Discovering Life-Giving Holiness

by Rev. Brett Heintzman,  Director of Communications and Director of the National Prayer Ministry

The following is not intended to be a linear, step-by-step path to holiness. Everyone’s journey is different. They are offered as pathways that can all lead (regardless of the order you take them in) to an encounter with God’s sanctifying grace — a journey worth taking, indeed.

Remember that “greater is He that is in you…”

God is greater than “he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4b). God’s power is greater than the power of the enemy and the power of sin. Embracing God’s best for you begins with this simple yet profound understanding. Knowing that God is greater changes our thinking about holiness. You might ask, “Is holiness really possible? Can I be holy as God is holy like the Scriptures say?” As you do, the enemy is right there to challenge you. He will remind you of your vulnerability, but God is also present to remind you of His power, which is available to live a holy life. Life-giving holiness is possible. How? Because “greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.”

Stir up your hunger to be holy as God is holy.

It’s one thing to know that holiness is possible, but it’s entirely another thing to want it. Embracing God’s best for you calls you to desire everything that God has for you and to be rid of everything that God does not want for you. It’s about alignment and obedience.  Alignment with God’s will and purposes for your life and obedience to His holy commands. How does one stoke that fire of desire? How do you stir up your hunger for holiness? In short, get in the Word of God and confess the desire to have every good thing you see in God’s thoughts, ways, and character. Confess your desire to want what God wants. In the same way, get in the Word of God and confess the desire to rid yourself of every character flaw and defect, every sin that you read of on the pages of the Bible. Confess your desire to be done with what God calls sin, which leads to destruction. In doing so, you will stir up the desire to be holy.  The more you see it, the more you’ll want it. Ask God to impart to you His desires for you so that you might desire the desire to be holy.

“Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness, no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14)

Through prayer, lay it all at Jesus’ feet.

There comes a time when you must surrender everything to God. Everything you are and have – everything you desire and want – everything you know goes against His will for your life – and even every gift and talent you’ve been given. You see, God is not content to have only a small part of you. He wants all of us. This is done in prayer. The Free Methodists of old used to call this act of prayer “praying through.” In other words, they prayed until they felt that they got through to heaven and heaven broke through to them. This kind of prayer has no time limits – it can be long or short – but it has great intention and dedication. It embodies desire and readiness – earnestness and resolve – the desire to be set apart for God and God alone. Embracing God’s best for you requires surrender. This means we will give it up, give it over, and give it to God. All of you. All for Him. All that you are and have. The early Free Methodists called this a “crisis” moment of God’s grace at work in us. Beyond God’s grace that saves you, there is grace to sanctify you. Giving it all to God is not easy, but it is the narrow way we are all called to walk. That’s why it’s a “crisis moment.” Beyond the crisis, there is peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7).

“For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it” (Matthew 16:25).

Believing you are sanctified…

One of the most popular claims for Christians today is, “I’m just a sinner.” Ask yourself for a moment why we, who are in Christ, would make such a claim. Shouldn’t your claim be “I’m sanctified through Christ who gives me power!”? Don’t we tend to become what we declare over our lives? Embracing God’s best for your life shifts your thinking about the power you are given to live a holy life. Life-giving holiness is not about your goodness or ability to keep up with a list of dos and don’ts. It’s about living in the power you’ve been imparted to live a holy life. If that is true, your declaration should be, “I am living a holy life because of the power of God at work in me! With God as my helper, I am overcoming sin day by day – moment by moment.” That’s a sanctified life.

“But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy because I am holy.’” (1 Peter 1:15-16)

… and yet sanctifying.

Every day brings new challenges to our faith. After all, God’s enemy is like a prowling lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). This calls for a fresh supply of God’s grace to meet the challenges of each day. In crisis moments of sanctification, we give over everything to God. Yet, we must live in the process of continually being sanctified. This crisis-and-process way of life leads to true and lasting holiness that is truly life-giving. How does one live in the process of being sanctified? Every day, take your life before God as you begin your day. Offer yourself anew to God. John Wesley offered himself to God through what he called his “covenant prayer.” You are invited to pray this or other similar prayers of your own to continually remind yourself of your commitment to be fully surrendered to God.

“I am no longer my own, but yours. Put me to what you will, place me with whom you will. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be put to work for you or set aside for you, Praised for you or criticized for you. Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and fully surrender all things to your glory and service. And now, O wonderful and holy God, Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer, you are mine, and I am yours. So be it. And the covenant which I have made on earth, Let it also be made in heaven. Amen.”

Embrace living with an ongoing holy mind and holy life.

Your life can truly be holy because God is holy. You are fully surrendered to Him and daily surrendering to Him. You want to embrace God’s best for your life and renounce every sin that God says leads to destruction. His grace saves you, sanctifies you, and sustains you! Hallelujah!

The ways and thoughts of God become our ways and thoughts. We live more and more into this reality as we embrace the Word of God. The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 2:16 that you can have the mind of Christ. If this is true for you, then you can lean on the Lord in prayer to think as Jesus thinks. His ways are pure, so ours become more and more pure. His ways are holy, so ours become more and more holy. His thoughts are righteous, so ours become more and more righteous.

Live in God’s holy love.

The greatest evidence of holiness is the presence of God’s love in His children. God is love, and God is holy. These two statements are equally true and constant. For sanctified believers, they are to be equally true of us as well. We are holy as God is holy, and we love as God loves – unconditionally. To be imparted the love of God means that we see others for the image-bearers of God that they are. We hurt when others hurt and rejoice when they rejoice. We see the world differently as people who have put on a set of glasses that filter out the world’s cynicism and disdain. We see others through the lens of Christ’s love and compassion. Embracing God’s best for you truly rises and falls on love. While it is true that without holiness, no one will see the Lord, it is equally true what the apostle John wrote when he said, “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

Living a holy life in the beauty of holy love is possible as you embrace God’s best for your life.