Rev. Kil Sŏn-chu was amongst the first generation of indigenous Protestant Christian leaders. In 1897 he was converted to Christianity at the age of 29 and served as a lay Christian leader while he took a course of study intended for native local preachers. In 1907 he was ordained as a pastor and began preaching in the Changdaehyŏn Church, the central church in P’yŏngyang. In Korea, until recently he is known as the evangelistic pastor who stuck to saving soul and was indifferent to the national issues like Korean independence and cultural changes. In this paper I try to show that Kil Sŏn-chu was not only a devout evangelistic pastor but also was concerned with issues related to Korean independence and cultural changes. This study is divided into the five sections. Following the introduction, the second section gives a historical overview of Korean society at the time in which Kil Sŏn-chu lived, and offers his vitae. The third section deals with the ways that he was conscious of the Korean nation and expressed his willingness to devote himself to the Korean nation in his political and cultural activities. The fourth section traces the motives behind the development of eschatological worldview or faith by Kil Sŏn-chu and thereby explains the way his patriotic concern with the Korean nation was reflected in his eschatological faith. In Kil Sŏn-chu’s life there are shown three different aspects inthree subsequent periods. The first period is from his conversion to Christianity to before his decision to save his soul. He identified the Korean nation as people bound together by a shared history and state. He was engaged in political activities for Korean independence. The second period is from the decision to save his soul to before he was in prison. He was interested in the cultural elementsof the Korean nation. He considered culture as the means for the Korean nation to survive or exist further in this world. The third period is from his release from prison to his death. In his Eschatology, he developed his own concept of eschatology and propagated the gospel of Jesus’ coming being followed by the millennial and eternal world.

본 연구는 길선주의 저작과 생의 보적(寶蹟)을 통해 그의 성화론을 고찰하려는 데 목적을 둔다. 현 한국교회의 정황은 교회의 거룩성과 성화 차원에서 볼 때 불행하게도 비관적이다. 한국교회가 심각한 고질병을 앓고 있다는 점을 직시해야 한다. 교회는 교회의 본질과 본연의 사명을 상실했다는 심각한 비판을 받고 있으며 이로 인해 많은 교회들이 다방면에서 난관에 직면해 있다. 이러한 비판에 대해 역사적 관점에서 조명할 필요가 있다. 아직까지 길선주의 경건성과 삶을 분석하여 성화론을 연구한 사례는 부재하다. 본 연구에서는 이론적인 면과 실제적인 면 모두를 살펴보았으며 특별히 길선주의 사상과 삶을 한 지평에서 통합하여 조망했다. 길선주가 자신의 저작들과 보적에서 보여준 성화에 관련된 중요한 관점들을 다음 두 가지 차원에서 정리했다. 첫째, 이론적인 차원에서는 그의 거룩성과 경건성을 세밀하게 분석함으로써 그가 보여준 성화의 원리와 중요한 용어들을 고찰했다. 중요한 개념들은 ‘그러므로의 신학’, ‘하나님 형상의 회복’, ‘확산의 원리’, ‘현세와 천국 사이의 아직으로서의 개개인의 천국’, ‘예수 그리스도의 칠보적(七步跡)’등이다. 둘째, 길선주는 자신의 삶을 통해 실천적 성화를 보여주었다. 실천적 차원은 평양부흥운동, 애국적 계몽운동, 애국활동, 교육사역 등에서 고찰했다.