The Fight for Holiness

The fight for what? I thought we were supposed to be fighting for success, fighting for our destiny, fighting the devil. All those things are great things to fight for, but I believe that if we do not win the inward battle against our sinful human nature our victories in all other arenas of life will be short lived and incomplete. The fight for Holiness...we seem to not want to talk about holiness in our post modern, relevant, seeker sensitive church era. I certainly understand why, it's a tough message, and if we are honest the fight for holiness is a battle that if we truly engage in we run the risk of loosing more than any other battle we fight because sin is so rampant in our nature and our world. So...we'd rather just talk about how to have a better life, how to be a better you, tell everyone God loves them no matter what and send them on their way to go get their brains beat in by the enemy of their souls for yet another week. I'm tired of it...it tired of loosing battles in my own life, and I'm tired of watching the body of Christ in general sweep the subject of holiness under the carpet. It's time to shift this thing.

My absolute favorite preacher Damon Thompson once posed this question "If Jesus upon his death on the cross said "it is finished" then why is there so much work in my life that is yet to be complete?" The answer to that question resides in our true understanding of Jesus death. Because while we value the cross (as we should) I think that we may not understand completely the purpose of the cross. Because the cross was not necessary for me to have a way to heaven (bare with me). The cross was not necessary for me to make it to heaven, because the only thing that was necessary for me to make it to heaven was the blood of a spotless lamb. The blood of Jesus perfect life as a man could have been shed and his death accomplished a number of different, much faster, much less painful ways. There is no Levitical law that says torture the spotless lamb that is to be used for the sin offering nor was such a thing ever recorded in the Bible. So what we have to understand particularly in regards to our fight for holiness is that the blood of Jesus paid the price for my sin and gave me eternal life. But the Cross and everything it involved (the beating, the torture, the pain, the nails in the hands and the feet, the time spent hanging and dying a slow painful death) granted you and I the ability to have victory over our flesh on earth! Watchman Nee said "The blood is for the sin, and the cross is for the sinner". Because the thing that's beating me most of the time isn't the devil...it's myself. If we are honest as Christians, it's not demon possession that's holding us back from Gods best for us. We aren't murderers or rapists, and we generally aren't thieves. It's just...our self...our flesh...our "I need to please me" attitudes that are keeping us mediocre at best as it relates to our true destiny which is to be conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29).

We've got to understand that our nature as humans regardless of what we would like to think, and regardless of how fair it is, is a "sin nature" (Genesis 6:5, Genesis 8:21, Psalm 51:5). Even the Apostle Paul, author of 2/3 of the new testament said "the things I will to do I don't do, and the things I will not to do I do." What was he saying? He was saying he knows the right things to do (because of the law), but even for a spiritual giant the flesh battles for it's own pleasure and wages war against the spiritual nature that desires to be holy. Paul understood and admitted his weakness in and of himself. In our modern era some love to teach this portion of scripture and say "look even the Apostle Paul wasn't perfect, God loves us no matter what we go through, we are not under law but under grace" (all that is true, yet incomplete). We too often forget to proceed with the reality of Paul's writings which is: Romans chapter 7 is sandwiched in between Romans chapter 6 and 8 and the rest of the book which instructs us to do things like "make no provisions for our flesh" and to "not let sin reign in your mortal bodies that we should obey it's lust" and to "put to death the deeds of the body". So Paul understood his carnal nature, and by his own admission did not live a 100% sinless life but also understood that "the wages of sin is death" and "all have sin and fallen short of the glory of God". However we are not to use our sin nature as a "crutch". People tell me My Faith is a "crutch" but I say those who make provision for their flesh when even their very conscious and feelings tell them of their sin are the crutch users. It's tough and it's costly and we many times loose battles in putting our flesh to death, but I applaud, and God applauds those who will engage it the battle.

Understand this regardless of if you repeated a prayer once or not, sin will kill you and send you to hell. Romans 6:23 says "the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God s eternal life". Thank God for his gift! But also know that Romans 8:13 says "for if you live according to the flesh you will die, BUT if you put to death the deeds of the flesh, you will live." So notice LIFE is as much about how we live as it is the gift God gives us. Am I saying that God expects and demands from us a perfect life...No I am not. Am I saying that if we think we have insurance from the death of hell because we once went to an alter, repeated a prayer, go to church every Sunday but have made no provision to put to death our sinful lifestyles we are kidding ourselves that we think Heaven is our home....Yes I am.

We cannot afford to continue in a lifestyle that makes provision for sin, but understand that holiness is progressive. I believe that there is more grace for sin the less mature as Christians we are. The sad thing about that is: that's why our modern church's WANT to stay immature. Because we love our flesh and we love our sin. Note that Romans 14:23 states that anything that is not faith is sin...we can't afford to not understand this. Anything means anything, so worry is sin, insecurity is sin, the need to talk about others in a negative way or confess your doubt verbally is sin. Hey, we all got issues. However we cannot afford to keep letting time go by leaving these issues unresolved. It's tough, I should know...I messed my life up big time when I strayed from the faith for a prolonged season of my life. But I refuse, and God requires that I refuse to be held back by my past. Because if I were to let that happen because I just don't want to deal with it...that's sin. And if I understand that and don't do anything about it I put a halt to the process of my sanctification. Romans 12:2 Instructs us to renew our mind. But lets not get excited that we know and understand the concept of renewing the mind. Let's get excited when we apply and practice what we know and understand, which places upon us demands and accountability for the maturity that indeed comes with the application of renewing your mind to God's word and God's ways. Hebrew's 10:14 says God has perfected forever those who are BEING sanctified. Therefore as long as we stay under the water of sanctification we are perfect in his site...but if Newton's third law is true and the law of opposites is true theologically wouldn't it be true that if we do not continue in the process of being sanctified our perfection may be able to be negated? It's simply a theory...however I've been taught to live by this rule: Revert to the higher standard. I think in today's era we look for the minimum to get by and as Christians we look for the minimum requirements to make it to heaven. But Jesus never taught anything about minimum requirements. He said if you love me you'll keep my commandments...that means all of them. He said if we don't take up our cross and follow him we aren't worthy of him and his name. If we are to see an awakening, if we are to see change in our country and our world that is so desperately needed I believe it's going to be built on the foundation of holiness. In the day in which we live particularly we must fight to stay holy.

I encourage, implore, and provoke you to analyze your way of thinking towards holiness. Maybe you don't really think about it, maybe you've become stagnate in your growth, maybe you you are growing and being renewed day by day. Wherever you stand choose today to engage the battle, because there is power in holiness, there is sight to see the way God sees in holiness. Your true destiny as described in Romans 8:29 depends on it. Fight the fight at the foot of the cross in prayer, and a disciplined lifestyle empowered by the spirit of Christ Jesus living in you! Don't ever give up...let's shake this world!!


Produce Fruit,

Chad