A Life of Holiness
Jeff Carter
We began back in the December newsletter a brief exploration of the book “The Pursuit of Holiness” by Jerry Bridges. This is truly a modern day Christian classic that lays out the basics behind the kind of pursuit we all ought to have with regard to this life of holiness. In that December newsletter we were only able to cover about the first half of the book. After a bit of a break, I thought we might jump back in and finish this journey.
The life of holiness can sometimes seem like an unattainable goal…a nice idea, but wholly impractical for those living in such an age of distractions, rampant sin all around us, and such temptations incessantly thrust into our view that we think would baffle the sensibilities of the biblical writers. We can sometimes feel so overwhelmed with the task that hopelessness can immobilize us. But God would not set such a task or pursuit in front of us, if He did not at the same time equip us for attaining it.
Romans 8:13 says, “For if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (NASB) This verse really couldn’t be much clearer. On p.69 Bridges explains:
“God has made a provision for our holiness and He has also given us a responsibility for it.”
He goes on to say that God has delivered us from the reign of sin, has united us with Christ, and has given us the indwelling Holy Spirit to strengthen us in that pursuit. God does not leave us alone to fight this battle alone. But along with giving us all those provisions for the battle, He also enjoins us to take up arms and fight in the battle ourselves. We have a responsibility and duty to put to death the deeds of the flesh.
We can easily fall under the spell of such clever quips as “let go and let God.” And we can confuse the monergistic work of God in justification with the life of sanctification – which is synergistic. It is us working with God…not us passively standing by and watching God work. Bridges encapsulates this well when he says:
“It is time for us Christians to face up to our responsibility for 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 stopped using the terms “victory” and “defeat” to describe our progress in holiness. Rather we should use the terms “obedience” and “disobedience” (p.72).
Bridges goes on in chapter 7 to discuss the crucial question of how this is to be done. He says that if this is to work we must first have the conviction. But where does this conviction come from? It is from exposure to the Word of God. We must constantly and consistently expose ourselves to the values that God’s Word portrays. We are so bombarded by the world and its values, that sometimes God’s Word can seem foreign or unrealistic to our sensibilities. We must retrain our mindset, values, and remold our sensibilities to that which God provides in His Word. Bridges expounds:
“Jesus said, ‘Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me” (John 14:21). Obedience is the pathway to holiness, but it is only as we have His commands that we can obey them. God’s Word must be so strongly fixed in our minds that it becomes the dominant influence in our thoughts, our attitudes, and our actions” (p.75).
In addition to conviction we must also have commitment. He describes how in reading John’s enjoinder in I John chapter two that we not sin, he realized that in his own personal life, his real aim was to not sin “very much.” How true this is for so many of us. We dabble in this sin or that. We postpone giving up our indulgences. What we must realize is that we are establishing and confirming patterns and habits in our lives. The more we give in and say “yes,” the easier it is the next time.
“We have the “just one more time” syndrome. We will take just one more lustful look, eat just one more rich dessert before starting our diet, watch just one more television program before sitting down to our Bible study. In all of this we are postponing the day of commitment, the day when we say to sin, ‘Enough’” (p.80).
But just as it is easier the next time when we give in and say yes, it is also easier the next time when we stand firm and say no. We must establish and reinforce patterns and habits of holiness—motivated by the holiness of God and our disgust with what sin has done to our lives, as well as a commitment prompted by a resolve that says this is enough!
Bridges quotes Jay Adams who says, “It is by willing, prayerful, and persistent obedience to the requirements of the Scriptures that godly patterns are developed and come to be a part of us.” In chapter 14 Bridges teases out this idea even more:
“Habit is defined as ‘the prevailing disposition or character of a person’s thoughts or feelings.’ Habits are the thought and emotional patterns engraved on our minds.”
He goes on to say that every time we sin, we are developing habits of increasing wickedness. These acts of unrighteousness become habits that make us slaves to sin. But in the same way, just as we gave ourselves over to habits of wickedness, we can give ourselves over to habits of holiness (Romans 6:19). He says:
“To train ourselves in godliness (1 Tim 4:7) is to discipline and structure our lives so that we develop godly habits”
“The determination that ‘I’ll never do that anymore,’ based on sheer human resolve, has never once broken the shackles of sin. But there are practical principles which we can follow to train ourselves in godliness. The first principle is that habits are developed and reinforced by frequent repetition…the more we say no to sin, the more we are inclined to say no.”
…the second principle in breaking sinful habits and acquiring new ones is to never let an exception occur. When we allow exceptions we are reinforcing old habits or else failing to reinforce the new one.
…the third principle is, diligence in all areas is required to ensure success in one area…this is the reason, for example, that it is so important for us to develop habits of self-control over our physical appetites. We may think that indulging these appetites isn’t so bad, but such indulgences weaken our wills in every other respect of our lives” (pp 114-15).
I love how he ends the book by focusing on scripture intake and meditation as the best defense against the pollution of sin. He says:
“The Bible will cleanse our minds of the defilement of the world if we meditate on its teachings. It will also serve as a continual warning to us not to succumb to frequent temptations to indulge our eyes and thoughts in the immorality around us.”
He closes the book by reminding us that the life of the Christian is to be a life of joy, not drudgery. We can sometimes look at the spiritual disciplines and the disciplined Christian life as dull and lifeless and even drudgery. But the thread that winds its way all throughout the book is that the pursuit of holiness is indeed the path to freedom and joy. He concludes by highlighting:
“Only those who are obedient—who are pursuing holiness as a way of life—will know the joy that comes from God…true joy only comes from God, and He shares this joy with those who walk in fellowship with Him” (p.131).
Thank you for indulging me and allowing me to share a bit of my journey with you. This study has really revolutionized my pursuit of God and pursuit of a life of holiness. I invite you to join me in this adventure and to take the next step that God has for you in your journey with Him.
-Jeff