Why do I have so much trouble being holy?
Jerry Bridges' book, The Pursuit of Holiness, is more than provocative. It is challenging and compelling. I am reading it again, because I so need to!
Here are some thoughts from Chapter One:
"To live a holy life...is to live a life characterized by 'putting off your old self, which is being corrupted by its evil desires and putting on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.' (Ephesians 4:22,24)"
It sounds so basic, so almost simple and easy. Put off evil and put on Jesus!
Then why do Christians struggle with holiness so much? Why do we (I) feel defeated so often? Why does my life (and others) seem to resemble the world more than it does Jesus?
Jerry goes on to say:
"Our first problem is that our attitude toward sin is more self-centered than God-centered.
We are more concerned about our own 'victory' over sin than we are about the fact that our sins grieve the heart of God. We cannot tolerate failure in our struggle with sin chiefly because we are success-oriented, not because we know it is offensive to God.
W. S. Plumer said, 'We never see sin right until we see it as against God...All sin is against God in this sense: that it is His law that is broken. His authority that is despised. His government that is set at naught...Pharaoh and Balaam, Saul and Judas each said, 'I have sinned' but the returning prodigal said, 'I have sinned against heaven and before Thee,' and David said, 'against Thee and Thee only have I sinned.'
God wants us to walk in obedience -- not victory. Obedience is oriented toward God; victory is oriented toward self...Until we face this attitude and deal with it, we will not consistently walk in holiness ...God does want us to be victorious, but He wants us to know that victory is a by-product of obedience. As we concentrate on living an obedient, holy life, we will certainly experience the joy of victory over sin."
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