LIFE, LIBERTY, & PURSUIT OF HOLINESS

"Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord." Of the many passages of Scripture I recall my late pastor Elder S.E. Mitchell quoting, few today have resonated and remained with me as Hebrews 12:14. Sadly, one of the things missing from the preaching and teaching agendas of far too many ministries is a consistent emphasis on the need for personal holiness. While it seems, there is no shortage of messages on prosperity and self-fulfillment, finding a biblically focused message on the topic of holiness is rarely found. Perhaps in our desire to avoid the caricature of the fire and brimstone preachers of bygone eras, we have substituted the gospel of confrontation with the gospel of accommodation, we have replaced the gain of godliness with the godliness of gain, and in so doing we have replaced the gospel of Jesus Christ with another gospel.

Found in what is arguably the greatest secular document of our republic are the words "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Curiously enough, America's Declaration of Independence is the exact opposite of what God requires and desires of His people.

Rather than elevating and venerating the individual, God's call to ancient Israel is found in the words "Hear, O Israel, The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength." (Deut. 6:4-5). What a stark contrast it presents for us in our times, and even among otherwise devout Christians, God's ALL-encompassing requirement to love Him should convict us as we live increasingly in a nation and a world that is not attuned to hear His call. When we come to fully understand and accept that His call to holiness for us, is our commitment to whole-I-ness to Him, this is the true definition of what it means to live holy in an unholy world.

When we grasp this profound truth, we can fulfill the command to come out from among them and be separate, and to be ye holy as He is holy.

Thankfully, things are not as dire as you and I might be inclined to think, God always leaves for Himself a remnant. Today all over the world God is raising up a generation of blood-bought, Spirit-filled believers who are boldly living out their Declaration of Dependence, as they pray "My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation." (Psalms 62:5-6).