The Question of Holiness?

I have been plowing through Jonathan Edwards “Religious Affections” where Edwards writes exhaustively between what distinguishes that of true and false religion.  He does this by a demonstrating the marks of the saving work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. To understand this is an imperative if there will ever be true and lasting revival in ourselves and in our churches.  I  find much of what he challenges us with to be quite foreign and a great challenge for our day.  Below is a paraphrase of some of what Edwards challenges the believer with:

A great part of godliness is a genuine “fear of God.”  Proverbs 8:13 says that the “fear of the LORD is to hate evil.” And as Believer’s we are called upon to give evidence of our sincerity by this: Ps 97:10 “Ye that love the Lord hate evil.” And the Psalmist often mentions it as an evidence of his sincerity; Ps 2, 3, “I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes; I hate the work of them that turn aside.” Ps 119:104, “I hate every false way.” Again, Ps 139:21, “Do I not hate them, O Lord, that hate thee?”

So holy desire, exercised in longings, hungerings, and thirstings after God and holiness, is often mentioned in Scripture as an important part of a true walk with Christ.  When was the last time that you or I have meditated on the holiness of God?  Only then will the above Scriptures come to bring great conviction to our souls.  We are too quick to compare ourselves with others and to leave God out of it. 

In Isa. 6:3 is says, “And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.”  The repetition of the word “holy” is a Hebrew form used to give emphasis.  R.C. Sproul says that “Only once is a characteristic of God mentioned three times in succession. The Bible says that God is holy, holy, holy. Not that He is merely holy, or even holy, holy. He is holy, holy, holy.  The Bible never says that God is love, love, love, or mercy, mercy, mercy, or wrath, wrath, wrath, or justice, justice, justice. It does say that he is holy, holy, holy, the whole earth is full of His glory (R.C. Sproul, The Holiness of God).”

This is what shook Isaiah to the very bones and cried out “Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts” (Isa 6:5). 

When was the last time, if any that you encountered the holiness of God?  In that single moment all of Isaiah’s self-esteem was shattered.  “In a brief second he was exposed, made naked beneath the gaze of the absolute standard of holiness.  As long as Isaiah could compare himself to other mortals, he was able to sustain a lofty opinion of his own character.  The instant he measured himself by the ultimate standard, he was destroyed—morally and spiritually annihilated. He was undone. He came apart. His sense of integrity collapsed (R.C. Sproul).”

I find myself in a quandary as I study the holiness of God and realize how unholy I am.  And yet that’s precisely why we need to be looking deep in the character of the holiness of God – because we are so far away from this elevated character of God.  May we cry out as Isaiah did – Woe is me!  And may the hot coal of grace and mercy be placed on our lips that our sin may be purged and that we would have a genuine fear of God and to seek relentlessly the elevated character of holiness. 

Bibliography:

R. C. Sproul, The Holiness of God (Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers, 1996).

Edwards, Jonathan. A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections : In Three Parts ... Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1996.

Nothing But the Truth - Part 2 by Pastor Nick Moore

Word-Centered Counseling
Another area in which our ministerial walk has not quite matched our conservative talk is in the area of Biblical Counseling. As a pastor, it never ceases to amaze me the way that the people in Southern Baptist (and most evangelical) congregations have the tendency to draw a radical distinction between the elements of 2 Peter 1:3, “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness.” Most believe that God has given us (in the Bible) everything we need for “life” (namely eternal life), but what they don’t often see is that He has also given us everything we need for “godliness.” In other words, most of the people in our churches believe that the Bible is sufficient to save, but is somehow insufficient to sanctify. And it is at this point that we come face to face with the stark reality that the reason most of our people believe this distinction is because this is precisely what they have been trained to believe.

What else are they to conclude when every book their pastor told them to read for pre-marital and/or marital counseling talks more about principles of psychology and communication than about what the Bible says regarding marriage? What else are they to conclude when every time their pastor is posed with a difficult issue in the life of a member, his default reaction has not been to reproof or exhort that person, but to refer him/her to a “professional” so that he/she can be “diagnosed” and the appropriate prescription ascertained? What else are they to conclude when their pastor’s preaching points them to “tips” and “principles” more than to the depth of their depravity and the solution God has provided in Christ not just so that they can be justified, but also that they may be sanctified? Do we really believe that the Bible is power behind true “life-change”? Do we really believe that God’s Word alone, and not the voice of secular wisdom, brings about true “abundant life”? Do we really believe that we are what the Bible says we are, that we have what the Bible says we have, that we can do what the Bible says we can do? Do we really believe what the Bible says we should believe…really?

Word-Centered Mission

One final area in which there seems to be a disconnect between our words and our work in the SBC is in that of Mission. I recently heard from a young minister who attended a popular “ministry” conference that was attended by thousands from various “ministry” and “leadership” responsibilities across the nation. He told me about one of the authors/speakers who spoke there and the invaluable leadership insight he provided for his hearers: “leaders should always strive to be humble.” At first, I had to admit my relief that such a timely and appropriate word was given to such a vast audience of current/future leaders. But then, my friend informed me of the follow-up line, “Leaders should strive for humility, because humility just works.” Is this really why leaders should strive for humility? Not because the Bible says we should, but because it “just works?” We can roll our eyes. We can shake our heads. Or, we can turn right around and realize that this kind of thinking is merely the logical conclusion of what we’ve been preaching for quite some time.

When church-growth is more about method than message [Check out Scott Wilson’s Post, “The Word Grows: A New Testament Plan for Church” and “Does Inerrancy Really Matter?”]. When leadership is more about charisma than character. When results are measured more financially and fiscally than by faithfulness and fruit of the Spirit, what are we communicating? The church of the Lord Jesus is not followed by an “Inc.” The Great Commission is not merely another program or initiative to be executed and evaluated according to the principles of worldly wisdom and pragmatism. Rather the church is the Kingdom counterculture. The church is the outpost of Christ’s rule and reign. The church is the beacon by which the “manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places” (Eph 3:10). And remember, Christ has not entrusted His mission to CEO’s and Moguls, but rather He has given it to the “the things that are not” (1 Cor 1:28).

Before being delivered over for crucifixion, Jesus prayed to the Father, “Sanctify them in the truth, your word is truth” (John 17:17). The question that comes to us, as Southern Baptists in the 21^st century, is this: Will we truly be a people of the Book? Will we truly be a people of the Word? Will we truly be a people of the Truth, the whole Truth, and nothing but the Truth? Our only answer can be…so help us God!

 

About the author

Lead pastor at the Spencer County Campus of Highview Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky. Nick has a BA in Biblical and Theological Studies from Boyce College, an M.Div from the School of Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary where he is also currently pursuing a Ph.d in Old Testament Theology. Nick has been married to Kyndra for 7 years and they have five children, Jacob, James, Elizabeth, Sophia, and a baby girl due in May ’11.

And Nothing But The Truth...Part 1 by Nick Moore

Note: This Post originally
appeared on www.baptisttwentyone.com

This is my Bible…I am what it says I am, I have what it says I have, and I can do what it says I can do.” If you are still with me after reading these lines, you are probably either at least contemplating moving on to another post that is worth reading or you are waiting with bared teeth for me to turn the tables and rant on the theological vapidity of the popularizer of this creed. The reason you have reacted this way, if you are even remotely aware of the current climate of evangelicalism, is that you have grown to associate these words with emptiness. These words have become almost inextricably tied to a man known for lifting his Bible high and declaring its absolute authority one minute, only to turn around the next and lay it on the lectern for its pages to be rustled no more…at least until next week’s chant.

In the following, I can promise neither a blog post worth reading nor a seething rant on prosperity theology. But what I do hope to show is the way in which you and I as Southern Baptists are much closer to that Lakewood lectern than any of us would care to admit, both in word and in deed. For all of the sloganeering surrounding and flowing from the Conservative Resurgence (CR) in the Southern Baptist Convention, the result is that Southern Baptists are not, in the end, as much a “people of the book” as we might think. Of course, by listening to our rhetoric, we absolutely are. While we may not (for fear of negative association) stand up and proclaim the above cited creed, we regularly (and rightly) articulate ones just like it regarding our firm convictions on the “inerrant”, “infallible”, and “authoritative” word of God that our SBC forebears fought so hard to defend. The question we must answer, though, as we follow on the heels of these warriors is- will such rhetoric ring hollow for us? Will we as Southern Baptists in the 21^st century be found equally guilty of hauling our “inspired” Bibles into pulpits, counseling offices, and board rooms, touting their sufficiency, only to turn around and “lay them on the lectern” in favor of practical tips, pop psychology, and trendy new tactics? I would suggest this is a very real danger that exists for our generation in at least three major areas.

Word-Centered Preaching

The heart-cry of the CR was “Back To The Bible.” CR leaders rightly touted the Bible as the inspired word of God and the authoritative means by which God has revealed Himself to His people, but at some point in the journey, these phrases morphed into little more than clichéd slogans. Now, many of the same preachers who get red-faced and hyper-perspirant defending the “authority of the Bible,” are the ones who fill their ministries with endless treatments of the epistles and never find their way into Leviticus, Judges, or the Minor Prophets, except for (maybe) an occasional anecdote or illustration. After all, “aren’t we New Testament believers?” they’ll say. Now, many of the same preachers who, as young men, watched the CR unfold before their eyes and whose very ministries exist as direct beneficiaries of the CR, are turning around and saying things like, “Well, of course all Scripture is equally inspired, but I’m just not convinced that all Scripture is equally profitable” (cue “creative” and “hip” collection of quasi-biblical material strung together into a “helpful” and “inspirational” “talk” or “message”.)

Is this what our SBC forebears fought for? Is this the hill on which they deemed it worthy to die? So that their sons and grandsons could wave around a Bible and call it “inerrant” while (practically) denying its power? I somehow doubt it. As many have rightly observed- the Battle For The Bible did not begin in the 20^th century and it will not be won until the kingdom of this world has become the Kingdom of our God and of His Christ. In the meantime, however, we as inheritors of this faith must champion the Word in our pulpits. That means we can call our preaching “expository” all we want, but unless we are standing up week in and out actually “exposing” the text and its meaning, we will continue to create biblically anemic congregations with insatiable appetites for “lists” and “principles”, but not for Jesus. That means we can no longer begin sermon preparation in search of “preachable” points likely to garner “hoorahs” and “amens,” but must instead begin with the sacred text, which might not win us much approval or praise, but has been promised not to return void (Is 55:11).

In light of this post by Nick Moore, B21 thought it would be helpful to show a video of the Kimyal people receiving the New Testament for the first time… and to see their hunger for the Word

A Right Heart by J.C. Ryle

1) A right heart is a NEW heart (Ezek. 36:26). It is not the heart with which a person is born—but another heart put in them by the Holy Spirit. It is a heart which has new tastes, new joys, new sorrows, new desires, new hopes, new fears, new likes, new dislikes. It has new views about the soul, sin, God, Christ, salvation, the Bible, prayer, heaven, hell, the world, and holiness. It is like a farm with a new and good tenant. “Old things are passed away. Behold all things are become new” (2 Cor. 5:17).

This post originally appeared on JC Ryle Quotes
It is an excerpt from JC Ryle's book, Old Paths

2) A right heart is a BROKEN and CONTRITE heart (Psalm 51:17). It is broken off from pride, self-conceit, and self-righteousness. Its former high thoughts of self are cracked, shattered, and shivered to atoms. It thinks itself guilty, unworthy, and corrupt. Its former stubbornness, heaviness, and insensibility have thawed, disappeared, and passed away. It no longer thinks lightly of offending God. It is tender, sensitive, and jealously fearful of running into sin (2 Kings 22:19). It is humble, lowly, and self-abased, and sees in itself no good thing.

3) A right heart is a heart which BELIEVES on Christ alone for salvation, and in which Christ dwells by faith (Rom. 10:10; Eph. 3:17). It rests all its hopes of pardon and eternal life on Christ’s atonement, Christ’s mediation, and Christ’s intercession. It is sprinkled in Christ’s blood from an evil conscience (Heb. 10:22). It turns to Christ as the compass-needle turns to the north. It looks to Christ for daily peace, mercy, and grace—as the sun-flower looks to the sun. It feeds on Christ for its daily sustenance, as Israel fed on the manna in the wilderness. It sees in Christ a special fitness to supply all its needs and requirements. It leans on Him, hangs on Him, builds on Him, cleaves to Him, as its physician, guardian, husband, and friend.

4) A right heart is a PURIFIED heart (Acts 15:9; Matt. 5:8). It loves holiness, and hates sin. It strives daily to cleanse itself from all filthiness of flesh and spirit (2 Cor. 7:1). It abhors that which is evil, and cleaves to that which is good. It delights in the law of God, and has that law engraved on it, that it may not forget it (Psalm 119:11). It longs to keep the law more perfectly, and takes pleasure in those who love the law. It loves God and people. Its affections are set on things above. It never feels so light and happy as when it is most holy; and it looks forward to heaven with joy, as the place where perfect holiness will at length be attained.

5) A right heart is a PRAYING heart. It has within it “the Spirit of adoption whereby we cry, Abba Father” (Rom. 8:15). Its daily feeling is, “Your face, Lord, will I seek” (Psalm 27:8). It is drawn by an habitual inclination to speak to God about spiritual things—weakly, feebly, and imperfectly perhaps—but speak it must. It finds it necessary to pour out itself before God, as before a friend, and to spread before Him all its needs and desires. It tells Him all its secrets. It keeps back nothing from Him. You might as well try to persuade a person to live without breathing, as to persuade the possessor of a right heart to live without praying.

6) A right heart is a heart that feels CONFLICT within it (Gal. 5:17). It finds within itself two opposing principles contending for the mastery—the flesh lusting against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh. It knows by experience what Paul means when he says, “I see a law in my members warring against the law of my mind” (Rom. 7:23). The wrong heart knows nothing of this strife. The strong man armed keeps the wrong heart as their palace, and their goods are at peace (Luke 11:21). But when the rightful King takes possession of the heart, a struggle begins which never ends until death. The right heart may be known by its warfare, quite as much as by its peace.

7) A right heart is HONEST, UNDIVIDED, and TRUE (Luke 8:15;1 Chron. 12:33; Heb. 10:22). There is nothing about it of falsehood, hypocrisy, or image-acting. It is not double or divided. It really is what it professes to be, feels what it professes to feel, and believes what it professes to believe. Its faith may be feeble. Its obedience may be very imperfect. But one thing will always distinguish the right heart. Its religion will be real, genuine, thorough, and sincere.

► Summary:
A heart such as that which I have now described, has always been the possession of all true Christians of every name, nation, people and tongue. They have differed from one another on many subjects—but they have all been of a right heart. Some of them have fallen, for a season, like David and Peter—but their hearts have never entirely departed from the Lord. They have often proved themselves to be men and women laden with infirmities—but their hearts have been right in the sight of God. They have understood one another on earth. They have found that their experience was everywhere one and the same. They will understand each other even better in the world to come. All that have had right hearts upon earth, will find that they have one heart when they enter heaven.

Temple Comparison

I thought this was a great illustration to show the size difference between the Temple of Solomon and that of the one we read about in the New Testament. 

Solomon’s Temple, finished in 957 BC, was less than one-half the size of Herod the Great’s expanded Second Temple in Jerusalem, built in 20–19 BC.