Holy Living

by NEELY, E. | Category: Principles Of Church Growth | Apr 2002

A doubting disciple once asked a military general what he thought about the possibility of carrying out such commands as evangelizing the whole world, or living a holy life in the midst of a sinful and perverse generation. The general answered that the soldier or the bondservant never asks what is possible: he merely does his utmost to carry out his orders.

What are our orders?

Peter, who had all too profound a knowledge of failure in the matter of holiness, was the apostle used to remind us of the commandment of the Lord(1): 'He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy."' Peter was quoting from Leviticus 11, a chapter describing rules of conduct for those who as a priesthood followed the LORD. The description found in this chapter nicely defines holiness: separation from the unclean, and separation to the pure. Can those who serve God in priestly capacity today seek anything less than separation from that which defiles and separation to the One who has made us pure? The Christian believer is in a tug-of-war. Satan would separate us from godliness through sin. Christ would separate us from sin to godliness. There is nothing in us naturally that responds to the Lord; there is in each of us a sinful tendency that responds to Satan. Christ alone could say that Satan had nothing in Him. We reflect instead that which Paul felt most deeply: 'O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?'(2) Is it possible in view of our natures to live in the beauty of holiness? What are our orders?

The secret of holy living

Paul tells the Romans (12:1) and us the secret of holy living: 'I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.' He also lets us know that attainment of holy living is a gradual thing demanding constant cleansing from the sinfulness that finds an answer in the 'old man' resident within us(3) and a pressing on to a growing, maturing holiness, a progressing practical sanctification, an increased Christlikeness: 'beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.'(4)

The Holy Spirit's enabling

The Holy Spirit, so holy, so often grieved and even quenched, works with our spirits to enable us. He loves us and His constraint is the action of divine love. This progression of perfecting holy living is the kind of thing we see in the life of Peter and evidenced in the faithful serenity we observe in the elderly apostle John. Amid unspeakable trials, and given the most moving revelations, they remained serene and immovable. We can observe it also in the lives of godly saints around us, men and women whose experiences, both publicly in life and hidden with the Lord, have developed and are developing in them a quietness and confidence that can be a tremendous source of strength to us all. They purvey for us in their daily walk the qualities of the fruit of the Spirit(5): 'love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.' And in their imperturbability they generate quietude. Ancient Joshua gave a prescription and commitment that many readers will already have made personal: '"As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."' ( 6)

Consciously avoiding sin

The avoidance of sin should be a very conscious activity in the life of every believer. A life of sanctity is necessitated by our calling: 'Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ'; (7) 'walk worthy of the calling with which you were called.'(8) And it is prescribed by the future: 'Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness.'(9) It is called for because each believer is a temple of the Holy Spirit. It is the evidence of the thing into which we have been called, 'a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.'(10) God Himself is 'glorious in holiness' (11) and everything associated with Him is holy: His Spirit, His house and all in it, His priesthood, His nation, His calling, His Son. To all this we are also called, and to His holiness we must give practical expression. The Lord said He would never leave us nor forsake us. (12)

A recipe for holy living

Consider for a moment the holiness of the Son of God. Gabriel commented on it, demons testified to it, those who had seen His walk spoke to God about 'Your holy Servant Jesus.' He called Himself holy, addressing His Father as, "Holy Father ...We are one." This same One who walks with us, one with us, desires that that walk be a holy one. Paul rejoiced over believers in Rome: 'But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.'(13) 'Slaves of righteousness' - that's the recipe for holy living.

Some far-reaching consequences

We don't live to ourselves. The extent of the holiness of my daily living reflects upon the witness of the gospel, the testimony of the saints among whom I live and worship, and upon men's reception of the Lord Himself. Even if my actions remain unobserved by those around who watch, lack of holiness undermines my communion with Christ and affects the spirit of unity with fellow-believers. The old hymn says:

Forgive the sins I now confess to Thee.

Forgive the secret sins I cannot see.

Constant confession and waiting upon the Lord are necessary tools for the development of holy living.

Building upon one another

Perhaps we too often forget or neglect the fact that other believers, fellow-strugglers against all the wiles of the devil, build upon our successes in overcoming the evil one. These little victories in our lives engender strength in others, just as evidence of commonly understood standards of purity and godliness in their lives encourage us in our fruitfulness. We build upon one another. We can also discourage our fellows by our behaviour, like the stone in a house, which displayed characteristics of a plague in Leviticus 14, if the infection were not corrected or the stone removed, the whole building would be infected. A little leaven can affect the whole lump. If we are truly subject to the Lord and His commandments, if the love and care for each other that is enjoined upon us by the Lord is evident, all men will know that we are His disciples and that such discipleship is much to be desired. Christian believers who walk and work with us to a common end will be blessed. Those who did not know subjection and who lacked the love of God in the past caused other people instead to blaspheme. (14) How sad if the lack of holiness in my walk should cause such disrespect to God in others!

Traps to avoid

Of course, there are things to guard against in this matter of trying to live a holy life, traps to avoid. One of them is using a supposed standard of holiness as some sort of self-aggrandizing comparative issue. God took a very dim view of some in Israel who did so, deprecating their behaviour in Isaiah 65:3,5:

'A people who provoke Me to anger continually to My face;

...Who say, 'Keep to yourself,

Do not come near me,

For I am holier than you!' '

An exemplification of those words was uttered against such people all through Matthew 23. God does not much appreciate those with superior attitudes; folk who compare themselves with others with any kind of disdain in this matter of holiness are hypocrites because any such claim is unholy! Christ never ceased to be holy, yet He ate and drank with sinners; allowed a sinful woman to wash and anoint His feet; spent time with the raving maniac who further defiled himself by running naked amid the tombs. He came to seek and save the lost, and that could not be accomplished by shunning their company, then or now. We serve a God who cares, a Lord to whom all souls matter. Separation does not mean isolation. Like God, we must hate the sin and love the sinner, and we must beware of any hint of a 'holier than thou' attitude. Some have entertained angels unawares. We might wonder just in what form they appeared.

We return to that doubting disciple and his question: Is it possible...? With God all things are possible!

(1) 1 Pet.1:15,16 (2) Rom.7:24 (3) 1 John 1:8,9 (4) 2 Cor.7:1 (5) Gal.5:22,23 (6) Josh.24:15 (7) Phil.1:27 (8) Eph.4:1 (9) 2 Pet.3:11 (10) Eph.2:21,22 (11) Ex.15:11 (12) Heb.13:5 (13) Rom.6:17,18 (14) Rom.2:24

NEELY, E. | Apr 2002
Principles Of Church Growth