REFLECTIONS

Written by Stephen Shead

For our devotions this month, we are going to return to our focus area as a church this year: Growing in Holiness. These will be a bit different to our normal devotions. Instead of starting with a Bible passage or working through a book, there will be Bible verses sprinkled through the devotions. Sometimes there will be suggestions for other passages you could read and pray through at the end.

In the first part of the month, we’ll be recapping a lot of concepts from our Term 2 sermon series on holiness (I hope that makes you think, “Oh good – there was so much to take in!”). But we will also think about the many practical areas of life as a Christian, and how we can grow in submitting and consecrating each of them to God, by his grace and for his glory.

Let's begin.

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Think about this sentence from the Apostle Paul:

He (God) has saved us and called us to a holy life… (2 Timothy 1:9)

That’s an ultra-brief summary of the two great things God has done for believers in the Lord Jesus: Saved us, and called us to a holy life. Let those two things sit in your mind for a moment. Think about how you feel about each one.

Do those two great gifts of God stir different reactions in you? Does one of them trigger a greater thrill and relief and thankfulness than the other? If so, why? Is it – and I’m only guessing, I might be way off the mark – that God’s call to holiness feels just a bit like a burden? A little dry, or perhaps too much effort? At least compared to the first one: he saved us – yes! What relief! And called us to holiness. Oh, yes, that too.

If that’s you, then you and I both have so much more growing to do. It’s an indication that we haven’t yet grasped either holiness or God himself as fully as he wants us to.

Many years ago, when our children were small, we were looking to rent an apartment. We looked at one that we loved: it felt light and fresh and cheerful. We asked our kids about it, hoping they would be keen to live there too. But one of them seemed strangely reluctant. Eventually he said to us, “But I don’t like the dark.” We figured out the problem: we had been through when dusk was starting to fall, and there were no light bulbs in any of the rooms. He thought it wouldn’t have any lights!

The Bible’s message about holiness is full of light. God’s call to holiness is not a tiresome, grit-your-teeth burden. After all, for Christian believers, God also calls us to freedom (Galatians 5:13), peace (1 Corinthians 7:15), hope (Ephesians 4:4) and eternal life (1 Timothy 6:12) – and all of those are features of the life of holiness.

As a taster for where we’re heading, look at how the verse we started with continues:

9 He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. (2 Timothy 1:9-10)

Everything Paul says after the first part applies not just to salvation and forgiveness, but also to God’s call to holiness. The holy life we are called to is not our own doing, it’s God’s purpose and gift to us. It’s a gift given to us in Christ Jesus, revealed in the glorious, saving events of the gospel. Because as we’ll see, Christ is our holiness, from start to finish.

Here’s a different way of expressing God’s call to holiness:

And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. (Romans 1:6)

One way of describing what holiness means is: Belonging to Jesus. Does that trigger a slightly different reaction in you? If so, you’re going to love where we’re heading!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Stephen is our senior minister.