Biblical Strategy: Authentic Pursuit of Holiness

INTRO: We have come to the junction in our teaching series where the rubber meets the road and we begin to hammer out some real action steps. The past couple months have been, hopefully, useful and edifying as we identified God’s mission for the church and biblical milestones of healthy followers of Jesus.

We learned that God has given us the mission of making disciples of every person we can reach. We saw his design for the church as a body that gathers together to be equipped for this very mission. We looked at 4 perspectives of a healthy disciple so that we could know what we aspire to be and to replicate in the lives of others.

Today, we are going to begin talking strategy. A strategy is an intentional plan of action intended to achieve a major objective or aim. And if you remember back to our very first message in this series, we set our aim on the Gospel of Jesus Christ - “I do all things for the sake of the Gospel!”

What I hope to present to you over the course of the next 4 weeks is a biblical strategy to becoming a healthy Christian church. With each message, we will identify specific actions that are prescribed in God’s Word, intended for His church.

Ultimately this is a strategy that I believe will shift our culture to one that produces missionaries that take the Gospel to our neighbors and the nations.

Now, being that I am presenting a strategy, I want to make sure we are on the same page going in. That’s why we’ve spent the time studying God’s design for the church and His desire for His followers. Of course, I am making a few assumptions about you. Let me share my assumptions with you:

That you believe the Bible is God’s inerrant, infallible Word.

That you desire to follow Christ according to His design.

That you understand the urgency of the Gospel.

I think those are fair assumptions. If that does not describe you, then please reach out to me so we can discuss this.

You also need to know my convictions. Let me share some of those as well:

I care greatly for you all. God has called me here for this exact season and I want nothing more than His absolute best for this church.

I believe that the church is God’s plan for reaching the whole world with the Gospel. Everyday, people are dying and going to hell. They need Jesus. We need to take that message out!

I believe that sometimes being obedient to God means taking a bold, risky stand.

We need to understand and adopt our vision and purpose before Satan gets a foothold in this church And ruin what God has set forth in this valley.

So here’s my expectation: That, as a church, we- that is y’all and me - will take specific, measurable steps of obedience to GOD, which will position our church to carry out our mission. This is not about programming or committees. It’s not about changing the constitution or rearranging church polity.

This is simply about us being who God has called us to BE.

So, If you will take your bibles and open to the book of Ephesians, we will be in Eph. 4:17-32

Ephesians 4:17–32 NASB95

17 So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; 19 and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. 20 But you did not learn Christ in this way, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, 22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, 23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. 25 Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. 26 Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and do not give the devil an opportunity. 28 He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need. 29 Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. 30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

READ/ PRAY

We’ve had one lesson from the passage just before today’s reading. The letter was written to a church who desperately needed to understand what it meant to be a faithful witness in the midst of a sinful culture. In our time together, we are going to look at the strategic step of authentically pursuing holiness.

To pursue means to chase after until you catch something.

ILL: When a criminal is on the loose, the cops pursue him. They drop everything and chase him until he’s caught. When a couple pursues marriage, they chase after it until they marry. When you pursue a career or degree, you chase after it- learning, growing, investing - until you have that career or degree.

To pursue holiness is to prioritize and consistently chase after becoming like Christ. Now, you know and I know that we will not catch holiness on this side of eternity.

This strategic move may sound simple, and perhaps it is. But far too many who call themselves Christians are not pursuing holiness, but rather a cheap imitation known as morality.

Holiness is better than morality. It goes beyond it. Holiness affects the heart. Holiness respects the motive. Holiness regards the whole nature of man.

Charles Spurgeon

So, to pursue holiness really is life-transforming. And we cannot expect that we will ever be a healthy church or Christian if we are not chasing after Christ in this way.

But what does it look like? What practical steps do we take to pursue holiness? I want to show you 3 replacements you and I need to make in order to pursue holiness. So, if you picked up a bulletin, I encourage you to follow along as we learn together the biblical strategy step I’ve labeled: Authentic Pursuit of Holiness.

To pursue holiness, we must first

Replace Our Desires (17-24)

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ILL: I remember when my kids were little, the things they wanted were not always what was best for them. They might want to play with a sharp knife or to run out in a busy roadway. But as parents, we know that this is a bad idea. Our job is to teach them to replace these unhealthy desires with healthy desires.

Paul points out here that when we examine our desires, we can see that some of the things we want, we want because we don’t know any better. He says that these desires exist because of the ‘futility of the mind,’ ‘darkened in understanding’ and again, ‘ignorance in them.’

In other words, the consequences of these desires have not been considered. The ugliness of these desires is hidden through the ignorance of the mind.

People want unrestricted sexual freedom because they are ignorant of the implications.

People desire selfish gains because there is no grasp of stewardship or love of neighbor.

People want to act impulsively upon their emotions because they have no understanding of self control.

But look here, Christian. Paul says, BUT YOU did not learn Christ in this way! (20)

IOW, followers of Christ have no business entertaining these desires because Christ has changed the picture. You know better because you know Jesus!

Paul explains it this way: lay aside the old self and put on the new self - the Holy Spirit living in you!

This is a picture getting dressed. You have to take off the old stinky clothing and put on the new, clean wardrobe. You can’t just go around trying to put on a fresh, clean suit on top of smelly, soiled clothes! Friends, that won’t work!

You must replace the old sinful desires with new god-honoring desires. How do you know what these are? Paul says, renew your mind… remember, you once had futility in your mind, but Jesus changed all that! To replace your desires, you have to replace your thoughts.

Romans 12:2 NASB95

2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

What do you dwell on? Do you entertain lustful thoughts? Then you will desire lustful actions. Do you entertain selfish thoughts or thoughts of bitterness? Then you will desire to act upon them.

Instead, dwell on the things of Christ, just as you learned Him. Or, as Paul instructed the Philippian church:

Philippians 4:8 NASB95

8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

To pursue holiness, you must replace your desires. Next, in order to pursue holiness, you must:

Replace Our Defaults (25-30)

(READ) You and I have some ‘default settings’ so to speak. Think about the resting position of your face… some of you have a default facial expression that says “Leave me alone” Maybe that’s not what you are feeling, but I see your resting default faces every Sunday!!

Likewise, We all have some sinful defaults, don’t we? Paul is using the same language we spoke of earlier- “lay aside” which means that our default position needs to be taken off so that we can take up or put on a new, better position.

The first thing Paul brings up is that we need to reset our default back to TRUTH. Jesus, in John 17, reminds us that God’s word is truth.

You see, it was way back in the Garden of Eden when mankind was taken in by a lie of Satan. He is the chief deceiver and we are never more like him than when we engage in falsehoods. What does that mean?

Well, it can be that we knowingly hear or receive lies and do not correct them or it might be that we speak falsehoods- lies, incomplete truths, or other untruths.

ILL: So, when you are in a group and someone says something that you know is false, what is your default position? It’s probably to stay silent. But the problem is that you are now allowing a falsehood to live. Instead, you ought to reset your default to TRUTH, which might mean saying, “I don’t think that’s true…” or “Are you sure that’s accurate? This sounds like gossip.”

Of course, this is applies not only to gossip about others, but to all that is unacceptable in God’s eyes. When someone is living in sin and says something like, “I think God is love, so homosexuality is ok with Him too...” your default is, “DANGER!! Divisive topic!!” But remember, they initiated this conversation- we must tell them the truth in love that homosexuality is a perversion of God’s design and does not honor Him. He calls it a sin. We do this because we are called to love our neighbor, not lie to them.

I’d rather you be mad at me for telling you the truth than for you to stand before God and wonder why I didn’t tell you.

Some other default positions Paul mentions are how we deal with anger. We can be angry and sin (that’s our default) or we can be angry and exercise Godly self-control and wisdom. Why do you think our default in anger is sinful? Because anger can be a selfish reaction. I get angry when things don’t go my way- maybe that is because I was rejected or maybe it’s when the dog poops on the rug.

All anger isn’t bad though - anger can also be an indicator of injustice. But in our default, sinful position we tend to elevate ourselves above others. And Paul gives a warning here- when we act in this way, we give Satan a foothold in our life. An open door wherein he can disrupt fellowship and unity.

Folks, I guarantee you that you are gonna get angry at each other.. actually I’ll go one further and say you are going to get angry at me… shoot, I might get angry at you too... And it might be justified on any account. But when we get to this point, we must replace our default position from vengeful to restrained, knowing that God is the true just Judge. Instead of acting sinfully, let us come to the table, put our eyes of Jesus, and work through it.

Other defaults real quick- if you are a thief, stop it! Get a job for goodness sake! Replace the notion that you are entitled with the conviction that through honest labor, you will be rewarded and will be able share the love of Christ by helping someone in need.

If you are using your words to tear down others- maybe you are used to conning people or manipulating people, cussing at them or insulting them, then you need to recognize that this kind of default behavior is destructive and that is not of God.

Thus the plea in v. 30- Do not grieve the Holy Spirit.

Christians ought not act in ways that are inconsistent with God’s commands.

Listen, I know that we all struggle with insecurities and the easiest way to make ourselves feel better is to find ways of pushing others underneath us. Replace this default behavior or tearing down with a new default of building up. Your encouragement might be the difference in someone’s life who is battling depression. Your kind words might be what someone needs to hear so that they will be strengthened to keep going through a difficult season.

As Christians, we must pursue holiness. We do this by replacing our desires, our defaults, and finally we must:

Replace Our Disposition (31-32)

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This builds upon our defaults that we just spoke of. Our disposition is our frame of mind- our temperament.

ILL: Now, without pointing or poking… Are any of you grudge-holders? Like, you might get offended at someone and you hold onto that like you’re getting paid to. And it eats at you, doesn’t it? Your bitter, you engage in that evil speak we talked about earlier...

You see, I think that one big difference between Christians and non-Christians is that we have a reason to have a better attitude than the world. What Paul is alluding to here in these final verses of chapter 4 is that a Christian can lay aside bitterness and wrath and such because of the gospel-change in our own lives.

Jesus told a story in Luke 7. The context is that He is at the home of a Pharisee and a woman, likely a harlot, comes to Jesus, crying, wetting his feet with her tears. She wiped them with her hair, kissed his feet, and anointed them with ointment. The Pharisee didn’t get it… he was offended by the woman’s presence- maybe like you might be at the thought of someone.

But even in her sins, which by the way were most egregious to the Holy Son of God, she was able to experience Jesus’ mercy. So the parable goes like this:

Luke 7:41–47 NASB95

41 “A moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 “When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have judged correctly.” 44 Turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 “You gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet. 46 “You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. 47 “For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.”

Christian brothers and sisters, we have been forgiven much! The kindness and mercy of God is overwhelming! And so our frame of mind should be such that we see this life as a gift and with it we are intended to glorify God with every word, every action, every thought…

We need to replace our disposition from being offended to being gracious.

Look, if you are here today and have never received the forgiveness of God through Christ, I urge you to take the step to encounter Him today. Will you take the strategic step to authentically pursue holiness today? Replace your desires, defaults, and disposition. I’ve given some measurement tools in your sermon guide.

[PRAY]

Measure: Your desires are measured by your thoughts. Take 10 minutes each morning to order your thoughts on the things of God. Write down the negative thoughts you have and begin replacing them with new thoughts from Scripture.

Discuss: What specific behavior do you need to lay aside? (Start with just 1) Write down the new behavior you wish to enact. Pray for God to reset your mind so that you honor the Holy Spirit living in you.

Measure: Record the number of times you sense bitterness in your heart. God’s grace is sufficient. If you have trusted in Christ and repented from your sins, then you need receive God’s forgiveness. Ask God to change your disposition and reflect upon His mercy.