The sanctification of believers was one of the main requests that Christ had in mind when praying to the Father, before going to the cross:
“I do not ask you to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your Word is true” (John 17:15-17).
Amid the reality of our sinfulness and the inevitable consequences of living in a fallen world, we can be confident in the hope of a glorious future in Christ. Before we can fully enjoy that future, we believers have the work of the Holy Spirit on our behalf and the guidance of Scripture while we live on this earth.
Here I share an interview I recently did with Jason Wright, director of the .
1) Why do you think holiness is important? What made you see the need to address this topic?
I think for many Christians, myself included, the pandemic has changed a lot and perhaps some of us have fallen into bad habits. When we go through difficult times, it is easy to justify our sin. Life is hard, there is illness or depression, and for reasons like these the intentional pursuit of personal holiness could be left behind.
This truth is something that always amazes me about the book of 1 Peter. Its content talks about a group of exiled Christians who are somehow suffering for their faith. They are facing challenges and tribulations. And yet, Peter’s letter is full of calls to holiness. It is as if Peter’s response to people who are suffering was: “be holy!”
Peter’s first letter is full of calls to holiness. It is as if Peter’s response to people who are suffering is: Be holy!
For this reason, after almost two years in which we have lived through this pandemic, I believe it is important that Christians remember the clear call of the Bible to seek holiness. Let’s not let our circumstances, whatever they may be, fool us into thinking that our personal holiness doesn’t matter.
2) What are the most common problems that arise when talking about holiness in our churches?
If I preach a sermon that includes gospel imperatives, almost always at least one person will say to me, “I noticed there was a lot of ‘do this’ or ‘don’t do that’ in your sermon. Beware of legalism!”
Of course, there is the danger of legalism. We are always trying to add to God’s commandments or create a new standard so that we can feel that we somehow deserve God’s favor or blessing. But if we are faithful to the Scriptures, we will find that true Christians, those who have put their faith in Christ as the only one who can offer salvation, are called again and again to seek holiness.
Our world is full of distractions that can often lead us away from holiness.
That is one of the biggest problems we face when we talk about holiness. To some, any call to obey God or discipline ourselves sounds like a contradiction to the gospel. However, when we talk about personal holiness, we are talking about the fruit of our salvation, not the root. In other words, we are justified by grace through faith in Christ. That is the root. But the fruit of that salvation is a life dedicated to honoring Christ through the pursuit of holiness. And this is not to mention that personal holiness is completely countercultural. Our world is full of distractions that can often lead us away from holiness.
3) How would you define the need for the church to understand the holiness that God demands of his children and the reality that we still sin?
I have always liked the analogy that sanctification is more like a roller coaster than just a straight line moving up. In other words, there are ups and downs in our personal holiness, but overall there is growth. We live in a fallen world and we will never reach perfect holiness until we are with Christ in eternity.
However, that does not mean that we are hopeless or that our efforts toward personal holiness are in vain. I believe that the biblical authors are honest about the nature of the ups and downs of the Christian life. We mentioned Peter earlier. Indeed, he is an example of a Christian of whom Scripture testifies that his personal holiness had its ups and downs. But I believe that the responsibility of the church is to encourage believers in the fight for holiness. Again, that fight is not in vain. The believer can obtain victory in his fight against sin through the power of the Holy Spirit. There is hope. You can grow and change!
4) What are the main characteristics of a believer who has understood biblical holiness?
I would say that the main characteristic is humility. When we are saved, we understand the importance of the cross of Christ. In it, Christ made a bridge between us sinners and a Holy God. I believe that as we grow in sanctification, as we seek holiness, the cross becomes more and more precious to us. A maturing Christian has a growing awareness of his own sinfulness and a growing appreciation for Christ and the gospel. This leads to humility.
A maturing Christian has a growing awareness of his sinfulness and a growing appreciation for Christ and the gospel.
5) You are going to expound on the holiness of God. Could you share with us a point about how knowing God’s holiness should affect our holiness?
The idea of holiness really has two meanings. One is purity, impeccability. The other is the idea of being set apart. That is the idea of holiness that we see in Romans 12:1-2. Paul calls the Romans to present their bodies, their lives, as a living and holy sacrifice. How do they do it? Paul affirms: “Do not conform to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom 12:2).
We are called to be holy as God is holy. We must separate. We must be countercultural. Instead of going along with what the culture says, we need to step aside. Indeed, that is a daily battle for Christians because each of us lives in a sin-stained culture and is tempted to live by its standards, rather than be set apart. In some of our workshops during the conference we hope to talk about how the call to holiness affects the way we interact with culture.
6) What do you think are the main obstacles that stand between holiness according to God’s will and believers?
I don’t mean to downplay our responsibility to be intentional in the pursuit of holiness, but honestly, I think the culture we live in is the biggest obstacle. We are always being discipled by culture. If we are not careful and intentional about our pursuit of holiness, we will simply adopt the norms of the culture. It goes without saying that the norms of our culture often work against our call to holiness.
The call to holiness means that we often do not agree with the culture of the world.
In other words, the culture that surrounds us will not guide us toward holiness. She will seek to distance us from holiness. Therefore, the idea of being set apart is so important. Most of us want to like the culture, we want to go along with it. But the call to holiness means that we are often at odds with the world’s culture. And I think for many Christians this is a difficult thing to overcome.
7) what Do you have any advice for teachers of children and youth on how to approach holiness in their respective ministry areas?
What a good question! I would say that it all starts with how we share the gospel. If we share the gospel in a way that suggests God has no plan to sanctify us, we misrepresent the purpose for which God saves us. Of course, we must affirm that salvation is by grace through faith, period. But we can make the mistake of sharing the gospel with children and youth in such a way that we make salvation a box that we check and then live as we want.
The Bible is clear that God saved us for good works (Eph 2:10; James 1:25, 27). Young people often wonder: What is God’s will for my life? I like to respond by quoting 1 Thessalonians 4:3: “For this is the will of God: your sanctification…”.
God’s plan for your life includes your sanctification! That’s enough to keep us busy for a while. That is an important message for young people, that they understand that their sanctification is important. matter now. It affects your local church, your future marriage, your future family. We need to challenge young people to see that God has called them to holiness and given them the tools to pursue it.
8) What is the role of holiness in living and preaching the gospel in a society that is unconverted and apathetic to Christ?
God is sovereign and saves people despite the sinfulness of his messengers. However, our lives must match the message we preach. If we preach the power of Christ to save people from the ravaging and destructive power of sin, but still live in bondage to sin, our message will be dulled. On the other hand, a community of believers apart, who seek holiness, love one another, and live the gospel, is a powerful tool of evangelism.