4Mat Reflection: Unholiness

Abstract: Forgiveness is not enough. Justification only covers one part of our brokenness as a result of sin. Sin entered humanity in the Garden of Eden and has been the mortal enemy of humanity ever since. Jesus promised to save us from that enemy. Save. Not just forgive! That saving grace is absolutely necessary but once forgiveness is accomplished a believer needs to move into sanctifying grace. This grace is what transforms our lives into the likeness of Christ. It is to make us holy. Christ followers are called to experience the full work of Christ which includes holiness.

Evil plagues the world; there is no doubt that it is difficult to reconcile a loving God with the reality of evil humanity experiences on a daily basis. God is not the author of evil. He is the author of all things good, which includes free will. Humanity was given free will as a gift and our sin corrupted in making evil a part of life. Any created substance, including earth, can change; the only immutable existence in all that is, is God-- in his triune state. Humans were created in the image of God, and through the temptation of Satan, humans used free will to sin against God forever creating potential for evil. Human beings were no longer perfect but were now subject to corruption.

Corruption comes in several forms. Humans are tempted to sin and fall away from holiness in three basic ways: the flesh, the world, and the devil. The flesh is all about physical corruption. Our nature the very core is corrupt. We are under the reign of sin from birth until we submit to the rule and reign of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The corruption of the flesh causes sexual sins, sins of gluttony, and all forms of selfishness. All sins are not created equally but grace applied to all sins forgives them equally. The world tempts us in a different way. The world comes to us through alluring us. Covetous thoughts begin with a sight of something bright and shiny. Humans were created for community but sin has made community corrupt because we cannot truly love one another without the help of the Holy Spirit. In western society, humanity has reached an age of extreme self-centered individualism. The world is trying to isolate people from one another and keep sin secret. We strive for things that human beings were never meant to go after: money, possessions, power and position. The church is the answer for our broken community but only when the church is rightly ordered. Finally we reach the impact of the devil and his minions. The Devil is our enemy! His role in history now is to be the ruler over the system of an evil world. Unfortunately, it is the world we reside in. He will assault us in our weakest spots and come at us in ways that are attractive to us. The only way to defeat Satan and his demons is through standing on scripture, growing in grace and developing in the Holy Spirit.

We are meant to win the war. Satan is an already defeated foe trying desperately to take some of us with him into eternal punishment and separation from God. God has given us the tools to resist the Devil and to live in holiness.  It requires Christians to be intentional. Return to your first love. Recognize that the Enemy is real and he is always on the prowl. To win in everyday life the Christian must depend on the Spirit moment by moment and take a stand. Put on the full armor of God found in Ephesians 6 and don’t take it off. Sanctification is the answer for Christianity. It is the remedy to our sin sick souls. It is the only way.

Concrete: This book is life-changing! It is full of truth and suggestions to make living a life of holiness easier. This book breathes life into the reader by clearly and concisely laying out who and what our enemies are and showing the door to freedom from sin. I have marked this book up on nearly every page, but will leave you with only a handful of powerful quotes for you to read before purchasing/reading this book for yourself. “The ultimate purpose of sanctification is to make us like Christ so we may be holy as he is holy.” YES! Simply and easily stated this is the goal of walking in step with the Spirit of God. “We fear holiness will take away what we like best about sin.” We need to stop justifying sin and set it aside because it is against God’s will for our lives. “Each part of Wesley’s trifold image enables humanity to mirror what takes place in the divine life.” We were created in the image of the triune God and we must live accordingly. “Because their free will is created, it too can change for better or worse… Therefore behind all evil and sin is something that was originally good.” Our corrupted nature is where sin comes from even though we are created good. Sin is bad, obviously, but as humans and a part of creation we are still good. “Without the supreme love of God directing our lives, chaos reigns in our relationships.” We cannot be in well balanced, good relationships outside the love of God flowing through us. Broken relationships with others flow as a natural consequence of a broken relationship with God. “Because of sin, we find ourselves far from God. If we’re to return to our Father’s home, the created order in which we live must not become the ultimate object of our desire and love. It must not distract us from our ultimate end, rather it must only be used to bring us to our ultimate goal – the life everlasting.” We cannot be distracted by things or people to get us off course. “In our fallen condition, the world leads us headlong into the unbridled pursuit of money and material possessions. It seeks to feed out insatiable physical appetites with its many pleasures. It deceives us into believing we are the masters of the natural order, free to plunder and consume the environment of its resources with little regard of the consequences. And it fosters skepticism and cynicism toward any belief in a reality beyond itself. Materialism, consumerism, hedonism, and atheism are what the world uses to ensnare us.” There is absolutely nothing that I can add to this quote, but to say we must stand guard. “We can’t become the people of God in isolation from the means of grace in the Christian community” We are not created to do this alone. We are relational people and need the means of grace present in the church. “Suffice to say Jesus triumphed over each temptation in the same way we can triumph over temptation. He confronted each temptation by quoting Scripture.” You have to know Scripture to quote it and I would encourage all believers to memorize and use Scripture to combat our enemy. I will move on from amazing quotes even though there are DOZENS more I would like to put in here.

Reflection: I can honestly say that there is nothing in this book that I dislike. I had some questions about being ushered into God’s presence when we die; however, I believe that all my questions are a matter of semantics. My main question is why aren’t we discussing spiritual warfare on a regular basis from the pulpit, in small groups, in bible study and even in one on one conversations with other believers? Why do we shy away from the topic of holiness when it has the power to change our lives? What are we afraid of?

Action: This new information is already changing my approach to spiritual warfare and holiness. I plan to continue studying it. I have ordered several more books on spiritual warfare and on the Holy Spirit which I plan to read, study and apply to my life. I also commit to having conversation that may seem uncomfortable. We NEED to be talking about this regularly. Therefore, I intend to do so.