(from Holiness in Fresh Perspective: Covenant, Cross, and Kingdom. Wipf & Stock, expected 2014).
Another dimension of holiness that emerges when we look at it with the interpretive lens of the New Perspective is holiness as mission. This dimension of holiness is directly connected to holiness as something collective. Holiness is for a people, through a people. Too often when we (especially those of us from the Wesleyan tradition) think and talk about holiness our conversations are anchored in language having to do with a purified heart. In other words, we seem to be more interested with the ontological dimension of holiness in the life of the believer than the functional dimension. This is not to say that the functional dimension is absent, rather, it tends to be neglected. This is also not to say that the ontological dimensions of holiness aren’t important. They are! However, it is also important to remember that holiness is action. Wesley certainly had things to say about social holiness. However, social holiness isn’t the main topic of Wesley’s sermons. The bottom-line is that when we look at the Cross, we have the best illustration of holiness that God has given us. The Cross is something very missional, perhaps even more missional than ontological. We will explore this further.
