Everett Henes: The hole in holiness

I have lost count of the number of people who tell me that they are Christian but don’t really think it’s supposed to make a big difference in their day-to-day lives. Granted, being a Christian doesn’t change how your car works or maybe even the way your personality will conflict with others who are close to you. There are common areas of life that we all take part in. Marriage brings challenges, raising children can push you to the limits of your patience, and work sometimes brings frustration. But that doesn’t mean being a Christian doesn’t impact how we walk through all of life. How we respond is what matters.

In Ephesians 5:3-7 the Apostle Paul focuses our attention on three areas: how we talk, how we love, and how we think. He writes, But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not associate with them.”

The love we are called to walk in is a holy love. This refers to the character of our Christian walk. This comes as no surprise to us if we have read through Ephesians carefully. Paul writes that Christians are saints, set apart for God, and so our lives are to reflect that status.

Sexual immorality shows itself in impurity and covetousness. For Paul, such a person was an idolater. How did he come to this conclusion? He saw the first and the tenth commandments as being connected. To covet is ultimately to set one’s desires at the center of everything. This is the worship of the creature rather than the Creator. Christians are to worship the one true God so such attitudes and actions must not even be named among them. These are the ways of the world and not the ways of those who have been made new in Christ.

Furthermore, rather than filthy, foolish or crude talk, the attitude of a believer is to be one of thanksgiving. Paul draws the distinction in a sharp way here — those who profess faith but walk according to the world are ‘sons of disobedience’ and the wrath of God comes upon them, but believers are called to live in holy love toward God. What Paul sees here is the danger of those who profess faith in Christ being drawn into a continuing life of sin. For the believer there is a break with this life of sin, and we are no longer slaves to sin but servants of God. To give yourself over to these sins (indeed, any sin) without repentance is to return to the old nature.

Love for God is practically shown in an imitating, sacrificial and holy walk. In verse 7 Paul states that believers should not associate with those ‘sons of disobedience.’ This is why I believe that this refers to those in the church who walk unrepentantly in sin. Paul says elsewhere that we are to avoid such people but that this does not mean we are to dissociate with unbelievers. To do so would require that we leave the world. (1 Corinthians 5:9-10) We are called to be salt and light in this dark world and this means that we need to be present in the world. We must always remember, though, that we are called to walk in a way that brings glory and honor to our God.

The impact of this upon our lives cannot be overstated. What passes for holiness, or a worthy walk, in our day often has little to do with actual holiness. It is too easy to become like the Pharisees in Jesus’ day, thinking that we can create an external rule list that will make us holy. God has given to us his law, and he has written it upon our hearts. He calls us to imitate our savior, even as he is conforming us to his image. We are to continually put on the new self (Ephesians 4:24), working out what God has worked in us.

— Pastor Everett Henes, the pastor of the Hillsdale Orthodox Presbyterian Church, can be reached at pastorhenes@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Everett Henes: The hole in holiness