Holiness
Holiness, without which no one shall see the Lord. (Hebrews 12:14)
The text above opens up a subject of deep importance. That subject is practical holiness. It suggests questions that demand the attention of all professing Christians:
Are we holy?
Will we see the Lord?
Those questions can never be out of season. The wise man tells us that there is a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak (Ecclesiastes 3:4, 7); but there is no time, no, not even a day, in which we ought not to be holy. Are we holy?
That question concerns all classes and conditions of people. Some are rich and some are poor, some learned and some unlearned, some employers and some employees; but there is no class or condition in life in which we should not be holy. Are we?
…I will try, by God’s help, to examine what true holiness is and the reason why it is so needful. Then I will try to point out the only way in which holiness can be attained. I have already approached this subject from a doctrinal side. Let me now try to present it in a more plain and practical point of view.
True practical holiness:
What type of people are they whom God calls holy? A person may go great lengths and yet never reach true holiness. It is not knowledge, for Balaam had that. It is not a bold profession of following Jesus, for Judas Iscariot had that. It is not doing many things, for Herod had that. It is not just having zeal for certain aspects of God’s Word, for Jehu had that. Holiness is not morality and outward respectability of conduct, for the young ruler had that. It is not simply taking pleasure in hearing preachers, for the Jews in Ezekiel’s time had that. It is not even in keeping company with godly people, for Joab and Gehazi and Demas had that. Yet none of these people were holy!
These things alone are not holiness. A person may have any one of them and yet never see the Lord.
What, then, is true practical holiness? …Holiness is the habit of being of one mind with God, according as we find His mind described in Scripture. It is the habit of agreeing with God’s judgment – hating what He hates, loving what He loves, and measuring everything in this world by the standard of His Word. He who most entirely agrees with God is the one who is the most holy.
A holy man or woman will strive to avoid every known sin and to keep every known commandment. He will have a decided inclination of mind toward God and a strong desire to do His will. He will have a greater fear of displeasing God than of displeasing the world, and he will have a love for all of God’s ways.
He will feel what Paul felt when he said, For I delight with the law of God with the inward man (Romans 7:22), and what David felt when he said, I have esteemed all thy precepts concerning all things to be right and I have hated every false way (Psalm 119:128). A holy person will strive to be like our Lord Jesus Christ. He will not only live the life of faith in Him and draw from Him all his daily peace and strength, but he will also labor to have the mind that was in Him (Philippians 2:5) and to be conformed to His image (Romans 8:29). It will be his goal to bear with and forgive others, even as Christ forgave us. He will desire to be unselfish, even as Christ pleased not Himself (Romans 15:3). He will want to walk in love, even as Christ loved us (Ephesians 5:2). He will aim to be lowly-minded and humble, even as Christ made Himself of no reputation and humbled Himself (Philippians 2:7).
He will remember that Christ was a faithful witness for the truth (Revelation 1:5), that He came not to do His own will (John 6:38), that it was His meat and drink to do His Father’s will (John 4:34), that He would continually deny Himself in order to minister to others (Matthew 16:24), that He was meek and patient under undeserved insults (Isaiah 53:7), that He thought more of godly poor men than of kings (Luke 6:20), that He was full of love and compassion to sinners (Matthew 9:36), that He was bold and uncompromising in denouncing sin (Matthew 23:13-37), that He did not seek the praise of men when He might have had it (John 5:41), that He went about doing good (Acts 10:38), that He was separate from worldly people (John 17:16-19), that He continued instant in prayer (Luke 6:12), and that He would not let even His nearest relations stand in His way when God’s work was to be done (Luke 2:48-49).
A holy person will try to remember these things. He will try to shape his course in life by them. He will lay to heart the saying of John, He that says he abides in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked (1 John 2:6), and the saying of Peter, that Jesus suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps (1 Peter 2:21)….
A holy person will follow after meekness, longsuffering, gentleness, patience, a kind attitude, and control of his tongue. He will bear much, forbear much, overlook much….
A holy person will follow after moderation and self-denial. He will labor to subdue the desires of his body – to crucify the flesh with its affections and lusts (Galatians 5:24) and to restrain his passions and his carnal inclinations, lest at any time they break loose….
A holy person will pursue love and brotherly kindness. He will endeavor to observe the golden rule….
He will be full of affection towards his brethren – towards their bodies, their property, their characters, their feelings, and their souls. He that loves his neighbour, says Paul, has fulfilled the law (Romans 13:8)….
A holy person will desire a spirit of mercy and benevolence toward others. He will not stand idle all day long. He will not be content with doing no harm, but he will try to do good. He will strive to be useful in his day and generation, and to lessen the spiritual needs and misery around him, as much as he can. This is how Dorcas was, full of good works and alms-deeds which she did (Acts 9:36)….
A holy person will follow after purity of heart. He will dread all filthiness and uncleanness of spirit, and he will seek to avoid all things that might draw him into it. He knows his own heart is like kindling, and he will diligently keep clear of the sparks of temptation….
Who will dare to talk of strength when David can fall?
A holy person will seek humility. He will desire, in lowliness of mind, to esteem all others better than himself (Philippians 2:3). He will see more evil in his own heart than in any other in the world. He will understand something of Abraham’s feeling when he said he was but dust and ashes (Genesis 18:27); of Jacob’s feeling when he said, I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies (Genesis 32:10); of Job’s feeling when he said, I am vile (Job 40:4); and of Paul’s feeling when he said that he was the chief of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15).
Holy people should aim at doing everything well… They should strive to be good husbands and good wives, good parents and good children, good employers and good employees, good neighbors, good friends, good citizens… Holiness is worth little indeed if it does not bear this kind of fruit. The Lord Jesus put a searching question to His people when He asked, What do ye more than others? (Matthew 5:47).
Last, but not least, a holy person will desire to be spiritually minded. He will endeavor to set his affections entirely on things above (Colossians 3:2), and to hold things on earth with a very loose hand. He will not neglect the business of the life that now is, but his mind and thoughts will give priority to the life to come.
…He will aim to live like one whose treasure is in heaven, and he will want to pass through this world like a stranger and pilgrim traveling to his home. To commune with God in prayer, in the Bible, and in the assembly of His people will be the holy person’s main enjoyments. He will value every place and thing and company in proportion to how they draw him nearer to God. He will enter into something of David’s feeling when he says, My soul has followed hard after thee (Psalm 63:8) and My portion, O Lord, . . . will be to keep thy words (Psalm 119:57).
That is the outline of holiness that I want to present. That is the character which those who are called “holy” follow after. Those are the main features of a holy person.
Ryle, J. C.. Holiness [Annotated, Updated]: For the Will of God Is Your Sanctification – Hebrews 6:1 . Aneko Press. Kindle Edition.
Part B will discuss the relation between indwelling sin and practical holiness.