The Bible says that no one can come to God unless He calls them (John 6:44). And if God calls us, and we respond and sincerely surrender ourselves, then we will change from the spiritually dead condition we once lived in and become alive in Christ and focused upon God (Ephesians 2:4-5).
Jesus told Nicodemus, “You must be born again!” Paul calls this becoming a “new creation” in 1 Corinthians 5:17. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here!” This is the mark of legitimate faith.
Paul wrote, “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitudes of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:22-24).
In Romans 12:1-2, he says, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship.” And in Galatians 5:16, Paul states, “live by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desire of the flesh.”
In 1 Peter 1:16, we are called to “Be holy, because I am holy.” As Christians, we are called to follow Jesus. The lives we live should not bring dishonor to the Lord. We are to make a conscious decision to honor God with all we do. The faith we practice must be active and committed to be a saving faith.
Someone once said, “If all we ever think is all we ever thought, and all we ever do is all we’ve ever done, then all we’ll ever be is all we’ve ever been.” Repentance is defined as a change of mind and a turning away from sin and turning towards God. In order to be authentic, repentance requires walking the walk and not just talking the talk.
“The mind is the spring from which behavior flows. Control the source and you control the stream that flows from it.” (A.P. Gibbs). James 1:14-15 tells us, “but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”
Jesus said that even if you look at a woman with lust in your heart, you are guilty of adultery. And if you hate someone you are guilty of murder by God’s standard (Matthew 5:21-22; 28). Allowing lewd or filthy thoughts to dominate our thinking only leads to the perversion of our moral compass.
Paul instructs us to arrest tempting thoughts. “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5). Coveting is a sin (Deuteronomy 5:21), because it leads to envy and even greater sin.
In Philippians 4:8, Paul writes, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.”
Having the discipline to feed your mind with goodness and wholesome ideas is paramount to holiness.
Your Circle Matters
The company you keep will greatly influence your thinking patterns therefore, be critical of who you admit into your circle. Mark 2:1-5 tells of a paralytic who was healed because of his friends’ faith. This is why your circle matters.
“A man who is born again is careful of his own soul. He tries not only to avoid sin – but also to avoid everything which may lead to it. He is careful of the company he keeps. He knows that ‘bad company corrupts good morals’ and that evil is more contagious than good, just as disease is more infectious than health. He is careful about the use of his time; his chief desire is to spend it profitably. He desires to live like a soldier in an enemy country – to wear his armor continually and to be prepared for temptation. He is diligent to be a watchful, humble, prayerful man.” (J.C. Ryle).
Jesus said that many are called but few are chosen (Matthew 22:14). The context of this statement is regarding the guests who have been invited to the wedding banquet and the chosen have clothed themselves with the wedding garment of holiness through Christ. Many who are invited want to attend, however, their faith (or lack thereof) prevents them from being adorned in the required wedding clothes.
Faith is both a noun and a verb, and as a verb it requires action. Many are deceived into believing their superficial beliefs constitute saving faith, however scripture demonstrates quite the opposite.
This is exemplified by the woman who had been bleeding for twelve years (Luke 8:43-48). Her belief that if she could simply touch the hem of Christ’s garment, she would be healed, motivated her to act and draw near enough to Jesus to touch his cloak. In verse 48 Jesus says her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”
Many are the members of the visible church, but few are those who belong to the true body of Christ. Many people identify as Christians but don’t follow Christ. They are counterfeit Christians and so is their faith. 1 John 1:6 informs us, “If we claim to have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.”
Holiness Matters
Holiness matters because we are accountable to God. In 2 Corinthians 1:12, Paul writes, “Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God. We have done so not according to worldly wisdom but according to God’s grace.”
Paul teaches in Romans 2:14-15, that when Gentiles who are not under the Mosaic law do by nature what is required by the law, they become a law for themselves, “their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.”
Our conscience can convict us and cause us to feel shame or exonerate us and compel us to feel fulfilled. It is our conscience that protects us from continuing down a destructive path. This is where the battle with temptation is fought.
God sees directly into our conscience and judges the secrets of men (Romans 2:16). The pursuit of holiness begins in our inner-most being. It is here where the battle with sin is either won or lost. Continued sinfulness causes a seared conscience (1 Timothy 4:2) or the hardening of our hearts (Ephesians 4:18-19), and can separate us from the truth of God.
By surrendering the throne of our conscience to Christ, the Holy Spirit guides our conscience and leads us to live by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-17). This is what having God’s word written on our hearts means (Hebrews 8:10). It does not negate the need for fellowship with other true believers, Bible study or attending worship, and these activities compliment and synergize with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit will not mislead us nor will He guide us to unholiness. On the contrary, the things that our post modern culture embraces and normalizes deceive the consciences of unbelievers to the point where their moral compass is distorted and they become unprincipled and lost. Today we are witnessing an entire generation confusing feelings with fact. Young people are encouraged to follow their hearts.
The Heart Is Deceitful
The Bible says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? ‘I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.'” (Jeremiah 17:9-10).
In Titus 1:15, Paul declares, “To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny Him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.”
While we are saved by grace, remaining in our sins constitutes an illegitimate faith. Many are called but few are chosen and those who are chosen are predestined. Charles Spurgeon said, “That God predestines and yet man is responsible are two facts that very few can see clearly.” If we are called by God, we have a responsibility to serve Him. The chosen are not called to complacency. We are called to be holy.
