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33 min read
by Randall McElwain
By the end of this lesson, the student should:
(1) Appreciate the beauty of a loving relationship with God.
(2) Follow the model of Jesus as one who loved the Father perfectly.
(3) Recognize that worldliness and legalism are both symptoms of the same root cause.
(4) Memorize Mark 12:29-31.
Job had lost everything. His wealth was gone. His children were killed in a storm. His health was destroyed. He was sitting on an ash heap scraping open sores with a piece of broken pottery. His wife told him to curse God and die. His friends accused him of terrible sins. Those who had honored him in the past now mocked him.
In his suffering, Job does not pray, “God, return my wealth” or even “God, heal my body.” Instead, he cries, “Oh, that I knew where I might find him, that I might come even to his seat!” (Job 23:3). Job weeps because he cannot find the God he had known so intimately. “Behold, I go forward, but he is not there, and backward, but I do not perceive him; on the left hand when he is working, I do not behold him; he turns to the right hand, but I do not see him” (Job 23:8-9).
Job remembers the days when the friendship of God was upon his tent (Job 29:4). But now:
"God has cast me into the mire, and I have become like dust and ashes. I cry to you for help and you do not answer me; I stand, and you only look at me. You have turned cruel to me; with the might of your hand you persecute me" (Job 30:19-21).
This is the cry of a man who feels betrayed by his closest friend. It is the cry of a man who loved God.
Job’s story does not end in despair. After God spoke from the whirlwind, Job responded, “I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you” (Job 42:5). Job was comforted not by the return of his possessions, health, or even family, but by the return of God’s presence. Job was comforted when he saw God. Job was a holy man; Job loved God.
► What does it mean to love God? How will truly loving God affect your priorities for your time and money? How will loving God affect your view of his commands?
The book of Job and the Psalms repeat a message that we saw in the Pentateuch: holiness is relationship with God. We are holy only as we live in relationship with God. To be holy means to love God fully.
Enoch, Noah, and Abraham were holy because they walked with God. In the same way, Job and David were holy because they walked with God. The Book of Job tells the story of a man who loved God supremely. The Book of Psalms contains the prayers and songs of a man whose greatest joy was intimate fellowship with God.
Holy People Delight in God
Holy people delight in God; they find their deepest joy in him. The controlling desire of a holy person is to please God.[2]
To those who measure holiness by a list of “do’s and don’ts,” this seems simplistic. Many people think of holiness only as duty, rather than enjoyment. Scripture shows that holy people delight in God. Job desired nothing more than restoration of his relationship with God. David testified to the joy of an intimate relationship with God. He found his deepest joy in God.
A teacher was teaching in a city where the drinking water was unsafe. One hot day, he forgot to bring his water filter. By the time he finished class, he had only one thought, “I need water!” If you had given him a choice of $100 or a cup of clean water, he would have chosen the water. When he was truly thirsty, water was more important than anything else.
That night, he asked himself, “Do I thirst for God as much as I thirsted today for water? Does he matter more to me than anything in this world?”
David thirsted for God. “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God” (Psalm 42:1-2). David compared his desire for God to the thirst of a running deer. A thirsty deer’s greatest desire is water; the holy person’s greatest desire is intimacy with God. A holy person hungers and thirsts for righteousness (Matthew 5:6).
The Psalms contrast the delights of sinners with the delights of a holy person. Sinners delight in war; they take pleasure in lies; they love cursing (Psalm 62:4; Psalm 68:30; Psalm 109:17). By contrast, holy people find fullness of joy in God’s presence; they love God’s house and the place where his glory dwells (Psalm 16:11; Psalm 26:8). The psalmist determined, “There is nothing on earth that I desire besides you” (Psalm 73:25). Holy people find their deepest delight in God.
Psalm 63 shows the beauty of meditating on God. David was fleeing from Saul. His life was in danger. In that situation, what would you think about? Most people would be tempted to meditate on the danger. David says, “I remember you upon my bed and meditate on you in the watches of the night.” Even in danger, David’s thoughts were on God. He found this meditation as satisfying as rich food (Psalm 63:5-6).
The singer of Psalms delighted in God; he was in love with God. Holy people delight in God. Consider for a moment: What makes you thirsty? Do you delight in God?
Holy People Delight in God’s Law
A holy person delights in God’s law. The Psalms show that God’s law is not a threat to his people; holy people love God’s law. David said, “I delight to do your will, O my God” (Psalm 40:8). He did not struggle to obey God; he found delight in obedience to God.
Delight in God’s law runs all through the Psalms. The theme of Psalm 119 is God’s Word. Listen to David’s joy:
God’s Law Reveals God’s Love
“The earth, O LORD, is full of your steadfast love; teach me your statutes” (Psalm 119:64). God shows his love through his law: “Deal with your servant according to your steadfast love, and teach me your statutes” (Psalm 119:124). Holy people delight in God’s law because they know that God’s law reveals God’s love.
Moses said that Israel’s obedience to God’s law would make other nations jealous of their wisdom!
"Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, 'Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people'" (Deuteronomy 4:6).
Moses asked, “And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?” (Deuteronomy 4:8). God’s law did not enslave Israel; God’s law blessed Israel.
Today, it is common to hear preachers teach that God’s law was a heavy burden that could not be obeyed. Some Christians say that God’s law is a target that no one can reach. However, Moses, David and other Old Testament saints rejoiced in God’s law.[3] They believed that it was a joy to honor God’s name and God’s Sabbath. They did not want to bow down to false idols.
They did not believe they would be happier if they dishonored their parents, committed murder and adultery, or stole and lied. They knew it is better to be content than to covet what our neighbor owns. God’s law was not a burden. God gave his law out of a heart of love. The law guided holy people in their relationship with a holy God. God’s law was a delight to his people.[1]
God’s Law Reveals God’s Character
If we love God, we will love his law. The psalmist declared, “Your testimonies are wonderful; therefore my soul keeps them” (Psalm 119:129). David did not say, “Your law is hard, but I will try to obey.” No; David said, “God’s law is wonderful!”
Holy people delight in God’s law. The psalmist loved God’s law because he knew that the law is more than a list of rules; God’s law reveals God’s character.
► Read Psalms 111 and 112.
Psalms 111 and 112 are companion psalms. Together, they show the importance of God’s law for the holy person. Psalm 111 describes God’s character: God is righteous, gracious, and merciful.
Psalm 112 begins, “Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commandments!” The person who delights in God’s commandments will be blessed. How? He will become like God. He will be gracious, merciful, and righteous. These are the same characteristics that describe God in Psalm 111. As we delight in God’s law, we become more and more like God.
The Pentateuch teaches that a holy person reflects the image of God. Psalms 111 and 112 show that a person who delights in God’s law is transformed into the image of God. The person who delights in God’s law becomes more like God.
If we truly love God, we will keep God’s law. David asked, “Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place?” Who can live in God’s presence? A person with clean hands and a pure heart (Psalm 24:3-4). To live in God’s presence requires obedience to God’s law. The Poetic Books show that God requires obedience of those who claim to love him.
The Poetic Books also show that God makes faithful obedience possible. This is God’s promise to those who love him.
The story of Job begins, “There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil” (Job 1:1). When Eliphaz accused Job of sin, Job responded:
"My foot has held fast to his steps; I have kept his way and have not turned aside. I have not departed from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food" (Job 23:11-12).
Someone might ask, “How can Job say that he has not broken God’s commandments? Everyone sins every day.” Job responds, “I love God and I rejoice in careful obedience to him.” Job walked intimately with God. He kept the commandment of his lips. Is a holy life possible? Job answers, “Yes.” Job knew that God makes faithful obedience possible to those who love him.
A holy life is not based on our own strength; it comes from daily dependence on God. Job was blameless not because he was unusually self-disciplined. He was blameless because of his intimate walk with God. Job understood that God requires faithful obedience and that God makes faithful obedience possible.
This truth has a powerful impact in the daily life of the believer. God requires his people to be holy and God makes his people holy. It is through him that we are made holy and pure. God requires holiness and God provides holiness. God provides everything that his Word requires.
Those Who Delight in God Receive Their Heart’s Desire
Psalm 37 shows the result of delighting in God. “Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4).
Some readers think that Psalm 37:4 teaches, “If I serve God, he will give me anything I ask for. He will make me rich.” David is not preaching a gospel that says, “God wants his children to be rich.” David says something much more important: “If your deepest desire is God, God will give himself to you.” If you desire God, you will receive God.
If you follow God so that you can receive health, wealth, and fame, you will be disappointed by the message of Psalm 37:4. If you follow God for material blessings, you will be disappointed when you find that your reward is… God!
For a self-centered person, receiving God is not a great reward. The self-centered person does not desire God. But for a person who desires God, Psalm 37:4 is a great promise. To the holy person, God is the greatest gift possible.
To those who desire him, God gives an intimate relationship with himself. Delighting in God does not always bring financial blessing or freedom from suffering. People who delight in God may be hated by an enemy. Holy people often suffer. However, David and Job found that even in times of suffering, God honors those who delight in him.
Holiness is loving God. Holy people delight in God; in turn, God freely gives himself to those who hunger and thirst for him.
[1] Adapted from Dennis F. Kinlaw, This Day with the Master (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004)
[2]A Prayer for Holiness: “My God, I pray that I may so know you and love you that I may rejoice in you. Let my mind meditate on your goodness. Let my tongue speak of it. Let my heart live for it. Let my soul hunger for it. Let my whole being desire it, until I enter in your joy.”
- Anselm of Canterbury
[3]“We imagine that whatever is unpleasant is our duty! Is that anything like the spirit of our Lord? ‘I delight to do Thy will, O My God.’”
- Oswald Chambers
A religious lawyer asked Jesus, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus pointed to the Law of Moses. “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?”
The lawyer quoted Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. These scriptures summarize the Law. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus responded, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live” (Luke 10:25-28). Holiness is perfect love.
A few months later, Jesus was in Jerusalem. A scribe asked, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” (Mark 12:28). The Pharisees had counted 613 laws from the Old Testament. They often argued about which law was most important. Jesus responded:
"The most important is,'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these" (Mark 12:29-31).
Jesus defined holiness as love for God and love for others. True holiness is expressed through love. We grow in holiness as we grow in Christlike love. To be holy is to love as Jesus loved; this is perfect love.
In Lesson 5, we saw that Old Testament writers used the word perfect to refer to a heart that is undivided. To be perfect is to be undivided in one’s commitment to God. New Testament writers use the word perfect in a similar way. Jesus commanded his followers to “be perfect” (Matthew 5:48). In the Gospels, we see that to be perfect is to have an undivided love for God and for our neighbor. To be perfect is to love without reservation. This is perfect love.
The message of perfect love was not new in the Gospels. Jesus reminded Israel that God had always required love for God and love for our neighbor. Deuteronomy 6 shows that love is the foundation of the Law. Obedience without love leads to legalism. Jesus taught that to be holy is to love God. If we love God, we will obey him. Holiness is loving God with all your heart.
Love for God is more than emotion. John Wesley defined love for God this way:
"….to delight in him, to rejoice in his will, to desire continually to please him, to seek and find our happiness in him, and to thirst day and night for a fuller enjoyment of him."[1]
Love for God changes the entire direction of our life. Pleasing God becomes our highest ambition and our greatest joy. Jesus showed what it means to love God perfectly. In Jesus, we see the holy love that God desires for every Christian.
Jesus Demonstrated Perfect Love for God in His Life
Jesus demonstrated perfect love for his Father. Jesus lived in joyful submission to his Father’s will. This was not the enforced submission of a slave; it was the loving submission of a son.
The Temptation Shows Jesus’ Love for the Father
Before beginning his public ministry, Jesus faced the temptation in the wilderness. Each temptation was directed at destroying the relationship between the Father and the Son.
Satan tempted Jesus to bypass the Father and provide bread for himself. Satan tempted Jesus to abandon worship of the Father to gain authority over the kingdoms of the world. Satan tempted Jesus to test the Father by jumping from the pinnacle of the Temple (Luke 4:1-12). Each temptation was a test of Jesus’ love for the Father. Jesus responded by showing his complete trust in his heavenly Father.
Instead of turning stone to bread, Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 8:3: “It is written, ‘man shall not live by bread alone.’” Moses reminded Israel that God had provided manna in the desert; Israel could trust their Father’s loving provision. In the same way, Jesus trusted his Father’s loving provision.
Instead of bowing to Satan, Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 6:13; “You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.” Because he loved God perfectly, Jesus refused the temptation to bow to Satan.
Instead of testing his Father by jumping from the Temple pinnacle, Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 6:16: “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Because he loved God perfectly, Jesus refused to test the Father’s promise of protection.
The Cleansing of the Temple Shows Jesus’ Love for the Father
Even as a child, Jesus loved his Father’s house (Luke 2:49). He loved his Father, so he loved his Father’s house.
When Jesus found dishonest tradesmen in the Temple, he responded with righteous anger.
"And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the Temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables" (John 2:15).
Why was Jesus angry? Because these tradesmen were dishonoring his Father’s house: “Do not make my Father's house a house of trade” (John 2:16). Jesus loved his Father and responded in fury to disrespect for his Father’s house.
Jesus had normal human emotions. In the face of evil, he felt anger – but he did not sin (Mark 3:5; Ephesians 4:26). Holiness did not eliminate Jesus’ emotions. Instead, because he was holy, Jesus’ emotions reflected the emotions of his Father. Jesus was angry at the things that angered his Father.
Jesus’ Submission Shows His Love for the Father
In his farewell message, Jesus pointed to his obedience as a testimony to his love for the Father. “I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father” (John 14:31). Jesus demonstrated his love for the Father through willing submission to the Father’s will. This is perfect love.
Even in the ultimate test, Jesus was submissive to the Father’s will. Jesus knew he would endure a shameful trial followed by the unimaginable pain of the cross. He would be separated from the Father because of man’s sin. Jesus prayed, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me…” (Luke 22:42). Jesus of Nazareth faced the ultimate test of submission to the Father.
In his humanity, Jesus pleaded for deliverance. But in his humanity, Jesus showed his willing submission to the Father. “Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” Jesus demonstrated perfect love for the Father through his submission to the Father’s will.
The life of Jesus provides a model of perfect love. To be holy is to love God as Jesus loved his Father.
Jesus Taught His Followers to Love God Perfectly
Loving God is more than emotion. It is a long-term commitment that changes the ultimate priorities of our lives. Jesus defined love this way:
"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:26-27).
For Jewish teachers, the word hate meant “to love less than something else.” The follower of Jesus must love Jesus above everyone else, even his own self. That is what it means to love God – to love God above all else.
Jesus said, “No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other” (Luke 16:13). Love is exclusive. If you love God, he takes first place over everything in life.
Jesus taught that faithful and willing obedience demonstrates love. “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me.” The reward for this loving obedience is an intimate relationship with God. “And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him” (John 14:21).
Many years later, John remembered Jesus’ words in the upper room. John wrote, “Whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected” (1 John 2:5). Holiness is perfect love for God. Holy people willingly submit to the Father’s will. Holy people follow Jesus’ model of obedience.
When we love God perfectly, we delight to obey his will. When we love God perfectly, we willingly submit our will to the will of our Father. When we love God perfectly, we pray with David:
"Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!" (Psalm 139:23-24).
Perfect love gives us an intense desire to please our heavenly Father. We reject anything that would disrupt our relationship with him. Holiness is perfect love for God.
The Relationship between Jesus and the Father is a Model for the Christian
► Read John 17.
Jesus gave a picture of holiness in his High Priestly Prayer. In John 17, Jesus prayed for himself, for his disciples, and then for all believers. Jesus showed that his intimate relationship with the Father is the pattern for the relationship between Christians and our Father.
Jesus Prayed for Himself (John 17:1-5)
Facing death, Jesus rejoiced that he had accomplished the work the Father gave him to do: “I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.”
Later in this prayer, Jesus said,
"Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth" (John 17:17-19).
The Greek word used three times in this passage can mean either “to make holy” or “to consecrate and set apart.” Because Jesus had no sin, he did not need to be made holy. In this prayer, “sanctify” means to “consecrate or set apart.” Jesus set himself apart to accomplish the work that the Father gave him to do. Jesus consecrated himself to the task that the Father gave him.
Jesus Prayed for His Disciples (John 17:6-19)
Jesus prayed that the disciples would be sanctified in truth. “And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.” Just as Jesus was set apart for service on earth, he prayed that the disciples would be set apart for service. The relationship between the Son and Father was a model for the relationship between the disciples and the Father. As the disciples followed the pattern of Jesus, they were set apart to share his truth with the world.
Jesus Prayed for All Believers (John 17:20-26)
Jesus then prayed for all those who would believe in him. He prayed that all Christians will share the unity that he and the Father enjoyed. Jesus prayed that we will become perfectly one. This is the same word that is used in Matthew 5:48: “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” This word suggests the accomplishment of a goal. The goal is perfect love, the love that is seen within the Trinity.
We as believers are invited to share in the divine love of the Father and the Son. Jesus prayed “that the love with which you (the Father) have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” The love between Jesus and the Father is the pattern for every believer. This is what it means to be holy: to have the perfect love modeled by Jesus.
[1] John Wesley, “On Love.” Retrieved from http://wesley.nnu.edu/john-wesley/the-sermons-of-john-wesley-1872- edition/sermon-139-on-love/ December 21, 2019.
Simon had a question for his pastor. “Pastor, I want to be holy. Like Abraham, I want to be a friend of God. But there is a problem. I do some things that I know are wrong. I love God, but I do not want to obey him. Can I be a friend of God if I do not obey him?”
Jesus answered Simon’s question more than 2,000 years ago. “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Nowhere does God say, “If you love me, you can continue to live in willful sin.” Instead, Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Jesus continued, “Whoever does not love me does not keep my words” (John 14:24).
Some professed Christians talk about their love for God while they continue to live in willful sin. To these people, loving God is simply an emotion. They claim to love God, but it has not changed their life. However, loving God is more than an emotion or feeling. Loving God requires willing obedience to his commands.
Sarah had a question for her pastor. “Pastor, I want to be holy. Like Job, I want to be blameless and upright. I am careful about keeping every command. But there is a problem. I don’t really love God. I obey him out of fear that he will be angry if I disobey. I obey God, but I do not love him. Can I be holy if I do not love God?”
Jesus answered Sarah’s question more than 2,000 years ago. Jesus gave a message to the church at Ephesus. He commended their good works and right doctrine. He praised them for their faithfulness in the face of persecution. But, he said, “I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.” Jesus took the lack of love so seriously that he threatened to remove their lampstand from its place if they did not repent and regain their first love (Revelation 2:2-5).
Some Christians believe they can earn God’s favor through obedience, but their obedience is not accompanied by love. They believe that holiness is a matter of obedience to a list of rules. They have forgotten that the root of holiness is love for God.
At heart, both Simon and Sarah have the same root problem; neither of them truly love God. Simon’s lack of love for God is seen in worldliness. Worldliness says, “I love this world more than I love God.”
Sarah’s lack of love for God is seen in legalism. Legalism says, “I obey God not out of love but out of a desire to earn God’s favor.” Neither of these are motivated by love for God. The answer both to worldliness and to legalism is the same – love for God.
The Answer to Worldliness: Loving God
What does it mean to be worldly? Many times, we define worldliness by a style of dress, a type of entertainment, a desire for public approval, showiness, or some other outward sign. These may be symptoms of worldliness, but worldliness is much deeper. This is the question to ask to define worldliness: “What brings me true delight?”
To be worldly is to delight in this world. A worldly person seeks ultimate fulfillment from this world. To be worldly is to value the things of this world above the things of God.
Lot saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered. He chose the valley that appealed to his eyes (Genesis 13:10-11). Lot was worldly; he delighted in the pleasures of this world.
Demas abandoned his ministry because he found delight in this world. Paul wrote, “For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica,” a prosperous city (2 Timothy 4:10). Demas was worldly; he loved this world.
A godly person finds their deepest delight in God. The psalmist wrote, “And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you” (Psalm 73:25). The Psalmist was godly; he loved God.
The answer to worldliness is not a set of rules. The answer to worldliness is a love for God. A 19th century Scottish pastor, Thomas Chalmers, preached a sermon on “The Expulsive Power of a New Affection.” Rev. Chalmers said there are two things we must do if we want to stop loving the world.
The cure for loving this world is to fall in love with God. Jesus told a parable about a merchant who sold everything he owned to buy one valuable pearl.
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it" (Matthew 13:45-46).
Imagine if you said to this merchant, “I feel so sorry for you! It is sad that you had to sell so many possessions.” The merchant would laugh at you! He would say, “A sacrifice? I am not making a sacrifice; I am buying a pearl of great price. The things I sold are nothing in comparison to this beautiful pearl.” The merchant has found a new affection. He has fallen in love with something that has expelled his old love.
The answer to worldliness is to fall in love with God. Love for God will expel our love for money, for applause, for show, and for all the things that the world uses to entice God’s people. Holy people love God – and that love drives out a love for this world.
The Answer to Legalism: Loving God[1]
When we sincerely desire to live a holy life, we can be tempted to go beyond the biblical principle of Christian perfection to a legalistic “perfectionism.”
Biblical Christian perfection is a heart of undivided love for God. Christian perfection shows a heart that seeks to please God in every area. It recognizes that even the sincere heart of love cannot bring us to a level of perfect performance. We are limited by our human weakness. A holy person will not willingly break God’s law, but the holiest person continues to rely on God’s grace in those areas where we unintentionally fall short of God’s absolute standards of right and wrong.
“Perfectionism,” on the other hand, leads me to expect perfect performance in every area of life. Perfectionism focuses on me and my performance as a holy person instead of focusing on Jesus and his power in my life.
Perfectionism often leads to a legalistic effort to earn God’s favor through separation. It often measures holiness by a list of things that I do not do (I don’t smoke, I don’t drink alcoholic beverages, I don’t wear immodest clothes) or things that I do (I fast, I pray, I give to church.)
As we saw in Lesson 4, a holy person will want to stay separate from anything that displeases God. To say, “I love God with my whole heart” and then to live a life that seeks to satisfy worldly desires is wrong.
However, we must never allow our desire for a separated heart and separated life to lead us to a point of believing we can measure our relationship with God by a list of “do’s and do not’s.” Holiness is first a matter of the heart and a love relationship with God. That relationship inspires our desire to live holy, separated lives. The reverse will never work: A separated life in itself never inspires a relationship of love for God.
We must seek to be perfect as God commands. We must not seek to earn God’s favor through perfectionism. A perfect heart is a heart that loves God completely.
► Which is a greater temptation in your church, worldliness or legalism? Discuss how a deepening love for God can provide a right response to either of these problems. Discuss practical steps for inspiring love for God among the people to whom you minister.
The Key to a Holy Life: Loving God
We love God only if we obey him fully. We obey God fully only if we truly love him. As God’s children, we can move beyond serving God as duty. We can reach the point where we delight in serving him. This delight will come only through love. A child who obeys his parents only out of fear or duty never finds joy in obedience. A child who obeys out of love finds obedience to be a joy.
When a young child studies the violin, she must practice daily. At first practice may be a duty rather than a joy. But if the child will ever become an excellent violinist, she must reach the point where playing the violin is more than a duty. It must be a delight. Duty is when a child practices because her mother says, “You must practice.” Delight is when a child plays because she enjoys playing. The true violinist finds delight in the duty of practice.
The same is true for our spiritual life. A holy person reads God’s Word as a spiritual discipline, but he also delights in God’s Word. Obedience to God becomes both a duty and a delight.
Think of the difference when we serve God out of delight, rather than duty. Obedience becomes a joy, not a burden. Prayer, God’s Word, and the disciplines of the Christian life become a joy. This is what it means to love God. Holy people obey with joy because they love God.
George Croly, a 19th century Anglican priest, prayed that God would wean him from earthly loves and fill him with a pure holy passion for God. This hymn remains a powerful prayer for every Christian who seeks to love God with a perfect, undivided, love.
[1] Adapted from John Oswalt, Called to Be Holy: A Biblical Perspective (Nappanee: Evangel Publishing House, 1999), 186-188.
Spirit of God, descend upon my heart;
Wean it from earth; through all its pulses move;
Stoop to my weakness, mighty as Thou art,
And make me love Thee as I ought to love.
Teach me to love Thee as thine angels love,
One holy passion filling all my frame;
The baptism of the heaven-descended Dove,
My heart an altar, and Thy love the flame.
John Sung was one of the greatest evangelists of the twentieth century. He was the son of a Methodist pastor in Fujian Province, China, and became a Christian at the age of nine.
Sung came to the United States to study at the age of 19. A brilliant student, John Sung completed his bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD degrees in chemistry in only six years. Unfortunately, during this period, Sung had begun to doubt the biblical teachings he had learned from his father.
Sung decided to spend a year at Union Theological Seminary seeking answers to his questions. Instead of providing answers, the liberal professors at Union undermined Sung’s faith even further.
In 1926, John Sung attended a service in Harlem. That night, a 15-year-old girl testified of the transformation that God had made in her life. Sung began seeking a renewed relationship with God. The seminary professors became convinced that John Sung was mentally ill and the president, Henry Sloan Coffin, had Sung committed to an insane asylum. During his 193 days in the asylum, John Sung read through the entire Bible 40 times.
Following his release, John Sung returned to China. Dr. Sung knew that he could take a teaching position at any prestigious Chinese university. However, onboard the ship, God was calling Sung to a deeper surrender of his life. One day, as a symbol of his surrender and as a way to break any ties to a teaching career, Dr. Sung gathered his diplomas and academic awards and threw them overboard.
John Sung arrived in China not as “Dr. John Sung, Professor of Chemistry” but as “John Sung, Servant of God.” Sung began to preach and had a powerful evangelistic ministry. Historians estimate that more than 100,000 people were converted under John Sung’s ministry between his return to China in 1927 and his death in 1944 at the age of 41.
The life of John Sung shows that loving God is more than emotion. Because of his love for God, Dr. Sung gave up his ambition for a prestigious teaching job in a Chinese university and answered God’s call to preach. Because of his love for God, John Sung gave up the comforts of a well-paid position and lived a simple life, eating the diet of a peasant. Because of his love for God, John Sung spent hours each day in prayer and Bible study. His life was consumed by his love for God, and because of that love, God used John Sung to lead thousands to Christ.
(1) To be holy is to love God.
(2) Holy people find their greatest delight in God.
(3) Because they know that God’s law reflects his love, holy people delight in God’s law.
(4) Those who delight in God find that God gives himself to them.
(5) Jesus provided the perfect model for what it means to love God.
(6) The answer to worldliness is a deep love for God.
(7) The answer to legalism is a deep love for God.
(1) Imagine that a new Christian said to you, “I want to have a deeper relationship with God. I love God, but it is hard to know how to grow in my relationship with him. I can’t see God and so he seems far away. What can I do?” Write a 1-2 page (450-800 word) letter in which you help this believer understand how to grow in his relationship with God. Include practical steps to reading Scripture, developing a prayer life, and sharing your faith. At your next class meeting, each student should read their answer and have a time to discuss the answers.
(2) Begin the next class session by quoting Mark 12:29-31.
(3) Remember to work on the final project that will be due at the end of this course.
You will preach three sermons or teach three Bible studies on the doctrine and practice of holiness. You should record these sermons to submit to the class leader for your final project. You will prepare one sermon or Bible study on each of the following topics:
(1) A sermon or Bible study on one theological aspect of holiness. Choose one:
(2) A sermon or Bible study on a practical aspect of holiness. You may choose a topic discussed in this course, or you may select your own topic. Possible topics include:
(3) A sermon or Bible study on a biblical character who demonstrates holiness.
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