Christian Ethics in a Confused Age, Episode 23

Holiness can become confusing when Christians begin measuring it mainly by appearance. We know Scripture calls believers to obedience, purity, self-control, repentance, and growth. Those commands are real. Yet the pursuit of holiness can easily become distorted into something God never intended. A Christian begins comparing his life with someone else’s, outward behavior becomes the primary measure of spiritual maturity, and before long obedience is being used to establish superiority rather than express love for God.

The opposite danger is equally serious. Some Christians are so afraid of legalism or self-righteousness that they become uncomfortable with the language of holiness altogether. Grace is emphasized in ways that make serious obedience sound suspicious, and calls to repentance are treated as though they threaten the Gospel. Scripture gives us neither option. Holiness matters deeply, but biblical holiness does not begin with our ability to make ourselves impressive. It begins with Jesus Christ.

Episode 23 places that truth at the center. Holiness is the fruit of union with Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit in the real person. Christians do not pursue holiness in order to earn acceptance with God. They pursue holiness because, through grace, they already belong to Christ. The righteousness that establishes our standing before God is Christ’s righteousness, not ours, yet the Christ who justifies His people also sanctifies them. Grace pardons, and that same grace begins changing the people it pardons.

Understanding that relationship changes the entire tone of the Christian life. It leaves no room for boasting because holiness is not self-created, but it also leaves no room for surrender because God’s grace is actively at work in His people. Christians can therefore take sin seriously without pretending their spiritual performance is the basis of God’s love.