The holy life certainly isn't found in a dreary life of failed attempts to keep a list of tasks, but, rather, "righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit." (Romans 14:17)
My last several posts have made the case that holiness must be restored to us so we can experience the freedom that living connected to our holy God brings us. I understand this has seemed counterintuitive to many readers, given the church's current and past misappropriation of the concept of holiness.
I have made the case that the Law could not make us holy and I have clearly stated that obeying a set of rules is the dead-end pathway. While there's incredible wisdom in learning and following the principles of the Bible, depending upon following a list of do's and don'ts will ultimately lead us off a cliff of self-idolatry.
I have advocated, instead, following hard after Christ, living connected to the life of the Vine that Christ is. This is obviously less concrete than a list of what to avoid/what to do, so readers have asked: What, then, is this holy life?
The holy life is simply this:
Death to Self
Renunciation of the World
Absolute Surrender to (the will of God in) Christ
Death To Self
Death to Self is to follow Christ by constantly dying to our will, our way, and our wants. Not needs—God has given us those—but wants. All sin is a futile attempt to meet a legitimate need in an illegitimate way. This is what Paul writes of in Romans 7 when he says he wants to do well but can't do it. Instead, he does what he doesn't want to do. To combat this, we must take up our cross and follow Christ: "And he said to all, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.'"(Luke 9:23).
Renunciation Of The World
Renunciation of the World means to renounce the lust of the eyes (1 John 2:16), lust of the flesh (2 Peter 2:18, 1 John 2:16), and pride of life. None of these are words we use much today. E. M. Bounds defines them as follows:
"'The lust of the flesh' is human nature in opposition to God. The 'lust of the eyes' is that sense that takes note of physical things and is inflamed by them. The 'pride of life' is the manner of worldly men whereby pride is displayed and pomp is cherished."
These lusts power the world around us and form the basis of inner temptation. And the Bible demands that these worldly lusts or desires be banned and denounced:
"For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, this present world." - Titus 2:11-12
These lusts are not completely destroyed when we are converted to Christ. They are broken in power and weakened, but the roots are still within a Christian. "If these lusts remain," says E. M. Bounds, "he is only half-armed and wholly exposed." Just like a tree cut down to a stump that sends up many shoots, if we allow these shoots to remain, we will be tripped up by our internal struggle. As with the flesh, the solution is to follow Christ in taking up our cross daily, dying to both our flesh and what the world values.
Absolute Surrender To Christ
Absolute Surrender to Christ is, defined by Andrew Murray, as "all that I am, all that I'm not, and all that I hope to be, surrendered absolutely to Christ." These three, together, are what Lordship means. When we say Jesus is our Lord, God, and King, this is what is meant.
The Christian's process of moving from Christ being simply Savior to becoming Lord, God, and King is the Christian's journey or walk with God. If you haven't read or heard my previous talks outlining a Christian's walk with God, I outline the walk with our holy God as the following:
To know him is to love him, to love him is to trust him, to trust him is to obey him, to obey him is to follow him. Following Christ is to set our faces—just as he did—toward death to self, renunciation of the world, and absolute surrender to the will of God. This is what it means to follow Christ.
Walking with God only begins with salvation. Those who do not press in (Philippians 3:13-14) and are satisfied with the "status quo" create an exposed condition. According to E. M. Bounds, "There is safety only in high aims, strenuous effort, and constant advance. Onward and upward is the great battle cry." Why? Because each step up his holy hill is a thrusting of our souls into the purifying flames of the presence of God.
And the result of this journey into the Lordship of Christ is abundant life in Christ. Altogether, following Christ and living the abundant life in Christ, is the holy life. Why? Because God dwells with us—in us—and his life-sustaining power resides in us. THIS is the life!
A few of my readers suggested that the sacred disciplines will make us holy, but they will not. By all means, read, pray, fast, and put into practice all the disciplines. They won't make you holy but they are the sacred pathway of those who have gone before us. These will help you crucify your flesh/self and train you to stay in a place of renunciation of the world and all its enticements away from living in Christ. Abstain from worldly lusts, of course. Put on the righteousness of Christ and the armor of God daily! But above all else, do what it takes to stay connected to our Holy God. THIS is what transforms us.
When the Bible outlines its extensive lists of unholy acts, it's not so much a list of what to avoid...it's a list of what will naturally be avoided when the Holy Spirit is currently at work in us. (As well as red flags when we're straying from the path.)
When the Bible outlines its extensive lists of the fruit of a holy life, it's not a list of what to "put on" in your own strength, but what will naturally result when the Holy Spirit is currently at work in us. Both types of lists are meant to train us to recognize the kingdom from which they come.
When we American Christians read the Bible, we have the benefit of about two thousand years of established Christianity and the fruit of the Kingdom of God, in varying depths. Prior to Christ's establishment of the church, the only people who had any idea of what was holy or unholy were the small group of Jews!
It was absolutely necessary for the Apostles and early church fathers to lay out the fruit of each kingdom because up until this point, there really only was one kingdom—the kingdom of darkness! All the surrounding peoples had no framework of holiness and only violent, capricious, enslaving gods to light their paths. It's hard to imagine the depth of depravity and darkness...they didn't even have the benefit of Western Civilization! (Western Civilization is only possible because of Judeo-Christian values.) It took 3.5 years for Christ to demonstrate the stark contrast between the two kingdoms. Christ brought his kingdom with him and will consummate it at the end of all things.
God gave the laws to Moses to keep the small group of Jews on the pathway of holiness so Christ could come and light their way since they had come to believe they were made holy by those laws and no longer in need of salvation.
To be holy, we must stay in the presence of our holy God.
If we presume to follow a list to make us holy or to save us from the wrath to come, we will be lost. If we stay connected to Christ's Spirit, we will overcome the spirit of this world.