based on the fact that God is divine and therefore absolutely distinct from the creature. Holiness in this sense is not merely an attribute to be co-ordinated with others in God. It is rather something that is predicable of everything that is found in God. He is holy in His grace as well as in His righteousness, in His love as well as in His wrath. Strictly speaking, holiness becomes an attribute only in the later ethical sense of the word. The ethical meaning of the term developed out of the majesty-meaning.

1820 · John Tillotson, Works, Volume 6 141

The general notion of holiness is, that it is a separation from a common and ordinary, to a peculiar and excellent use. And this notion of holiness is applicable either to things or persons. To things: thus the vessels of the tabernacle, and the vestments of the priests, were said to be holy, because they were separated from common use, and appropriated to the peculiar and excellent use of the service of God. Holiness of persons is twofold; either relative and external, which signifies the peculiar relation of a person to God; such were called ἱερεῖς, priests, or holy men: or else habitual and inherent; such is the holiness of good men, and it is a separation from moral imperfection, that is, from sin and impurity: and this is called ὁσιότης and the primary notion of it is negative, and signifies the absence and remotion of sin.

1858 · Horace Bushnell, Sermons for the New Life 23

Holiness is not what we may do or become, in mere self-activity or self-culture, but it is the sense of a separated quality, in one who lives on a footing of intimacy and oneness with God. The original word, represented by our word holiness, means separation, or separateness; the character of being drawn apart, or exalted, by being consecrated to God and filled with inspiration from God. It supposes nothing unsocial, withdraws no one from those living sympathies that gladden human life. On the contrary, it quickens all most gentle and loving affinities and brings the subject just as much closer in feeling to his fellow-man, as he is closer to God, and less centralized in himself. But it changes the look or expression, raising, in that manner, the apparent grade of the subject and separating him from whatever is of the world, or under the spirit of the world. He is not simply a man as before, but he is more, a man exalted, hallowed, glorified. The divine tempers are in him, the power of the world is fallen off, his words have a different accent, his acts an air of repose, dignity, sanctity, and the result is that mankind feel him as one somehow become superior. It stirs their conscience to speak with him, it puts them under impressions that are consciously not of man alone. This is holiness—the condition of a man, when he is separated visibly from the world and raised above it, by a divine participation.

1881 · Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Spurgeon's Sermons, Volume 27 (1881) 1618

Oh to make a dedication of ourselves to God without reserve and then to stand to it forever—that is the way of holiness! But this does not complete the idea of holiness unless you add to it conformity to the will and Character of God.

1883 · Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Spurgeon's Sermons, Volume 29 (1883) 1738

We are chosen unto holiness! The Father chose us to Himself that we might be without blame before Him in love. He would have us blameless, so that no man can justly find fault with us. He would have us harmless, so that our lives may injure none but bless all. Holiness is, however, more than this. We are called to be made whole by being healed of the disease of sin and by having all our broken powers reunited into one harmonious whole. This restored nature is to be wholly consecrated to God and thus to become holy before God.

1890 · G. A. Chadwick, The Expositor's Bible: The Book of Exodus Chapter XV

And when holiness is attributed to man, it never means innocence, nor even virtue, merely as such. It is always a derived attribute: it is reflected upon us, like light upon our planet; and like consecration, it speaks not of man in himself, but in his relation to God. It expresses a kind of separation to God, and thus it can reach to lifeless things which bear a true relation to the Divine. The seventh day is thus “hallowed.” It is the very name of the “Holy Place,” the “Sanctuary.” And the ground where Moses was to stand unshod beside the burning bush was pronounced “holy,” not by any concession to human weakness, but by the direct teaching of God. Very inseparable from all true holiness is separation from what is common and unclean. Holy men may be involved in the duties of active life; but only on condition that in their bosom shall be some inner shrine, whither the din of worldliness never penetrates, and where the lamp of God does not go out.

1891 · Andrew Murray, The New Life: Words of God for Young Disciples 16

Holiness is the filling with that which is good, divine, with the disposition of Jesus. Conformity to Him -- this is holiness: separation from the spirit of the world; the being filled with the presence of the Holy God -- this is holiness. The tabernacle was holy because God dwelt there; we are holy, as God’s temple, after we have the indwelling of God. Christ’s life in us is our holiness.

1949 · Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology 4.10

Israel had its sacred places, its sacred seasons, its sacred rites, and its sacred persons. This is not yet the ethical idea of holiness, however. One might be a sacred person, and yet be entirely devoid of the grace of God in his heart. In the old dispensation, as well as in the new, ethical holiness results from the renewing and sanctifying influence of the Holy Spirit. It should be remembered, however, that even where the conception of holiness is thoroughly spiritualized, it is always expressive of a relation. The idea of holiness is never that of moral goodness, considered in itself, but always that of ethical goodness seen in relation to God.

1551 · John Calvin, Commentary on 2 Peter 1.18

In the holy mount. He calls it the holy mount, for the same reason that the ground was called holy where God appeared to Moses. For wherever the Lord comes, as he is the fountain of all holiness, he makes holy all things by the odor of his presence. And by this mode of speaking we are taught, not only to receive God reverently wherever he shews himself, but also to prepare ourselves for holiness, as soon as he comes nigh us, as it was commanded the people when the law was proclaimed on Mount Sinai. And it is a general truth, “Be ye holy, for I am holy, who dwell in the midst of you.”

1551 · John Calvin, Commentary on 1 Peter 1.15

In bidding us to be holy like himself, the proportion is not that of equals; but we ought to advance in this direction as far as our condition will bear. And as even the most perfect are always very far from coming up to the mark, we ought daily to strive more and more. And we ought to remember that we are not only told what our duty is, but that God also adds, “I am he who sanctify you.”

1655–1662 · William Gurnall, The Christian in Complete Armour Part 17. DIRECTION SIXTH. The Several Pieces of the Whole Armour of God. Second Piece—The

Holiness is called the ‘new man after God,’ that is, according to the likeness of God—such a sculpture on the soul or image as is drawn after God, as the picture after the face of a man. Again, ‘true holiness,’ or holiness of truth, either respecting the word, which is the rule of holiness, and then it means a Scripture holiness, not pharisaical and traditional; or else it respects the heart, which is the seat of truth or falsehood. True holiness in this sense is holiness and righteousness in the heart. There must be truth of holiness in the inner parts. Many a man’s beauty of holiness is but like the beauty of his body, skin deep, all on the outside.

1660 · Thomas Watson, The Beatitudes 16

‘Whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son’ (Romans 8:29). God predestinates us to Christ’s image, which image consists ‘in righteousness and true holiness’ (Ephesians 4:24). So that till you are holy, you cannot show any sign of election upon you, but rather the devil’s brand-mark.

1673 · Richard Baxter, A Christian Directory Chapter I

On the other side, a state of holiness is nothing else but the habitual and predominant devotion and dedication of soul, and body, and life, and all that we have, to God; and esteeming, and loving, and serving, and seeking him, before all the pleasures and prosperity of the flesh; making his favour, and everlasting happiness in heaven, our end, and Jesus Christ our way, and referring all things in the world unto that end, and making this the scope, design, and business of our lives. It is a turning from a deceitful world to God; and preferring the Creator before the creature, and heaven before earth, and eternity before an inch of time, and our souls before our corruptible bodies, and the authority and laws of God, the universal Governor of the world, before the word or will of any man, how great soever; and a subjecting our sensitive faculties to our reason, and advancing this reason by Divine revelation; and living by faith, and not by sight: in a word, it is a laying up our treasure in heaven, and setting our hearts there, and living in a heavenly conversation, setting our affections on the things above, and not on the things that are on earth; and a rejoicing in hope of the glory to come, when sensualists have nothing but transitory, brutish pleasures to rejoice in. This is a state and life of holiness: when we persuade you to be holy, we persuade you to no worse than this; when we commend a life of godliness to your choice, this is the life that we mean, and that we commend to you.

1674 · John Owen, Pneumatologia, or a Discourse Concerning the Holy Spirit (Books I-V) 4.6

All the internal actings of our minds, all the volitions of the will, all the motions of our affections, are to be regulated by that word which requires us to love the Lord our God with all our minds, all our souls, and all our strength. Hereby is their regularity or irregularity to be tried. All that holiness which is in them consists in their conformity to the revealed will of God. (3.) With respect unto all our outward actions and duties, private and public, of piety, of righteousness, towards ourselves or others, Tit. ii. 12. This is the rule of our holiness. So far as what we are and what we do answer thereunto, so far are we holy, and no farther. Whatever acts of devotion or duties of morality may be performed without respect hereunto belong not to our sanctification.

1674 · John Owen, Pneumatologia, or a Discourse Concerning the Holy Spirit (Books I-V) 5.1

A man, I say, thus good, his nature being cured and rectified by grace, thence useful and helpful, free from guile, envy and selfishness, pride and elation of mind, is the best representation we can have of God on the earth, since the human nature of Christ was removed from us. This, therefore, we are to labour after if we intend to be like God, or to manifest his glory in our persons and lives unto the world. And no small part of our holiness consists herein.

1695 · John Owen, Gospel Grounds and Evidences of the Faith of God's Elect 2

] That which is to be approved is the holiness and obedience which God requires in us, our natures, and actions, and accepts from us, or accepts in us. It is not particular duties as they occur unto us, taken alone and by themselves, but the universal correspondence of our natures and actions unto the will of God. The Scripture gives us various descriptions of it, because of the variety of graces and gracious operations which concur therein. We may here mention some of its principal concerns, having handled the nature of it at large elsewhere; for it may be considered, — 1st. As unto its foundation, spring, and causes: and this is the universal renovation of our natures into the image of God, Eph. iv. 24; or the change of our whole souls, in all their faculties and powers, into his likeness, whereby we become new creatures, or the workmanship of God created in Christ Jesus unto good works, 2 Cor. v. 17, Eph. ii. 10; wherein we are originally and formally sanctified throughout, in our “whole spirit, and soul, and body,” 1 Thess. v. 23. It is the whole law of God written in our hearts, transforming them into the image of the divine holiness, represented therein.

1746 · Jonathan Edwards, A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections 3.1

The grace which is in the hearts of the saints, is of the same nature with the divine holiness, as much as it is possible for that holiness to be, which is infinitely less in degree; as the brightness that is in a diamond which the sun shines upon, is of the same nature with the brightness of the sun, but only that it is as nothing to it in degree. Therefore Christ says, John 3:6, "That which is born of the Spirit, is spirit;" i.e., the grace that is begotten in the hearts of the saints, is something of the same nature with that Spirit, and so is properly called a spiritual nature; after the same manner as that which is born of the flesh is flesh, or that which is born of corrupt nature is corrupt nature.

1834 · Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible: Ephesians 4.24

The object of the work of redemption is to restore to man the lost image of God, or to bring him back to the condition in which he was before he fell. And true holiness - Margin, as in Greek, "holiness of truth" - standing in contrast with "lusts of deceit" (Greek), in Eph 4:22. "Holiness" properly refers to purity toward God, and "righteousness" to integrity toward people; but it is not certain that this distinction is observed here. The general idea is, that the renovated man is made an upright and a pious man; and that, therefore, he should avoid the vices which are practiced by the pagan, and which the apostle proceeds to specify.

1834 · Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible: 1 Peter 1.15

But as he which hath called you is holy - On the word called, see the notes at Eph 4:1. The meaning here is, that the model or example in accordance with which they were to frame their lives, should be the character of that God who had called them into his kingdom. They were to be like him. Compare the notes at Mat 5:48. So be ye holy in all manner of conversation - In all your conduct. On the word "conversation," see the notes at Phi 1:27. The meaning is, that since God is holy, and we profess to be his followers, we also ought to be holy.

1871 · A. R. Fausset, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on 1 Peter 1.16

As I am the fountain of holiness, being holy in My essence, be ye therefore zealous to be partakers of holiness, that ye may be as I also am [Didymus]. God is essentially holy: the creature is holy in so far as it is sanctified by God. God, in giving the command, is willing to give also the power to obey it, namely, through the sanctifying of the Spirit (1Pe 1:2).

1872 · John Wesley, Sermons on Several Occasions 138

This likeness to God, this conformity of our will and affections to his will, is, properly speaking, holiness; and to produce this in us, is the proper end and design of all the influences of the Holy Spirit. By means of his presence with us, we receive from him a great fulness of holy virtues; we take such features of resemblance in our spirits as correspond to his original perfections.

1872 · John Wesley, Sermons on Several Occasions 134

To instance in one point more: All the Liturgy of the Church is full of petitions for that holiness without which, the Scripture everywhere declares, no man shall see the Lord. And these are all summed up in those comprehensive words which we are supposed to be so frequently repeating: “Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love thee, and worthily magnify thy holy name.” It is evident that in the last clause of this petition, all outward holiness is contained: Neither can it be carried to a greater height, or expressed in stronger terms. And those words, “Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts,” contain the negative branch of inward holiness; the height and depth of which is purity of heart, by the inspiration of God’s Holy Spirit. The remaining words, “that we may perfectly love thee,” contain the positive part of holiness; seeing this love, which is the fulfilling of the law, implies the whole mind that was in Christ.

1897 · Henry Drummond, The Ideal Life The Relation of the Will of God to Sanctification

The thing we are to pursue so ardently—what is it? How are we to shape it to ourselves when we think of it? Is there any plain definition of it—any form which could be easily stated and easily followed. It may be very easily stated. It is for those who have tried it to say whether it be easily followed. Be ye holy, as He is holy. As He is holy, as He who hath called you is holy, so be ye holy. This is the form of holiness we are asked to aim at. This is the standard, God’s commentary on the motive, “As He. . . . so ye.” Ponder for a moment the difference between these pronouns. He—Ye. He who hath called you—Jesus Christ. He who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. He who when He was reviled, reviled not again, when He suffered, He threatened not. He who was without spot or blemish, in whom even His enemies found no fault. Ye the fallen children of a fallen race. Ye with hearts deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. Ye are to become as He. The two pronouns are to approach one another. The crucifiers are to work their way up to the crucified. Ye are to become as He. Here is a motive as high as the holiness of God.

1900 · Abraham Kuyper, The Work of the Holy Spirit Volume Three. The Work of the Holy Spirit in the Individual (Continued), First Chapter. Sanctification, V. Holy Raiment of One's Own Weaving

Holiness inheres in man’s being. There is external holiness, e.g., that of the Levitical order, effected by washing or sprinkling with sacrificial blood; or official holiness, denoting separation for divine service, in which sense the prophets and apostles are called holy, and church-members are called holy and beloved. But these have nothing to do with the sanctification now under discussion. Sanctification as a gift of grace refers to a man’s personal holiness. As the divine holiness is God’s exaltation above, and angry recoil from all impurity and defilement, so is human holiness man’s essential disposition by which spontaneously he loves purity and hates the unclean. Victory over temptation after a long and painful conflict, in which our feet had wellnigh slipped, is not holiness. Holiness signifies a disposition, an inherent quality, or, by another manner of speaking, a tint or shade adopted by the soul, so that the heart’s evil manifestations and Satan’s wicked whisperings fill us with positive horror. As the musically trained ear is painfully affected by a dissonance as it vibrates along the shuddering auditory nerve, while the unmusical ear never perceives the offense against the purity of tone, so is the difference between the sanctified and the unsanctified. Whatever the world’s moral dissonances may be, they fail to affect the ungodly, who even praise the music; but they distress the saint whose soul delights in the harmony of holy concord.

1848 · Henry Edward Manning, Sermons, Volume 2 12

First, that the holiest of men may to all outward eyes appear exactly like other people. For in what does holiness consist but in a due fulfilment of the relative duties of our state in life, and in spiritual fellowship with God?

1871 · Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, vol. 1 (Introduction; Part I, Theology Proper) 1.5.11

(Rev. xv. 4.) Holiness, on the one hand, implies entire freedom from moral evil; and, upon the other, absolute moral perfection. Freedom from impurity is the primary idea of the word. To sanctify is to cleanse; to be holy, is to be clean.

1881 · Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Spurgeon's Sermons, Volume 27 (1881) 1618

Just so! Morality is a clean outside, but holiness is being clean within! Morality is a dead body washed and laid in clean white linen—holiness is the living form in perfect purity. To be just to man is morality, to be hallowed unto God is holiness!

1881 · Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Spurgeon's Sermons, Volume 27 (1881) 1618

Understand, then, that with regard to the whole range of the Church, however wide her action, conformity to the Character of God is the law of the house. Likeness to Christ must be seen in every single member and in every act of every member in the whole body and in all its corporate acts. This is the law of the house. I must add, however, to make up the idea of holiness, that there must be a close communion between the soul and God, for if a man could be—which is not possible—conformed to the likeness of God and consecrated to God, yet if he never had any communication with God, the idea of holiness would not be complete.

1884 · Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Spurgeon's Sermons, Volume 30 (1884) 1758

I call that holiness which minds its work at home. I call that holiness which makes a kind father, a true brother, an obedient child and makes me mind my daily calling and see that I make others happy and so commend the Gospel to them.

1892 · James Denney, The Expositor's Bible: The Epistles to the Thessalonians The First Epistle to the Thessalonians, VIII. Love and Prayers

Paul seeks love for his converts as the means by which their hearts may be established unblameable in holiness. That is a notable direction for those in search of holiness. A selfish, loveless heart can never succeed in this quest. A cold heart is not unblameable, and never will be; it is either pharisaical or foul, or both. But love sanctifies. Often we only escape from our sins by escaping from ourselves; by a hearty, self-denying, self-forgetting interest in others. It is quite possible to think so much about holiness as to put holiness out of our reach: it does not come with concentrating thought upon ourselves at all; it is the child of love, which kindles a fire in the heart in which faults are burnt up. Love is the fulfilling of the law; the sum of the ten commandments; the end of all perfection. Do not let us imagine that there is any other holiness than that which is thus created.