Pursue Holiness in Christ

We are, we are, we're caught in the in between
Of who we already are and who we are yet to be
And we're looking for love but finding we're still in need
It's only what we have lost will we be allowed to keep

And we're waiting but our eyes are wandering
To all this earth holds dear

Look at all the pretty things
That steal my heart away
I can feel I'm fading
'Cause Lord I love so many things
That keep me from Your face
Come and save me

Nobody stumbles into godliness.

If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed. 7Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; 8for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. - 1 Timothy 4:6-8 (ESV)

The word train in verse 7 (and perhaps in verse 6 as well though I don't know for sure) is derived from the Greek word for "sweat". Serious effort is required.

Mark Driscoll posted this quote today on Facebook and Twitter: "Here, then, is the real problem of our negligence. We fail in our duty to study God's Word not so much because it is difficult to understand, not so much because it is dull and boring, but because it is work. Our problem is not a lack of intelligence or a lack of passion. Our problem is that we are lazy." - RC Sproul

We have bought into the lie that there are big sins and small sins...sins we should be ashamed of and sins that are acceptable...sins that can harm us and sins that we can live with. We do not whole-heartedly pursue holiness because we like our sin. It brings us pleasure, comfort and the perception of control. And we don't battle it like we should because we are spiritually lazy...having also believed the lie that the Christian life should be one of smooth sailing into eternity. Laziness also comes from not understanding the weight of our sin and/or the holiness of God.

5Put to death therefore what is earthly in you:sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6On account of these the wrath of God is coming." - Colossians 3:5-6 (ESV)

We don't like to talk about the wrath of God because it isn't very warm and cuddly and certainly doesn't make us feel good. It also doesn't lend itself to full churches and offering plates on Sunday morning. But there can be no question regarding God's wrath toward sin. God has two ultimate responses to sin: The slaughter of his son, Jesus Christ; and the physical reality of hell. Spend even a little time thinking about the stark terror and tragedy of those two things and you can't help but gain a deeper understanding of how seriously we are to take every sin. It's not a battle to take lightly and certainly not one to put off until tomorrow. This is not to be looked at legalistically apart from grace but to be seen through God's Word as working out our salvation with fear and trembling through His strength and what He has already done for us.