Living Holy Lives

Have you ever noticed how some things disappear before we even realize they’re gone?  For instance, have you tried to find a VHS or a cassette tape recently?  It’s tough to do.  Well, in church life, we have slowly begun to minimize the reality of sin, and I am fearful that we are in danger of letting it disappear from our consciousness.

With all do respect to Jonathan Edwards, I am not trying to present a digital “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.”  My desire isn’t to be harsh or overly critical, but I do think it’s important for us to remember exactly who we are and exactly who God is.  The Bible tells us that all of us our sinners.  Paul writes, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Romans 3:23, NLT).  Sometimes in our efforts to emphasize God’s love and forgiveness, we minimize the blight that sin leaves on our lives.  We shrug off our sin and excuse our rebelliousness.  We justify our sinful behavior, and convince ourselves that it’s o.k. with God.  I firmly believe that God forgives us for anything and everything we have done or will ever do (see my post on prayer and forgiveness).

With that said, however, we must realize that God is perfect and holy.  The Bible says, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty—the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come (Revelation 4:8, NLT).   Not only is He holy, but He calls us to live righteous lives for Him.  The Apostle Peter writes, “So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy” (1 Peter 1:14-15, NLT).  We cannot have a cavalier attitude towards sin.  We cannot excuse it or justify it.  We cannot simply do as we please and then mandate that God just “get with the times.”  We are to live holy lives in the power of God.  When we fail and sin, we confess it and get back on the path of righteousness.

The staggering problem for too many us is the fact that we are spiritually impotent because we are too fond of the sin in our lives.  We need to get passionate about God and His righteousness.  We need to learn to lay aside the desires of the flesh in the power of God.  We need to reorient ourselves to look at our lives, both inside and out, through the eyes of God.  What we really need is revival in our hearts and our minds (if you are looking for a good read on this subject, pick up a copy of Downpour by James MacDonald).