Pursuing Biblical Holiness

I was once in a Sunday school class where we were learning about and discussing the doctrine of eternal security. There was a difference in the class between those who believed in eternal security and those who held to conditional security. At one point a class member who believed in conditional security stood up and said something to the effect of 'if I knew that I was eternally secure and that nothing I did could ever cause me to lose my salvation then I'd just go out and sin'. His point was that other than the fear of hell there was nothing that motivated him to pursue progressive biblical holiness.

Biblical holiness is the last aspect of spiritual health and fitness we'll explore from Acts 2:42-47 and as you probably know it is a weighty, blessed and sometimes complicated issue. Since biblical holiness has several components we'll probably spend the next few weeks briefly examining each. The basic idea of biblical holiness is separateness. Scripture calls those things and people holy that are separated from the common and given over to God for His exclusive us. This is how the term is used in Lev. 10:10 'You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean'. Throughout Scripture God calls His people holy in that they are separated from the world for His exclusive worship, service, loyalty and obedience. This positional holiness leads to the second aspect of the term holiness which is progressive biblical purity.

But why should we pursue biblical holiness especially since those who are in Christ have been given His guarantee that we will never, ever lose our salvation? Thus if you have trusted in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and have been justified by God you are now and forevermore in right standing before God. There is nothing you can do to add to this standing, nor is there anything you could do to lose this standing.
With that said, you like my classmate may be wondering ‘what’s to keep me from indulging any sinful behavior or lifestyle now that I know my eternity is covered? That question and the thinking behind it arises for mainly two reasons. First there are sincere believers who wonder how anyone could claim to be a Christian and still live a life of open, brazen and unrepentant sin. They have observed the lives of those who profess belief and fidelity in Jesus Christ and are confused by what they see. For they presume (might I add correctly) that when one puts his or her faith in Jesus there is a corresponding change of attitude, mindset and eventually actions. Though this change isn’t instantaneous there can be no mistake that the process of sanctification should have begun. Thus having observed habitual ungodly behavior they wonder if the one making such a profession has really come to know the Lord.

The second reason for this questions leads us into the way we are going to explore this topic of biblical holiness. In order to do that let me provide you with an assumption that may lie behind the question. When one asks what’s to keep me from sinning now that I'm saved by grace the underlying assumption is that a lifestyle of sin is in fact more reasonable, more desirable and in the long run more satisfying than a life of godliness according to Scripture. If that were not the underlying assumption there would not be a need for the question. If that is true (a sinful lifestyle is more desirable), and based on the activity regarding this issue there are many who believe it is, it would force us to draw the following conclusions.

1. God is lying us. - He is deceiving us concerning the real nature of sin. Things such as lying, murder, adultery, greed and gossip while perhaps not to be engaged in excessively are a normal and healthy part of life. Thus, people ought not to feel guilty when we dabble in such things.

2. God is not a good God. It’s obvious that He is withholding a desirable and good lifestyle from us. Sin brings pleasure, fun and apparently great freedom. How many times have we watched t.v. or a movie, read a book or heard a song exhorting us to live life on our own terms, grabbing as much pleasure and happiness as possible without any thought of God whatsoever. This brings us to a point where rather than obeying God we should in fact disobey Him.

3. God is bitter and vindictive. He knows that a life spent knowing and pursuing Him cannot possibly compare with a life spent in sinful opposition to Him and so He tries to discourage us from discovering and enjoying the long term effects of a lifestyle of sin.

4. God is foolish, unwise and unreasonable. - Contrary to what He's said it's the foolish person who actually take the time to read, study, understand and obey His word. Life experience bears this out. The humble, broken, meek and mild might indeed inherit the earth, but in this life only the strong survive.

5. God does not love us. - By His own definition Godly love is a love that seeks the highest and best for the objects loved. If God knows that our highest and best interest are gained by serving sin and He tells us not to then He is not acting in love, but in selfishness.

I recognize that this might all seem ridiculous to you and well it should. Yet that is how we thought, felt, and acted. We are born with what the Scripture calls a sinful nature. In defining the sinful nature it may be helpful to describe what our human nature was like before Adam rebelled against God. Adam’s human nature, that is his essential characteristics and qualities including his character, disposition and temperament were free from any inward infection of sin. Adam was created in true holiness with the power to obey God’s command, yet with a free will to disobey. What’s important to remember is that Adam didn’t have anything within him that would cause him to disobey God. However, once Adam rebelled against God he took on a sinful nature that he passed on to all of his decendents. This sinful nature is accurately described in a number of Biblical passage, among them Ephesians 2:1-3.

In the face of the assumption that the lifestyle of sin is more desirable, more wise and in the long run more satisfying Scripture presents the life of sin as deceptive, foolishly disobedient and in the long run destructive. Why should we pursue progressive biblical holiness and refuse to indulge in a lifestyle of sin? One of the main reasons is how Scripture describes the real nature of sin. Sin is not logical, wise, pretty, smart, reasonable or permanently satisfying.

Sin is deceptive because it causes us to believe that which is not true. The very notion of sin challenges the Word of God claiming that His Word is nonsense. Sin deceives in its claims. The sinful lifestyle claims to bring genuine satisfaction while claiming that a life of godliness does not. Adam and Eve were deceived into believing that the pursuit of their own agenda would bring them something of great value and satisfaction. Sin claims that the consequences of living apart from God are either negligible or non-existent.

Sin is foolishly disobedient in that it we’re inclined to question God’s good intentions for us and thus disobey Him thinking that His Word expresses His will to limit our true joy. Now God has demonstrated His goodness to us in at least four significant ways. He created us to live in a paradise in which all of our spiritual, physical, emotional, social, and psychological needs were met. He sent His own sinless Son to die for our rebellion and restore the relationship we had broken. (Romans 8:32) He’s promised to take care of all of our needs in this present life. He’s promised to display the riches of His grace toward us in Christ for eternity.
With all of that we still somehow believe that God is holding back on us somehow and that the only way to really enjoy a life of full satisfaction is to disobey His Word.

Sin is destructive. A lifestyle of sin far from granting us lasting satisfaction actually brings upon us unfulfilled desires and unwanted consequences. If you’re not convinced of this put yourself in the position of being sinned against. Do you wish to be the object of someone’s sinful anger? What if you actually wronged someone, but repented and wanted to seek forgiveness. What would happen if the person you offended believed that exacting some measure of revenge was the most satisfying thing he could do? How would you feel if you were the object of blatant disrespect? Would any of us want to be in the position of having our spouse commit adultery and breaking our marital vow? How would you like to have something stolen from you? You see sin may look good until the shoe is placed on the other foot.

A lifestyle of sin destroys us spiritually, physically, emotionally, and psychologically.
The only way to adequately explain our thinking regarding the lifestyle of sin is to recognize that ever since Adam sinned we have inherited a sinful nature.
The sinful nature infects how we think, and affects our will. Paul accurately describes our sinful nature in Romans 8.
Consequently when we even raise the idea that a lifestyle of sin is more reasonable, desirable and satisfying than a lifestyle of godliness you can be assured that it is the vestiges of our sinful nature doing the thinking.

Questions for reflection:

1. How do you view the sinful lifestyle?

2. Do you believe that God's objections to sin are an unfair restriction of your desire to enjoy life?

3. What motivations do you have to resist sin and pursue a lifestyle of biblical holiness?

4. How does knowing that you've been chosen, set apart and secured in Christ for God's exclusive use affect the way you think, the way you speak, the way you live and the direction of your life?

5. What are some of the ways our culture makes sin appealing? How do they specifically appeal to you?

6. How does pursuing a lifestyle of sin strike at the very heart of God's nature and character as expressed in the person and work of Jesus Christ?

7. In what ways has sin deceived you? What evidence do you see of sins's destruction in your life and in the lives of others?

To Him Who Loves Us...
Pastor Lance