I delivered this talk to students and faculty at a Bible College in 2025. The talks Call to Holiness precede it and Path to Holiness follow it.
Thank you once again for the great privilege to address you. As I requested yesterday, if you have anything you want discussed better, please let me know. I have one more talk after today.
Yesterday, I discussed the call to holiness. God raised you to be holy, wants you to be holy, wants you to imitate him, and delights in holiness. Moreover, God equates holiness with being his son and daughter and even equates it with knowing him. I cautioned that holiness is not cultural morality, but it is Biblical morality. And since we were raised in our culture, we must cast off what we were taught and take on Biblical morality. To do so, I challenged you to study from the Old Testament Exodus 20, Leviticus 19, and Deuteronomy 6, and from the New Testament Matthew 5-7. Finally, I gave you a small teaser in how to adopt Biblical morality.
Today, I want to more clearly define holiness. Holiness is an extremely broad topic, and to shorten our sermons, or get our mind around it, we like the short sound bites. We like Jesus’ condensing all the Law into two:
“‘Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?’ Jesus replied: ‘”Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.’” (Matthew 22:36-40)
And while these are the greatest commandments, there’s a reason God chose to spell out all the others in painstaking detail. He wanted to surgically extract cultural moral errors from our habits, and the summary commandments don’t do that. Therefore, it is good to spend time in these specifics, and that is what I will do today.
This talk will not be exhaustive. It will cover six areas, and for each area, I’ve selected three scriptures. Mostly I use three great calls to holiness, the ones in Romans 12, Ephesians 4, and Colossians 3. I am not minimizing the chapters I suggested yesterday. I assume you will study them, so I want to complement them with even more today.
Romans 12, Ephesians 4, and Colossians 3 fall at the end of their respective books. In most of Paul’s epistles, these three included, he first strives for right thinking; then, he strives for right acting. Now, I mostly covered this right thinking yesterday, when I discussed the vineyard allegory. However, I cannot resist diving into some of Ephesians 1 for just a few minutes to give you a taste of our vineyard owner.
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.” (Ephesians 1:3-5)
“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.” (Ephesians 1:7-8)
“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession -– to the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:13-14)
Notice the verbs: blessed, chosen, predestined, adopted, redeemed, forgiven, lavished, included, sealed. He has done so much for us. Praise be to his name! And, when you possess that right thinking, right acting naturally follows. Now, let us dive into right acting.
The first area I want to cover is Holiness of Mind. Here are the Scriptures I selected.
“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:22-24)
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:1-3)
“Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think on such things.” (Philippians 4:8)
You will recognize the last reference as one I covered Wednesday, but it covers Holiness of Mind so well, I include it yet again. Put together, our pre-Christian mindset and the currently worldly mindset are wrong. They do not lead to holiness. We must cast them aside and replace them with the things above. Those things above are the Lord and all he has done for us, but also, from the immediate context, the things above are his commands to holiness.
Where do you place your mind? I have a goal to wake every day with my mind fixed on Christ. I’ve achieved it twice this year. The remaining days, I usually awake focused on the problem at hand. Even this morning, I woke up with my mind focused on this talk. But with God’s help, I will one day achieve this goal. Let us all fix our eyes above and on all that is good.
Now, let’s cover Holiness in Body.
“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature [flesh]: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.” (Colossians 3:5)
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God -– this is your spiritual act of worship.” (Romans 12:1)
“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” (Colossians 3:12)
We battle against our flesh, and we must subdue it. Notice Paul’s violent verb choice: “Put to death.” This isn’t isolated: “Flee from sexual immorality” (1 Corinthians 6:18), “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature [flesh] with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24). I have mentored many men. In my country, roughly 70% of men commit the sin of pornography — looking at pictures of people unclothed often committing lewd acts. When a man I’m mentoring admits to this sin, but uses soft language for it: “I struggle with,” “I have a problem with,” “It keeps nagging me,” I know he won’t overcome. To overcome sins of the flesh, we must do violence. If it’s through a computer, we must throw the computer in the trash. If it’s through a magazine, we must keep kilometers away from that shop.
And once we have cast off the flesh, we offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. We replace sexual immorality, impurity, idolatry, and greed, with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. In my church, I lead the Service Team. We help the elderly and single mothers with physical needs. Almost all my team members are young single men. I experience joy every time they partner with me. Some have shared their sins with me. It’s so beautiful to watch a man who once committed pornography helping an elderly woman clean her gutter.1 He’s cast off the flesh and embraced kindness and humility.
Now, let’s cover Holiness in Emotions.
“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.” (Ephesians 4:31)
“Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” (Romans 12:11-12)
“And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” (Colossians 3:14)
Notice from these references that there are good emotions, like fervor and joy, and bad emotions, like rage and malice. So it is not that we should remove emotions; we must channel them toward good. Someone might argue that emotions just happen to us. In a way, that’s true, but they’re set up by our thoughts beforehand. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, the most effective therapy for depression and anxiety, forces patients to think truthfully about their value or influence, and when that’s done, their emotions improve. In the same way, when you focus on all an evil person’s done to you, anger is the natural result, but when you focus on all God’s done for you, joy is the natural result.
Paul wants us to get rid of bad emotions: rage, anger, brawling, slander, and malice. And he wants us to replace them with good emotions: fervor and joy. And he adds a few virtues in good measure: patient in affliction and faithful in prayer.
Finally, notice the last reference from Colossians. When I love someone, they can make mistakes, and I overlook them. However, when I don’t love, even the smallest shortcoming annoys me. Have you seen that in yourself too? Let us love, and let us love deeply. See others the way Christ sees them. Love binds all good in perfect unity.
Now, let’s cover Holiness toward the Unlovely.
“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.” (Romans 12:14)
“Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody . . . On the contrary: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.’” (Romans 12:17, 20)
“Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” (Colossians 3:13)
This is one of the New Testament’s harder commands. I am passionate about justice. I suspect many of you are too. And, when someone treats me unjustly, I want to make sure it’s corrected. But that’s not my place. We must repay evil with good. And, to make it a little easier, the last section from Colossians aids us. If we fix our minds on imitating Christ, it is easier to repay evil with good.
After my wife divorced me, I was angry with her. My life and my children’s lives had forever changed for the worst, it seemed. Holidays, school, work, social gatherings, chores — everything was harder. And as that anger stewed, I grew bitter, and as bitterness grew, I felt tormented. I was like the Unmerciful Servant in Matthew 18, whom after being unwilling to forgive his fellow servant, was turned over to the jailers to be tortured until he could pay back all he owed. Fortunately, I knew that passage well; I knew forgiveness was my key to be free from torment and bitterness. It’s easy to forgive when the offender is repentant, or when the offense was done accidentally. It’s very hard to forgive when there’s no repentance and the sin is intentional. I woke bitter every morning. I’d shake it off for a bit, but it would be back periodically throughout the day. God sometimes speaks to me, not audibly but with a very clear and stark Biblical thought. It happened a few times through this story. In my daily prayer walks, the Lord prompted me to forgive, but I told him I couldn’t. Then I’d wake up the next day more bitter. It came to a head one January morning. I was going to a robotics event for my youngest son that day and I knew I’d see my wife there. I woke up, and I heard the Lord say, “Just do it [forgive her].” I said, “Lord, I can’t. She’s hurt me so much.” There was a long pause. Then I heard, “My son did it.” I hesitated for a long time, and finally I said, “Then I will do it too.”
Now, let’s cover Holiness toward All.
“Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” (Romans 12:15)
“Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:3)
“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” (Ephesians 4:29)
The first passage involves empathy — putting ourselves in the other’s shoes — understanding them so much that we share their same emotion. Do you think about others that much? When someone tells you about a tragedy in their life, feel it as your own. When someone tells you about a joy, feel it as your own. Jump in. There’s nothing heroic about stoicism.
The second passage touches on our role as peacemakers. In our efforts to repay evil with good, it rarely means silence. Every Friday I lead a pick-up football game. (And, by the way, I’ve been hoping to play football with you while I’m here.) This year one of our veteran players insulted a new player, and the new player wanted to fight. He puffed out his chest and spoke insultingly. A large man named Matt broke up the fight, but both heads were still hot. That week, I phoned and arranged meetings with both the veteran and the new player, both non-Christians. I met with each separately, and both found fault with me, initially. That, unfortunately, is part of peacemaking. We must be willing to take the heat, even if it’s unjust, in hope that we can cool the relationship we’re trying to heal. However, as we talked, both resolved to be more kind on the field. Now, four months later, the two are good friends and also kind to me. When they’re on the same team against me, I have an upperhand in defense, because I know when one of them has the ball, he will try to pass to the other.
And, the last passage guides our tongue. As James says, “it’s a world of evil among the parts of the body.” (James 3:6) Be so careful with what you say. So much good can be done with it, yet so much evil. You know my testimony yesterday, my words led to my divorce. Yet, that same tongue could have built up, and that’s what Paul advises here.
Now, in my last area, I will cover Holiness toward God.
“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” (Ephesians 4:30)
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.” (Colossians 3:16)
“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:17)
How do we grieve the Spirit of God? Anything I do against the Spirit’s will grieves him: wickedness, ignoring his lead, ignoring his conviction, avoiding intercession. Do you grieve him too? If so, repent of these things and strive to please him. He is great and mighty yet respects your will.
Let us be filled with the Word of God. Let us be so filled, that it spills out in our teaching, admonishing, and singing. You have noticed that I am a student of the Word. That reliance steadied me much during my dark years. And it hasn’t only steadied me; it’s steadied the men I mentor in their darkness. Remember the Parable of the Sower. Those without root wither when the sun comes up.
The last passage serves as a guide to all our action: what we think, what we say, and what we do. Make sure that thought is something Jesus would think. Make sure that word is something Jesus would say. Make sure that action is something Jesus would do. In this way, what we do is in his name, and we imitate him.
I imagine a few reactions after hearing this list. First, some of you may be annoyed — yet another Christian list of dos and don’ts. If you find yourself in that category, you missed the motive for holiness from yesterday’s talk. Please listen to yesterday’s recording, ask me for the notes, or talk to me. If it was delivered and received well, yesterday’s talk should prompt us to hunger and thirst for righteousness. Second, some of you may feel unmoved — I do most of these at least reasonably. Remember my warning from Wednesday. We don’t like change. We tend to commend ourselves for the morals we do well and ignore the morals we do poorly. As I challenged you Wednesday, the very ones where you fail are the very ones you should focus on most. God wants whole Christians, not partial Christians. Use this talk as an impetus for change. Third, some of you may feel discouraged. You find yourself a sinner. This is a good thought, but don’t let it fester to despair. Instead, let it blossom into action. Even if you fail in every one of these categories, God will sustain you and help you improve, if you have the desire and ask for his help. Finally, some of you may feel joy — excitement at knowing God’s law and desiring to follow it. It is, after all, a privilege to serve such a holy, powerful, loving master. You’re like the author of Psalm 119. In my next talk, I’ll cover how I memorize the Bible and address how to turn this knowledge into action.
May the Lord be with you as you strive to know and serve him. Peace be with you.
- To conceal this man’s identity, I purposely altered the sin and the service. ↩︎