Background When Holiness Pentecostalism, the earliest form of Pentecostalism, emerged as a distinct movement within
American Protestantism, it was through ministers with a
Wesleyan-Holiness (Methodistic) background such as
Charles Parham and
William J. Seymour. Wesley's teachings and
Methodism gave birth to the
holiness movement, which sought to propagate the Methodistic doctrine of entire sanctification (Christian perfection). Most advocates within the holiness movement, in accordance with Methodist theology, taught that sanctification had both instantaneous and progressive dimensions. They taught the availability of entire sanctification, which was a post-conversion experience. In this "second definite work of grace", the inclination to sin was removed and replaced by perfect love. The state of entire sanctification allowed the believer to turn his or her attention outward toward the advancement of the
gospel. In contrast, the state of partial sanctification was said to turn the believer's attention to the interior spiritual struggle for holiness which in turn limited his or her usefulness to the church and society. it made an impact on the
Quaker tradition, as well as in certain Anabaptist, Presbyterian, Baptist, and Restorationist denominations. Another movement stressing the importance of sanctification arose called the
Higher Life movement, which centered around the
Keswick Convention; the theology of the Higher Life movement is thus known as Keswickian theology. Keswickian theology differs from Wesleyan-Arminian (Methodist) theology. In time, significant
Irvingite and
Calvinist leaders became thoroughly embedded in the Higher Life movement. These included
Charles Finney,
William Boardman and
Dwight L. Moody. These
evangelicals of the Reformed tradition differed from their Wesleyan counterparts in that they rejected the holiness concept of a "second blessing" instead focusing on an "overcoming" life. Though distinct from Keswickian (Higher Life) theology, the Finished Work Pentecostal doctrine was also propagated through ministers of a
Reformed background, including Pentecostal clerics
William Howard Durham. The Finished Work doctrine became popular among those accepting a belief in the Baptism of the Holy Spirit who came from Reformed backgrounds; these adherents are known as Finished Work Pentecostals. While accepting a belief in a Baptism of the Holy Spirit accompanied with glossolalia, Finished Work Pentecostals reject the teaching of entire sanctification (the second work of grace in Methodism). In contrast, two-stage Pentecostalism (Finished Work Pentecostalism), which was the non-Wesleyan view held by Durham, held that sanctification was a lifelong process that began at conversion, thus this view only professed two stages—conversion and Spirit baptism. Durham wrote in his magazine,
The Pentecostal Testimony: Converts began to share their beliefs in meetings and councils in the western United States where the
Azusa Movement and its emphasis on sanctification as a definite experience was seen as
orthodoxy, and any deviation was viewed with suspicion. This took the form of family members and friends who frequented various revival and camp meetings in the eastern US returning home to the Northwest and attempting to share their understanding of the “new doctrine.” Durham died that same year, but the controversy surrounding finished work persisted.
Outcome The effect of the controversy was that the young Pentecostal movement was split between Wesleyan-holiness and non-Wesleyan Reformed evangelicals. The finished work gained the greatest support from the independent and unorganized urban churches and missions. The Pentecostal denominations centered in the
American South were the most resistant to the new doctrine. Today, these Holiness Pentecostal denominations (
Apostolic Faith Church,
Calvary Holiness Association,
Church of God (Cleveland),
Church of God in Christ,
Congregational Holiness Church,
Free Gospel Church,
Pentecostal Holiness Church, and
The (Original) Church of God) and their seminaries (such as the Heritage Bible College) retain a belief in the doctrine of entire sanctification—the second work of grace. Despite the resistance of Wesleyan Pentecostals, however, finished work adherents were successful in persuading many Pentecostals of the validity of their view. As a result, most of the Pentecostal denominations founded after 1911 adhered to the finished work doctrine. This can be seen in Finished Work Pentecostal denominations such as the
Assemblies of God, the
International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, the
Open Bible Churches,
Elim Fellowship, and the
Pentecostal Church of God. == Denominations ==