THE BEAUTY OF HOLINESS By George Whitefield Ridout
"Holiness is power. It utilizes ability, fertilizes the soul and energizes the whole man. Holiness is God's power with man and man's power with God. -- Cecil
INTRODUCTION
"The beauties of the earth and sky may change, the highest, sweetest forms of beauty in the human face divine, may turn to the dust and ashes of the sepulcher; but Holiness abides forever. No fires can burn it, no floods can whelm it, no age bring wrinkles on its brow or carve deep lines into its face." -- Rev. L. R. Dunn
It has been well said of Holiness that it resembles the light of the sun at noonday with its brightness, beauty, illumination and warmth; and the air redolent of sweets, and flowers. Holiness should bring sunshine, not gloom; happiness, not heaviness; gladness, not depression.
The Beauty of Holiness adorns the soul with certain qualities which bring praise and glory to the God of all grace (Ephesians 1:6). A certain writer asks what is sanctified grace, and the answer is: It is that grace by which the soul comes into possession of faith like Abraham, patience like Job, hope like Moses, perseverance like Noah, meekness like David, temperance like Daniel, prayerfulness like Elijah, unworldliness like James, holiness like Peter, love like John, guilelessness like Nathanael, devotion to God and to Jesus like Paul. It is that grace which will let you sing in trial like Paul and Silas, help you to pray out of prison like Peter, keep you in the hottest fire of affliction like the three Hebrew children. Sanctification is supernatural grace because it takes supernatural power to arrest, to control, to destroy. Sanctification is an habitual grace. Holiness becomes a habit on earth; here the saints do on earth as they do in Heaven.
Holiness imparts sovereign and moral beauty to the soul so that according to Thomas Aquinas, that which is in God substantially by His essence is accidentally in the soul by divine participation. It is such beauty God Himself is captivated with it. "Thou art all beautiful; there is no spot in thee." It reflects the beauty of the face of God. Oh, the face of God! Did you ever see a soul lit up by divine glory? That is but the reflection of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Holiness is a participation of the divine nature, a seed of divinity. "His seed remaineth in him." It partakes of the divine nature in the sense the iron partakes of the fire; the rough, rude iron put into the fire becomes radiant, brilliant and the fire may say to it: "I have imparted that to thee." So God may say to the soul, "impart to thee the glow and beauty and heat of my nature" -- the soul is bathed in God.
Sanctifying grace assures eternal salvation, conditioned of course upon its continuance in the soul by a living faith and obedience. Possessed with this no soul can be lost.
Holiness is susceptible of constant increase, and like other riches can be added onto. This is increased by divine bestowments, also by fuller acquirements by exercise and practice. Sanctifying grace gives cause for God's complacency with His saints. God delights in His saints and takes pleasure in them. Sanctifying grace is that by which the soul enjoys God, abounds in His love and becomes more and more like Him-like Him in love, in humility, in sinlessness, in purity, in holiness -- "We shall be like Him."
In setting forth the beauty of holiness we shall draw a figure from the realms of physics: here we are told that all the primary colors in nature coalesce to make pure white. It takes the red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet to make a pure white; so the various attributes of holiness join together -- coalesce -- to produce the pure white light of the beauty of holiness. Holding to the figure seven in the above, we shall endeavor to set forth seven of the essential elements of holiness.
1. The Beauty of Holiness is the Beauty of Purity. 2. The Beauty of Holiness is the Beauty of Unity. 3. The Beauty of Holiness is the Beauty of Humility. 4. The Beauty of Holiness is the Beauty of Christlikeness. 5. The Beauty of Holiness is the Beauty of Consecration. 6. The Beauty of Holiness is the Beauty of Love. 7. The Beauty of Holiness is the Beauty of Perfection.
