How Do We Live out Holiness?

How Do We Live out Holiness?
James 1.12-15
12Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
13When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

Last week we spoke of this matter of Christ desiring holiness within us because our salvation. As Christ is holy, so we are called to be holy. Yet we did not delve into the process of how we live out holiness. This is a topic unfortunately greatly overlooked in the Church. Most Christians know they are called to holiness but fail to develop methodologies which direct them in it. Certainly, as we all have the Holy Spirit, we are led by Him into holiness. Thus, it is no question that He will direct us on what is wholesome and what is unwholesome. Most Christians do not stumble in holiness because they cannot tell right from wrong. Most Christians stumble because they are unable to tame the flesh when the temptations of what they know is wrong arises as a stumbling block to them. James teaches us that “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” (James 1.14-15).

Thus, James lays out the first instruction for living out holiness: enticement of our own evil desires. The terminology here is perfect: we are literally “dragged away” by our own appetites for pleasure. We are certainly “more than conquerers” in Christ, but we must still deal with this business of the flesh for the meantime. The most vital step in avoiding temptation in order to live out holiness is to prevent ourselves from being dragged away by our desires. How? How does a ship on a dock keep from being dragged out to sea on a windy, stormy day? He puts an anchor on the ship. We must put anchors on the ships of our hearts. We must practice learning scripture. We must learn to quote it when the temptation comes. When we do, Satan must flee from us: “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4.7). Submission to God in times of temptation works because it immediately diverts our spiritual, mental, and physical focus from the flesh to the spirit. Jesus warns His disciples to “watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26.41). Here, Christ commands us to utilize the power of our spirit in conjunction with our mind to combat the enmity between the spirit and the flesh. That is always the issue, isn’t it? The spirit desires one thing, the flesh desires another, and the mind is stuck in the middle. The mind, therefore, is a powerful tool for diverting temptation. It is important that we exercise our minds with Scripture, alertness, and prayer(“watch and pray”) for the purpose of shifting our mental focus always to the spirit and not to the flesh.

This takes discipline. Unfortunately, the taming of the flesh is an area many Christians do not desire nor see a need to address. In this case, also, James instructs us. He starts off his entire discussion on temptation with the solution: motivation. He tells us, “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.” James is no dummy. He recognizes man is unlikely to do something without motivation. This is not a flaw in man; it is merely the human method of deciding value in the pursuit of an action. In this case, the necessity of action cannot be overstated. He who is willing to wrestle with the flesh is willing to “receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.” Holiness is a way of receiving the crown of life not only in heaven but here on earth as well. When we are walking in holiness, oh how near the Spirit is! He is able to minister to our hearts, work within our lives, and fill us with undeniable joy. A life of holiness is like a machine constantly well-oiled and cleaned. We operate at God’s unbound potential for us and discover meaning and satisfaction all the while. Yes, the crown of life is granted for us in heaven, but all too well is it also granted to us in our present state each day that we live in holiness!

We’ve not even begun to scratch the surface of the scripture’s various instructions on maintaining holiness. It is my hope that these two areas we discussed, taming the flesh with the spirit and mind and motivating ourselves with the joy of the crown of life stored up for those persevering through temptation will stir us on to live lives holy unto the Lord. Hebrews 12.14 calls us to “make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” Without holiness, we cannot see God for who He is because we are not allowing His spirit to minister within us. A vehicle not maintained will slowly fall into unusable disrepair. So too our spirits, if not kept holy through God’s power, will become ruins of what would-have-been a powerful, fulfilling, and lasting relationship with Almighty God.