Holiness is Active

Today it often seems that all talk of holiness centers around avoiding this or that. Holiness has become not doing this or that bad thing.

Many people are criticized for what they have done, but no one is ever criticized for doing nothing. The reality is that we need to move past looking at what we are doing primarily and look more at what we are not doing.

The great reality is that many people in the church live a completely "holy" life in terms of avoiding sin, but also lead a life completely devoid of any positive action. You see what they lack is any expression of love toward the world.

If we have everything and lack love then our faith is futile. You see faith requires an active outward influence. A Christian's love must be expressed to live out faith.

We cannot be holy if we do not take positive concrete steps to live out our faith in the world. These steps need not be large, but if we wish to follow God it is of absolute importance to ask what we are doing in the world rather than what we have avoided doing.

Growth

Growing in the Christian life requires looking to God. Often people look to grow by looking at sin and then trying to avoid sin.

There is truth in the approach, but studying the problem does not help us as much to the solution as looking at God. If we look to God and learn about God and love God then we will make far more progress in faith than if we look at sin and try to avoid it.

Righteous living is very active in nature. This is also why looking to God is helpful. God is a God who acts.

Jesus' life was filled with righteous activity from start to finish. The need for the Christian to act is at least as important for righteousness as the avoidance of sin.

You see avoiding sin, without an active expression of love is meaningless. The bible says if we have all things, but lack love it is worthless.

Love is something which is active and must be expressed. We can avoid sin sitting in isolation in a room our who lives and the avoidance of sin is worthless without expressing love.

Love is active. We must go out and do. We must risk and be vulnerable. Love is more important for real righteousness than avoidance of sin.

Faith is not simply Intellectual Assent

Faith Is Not Simply Intellectual Assent Faith is not simply intellectual assent. Faith involves accepting the claims of Jesus intellectually but it is far deeper. You see there are many things we accept in life which have no affect on us.

Many pieces of information we learn have no affect on us. We believe they are true but they make no difference on our life. You see many high school students ask in classes what practical value the information has. Usually the high school students are simply missing the value of the information presented, but the fact is true there can be information learned which has no affect on one's life.

If our acceptance of Christianity has no affect on our life then something is profoundly wrong. The Christian faith should have a profound affect on our life.

Of course it is common for sincere Christians to doubt God's love for them. A person who is concerned if God loves them usually is a child of God. It is usually a sign of a weak faith or a strong faith which has gone through a difficult time.

Usually the sort of intellectual assent which is not faith does not care about Christianity. It accepts the claims of Christianity and moves on unchanged. It does not care that there is no evidence of change in their life.

True faith has an appreciation for what God has done. It is active and transforms the person. It reaches out into the world to live out its faith day by day.

Hallow Religion

There is a great hollowness in many churches. You see a theology of righteousness has become very negative.

Being different than the world in many cases is a list of things not to do, with prayer added on as the activity to do.

You see this is such a thin religion. Nothing is required for righteousness except not sinning.

Ultimately religion in its best state is very active. It does and wishes to do.

You see Jesus is the model for Christian living and his life is a life of active doing. He is often criticized for his doing because he dares to act when those with a negative theology believe he should not act.

It allows sin to be sin and failure to act to be sin. And it rests completely on grace knowing day by day we sin.

Resting completely on grace allows and does not hinders action. Our righteousness is perfect and complete in Jesus which frees us to live.

Love Is Active

Love is active. If we have love we will seek action. You see many people who claim to have love but have no evidence of ever seeking action.

Maybe they act in private and their works are before God. We cannot know. But the truth is that if we really love we will wish to act.

If we say we love and do not wish to act or always have an excuse to not act then we do not love. Love always wishes to act.

Often love does not have a solution or an ability to act. There are too many problems and we have too few solutions, time and abilities.

But love always acts at one point or another. If love sees a hundred problems maybe love finds a way to act on a handful of them according to ability and time.

But you see a "love" that never acts on any problems is likely not a real love. It is just a facade that excuses itself always with this or that excuse.

True love always acts on a few of the problems it sees in the world. It cannot act on everything, but true love picks a few things to act upon.