“Tens of
thousands, perhaps millions, have come into some kind of religious experience
by accepting Christ and they have not been saved.”-A.W. Tozer
A question on many minds is a simple
one: Why do Christians look just like the world? Where is this
transformation they talk about? As
Protestant Christians we know a lot about grace through faith alone.
Maybe we know too much about it. For me, as a part of the Salvation Army we believe in grace through faith. But we also believe in the ability to live in complete holiness.
Our culture presents a unique
situation. The United States is a difficult place to live in holiness. Never in
the history of man kind has humanity been faced with so many temptations from
so many sources. It's a literal bombardment: Television,
commercials, internet, ads, movies, pornography, fast food, cell phones, smart
phones, billboards, and even conversations.
Given our unique situation, shouldn't
holiness be at the very forefront of all of our efforts? If there is any greater
challenge that could face Christians in an American situation? Sin is engrained
in all of us from a young age. And sin leads to death.
We really like grace through faith,
but we don't want to hear about sin. Maybe it's because we're in
it? Let us consider ourselves and how we live. God is very serious about sin. He slaughtered his own son on the cross
because of sin, just to offer a way out for sinners.
Are we confronting the sins in our
lives? Are we praying on them, desperately pleading with God to remove
them? Could someone tell from a casual conversation that we are saved
followers of Jesus Christ?
When I first became a follower of
Jesus Christ three years ago sin had a place in every aspect of my life.
Sin was second nature. I was selfish, I was interested in entertainment,
satisfaction, and it showed. Then I met Jesus Christ. I called out to Jesus Christ. And he delivered me from all my empty
pursuits.
What do we do when we meet
Christ? We change. The profound conversion experience found in Jesus
Christ is, as a rule, synonymous with repentance. Repentance is an admission
that our way is wrong and God's way is right.
I don’t think we take it seriously
enough. When we sin we think, “Well, I’m
saved by grace.” We’re saved by grace it’s
true, but we’re also called to radical holiness. Read how the Lord speaks through James.
James 4:4-10 (NLT) says:"You
adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy
of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make
yourself an enemy of God. 5 Do you think the Scriptures have no
meaning? They say that God is passionate that the spirit he has placed within
us should be faithful to him. 6 And he gives grace generously.
As the Scriptures say,
“God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble.”
but gives grace to the humble.”
7 So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he
will flee from you. 8 Come close to God, and God will come
close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your
loyalty is divided between God and the world. 9 Let there be
tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be
sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. 10 Humble
yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor."
What is the correct response to
sin? It’s an expression of sorrow and
total brokenness. Woe is me! I can’t live with this situation! This can’t be true! No more sin!
Following the expression of sorrow
is the equally powerful expression of the contrite heart. Contrite literally means “bruised.” We’ve been “hit” by the woe of the reality of
sin in our lives. Now our heart is bruised,
and we are contrite, we are expressing a heart willing to change. We repent, change our mind about the sin,
request forgiveness, and begin to practice the opposite of the sin. If it’s sexual impurity we practice purity. If it’s selfishness we practice service. If it’s hardness, we practice love. If it’s judgement we practice mercy. We practice the opposite of the sin, in so
doing we repent.
Many genuine followers of Christ
make war on sin everyday. The key to
victory over sin is humility in submission before God. God loves us, and he wants to grant us
victory over sins in our lives. The best
expression I know of, in expressing submission before God is through prayer, on
my knees, making a statement of powerlessness and a request for God to take
lordship over that area of my life. Then
I turn it over.
We can have the victory. Part of that could be taking an honest
inventory of ourselves. Major sins I’ve
overcome include drug addiction, alcoholism, cigarette addiction, overpowering
depression, and sexual acting out. Yet I
realize many more sins still cling to me.
If I were to take an inventory I might write down overeating, or failing
to eat healthy. I could write down
overspending. I could definitely write
down selfishness. I could write down
callousness and apathy too.
So I’ve taken an inventory. Now what do I do? I start to pray about these issues every
night. I talk to God about these issues
in frank terms. I ask the Holy Spirit to
grant me power in the areas I need to change in. I ask for that power throughout my day. When I feel the strain, I call out to
God. When I feel the strain I talk to a
friend or minister. I begin to make war,
in the Spirit, against my shortcomings.
If I’m struggling with depression or
post-traumatic stress I begin to see a Christian or secular counselor. Perhaps I look up some books to study on the
struggle I’m having. If I’m struggling
with addiction or alcoholism I start attending Celebrate Recovery, Alcoholics
Anonymous, or Narcotics Anonymous. If I’m
struggling with gambling I begin to attend Gamblers Anonymous. There are many supports available.
This is a natural process for the
Holy Spirit to lead a believer in. I saw
it begin to happen naturally in my life, and also in the lives of other new
Christians. They would quit smoking.
They would stop getting drunk on weekends. They stopped going to R rated movies full of
sex and drug use. They stopped sleeping
with random people. They decided to take
God’s sex ethic seriously. They started making amends to those they had wronged
in the past.
And they shared their faith. Which is something only about 2% of
Christians actually do. The tragedy of
that statement, that statistic, is beyond belief. It’s a tragedy that deserves a memorial. And it’s my generation, millennials that don’t
know Jesus. They need Jesus. We have to share our faith. Charles Spurgeon
the famed prince of preachers said, "“Have you no wish for others to be
saved? Then you're not saved yourself, be sure of that!”
In conclusion, holiness means
victory over sin. Being a true follower of
Jesus Christ means sharing our faith.
Dare we ignore our own sins? Will
we truly be found faultless on the last day?
Will our robes be unblemished? Rest
assured every single man, woman, and child on Earth will one day stand before
Jesus Christ. We are all living for that
one moment when we go eye to eye with God himself. Could we live with ourselves knowing we never
fought our sins? Could we live with
ourselves knowing we left so many to slip into the depths of hell? Worse yet, what might he say in response to
our lives? Might Christ say, ”Depart
from me you workers of inequity?” Sin is
inequity. Let us labor instead to hear, ”Well
done good and faithful servant.”
“'Not called!' did you say? 'Not heard the call,' I
think you should say. Put your ear down to the Bible, and hear Him bid you go
and pull sinners out of the fire of sin. Put your ear down to the burdened,
agonized heart of humanity, and listen to its pitiful wail for help. Go stand
by the gates of hell, and hear the damned entreat you to go to their father's
house and bid their brothers and sisters and servants and masters not to come
there. Then look Christ in the face -- whose mercy you have professed to obey
-- and tell Him whether you will join heart and soul and body and circumstances
in the march to publish His mercy to the world.” --William Booth
Related Posts:
- Eternity & Christ: The Promise of Life
- The Paradox of Victory through Surrender: Rise Above
- The Heart & Mind of Humanity: Reflections on Suffering
- Coming into Maturity: Grace, Love, and Service
- A Cause Worth Dying For: Materialism, Millennials, and the Radical Mission
- Life after Death: Law, Eternity, and the Changed Mind
- Wisdom from Above: Living in Light of the Victory of Christ
- The Mindset of Christ: Teach Me How to Live, Lord
- Sex, Cuisine, and Television: Overcoming the World
- What is the will of God?
