Holiness Living
We hear a lot about grace living but not as much about holiness living. God is love and God is holy. This is God’s truth from which we cannot escape.
I wrote an article called “we need to live by God’s promises and not his explanations.” The main point I wanted to convey was that “faith always requires unanswered questions.” I’d like to clarify something about that. As parents, we should want to teach our children about the biblical principles that guide our lifestyle choices, and we do try when possible.
When a child asks a question “Why?” the answer should not usually be “Because I told you so.” Sometimes, however, a child’s spirit is rebellious and/or snarky in asking, therefore a parent’s response is definitive and short. And sometimes a parent doesn’t know how to explain the answer they feel is right.
Of course, the best and most godly parenting will try to explain answers when there is adequate time, and it is appropriate. The best parenting skills will not be agitated and inpatient. The best parents will study Scripture and listen to biblical teaching to know why they live like they live and require as such from their children. The best parents will stay on their knees for wisdom in their children’s upbringing. We all know what to do. The hardest part is doing it.
My reasoning in the earlier post was that true faith will not demand answers. If we could explain everything by our reasoning, there would be no need for faith.
I see Christian’s hearts turning from loving God when they don’t get answers. I see young people turning from God while blaming their parents for not giving adequate reasoning for family rules.
We can all make excuses for why we are not living holy and God-fearing lives. The bottom line is that it comes down to matters of the heart. I remember the exact time when I gave my will for my son Jonathan’s life over to God’s will. It was painful as I thought my plan was better. I thought God did not love my child to allow him to become so ill so as not to function normally.
I didn’t have answers, but I learned I didn’t need answers. Either God is God, or He isn’t. Either God is omniscient, or He isn’t. Either God knows best, or He doesn’t. I finally chose that He was all these things — even though accepting it at the time brought great anguish to my heart that I could feel deep in my gut. However, the peace it brought of submitting my will to God’s was unfathomable. What a dichotomy — that of experiencing pain and peace together. Maybe this dichotomy is a good definition of the Christian life. We fight a spiritual warfare which brings pain. But godly living and seeking to be holy brings peace.
When I learned to have complete faith in God is when peace flooded my soul. The spiritual strength I built in choosing faith over rebellion has served me well in consequent unpleasant circumstances. I am not perfect and still struggle at times with having total faith. But my overriding choice has been made in my soul to trust God, without answers.
Worldliness is all around us, at every turn, at every juncture. With modern technology, we can see anything we want to see and hear anything we want to hear. And our American culture is far from godly.
America has taken God out of their public schools and out of their lifestyle choices. What we see around us is where we have landed as a society and nation as a result. The belief that a woman has a right to kill her own flesh and blood in her womb is pagan. Whatever convictions you have about personal choices in music, you must admit there is ungodly music in all cultures used to serve ungodly purposes. The easy access to pornography is destroying the minds and families of Christians and unsaved alike. Wearing clothing that shows more skin has become acceptable.
Our young people have been conditioned to unholy living.
Our human natures love to have grace bestowed on us. Besides, our salvation comes from God above by grace — “by grace are ye saved: Not of works” (Ephesians 2:8-9). None of us like being judged. The teeny, tiny fact we forget is that not only is God a God of grace but a God of holiness. In the same Bible that we are told “Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity” (Ephesians 6:24) also tells us “Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy” (Leviticus 19:2).
I think a fear we all experience is that if we preach holiness living, we shall be judged. And boy, oh boy, is this true? People don’t want to hear about living holy from another human being. So, the tendency is to look for hypocrisy in those who preach it. Just because we won’t be perfectly holy until heaven is not reason enough to not exalt it.
I’m afraid the ugly fact is that we all are sinners. Pride, greed, covetousness, and living like we want is part of our sin nature. This sin nature won’t be annihilated until we inhabit our eternal home in heaven.
Today is when I have felt God wanted me to start a discussion about holiness living.
I hear our children being taught that having rules imposed on them is not living by grace but is instead legalistic. Parents, teachers, and schools want their young people to serve Jesus from their hearts. I see and know of some very godly young people that this is working for.
But often, human nature will try to get by with what we are allowed to do. My husband Ron always wanted our standards to be high because he knew our children’s human nature could easily lead them to allow more than we allowed.
Am I the only who sees this happening today?
Let’s preach holiness living to ourselves and to our children.
Shelley Hamilton needs no introduction to the vast majority of our readers. She graciously granted us permission to use any of her postings on Facebook. She posted this on June 9, 2022. I encourage you to follow her ministry there, you will be blessed. Shelley continues to serve the Lord through Majesty Music, as she and her husband Ron (Patch the Pirate) did for many years. We thank Shelley for allowing us to share the things the Lord is teaching her.
Image by Jondolar Schnurr from Pixabay