Holiness

  • The Meaning of Holiness

    Matthew 6:9-13

    In Christ we become friends of God (John 15:12–15; James 2:23), but this is no casual friendship like we have with other human beings. The Lord is to be treated reverently by His friends, and if we ...Read More

  • The Insanity of Luther

    Romans 1:16-17

    Once we begin to understand something of the gravity of our sin and the purity of God’s character, it can be easy for our knowledge of our depravity to paralyze us. This need not be the case, for the ...Read More

  • Holiness and Justice

    Leviticus 10:1–3

    Many people complain that the doctrine of election is unfair and deny it because they think fairness demands that we all have the ability to believe the gospel. But if we are sinners, the one thing God would be fair ...Read More

  • The Holiness of God

    Isaiah 6:1-7

    Alone among the religions of the world, Christianity teaches that God does not grade on a curve. If we think that He will let us into heaven if our good deeds outweigh our bad, we are sadly mistaken. One sin ...Read More

  • Knowing the Lord

    Jeremiah 9:23–24

    Many people today want to set holiness, love, and mercy in opposition to one another, especially when they speak of the character of God. Yet, it is only because the Lord is holy that we can be confident that He ...Read More

  • Pressing on to the Mark

    Philippians 3:12–14

    Christians make true progress in their fight against sin over the course of their Christian lives. Yet, we continue to discover new sins we never saw before until we die, and our sin-clouded minds need help in knowing the Lord ...Read More

  • Honoring God’s Holy Name

    Isaiah 8:13

    Fundamentally, revering God as holy means trusting His promises and obeying His commandments. In other words, we must recognize first that He is holy and that we are unholy, and we must rest only in His Son, Christ Jesus, in ...Read More

  • The Holiness of the Church

    Ephesians 1:1

    God does not see His people in the same way that He sees the unregenerate world. He sees us as holy, but He sees those outside of Christ as unholy. This does not mean He is ignorant of our remaining ...Read More

  • The Struggle With Sin

    Romans 7:13–25

    How is your personal walk with the Lord? Have you become calloused to the evils of sin manifest in you own life? Have you forgotten to spend time with Him? It is as we love Him more and more that ...Read More

  • The Demands of Justice and Truth

    Genesis 2:15–17

    Without a robust doctrine of divine simplicity, we have a God at odds with Himself and One who cannot be trusted. The “gods” of other religions are not as just as they claim to be because they do not pour ...Read More

  • The Enemies of the Cross of Christ

    Philippians 3:18–19

    Although we are rightly distressed when we see professing Christians pervert the grace of God into an excuse for sin, we should not be surprised that such things happen. After all, if people could glory in their shame while the ...Read More

  • A Plan for Growth

    Luke 14:25-33

    Today it often seems as if the church is looking for the power of God everywhere except in the means of grace. Of course, the Lord often works in unexpected ways to bring about our growth in holiness. Yet He ...Read More

  • Our Purpose

    Genesis 1:1-2:3

    If our original purpose is to shine forth God’s image to creation, then the importance of our obedience to His will takes on new significance. When our goodness and mercy align with His standards, we reveal His pure character ...Read More

  • Christ in Our Hearts

    Ephesians 3:16-17a

    Christ does not wait for us to be perfect before He takes up residence within us, and for that we can rejoice. Yet it is possible to grieve His Spirit by our sin (Eph. 4:30), and so we must ...Read More

  • The Church is Holy

    1 Corinthians 1:2

    Through the blood of Christ, God sees His church as holy, although He is by no means ignorant of the sin that persists in our lives. Yet this declaration of holiness gives us confidence that we can make real progress ...Read More