Seeking Him: 12 Days to Spiritual RevivalSample

Day 6: Holiness

In Scripture, the church (made up of all who have been born into God’s family through repentance and faith in Christ) is referred to as Christ’s “bride” (Revelation 19:7; 21:2, 9; 22:17). The Lord Jesus has promised to return to take His bride to the home He is preparing in heaven. At that time, there will be a great wedding feast and celebration.

The apostle Paul gives us a moving description of our heavenly Bridegroom’s heart for His bride and His express desire for the wedding day yet to come:

Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. (Ephesians 5:25–27)

Sadly, many Christians today live as if they’ve forgotten about the wedding. In one sense, revival could be defined as “the bride getting ready for the wedding”! It is the church (which includes every true believer) preparing to meet her Bridegroom by becoming holy—cleansed of all that defiles. If this is the intent of our Savior for His bride, should it not also be the life-long focus and motivation of every child of God?

God has commanded us to be holy. Our motivation is to be like Him and to prepare for His return. But personal holiness is not something we passively wait for God to mystically bestow on us. We must actively cooperate with Him to become holy in “all our conduct.”

Maybe you’re thinking, I really want to be holy, but I keep failing! It seems so impossible! Remember . . . God never commands us to do anything that He will not enable us to do. If you are a child of God, He has given you His Holy Spirit to help you in the life-long process of sanctification. God’s grace will give you the desire and the power to pursue holiness in every area of your life (Philippians 2:13).

At the end of 1 Thessalonians, after challenging the believers to live holy lives, the apostle Paul encourages them with this benediction:

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. (1 Thessalonians 5:23–24)

In Psalm 4, David describes two kinds of people: the godly, those who love righteousness, and the ungodly, those who are drawn to sin.

Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!
O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame? How long will you love vain words and seek after lies
Selah
But know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself;
the LORD hears when I call to him.
Be angry, and do not sin;
ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent.
Selah
Offer right sacrifices,
and put your trust in the LORD. (Psalm 4:1-5)

In contrast to the ungodly, David professes his love for holiness and his earnest intent on pleasing God.

The fruit of holiness is gladness and joy! The Scripture gives us a description of the Lord Jesus that makes this connection:

You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you
with the oil of gladness beyond your companions. (Hebrews 1:9)

The perspective of Satan, the world, and our natural mindset is the polar opposite of God’s way of thinking.

In several of his epistles, the apostle Paul shares an important insight about the life-long process of pursuing holiness:

Put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and . . . be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and . . . put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:22–24)

As “new creatures” in Christ, we are to “put off ” anything and everything that is a part of our old, corrupt flesh—sinful habits, wrong attitudes, impure motives, and so on. But it’s not enough just to “put off ” the old life. In its place, by God’s grace and the power of His Holy Spirit, we must actively “put on the new self”—those qualities of the life of Christ within us.

Consider:

How can we be delivered from hypocrisy and move toward living more authentically holy lives?