Becoming Holy?

The wallpaper on my laptop has a sunset scene with the words, “Be still and know that I am God.” The verse for today on my Bible program says:

Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God. (2 Corinthians 7:1)

A few weeks ago I ‘googled’ holy and one thesaurus had 109 synonyms and antonyms for this word. Another had 304. A dictionary of Bible words says holiness is the quintessential characteristic of God. “There is none holy like the Lord: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.” (1 Samuel 2:2) It adds, that something or someone becomes holy when  withdrawn from common use for divine use — thus the idea of setting apart. To remove something from the realm of the holy is to “profane” or “make [it] common.” 

In other words, a holy person is more like God — in whose image we were created. This image is marred by sin, but by faith in Christ and the astonishing power of the Holy Spirit, those who belong to Jesus are promised great changes. These mentioned in the above verse are reminders to me of what holiness generally looks like. The NT says this:

What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Corinthians 6:16–18)

This is a reality, yet who is there yet? Obviously, as the verse says, there is cleansing to be done and that holiness or being set apart for God is one of those ‘now and not yet’ aspects of being a Christian. I’ve yet to experience the fullness of “bringing holiness to completion.”

In today’s reading, John Piper illustrates holiness in action using the life of John Owen, a theologian who lived in the 1600s. He served politically as Oliver Cromwell’s chaplain and frequent speaker to Parliament, denominationally as the point man for all the controversies between Congregational and Presbyterian Puritans, theologically as the foremost Puritan defender of Calvinistic truth, academically as dean and vice chancellor in the University of Oxford, pastorally serving churches in and around London almost all his adult life, even when it was illegal to gather, and personally with a family of eleven children, ten of whom died while young, followed by the eleventh when she was a young adult. He also authored several books that have influenced many. 

In all this activity and tragedy, Owen’s passion was not public performance, but personal holiness. He said, “My heart’s desire unto God, and the chief design of my life … are that … universal holiness may be promoted in my own and in the hearts and ways of others.”

This man also said, “What better preparation can there be for [our future enjoyment of the glory of Christ] than in a constant previous contemplation of that glory in the revelation that is made in the Gospel.”

Owen and the Word of God challenge me. No idols, meaning nothing is more important than the worship and contemplation of Jesus Christ, honoring Him in all activities of my life, as insignificant as they are compared to what this man did. His life, as he said, was not about a list of what he did but about the depth of his love and devotion to the Lord.

PRAY: Jesus, when I quilt, I am motivated by seeing excellent examples made by others. When I see Christians like BT who is physically a mess yet always joyful, I stop complaining about my small aches and pains. When You show me saints like John Owen (and John Piper too) I realize ‘completed holiness’ is the goal in life to aim for, and the method is having a constant focus on You and Your glory. Make that more real in each of my days. I know it cannot happen apart from Your amazing grace.

Be quick to confess. . . .

 

I often say that 1 John 1:9 is the most important verse in the Bible for spiritual growth. It tells me what to do to get rid of the sin that keeps me from being more like Jesus:

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

Why is this? Simple. My sin puts a kibosh on the freedom that Jesus gives. It ruins my communication with God and puts His priority on dealing with my sin instead of answering prayers for anything else. Sin turns my focus to me instead of Him. I am not being obedient. Instead, I’m pushing Him out of my life.

But, He is faithful and wants to deal with that sin and cleanse it from me. He wants me filled with the Spirit and not with my I-wants. All I need to do is tell Him that I agree — whatever I thought, spoke, or did is sin. I need to turn from it, and when I do, He does as this verse says and restores me to being a Spirit-filled child.

This morning, my Bible opened to a verse for the day. I’d already prayed this thought and sang a couple of songs that expressed it, so it caught my eye:

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. (Psalm 32:8)

When I turned to this verse, I read the 7 verses before it and discovered the OT version of 1 John 1:9:

Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him. You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah (Psalm 32:1–7)

David wrote this knowing that keeping silent about his sin was affecting his health, both physical and spiritual. His bones wasted; his strength diminished. He lost the sense of God's protection. But when he confessed his sin, he found deliverance, again the freedom of knowing forgiveness, knowing it to the point that he heard it shouted to him in songs!

The tensions in my body fade just thinking about the power of God to forgive and cleanse. As strong as the temptations to run my own life can be, this promise is far stronger and more precious. Years of experience shout to me. Don’t wait until a period of Lent, or a revival, or Sunday morning, or even to the next time I sit down with my Bible, or until the sun goes down. If I turn from God at any time or in any way, as soon as the Spirit convicts me (which is usually instantly) confess it. Don’t wait. Don’t let that sin roll around my pride and fatten it. Don’t let that sin pinch another person’s joy. Don’t let that sin build a selfish “I don’t care” attitude or even the thought that it does not matter. Tell God that I agree — I blew it.

PRAY: Jesus, I love it that I can bring all my goof-ups to You for forgiveness and cleansing. In my eyes, they could be small things, but in Your eyes, sin is sin. You died for each one, even for that selfish attitude that tends to think running my own life for a little while is not bad… after all, I’m not murdering anyone. But each sin insults You and denies the wonder of the Cross where You died. For shame that I should think it does not matter… for that thought is a sin also.

It takes a long time to grow up…

Becoming mature as a Christian does not happen instantly. Salvation, forgiveness, justification adoption into His family and many aspects of the Christian experience happens in a blink of an eye but the goal to be transformed into the image or reflection of Jesus Christ does not happen overnight. Like a mighty sculpture, there is much to be chipped away that is not like Jesus.

Today’s devotional likens it to the growth of a baby or the maturing of an apple. Both are what they should be from beginning to end, yet the baby cannot do what a grown person can do. Nor can the beginning of an apple mean it is fit to put in a pie.

Babies and apples, like Christians, cannot make themselves grow. We do have a part to play — that is, I need to be willing and cooperate with the Holy Spirit who feeds and nurtures me through the Word of God and fellowship with other Christians. Growth is enhanced through obedience as well, just as a child who runs and plays becomes stronger. If the assignments from God increase in difficulty, this is like graduating to the gym, working harder and increasing in wisdom as well as in understanding the perfection of God’s will.

Yet I know that age and experience must not underestimate the power of the world, the flesh, and the enemy to tip me over in my desire and effort to be mature.

Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. (1 John 3:2–3)

The goal is reached only as Jesus appears to me and I see Him as He is. Until then, I cannot see Him clearly, even at my age and with years of experience living as His child:

When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. (1 Corinthians 13:11–12)

When that day comes, all that is not like Jesus will be gone, but more and more I realize how much of me is not like Jesus. As the Spirit works, the Bible tells me that my understanding of what that means have often been off base. I once thought that maturity meant things like always knowing the answers to perplexities, always praising God publicly, praying with great fervor, being a leader of others, etc. but the Lord keeps reminding me of this passage:

O Lord, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. (Psalm 131:1–2)

Doing good works is not as lofty as I once thought. It is simple, like being “submissive to rulers and authorities” (Titus 3:1) or raising children, or showing hospitality, or washing the feet of God’s people, or caring for the afflicted (1 Timothy 5:9–10).

The focus is not what I do, but the purity of heart in which it is done. That means none of it is for personal glory, or to pat myself on the back, or to draw attention to me, or feed my ego in any way. Jesus did not come to earth for any of that. He came to save the lost, even to die so we could live. No self-gratification but only to obey the Father and He endured “for the joy set before Him” when He would be seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

His works were perfect in every stage of the occurrence, but not complete until He declared as He died, “It is finished.” Even on my death bed, I will never be able to make the same claim unless I am perfectly mature. By an act of faith, I can put myself into the hands of the Lord, and then, by a continuous exercise of faith, keep myself there, even be made “fit for every good work” yet that total purity of Christlikeness will not be mine until I see Him face to face.

PRAY: Lord, this is why I long to see You. I know that it is in seeing You I will be perfected, and all that me-stuff will no longer be my worst enemy. Such a wonderful hope. Thank You.

 

Holding God’s hand

 

Sometimes Christians tell me to be careful what I pray for. I understand why — because the answer is never what I expected and I often do not connect my prayer with what happens after praying it.

Not too long ago I prayed that God would remind me to always be relying on Him, always be thinking how much I need Him and that He is here for me. The past few days, I’ve had a pain in the lower inside of my knee. It is totally unpredictable. Not there Monday, nearly unbearable Tuesday, gone this morning. It occurs to me that this pain is His reminder. How can I do even the smallest chores? I could go to the clinic and get pain killers, or x-rays, or something, but the medical system right now is in a state that could easily have a long wait. Besides, if this is the answer to my prayer, it’s purpose, as with all trials, is to make me more like Jesus.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2–4)

Trials are not a test of pain tolerance, nor even wisdom, or the ability to endure discomfort. They are a test of faith. Will I trust God in this? Or will I panic? Give up? Whine? Hurry to get it fixed? Since Jesus was sinless and didn’t need reminders to rely on His heavenly Father, I cannot ask what would Jesus do, but I can see how He want me to trust Him in this. If I am to seek medical help, fine, yet I hear Him saying to seek Him every moment and He will direct me. He is using this to “cast out the chips, stones, and sand that mar the perfect purity of my clay.”

My devotional reading says I need to see my trials in this light to easily be able to say “Thy will be done.” God wants me to recognize that trouble means a blessing for me! The psalmist figured this out as he wrote of his people and how God worked in their lives:

Some were fools through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities suffered affliction; they loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of his deeds in songs of joy! … (Psalm 107:17–23)

The entire psalm tells of chastening that brought them back to praise God for His goodness and the way He worked in their lives, even as they repeatedly didn’t “get it” and had to learn over and over. Such is the power of self — even though this verse is true, that old nature fights and forgets it:

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

PRAY: Lord, I asked for a reminder and got it — not at all what I expected. I don’t know what will happen next. If the reminder works, will the knee pain go away? Or will You leave it there as a constant weakness that demands Your strength? Faith says I need to trust You, no matter what Your will is and rely on You. Because You are my Savior and I cannot save myself, I know what to do next — hold tight to Your hand.

Growing up

 

Theologians and mature Christians often point out stages in spiritual growth. Those recently saved are in a “honeymoon” phase, then as they grow, they begin to see the challenges and start to feel inadequate and helpless as they learn to rely on Christ for everything. These experiences are part of growing to be more like Jesus. John wrote a brief description comparing the process to physical growth:

I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one. (1 John 2:13–14)

He summarizes those stages as the realities experienced: forgiveness, fellowship with God, and victory over the evil one. MacArthur suggests that mature spiritual fathers have a deep relationship with God that comes from prolonged time in prayer and the Word. He says many Christians struggle with spiritual defeat or recurring sins because they haven’t learned to apply Biblical principles to specific situations. This could stem from several things, yet Paul did say:

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:6)

However, he also prayed for spiritual maturity:

And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:9–11)

Jesus gave us a pattern of how to resist the enemy by quoting specific portions of Scripture that applied to specific temptations. (See Matthew 4:1–11). He knew the Word, believed it, and refused to compromise its principles setting a pattern for us to follow. I know that when I fall, it is because I’ve either forgotten or neglected to use Scripture to settle the issues tempting me.

This instruction is also in the OT. The psalmist wrote:

How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. (Psalm 119:9–11)

When the Lord came, He created a body of believers, a community for our growth described this way:

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. (Ephesians 4:11–16)

Spiritual growth happens through paying attention to the direction of others that God gives as teachers and examples, through seeking unity and the knowledge of Christ and desiring to be like Him. I’m to discern truth, speak truth in love, and deeply care and pray for unity in the Body of Christ so we are building up one another and growing as we each do what God assigns us to do. In other words, seek the will of God, do it whatever He asks and trusting Him with the results as I encourage others to do the same.

Obedience is vital to growing up in Christ: “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.” (1 John 3:2–3)

PRAY: Jesus, I can see how loving You means always wanting to know You more, to discover Your thoughts and heart and to agree with You in every way, showing it by obedience. It also means to grow in an intense love for Your people and in the desire to be one with them so You are glorified. This means knowing Your Word and doing what it says. Increase my hunger for it and for being more like You.

PONDER: the simplicity of Psalm 119:11. I must read what You say and store those truths in my inmost being that I might not sin against You, but also so Your Word teaches me what I should be doing instead of living selfishly for my own glory.

 

 

Matching what I do with who I am . . .

 

God has chosen me in Christ before the foundation of the world, that I should be holy and blameless before him . . . . (Ephesians 1:4)

 My dad often criticized those who procrastinated or made excuses for neglecting their responsibilities. He called them “can’t men” because they often said, “I can’t . . . .” when it was obvious that they could.

However, there is a “can’t” that is not an excuse but true. No human being can be holy and blameless before God. We all fall short, and we all need a Savior. My efforts to save myself are useless; this task belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ. My part is admitting that I cannot do it.

Christ came into my life to be for me what I could not be myself. That is, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) He put me “in Christ” and sees me that way, not in my condition but in the holiness and blamelessness purity of His Son.

Yet everyone knows that Christians do not always look, talk, or act like Jesus. Sometimes it’s because I don’t know what Jesus would do, so I let me old way of life jump in and take over. Pride messes with purity. Strong I-wants can blind me to my own selfish behavior. Whatever the reason for my sin and disobedience, I have no excuse. The Bible tells me that I have all I need to live the way God wants me to live — I have Jesus.

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities, you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:3–11)

While I cannot rescue myself, I can practice spiritual disciplines that put me in places of grace. That is, God works in and through cooperation. A yielded life that focuses on Jesus has far more hope of being “holy and blameless” than when I simply do my own thing without talking to Him, reading and studying His Word, having fellowship with other Christians and other spiritual practices that build faith. Last night, a new believer, age 98, told me not to worry about what is going on in the world. “It will just mess you up.” I smiled and said, “Why worry when we can pray.” That is a small example of living as Jesus lived.

Spiritual disciplines are a choice and take diligence, yet they confirm my faith and by practicing them I will “never fall” — a most appealing promise!

I know the process of becoming like Jesus will not be complete until I see Him face to face, but His promises motivate me to “purify myself as He is pure” rather than coasting or fumbling through life.

How do Christians meet that challenge? By prayer, Bible study, and yielding our life to the Spirit’s control. I can commit myself to those priorities each day and seek to fulfill the great purpose to which I’ve been called—the doing of “good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

Another spiritual discipline not often mentioned but vital to growing in godliness is this: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

Keep short accounts. Take note of selfishness and self-rule. Do a study on God’s descriptions of sin. He wants to remove it from my life and make me more like how He sees me — in Christ. These are life-changing practices that open my heart to let Jesus freely transform my life.

MORE: Philippians 1:9–11, Ephesians 1 & 2, 2 Peter 1, Psalm 119:97–105.

P.S. I wrote this early today. Later, the sermon at church was on the same topic and using most of the same verses. Amazing . . . and only God . . .