We have probably all heard about the driver asking for directions, and being told: ‘If I were you, I wouldn’t start from here’!
As the people of God, we are called to a life of holiness. But where do we start? What is the first step? It’s vitally important to get this right if we want to avoid detours and pitfalls on our journey. In this article I maintain that the starting point in our life of holiness is what we know. Yes, there’s still plenty for us to do, but that doesn’t come first. We start with what God wants us to know.
1. Know what has happened to us
As a young Christian struggling with the power of sin in my life, Romans 6:1-14 was a great help, and especially v.11: ‘… count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.’ I realised that when I trusted in Christ, a death had occurred, once for all. I still sinned. I still fell short of what God wanted me to be. But the old self had died. The power of sin in my life had been broken. Donald MacLeod writes: ‘… the plain, literal declaration of the word of God is that we have put off the old man.’ And Erroll Hulse: ‘.. the death of the old self … took place in the past, a definitive act, something decisive.’ As the apostle Paul tells us in Colossians 3:3: ‘You died …’.
How does this help as we struggle with remaining sin in our lives? When temptation comes upon us, and sin ‘knocks at the door’, what do we do? We plead these truths in prayer. We remind God what He has done in our lives. We affirm that the old self has died. We bring mighty weapons into the fight for our souls, weapons which ‘demolish strongholds’ (2 Cor. 10:4).
2. Know who we are
Or more precisely, know who God says that we are. The opening of the apostle Paul’s letters helps. “To the saints in Ephesus …” (Eph. 1:1); “To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi …” (Phil. 1:1). This is our new identity, the new category into which God has put us. We are ‘saints’. We are God’s holy people. We have been set apart for Him. And He will never put us back into the category of ‘sinners’. That can never again be our identity.
Of course, we still sin. ‘If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves …’ (1John 1:8). But in the New Testament, apart from James 4:8, the term ‘sinner’ is consistently used to describe those who are unbelievers. And in the life of holiness, it is vitally important to know that this is not our starting point. We are now ‘saints’.
3. Know what we will become
For many years we lived in a country where there was a large desert. We were foreigners, and would certainly get lost in the desert on our own. But the local people knew it well, and would always reach their destination.
‘… we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is’ (1 John 3:2). That is our destination. God knows the way, and He will get us there. We will be ‘blameless at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ’ (1Thess. 5:23). Why? Because of what we know? Because of what we do? No, but because God is faithful, and He will do it (v.24). And what a great encouragement this is in the life of holiness. At times we may despair of ever overcoming besetting sin and failure. But to know that God will one day make us like Jesus is another great encouragement to persevere.
Start in the right place
Three things vital to know for the journey of holiness. A secure seatbelt for the rough places along the road, as we engage with the world, the flesh, and the devil. Yes, there is still plenty for us to do: we must flee temptation, we must put sin to the death, we must lay hold of the word of God. And we must be daily filled and empowered with the Spirit. But let’s make sure we start at the right place. Let’s make sure we are clear in what we know: we have died to sin, we are God’s holy people, and one day we will be like Jesus. Hallelujah!
