By Brandon Brown
Rather than reclaiming holiness, it may be time for us to embrace ethical holiness. I feel discomfort when I hear the call to reclaim holiness or return to "biblical holiness." That discomfort is because it does not seem that holiness has gone anywhere. Discomfort also comes in the realization that the time period in which nostalgia looks was one in which the African-American churches of the Church of the Nazarene were segregated into a separate district in the Southern U.S. Not only were they separated, the pastors of those churches had to have expenditures of the tithes and offerings in their churches approved by white pastors. Maybe there was a version of holiness more pronounced, one in which holiness was evident in moralism. That kind of holiness is easy, as it lists those things which one must not do and a few things one must do in order to be holy. Yet, it does not call one into deeper discipleship or becoming holy by becoming more like Jesus. There were those in the Church of the Nazarene fighting for justice, but holiness was extended to those who were fighting against justice as well.
When we encounter holiness in the scriptures, it is a trait of those who trusted God fully. Yes, rules were often structured around holiness, but rules are a crutch. Moralism is also a crutch used to control and gate keep. If we lean into discipleship as the journey to an ethical holiness, it may be messy and even lack clear boundaries, yet it leads to the freedom from sin in transformed hearts. While moralism controls behavior and outwardly appears holy, ethical discipleship creates a truly transformed heart. A new heart in which not ourselves, but Christ, lives within. It is the transformation of the complete human being into a true human reflecting the image of God. But it is hard. It is the way, the truth, and the life of following Jesus. It is the way of taking up our cross as the instrument of torture and turning it into an instrument of deliverance. Ethical holiness draws us into being a people who wish to transform the world through the humble way of Jesus. Transforming through feeding the hungry, rescuing the oppressed, visiting the prisoners, standing with the oppressed to demand change, and standing up to the bullies who would turn the Gospel of Jesus into an instrument of pain, power, and oppression. Standing against those who would co-opt the Church in pursuit of political power rather than walk in peace and holiness.
Those who want a church of moralism and narrow tent walls are welcome to that. But they have no right to enforce that onto the rest of us. They may very well find a way to expel those of who wish holiness to transform our ethics and hearts as the Spirit flows, pouring the grace and love of God upon a people seeking to trust God. I will continue to call people to a deep discipleship in which our hearts are transformed, such that our ethics are transformed into the ethics of a loving God rather than the moralism of humanity.