How Does Holiness Act? Part 2: Revelry

How Does Holiness Act? Part 2: Revelry
1 Peter 1.13-16
13Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."

Romans 13.13-14
13Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

Last week we began studying how holiness acts. This week we will get into the specifics of how that looks when carried out. What is it Christ wants us to do, and what does He want us to avoid doing? These are the questions we will answer. Beloved, learning how holiness should be displayed is a crucial part of our growth and maintenence in our relationship with Christ. Like it or not, God has called us to a set standard. We are told to "prepare [our] minds for action; be self-controlled," and to "set [our] hope fully on the grace to be given [us] when Jesus Christ is revealed."

We have seen how Paul has outlined some examples of both unrighteous and righteous behaviors. The first we will study is a topic that is not often brought up, but it is significant for our standards of holiness, nonetheless. I am speaking of this business of revelry. If you do not know what revelry is, imagine those high school parties without adult supervision, or a sports gathering where too much alcohol is ingested. This is revelry, and Scripture calls us out of it. I know that there are some of us who believe we can do both--pursue the flesh and the spirit, but Jesus tells us this in Luke 16.13: "No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." Beloved, the Scripture is very clear on this fact--either our lives are devoted entirely to God or entirely to the world.

We know, then, that we ought to avoid revelry, but what does it look like? The Scripture outlines it here in Romans 13. Paul says that we should not behave "in orgies and drunkenness." I think all of us are pretty clear on what this means. Nevertheless, that does not mean that all of us are avoiding these unholy acts. There are those who call themselves believers and yet think very little of indulging in too much wine or alcohol, or with sleeping with someone to whom they are not married on a night of festivity. Usually the two occur together, for the alcohol corrupts and suppresses the spirit--it brings out the worst of our sinful nature.

This is why we should avoid alcohol. And that is not always easy to do. It is everywhere--restaurants, sporting events, among other festivities. Alcohol is a powerful force in our society and economy. The danger is not in the partaking of the beverage itself but in overindulging. The line is not always clear. That is why it is best to avoid anything but a small glass of wine altogether. As the sips get larger, our judgment diminishes inversely. Not only are the mind and motor skills affected, but the spirit is unable to reason with the body. How can we control our bodies through our spirit if our bodies cannot respond to our commands?

And this leads to another abomination--sexual immorality. Although the word "orgies" is used here, it is clear to us that, in the connotation of Paul's day, orgies were strongly connected with festivals where sexual immorality were quite common. The King James version of the Bible uses the word "rioting," but here(in the New International Version), I think we can get a stronger sense of potentially what Paul could have been thinking when he described this. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary states one definition of the word as this: "secret ceremonial rites held in honor of an ancient Greek or Roman deity and usually characterized by ecstatic singing and dancing." Another states that orgies are the "excessive indulgence in something especially to satisfy an inordinate appetite or craving." I am sure these sorts of religious practices were incredibly commonplace in the Roman world. Paul knew exactly what went on. Unfortunately, so do we. Our society, while not nearly as loose as the ancient Roman world, still indulges in acts of unbridled passions. The mixing of alcohol, drugs, and an uncontrolled mind, body, and spirit lead mostly to sexual immorality and all sorts of other wickedness not appropriate for me to even mention.

So how are we to avoid these things? It is much more clear that observing them externally demonstrates just how filthy and reviling these practice are. They are certainly unholy and despicable in the Lord's sight. These are the sorts of practices we saw God destroy nations for in the past. There is a key to avoiding them, and it is very simple--be drunk and indulge in the spirit. Galatians 5:16 says this before mentioning all of the despicable practices of sin: "So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature." Very simply, beloved, if we wish to "be holy, because [God] is holy," then we must keep our focus on the spirit. When strong drink, sexual immorality, or any other perverse act tempts us, we must immediately begin prayer, recite scripture, and resist Satan by employing the directive of James 4.7: "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
Beloved, when we turn our attention over to the Father and put out of our minds the incredibly tempting desires of the flesh, suddenly we will see how unholy and unnatural revelry is. We will desire to seek God.

If you have not been obedient to the Lord in this matter particularly, come to Him today. Ask His forgiveness, and ask Him to help you live in holiness, not in "orgies and drunkenness." Fill your spirit, mind, and body with the holiness of Christ through the Holy Spirit, and you will learn to hate the despicable acts of revelry. I pray, beloved, that we can be holy today. Let us hold to the standard which Jesus has called us! Amen.

With love in Christ,



Austin Aldrich