July 25, 2007
A few years ago I was assigned reading out of a book entitled Holiness by J.C. Ryle in my Christian ethics seminary class. Given the fact that I was taking four other seminary classes at the time, all requiring a tremendous amount of reading, I did little more than skim the book. Well, I recently had the opportunity to speak on the topic of holiness, so I took the book out once more, but this time I actually read it – the first few chapters, that is. (I’m hoping to plow through the remaining chapters in the coming weeks.)
The book was written in the late 19th century, so the language is quite old fashioned and sometimes difficult to grasp. It doesn’t contain any cute stories or mesmerizing illustrations. It’s not the type of book that will make you laugh. Yet, it’s so jam-packed full of soul-piercing truth that I could hardly put it down. If you will allow me, I would like to share some (actually, a lot) of Ryle’s words with you with hopes that they will challenge you to examine your life as they have challenged me to examine mine.
Just to be clear, Ryle uses the term “holiness” in its practical sense throughout this book. He’s not talking about the truth that believers are positionally holy (see 1 Cor. 6:11, Eph. 1:4). Rather, he's talking about the clear command of God for believers to act holy “in all [their] behavior” (see 1 Peter 1:14, 15). He insists that in order to make holiness a reality in our day to day lives, we must first have an accurate view of sin. It is from his discussion of sin that I quote at length:
He that wishes to attain right views about Christian holiness must begin by examining the vast and solemn subject of sin . . . Wrong views about holiness are generally traceable to wrong views about human corruption (1).
It has long been my sorrowful conviction that the standard of daily life among professing Christians in this country has been gradually falling. I am afraid that Christ-like charity, kindness, good-temper, unselfishness, meekness, gentleness, good-nature, self-denial, zeal to do good, and separation from the world are far less appreciated than they ought to be, and than they used to be in the days of our fathers.
Into the causes of this state of things I cannot pretend to enter fully, and can only suggest conjectures for consideration. It may be that a certain profession of religion has become so fashionable and comparatively easy in the present age that the streams which were once narrow and deep have become wide and shallow, and what we have gained in outward show we have lost in quality. It may be that the vast increase of wealth in the last 25 years (remember, this was written in the late 19th century) has insensibly introduced a plague of worldliness, and self indulgence, and love of ease into social life. What were once called luxuries are now comforts and necessaries, and self-denial and “enduring hardness” (2 Tim. 2:3) are consequently little known. It may be that the enormous amount of controversy that marks this age has insensibly dried up our spiritual life. We have too often been content with zeal for orthodoxy (sound doctrine), and have neglected the sober realities of daily practical godliness. Be the causes what they may, I must declare my own belief that the result remains. There has been of late years a lower standard of personal holiness among believers than there used to be in the days of our fathers. The whole result is that THE SPIRIT IS GRIEVED! And the matter calls for much humiliation and searching of heart.
The cure for evangelical churchmen (those who profess to have a relationship with Christ), I am convinced, is to be found in a clearer apprehension of the nature and sinfulness of sin . . . We must sit down humbly in the presence of God, look the whole subject in the face, examine clearly what the Lord Jesus calls sin, and what the Lord calls “doing His will.” We must then try to realize that it is terribly possible to live a careless, easy-going, half-worldly life, and yet at the same time to maintain evangelical principles and call ourselves evangelical people! Once let us see that sin is far viler, and far nearer to us, and sticks more closely to us that we supposed, and we shall be led, I trust and believe, to get nearer to Christ.
We must begin low if we would build high. I am convinced that the first step towards attaining a higher standard of holiness is to realize more fully the amazing sinfulness of sin (16, 17).
What I want to encourage you to do the next time you meet with the Lord is to “sit down humbly in the presence of God, look the whole subject of sin in the face” and ask God to reveal anything in your life that is not inconformity with His will as displayed in His Word. Often, when I perform one of these “sin inventories,” I start by reading Psalm 51, which is David’s heart-felt confession of his adulterous relationship with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband. Another Scripture I pray is Psalm 139:23, 24: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and now my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.” In Psalm 19:12 and 13 David cries, “Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults. Also keep your servant from presumptuous (willful) sins; let them not rule over me.” The truth is, apart from the Holy Spirit’s conviction as we compare our lives with the standard of God’s Word we have no hope of recognizing our sin, much less dealing with it. So, I encourage you to sit before the Lord and ask Him to expose any sin in your life. When He does, how should you respond? Psalm 51 is a great model. So is James 4:7-10: “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” Okay, so you’re not going to see this one in a greeting card any time soon. It sounds a bit harsh, I know. However, it makes one thing very clear - true repentance is the only proper response to sin. It’s the only way to get back onto to path of obedience. Each and every sin, no matter how “small,” is an offense to our God and a major hindrance to our growth in His grace. It’s not enough that we merely recognize our sin, we must ask God to help us mourn over it to the point that we are willing to do whatever it takes to rid ourselves of it.
How often should a “sin inventory” be done? Well, if you struggle with sin’s influence as much as I do (which is a lot!), I would recommend you do it quite often.
One more thing before you go. I can’t talk about sin without reminding you of the glorious truth found in 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” As the Lord is faithful to expose sin in your life, the enemy with surely be “faithful” to play his nasty “shame game” with you. You be sure to hold tight to the fact that you have been “washed”, “sanctified”, and “justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor. 6:11). Stand firm in the truth of 1 John 1:9!
Let’s begin low that we might, by God’s grace and for His glory, built high the holiness in our lives.