Pursuing Holiness
I’ve had a thought tumbling around in the back of my mind for a couple months regarding Mother’s Day. I’ve noticed over the years of listening to Mother’s Day and Father’s Day sermons that there is a very different feel for moms than for dads. Dads get these fiery, “man-up” sermons, while moms get these pat-on-the-back, we-love-you-mom sermons. I’ve often wondered why this is the case, but since I’m not a mom, I won’t try to speak to this issue. However, I’ve noticed a similar trend with messages for women in general.
A little over a year ago, I joined social media (and I have felt rather conflicted about it ever since – it can be such a time waster, yet we can use social media to glorify God, so… yeah, it’s a tough one). On social media, I’ve seen a lot of messages to ladies about how awesome and beautiful and powerful we are, I’ve seen endless self-esteem and self-worth messages, and these are from Christian women. We talk about how imperfect we are, but how okay it is because we have God’s grace.
Ladies, we need to challenge each other more. We don’t need to focus so much on how beautiful and worthy we are; we need to be pointing each other to Christ. I know I need to be challenged. I need to be encouraged to run with endurance, to pursue holiness, to chase Jesus more than I chase anything or anyone else.
Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NASB)
Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3
Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. 2 Timothy 2:22
But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33
But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, Philippians 3:7-8
People will say that challenging one another to holiness is legalism. All you have to do is open the epistles to see that challenging believers to holiness, to becoming more like Christ, is what the church is meant to do for one another. Holiness is not something that died out in the Old Testament. The Old Testament teaches us that holiness cannot be achieved by our own strength; the New Testament teaches us that holiness comes through Christ in us.
Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. 1 Peter 1:13-19
Because of Jesus’ redemptive work on the cross and because He lives in our hearts, we can be made more like God and pursue holiness. That doesn’t mean that we magically become holy overnight – we have to put in effort and be attentive to God’s work in our hearts.
that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. Ephesians 4:22-24
It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Hebrews 12:7-11
The accusations of pursuing holiness equating legalism were around even in Paul’s day. In Romans 6, Paul addresses the grace and sin issue, explaining that God’s grace isn’t given so that we can keep sinning – God’s grace makes us dead to our old self and alive to our new self in Christ.
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification. Romans 6:12-19
We can’t be holy or become more like Christ on our own – trying to do so is legalism. But when we allow God’s grace to work through our weakness (see 2 Cor. 12:9-10), allow God to sanctify us and make us more like Christ, that is not legalism. That is pursuing more of Christ, that is letting our light shine, and that is the message I need to hear. I don’t want to be apathetic in my Christian walk (which is really easy for me to do!). I don’t want to listen to feel-good messages and never become more like Jesus. I want to be in tune with the Holy Spirit and be growing into more of Christ’s likeness. Let’s not settle for a comfortable stroll – let’s run with endurance and keep our eyes on Jesus, and let’s do it together!
With love,
Kelsey
