The Bible instructs Christians to greet each other with a holy kiss of charity. This instruction is repeated five times in the New Testament in the epistles of Paul and Peter. We understand these passages to be applicable to the church in all ages and, therefore, we continue the practice among us.
The significance of this expression is understood by the Biblical virtues that define it. Paul describes it as a holy kiss, and Peter uses the virtue of love in his first epistle. Accordingly, we believe this is more than a mere action. Instead, it is a God-ordained expression of the pure commitment of our hearts toward one another in Christ.
The holy kiss is meant to be practiced among believers and as such is intended to express our pure-hearted commitment of love for one another. It is a commitment of pure motive and devotion to one another that is grounded in the active holiness of God within our hearts. The expectation of the holy kiss is that those who practice it have a deep-seated, Christ-like love for each other that will go to any extent necessary to bless and support our brothers and sisters in Christ. The Bible teaches in John 13:34-35, that we are to love one another as Jesus Christ has loved us and the use of the holy kiss is one of the ways God has chosen for His people to convey the reality of that love.
Because the kiss is holy and the love it conveys is holy there is no degree of sensuality or carnality involved in it. The kiss is extended among us from brother to brother and sister to sister. The transcendent attributes that characterize this expression of Christian love assure its permanence in the practice of our faith and protect it from the ever-changing norms of a secular culture.
Bible references: Romans 16:16; 1 Corinthians 16:20; 2 Corinthians 13:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:26; 1 Peter 5:14