Skip to main content

The pursuit of holiness - in 2013!


Twice a year we orient new workers into ministry with WEC International during which time we try and communicate the values upon which WEC is built to a degree sufficient for new workers to understand and commit to. Now, of course, these values are aspirational, in the sense that we do not live them out perfectly all of the time ... 

The four values are faith, holiness, sacrifice and fellowship ... I may turn to others values in later posts, but for this post I wanted to focus on holiness. Partly because I have just finished reading some of JC Ryle's notes, which were extremely helpful and partly because it is a topic rarely reached on today and in need of reflection - in my opinion. 

The author of the book of Hebrews exhorts us with a clear word "Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord." Heb 12:14

By 'see' we mean to gaze at with wide-open eyes at something (or someone) amazing. In other words a splendid, awesome vision of glory to behold today as well as a hope for the future to be waited for expectantly. So holiness has both a current and future blessing for those willing to pursue it.

So the question we should ask ourselves is how are we doing in the area of holiness and are we growing as we ought? What better way to start the year - than reflect on these things before the Lord!!! 

JC Ryle gives this overall definition of holiness - "it is the habit of being of one mind with God." He goes on to explain how this might be expressed in the following ways;
  • a shunning of all known sin
  • an obediance to all known commandments
  • a striving to be like Jesus
  • expression of the fruit of the Sprit
  • an exercising of self-control and self-denial for the sake of Christ
  • an exercising of charity, mercy and brotherly kindness
  • the pursuit of purity of heart
  • a awesome fear of God
  • a humble walk before the Lord and men
  • a life of faithfulness
  • spiritual mindedness
Why is this important to pursue holiness? It is important because;
  • scripture commands it
  • it is the fulfilment of purpose for which Christ came into the world
  • it is the evidence if saving faith
  • it is proof to the world of our love for Jesus and that we are His Children
  • it will facilitate us 'doing good' to others
  • it will bring comfort in the here and now
  • it prepares us for eternity
Having laid out some exacting challenges and demonstrated what is required and why,  he then goes on to express the only way in which this is possible ... for all who desire to be holy it is actually quite simple ... begin with Christ, go to Christ and abide in Christ.

Which, personally, brings me back to one of the key factors in my Christian testimony explained here. When apathy strikes and this whole holiness thing is of no interest to me and I stop caring, worse still I am not even bothered that I don't care - it is a sure sign that I have given up on my pursuit of the person, Jesus. What I need is to realise that I have stopped the pursuit of Jesus - thankfully when this realisation comes I can humbly seek a fresh vision of who He is and, once time is taken to restore that vision, all the rest falls into place.

So this brings me to my encouragement for 2013. Each year I seek the Lord for a specific word of encouragement which frames my thoughts for that year. This year as I was praying I had Hebrews 12:1 which, when personalised, reads - let me throw off everything that hinders, and the sin that so easily entangle me ... so that I might run with perseverance the race marked out for me. And let me keep my eyes fixed on Jesus ...

Press on!

Comments

Post a Comment

Feel free to add comments or ask questions:

Popular posts from this blog

Labels

Who are you? I have never been a great fan of labels when it comes to describing members of the body of Christ. eg. he is anglican, she is Baptist, they are Charismatic, etc. etc. I remember once causing a man to become increasingly hot under the collar when he asked me who I was? To which I replied I was a disciple (follower) of Jesus. He was meaning which Church did I attend (presumably so he could classify me and decide whether I was bona fide or not) and my answer did not bring him peace, but I refused to go any further.  Why? Because, as I said, I am not a great fan of labels, but also because for me there is a very important distinction between primarily identifying myself with Jesus and identifying myself with Church. Of course, I recognise that by becoming a follower of Jesus I become part of the body of Christ, but that can be very distinct from being a member of a Church. To me this is the crucial difference between vibrant faith and dusty religion.  ...
1 comment
Read more

Homes I have lived in #3

This year I am celebrating my silver wedding anniversary ... Just for something to do I have begun to sketch all the houses we have lived in during that time. So here is house number #3 On our return to the UK we were faced with the question that faces all people in transition, what next? For us, we were encouraged by our friends to investigate further training and opted to spend a year with Kerygma ministries. We joined with a group of some 20 other people from various different cultures and backgrounds to join the ministry led by Dr Bob Gordon, based at Drayton Hall near Norwich. We spent one year here, between September 1993 and July 1994.   Significant events that took place here included: Suffered reverse culture shock, as I grappled with the transition from life in a mudhut in Africa to life in the UK in a Manor House! (Struggled with the amount of money being spent on a sign that was being placed outside ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Helpful read ...

Sacred Pathways: Discover your Soul's Path to God - Gary Thomas  When you became a christian did you look around other people's lives and seek to model some of their spiritual disciplines? Did you find that somehow they didn't work for you in quite the same way as they seemed to work for them? Did this lead you to a place of discouragement? Did you think that, somehow, the things that bring such life to other people but don't bring life to you must mean that there is something wrong with you? Or that maybe God doesn't love you as much as He loved those people whom you sought to emulate? These are very real questions that all c hristians probably grapple with at some point. As we grow and mature in Christ we eventually reach a place of liberty where we realise that we are unique and therefore we shouldn't be surprised when our Father deals uniquely with us - and the way we most easily 'connect' to Him is also unique. Or perhaps we find over time th...
Post a Comment
Read more