Habits of Holiness

“Repeated acts of the consent of the will unto sin may beget a disposition and inclineableness of the will unto a proneness and readiness to consent unto sin upon easy solicitation.” — John Owen

-OR-

“The more we sin, the more we are inclined to sin.” — Jerry Bridges

Habit: a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up. (Oxford Languages)

We must understand how habits influence our will which in turn will influence our holiness.

Habits eventually become ingrained in us, in our thought and emotional patterns in life. Owen says, “Every lust is a depraved habit or disposition continually inclining our hearts to do evil.” Habits coupled with natural proclivities are what make one sin insurmountable for some and not even a struggle for others.

Rom.6:19 “I am using a human analogy because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you offered the parts of yourselves as slaves to impurity, and to greater and greater lawlessness, so now offer them as slaves to righteousness, which results in sanctification.”

Every time we submit to sin, we work on developing that habit of sin in our life.

There is now a change that must occur. Instead of surrendering to sin, we must now make ourselves slaves to practices of righteousness. Rom.8:13 “because if you live according to the flesh, you are going to die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” The word death is in the present tense, which means to continually do something…or to “make a habit” of doing something. In this case, it should be our “habit” to put to death the deeds of the body. Hence, “Habits of Holiness.”

While we are actively called to put sin to death, it is not ours to do alone.

The first principle: habits are developed and reinforced by frequent repetition.

In either direction, the more we sin or the more we resist sin, the more that habit will be reinforced in our lives. A friend of mine would use the illustration of two dogs in a fight. One of them was starved on vegan ooey-gooey bars, and the other was fed on prime beef. Which dog would win in the fight? The one that was better fed. So it is with our habits — if we feed holiness, holiness can prevail. But, if we feed sin, sin likely will prevail.

Phil.4:8 “Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy—dwell on these things.” Last week we talked about how our wills bend to whatever exerts the most force on them. This is what makes a verse like Phil.4:8 so important. Exert the force, develop the habit of constantly thinking…dwelling…on what is pleasing to God.

The second principle: never let an exception occur.

I watch, from time to time, a guy on YouTube named Jeff Cavaliere. He has a Master’s Degree in Physical Therapy and a C.S. in Physioneurobiology/Premed from UConn. He was the head PT and Assistant Strength Coach for the Mets during the NL East Champion seasons from 2006-2008, and he has worked with some of the best players in baseballl (Tom Glavine, Pedro Martinez, Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltran, etc.) He’s also trained guys like Sylvester Stallone and Pro Bowl receivers like Greg Jennings and Antonio Brown. The guy knows his stuff. And one of the things he talks about is the fact that he never allows himself a cheat day when it comes to diet and exercise. NEVER. When it comes to our holiness, there can never be a “just this once” type of thinking.

The third principle: diligence in all areas is require to ensure success in one area.

Agree or disagree?

John Owen again comes in with the stinger, “Without a sincere and diligent effort in every area of obedience, there will be no successful mortification of any one besetting sin.” There is no single sinful habit that is permissible. Indulgence in one area of life leads to a weakened will in other areas.

Caveat — I know this is true because I see it in my own life. But, where’s the grace? Where’s the line? Where’s the “eat an elephant one bite at a time” nature of striving for holiness? I see my life, and traction in the elimination (I say traction because until Jesus returns, I must still wrestle with the nature that lives in me) of any given sin typically opens my eyes to another area of sin that two days ago I was clueless about!

The fourth principle: don’t be discouraged by failure.

Purpose now to make a distinction between failing and being a failure.

Regardless of how often we fail, we are not a failure unless we give up our pursuit of holiness altogether. So long as we’ve not thrown in the towel completely, we can expect…and will see progress.