Walking in Holiness

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This is the 8th and final sermon in a series of messages on the subject of sanctification. It is based on Eph. 4:17-18.

Written Excerpts:

Introduction:

Today we are going to wrap up a series of messages I have been giving on the topic of sanctification.

Many of you will recall that I spoke of hearing a professor from Asbury Seminary speak on the topic of holiness and then I read his book. That speaker was Dr. John Oswalt and I have been using a good bit of material from his book for this series.

This will be the 8^th and final message in the series, and yet, somehow I feel like I’ve only “scratched the surface” on this subject! Yet, I hope that we have been able to open our minds and understanding a little more about the subject, and create a desire in each of us to seek all of God’s grace in our lives to make us what He wants us to be.

Let me share a few short quotes I found in one source on the topic of holy living.

Someone has figured that we have thirty-five thousand laws trying to enforce the Ten Commandments.
God would never save us by grace so we could live in disgrace.
Our own dirt always seems cleaner [than everyone else’s].  — (The Complete Book of Zingers)

Transition: I want to use this last sermon in this series to wrap up our discussion on sanctification.

Proposition: For the time we have today let us consider some misconceptions about sanctification as well as some important pitfalls to avoid as we live the life of holiness day by day.

(As we talk about each of these issues, we may only refer briefly to different scriptures because most of these we have talk about to some extent throughout the series.)

I.    Misconceptions about Sanctification

A.  Confusion about the concept of “perfection”

We’ve talked about this already, so I just want to review before about the biblical concepts of perfection…

·     It is not speaking of absolute perfection.

·     It is not speaking of “Adamic perfection”

(Oswalt) …Most occurrences of the verb [form] for the word “perfect” have to do with the completion of an object or a process…. But there are four places [regarding Job and David] where the verb is used of human behavior, and these show that the kind of completion being talked [about] is of a moral and ethical nature.

“In other words, Job’s behavior toward God is not partly obedient and partly disobedient; it is wholly [completely] obedient. In the same way [David’s prayer in Ps. 19], the person who is delivered from [presumptuous sin] will be completely obedient. Rebellion will have no part in his or her life.”

This same root word is used in its adjective form to describe sacrificial animals that are complete in the sense that they are everything they are expected to be; with no defect; unblemished.

(Oswalt) Does not mean they were “show animals.” i.e. – it doesn’t mean that they could not be better in some way, or improved upon in some way, but they were entirely without defects.

A second word for “perfect” used in the Hebrew is the same root word that “shalom” comes from, which is often translated as “peace.” It also has to do with idea of completeness, but rather than stressing lack of blemish or defect, it carries the idea of “all parts being present,” or “wholeness.” So, a “whole heart” or “perfect heart” describes someone that is undivided in their thinking, their will and their choices.

B.  Confusion about the definition of “sin”

The Bible makes some clear distinctions when it talks about sin, and when we are not clear on those
distinctions, then it causes confusion in our beliefs about sanctification.

· knowledge vs. ignorance (Jas. 1:17)
· willful vs. unintentional (1 John 3:4)

legal vs. moral

“Legal” – focuses only on the fact that the law has been violated, but doesn’t look at intent, motive, or understanding. “Moral” – not only looks at violation, but also considers intent, knowledge and motive. (morally accountable)

When we fail to recognize these distinctions that are described in the Bible, then we can have two possible errors that affect our concept of sanctification.

• We can fail to distinguish between deliberate, willful disobedience, and mistakes caused by limited knowledge or other human weaknesses.

So, some may see no difference between a deliberate choice to commit fornication vs. forgetting someone you promised to pray for. (“See, nobody’s perfect!”)

 

• We can conclude that it is not possible for anyone to be victorious over sin, so we might as well just accept it and live with it.  

This attitude can convince some to not even seek for holiness, because it isn’t possible anyway.

If the life of holiness isn’t possible, then there are plenty of Scriptures that mock us by indicating we need to strive for it.

 

II.  Pitfalls to Avoid

In addition to the need for clarification on these matters, we also need to point out some of the errors or pitfalls that can sabotage our progress in holiness.

A.  The pitfall of “perfection-ism”

By misunderstanding the concept of perfection, we can think it refers to outward performance rather than inward wholeness. We begin to condemn ourselves when our performance doesn’t measure up to our ideas or even our desires to be holy, especially when we compare ourselves with other great Christians about whom we’ve read only wonderful, glowing reports of their lives.

Performance of godly behavior and conduct is important, but we must realize that our heart motives and desires are much more important. As long as our heart is wholly surrendered and consecrated to the Lord, our performance will keep improving.

B.  The pitfall of “legalism”

Legalism is the practice of measuring how holy I am based on what I do or don’t do. Emphasis again is on outward performance, and adherence to rules. Yes, outward behavior and conduct are important as we can see by the Apostle Paul’s occasions where he prescribes standards of behavior for his readers. But, we must never lose sight of the fact that holiness is about a relationship rather than a religious regimen and code.

C.  The pitfall of “judgmentalism”

Closely related to the previous two, and following right along after them is judgmentalism. As we evaluate our performance and measure ourselves by standards of what we do and don’t do, then we tend to judge/condemn ourselves and lay a heavy guilt trip on ourselves. This also tends to be projected outward toward others. And, along with it, is the tendency to compare ourselves with ourselves. (Who is more/less holy than the other?)

As you might have observed already, these pitfalls accurately describe the Pharisees. The Pharisees looked at their religion/faith as an “it” rather than a relationship with a person “Him.”

(Oswalt) Does God want us to behave in holy ways? Of course he does. It is written throughout the Bible, from cover to cover. But much more than that, he wants to live in us, and to have us live in him in a love relationship. This is what he really wants: that intimate, loving relationship that results from our complete surrender to his love and our happy obedience to his will. This is what the Pharisees were unwilling to give. They were willing to give God legalistic obedience, but they were unwilling to give him themselves.

Conclusion:

(Oswalt) So, [asking] “Am I holy?” is the wrong question. The questions are: “Is Jesus the sole, reigning Lord of my life? Is Jesus’ mind being created in me? Is Jesus being glorified by my behavior? Are people being drawn to Jesus because of my life? Is Jesus becoming more beautiful, more desirable because of what he is doing in my life?”

When these type of questions are the focus, we will tend more and more to de-emphasize ourselves and our performance or achievements, and we will understand that everything is a result of His life being lived through us.

Let’s prepare to sing # 540 in the blue hymnals: My Hope Is in the Lord

As we sing this song, let us remember that our only hope for salvation and sanctification is by grace through faith in the blood of Jesus.

When we focus too much on performance and achievements, then we become like the Pharisees and we begin to act and talk as if our righteousness is a result of our own efforts.

But, “my hope is in the Lord!” “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.”

Let’s stand and sing this hymn with passion and meaning from the depths of our hearts.