Have you ever tried to define holiness? We kind of know that it’s the opposite of sin and is one of the characteristics of God that we are called to emulate. Perhaps one way to see what holiness is can be seen by first looking at some of the aspects of sin that we must avoid if we want to develop holiness in our own lives.
Pastor John Piper gives us a great definition of sin: “What is sin? It is the glory of God not honored. The holiness of God not reverenced. The greatness of God not admired. The power of God not praised. The truth of God not sought. The wisdom of God not esteemed. The beauty of God not treasured. The goodness of God not savored. The faithfulness of God not trusted. The commandments of God not obeyed. The justice of God not respected. The wrath of God not feared. The grace of God not cherished. The presence of God not prized. The person of God not loved. That is sin.”1
Sadly, Christians in our society today often don’t realize how sinfulness is such an affront to our holy God. Billy Graham said it well when he shared the following: “We have largely lost sight of the holiness and purity of God today. This is one reason why we tolerate sin so easily.”2
While our salvation takes place the moment we place our faith in Jesus, developing holiness is a lifetime process that all true Christians must strive to put on. J. C. Ryle helps provide us with a good starting point on our journey to become more holy when he stated: “The first step towards attaining a higher standard of holiness is to realize more fully the amazing sinfulness of sin.”3 So, one of the requirements in our pursuit of holiness is to develop an intense hatred and aversion to sin or as Jerry Bridges put it: “As we grow in holiness, we grow in hatred of sin; and God, being infinitely holy, has an infinite hatred of sin.”4
So, we know that having a hatred of sin is a prerequisite to becoming more holy. And while we now see what sin is, let’s look at the positive side of what holiness is. I like the following two definitions of holiness:
“Holiness is the habit of being of one mind with God, according as we find His mind described in Scripture. It is the habit of agreeing in God’s judgment, hating what He hates, loving what He loves, and measuring everything in this world by the standard of His Word.”5 – J. C. Ryle
“Holiness is nothing else but the habitual and predominant devotion and dedication of soul, and body, and life, and all that we have to God; and esteeming, and loving, and serving, and seeking Him, before all the pleasures and prosperity of the flesh.”6 – Richard Baxter
In an earlier devotion on prayer, I found it is much easier to pray when we view prayer as not just our Christiaan duty but as a delight. Similarly, to grow in holiness we need to understand that we should be motivated to become more holy because of the great joy it will bring us to know that the more holy we become the more we are conforming to the wonderful character of God. We need to view our journey into holiness as an exciting way of living and not as a boring chore. I love what C. S. Lewis had to say on this point: “How little people know who think that holiness is dull… When one meets the real thing, it’s irresistible!”7
Another important aspect in developing a holy heart toward God is expressed well by Jerry Bridges when he shared: “We are 100 percent responsible for the pursuit of holiness, but at the same time we are 100 percent dependent upon the Holy Spirit to enable us in that pursuit. The pursuit of holiness is not a pull-yourself-up-by-your-own-bootstraps approach to the Christian life.”8
In closing, I would like to leave you with one more great insight from Jerry Bridges on this great adventure called the pursuit of holiness:
“Too often, we say we are defeated by this or that sin. No, we are not defeated. We are simply disobedient. It might be good if we stop using the terms victory and defeat to describe our progress in holiness. Rather, we should use the terms obedience and disobedience. When I say I am defeated by some sin, I am unconsciously slipping out from under my responsibility. I am saying something outside of me has defeated me. But when I say I am disobedient, that places the responsibility for my sin squarely on me. We may in fact be defeated, but the reason we are defeated is because we have chosen to disobey. We need to brace ourselves up and to realize that we are responsible for thoughts, attitudes, and actions. We need to reckon on the fact that we died to sin’s reign, that it no longer has any dominion over us, that God has united us with the risen Christ in all His power and has given us the Holy Spirit to work in us. Only as we accept our responsibility and appropriate God’s provisions will we make any progress in our pursuit of holiness.”9
1 Inspirational Quotes on Sin (bibleportal.com)
2 Inspirational Quotes on Sin (bibleportal.com)
3 TOP 25 HOLINESS QUOTES (of 676) | A-Z Quotes (azquotes.com)
4 TOP 25 HOLINESS QUOTES (of 676) | A-Z Quotes (azquotes.com)
5 TOP 25 HOLINESS QUOTES (of 676) | A-Z Quotes (azquotes.com)
6 TOP 25 HOLINESS QUOTES (of 676) | A-Z Quotes (azquotes.com)
7 TOP 25 HOLINESS QUOTES (of 676) | A-Z Quotes (azquotes.com)
8 TOP 25 HOLINESS QUOTES (of 676) | A-Z Quotes (azquotes.com)