An urgency for holy living …

It’s almost mid October, which means social media sites are no longer flooded with laments of scorching heat engulfing different parts of the country.

Still, an occasional “hot day” flares up like a final farewell from summer. Some places can become hot, and some are really hot!

Richard Swenson, in his book, “More Than Meets the Eye,” tells a story about a place that is HOT!

The core temperature of the sun is fifteen million degrees centigrade. It is so hot that a pinhead heated to the temperature of the center of the sun “would emit enough heat to kill anyone who ventured within a thousand miles of it,” explained physicist Sir James Jeans.

Swenson concluded:

When a summer’s day hits triple digits, most of us wilt. Imagine fifteen million degrees! It just goes to show, there’s hot and there’s hot. Likewise, there’s holy and then there’s holy. We can’t begin to compare the triple digit righteousness of those we respect with what is attributed to God. The Bible tells us our God is “a consuming fire” (Hebrews. 12:29). In other words, we cannot draw near to Him in our sinful state without being consumed.

Is it any wonder, then, that the apostle Paul wrote in such a way as to stoke an urgency for holy living in us?

“This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living. Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires,” Romans 13:11-14.

Paul’s tone in these verses is very emphatic – “… Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see.”

Most of us likely think we’re living “decent lives,” but let’s “compare and contrast” some of the ways we tend to live in contrast to how scripture instructs us to live:

We value ourselves more than others. But the Bible teaches us, “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves,” Philippians 2:3.

We value people who benefit us. But Jesus said, “If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that,” Matthew 5:46-47.

We value things like our time and money; we don’t want to give up what we value. But the Bible helps us understand the things we have are our resources for giving and serving others: “And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. As the Scriptures say, ‘They share freely and give generously to the poor. Their good deeds will be remembered forever,'” 2 Corinthians 9:8-9.

We treat people conditionally – that is, based on how they treat us. Yet the Bible is resoundingly clear that we are to love everyone unconditionally: “Jesus replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments,” Matthew 22:37-40, and, “But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike,” Matthew 5:44-45.

We spend much of our lives in pursuit of gain. But Jesus taught something else: “And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive,'” Acts 20:35.

We constantly seek comfort. But Jesus says this about the lives of His disciples, “Then he said to the crowd, ‘If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me,'” Luke 9:23 and the apostle Peter wrote, “For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps,” 1 Peter 2:21.

We’re naturally gluttonous. But we read in Proverbs 25:28, “A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls” and Paul wrote, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline,” 2 Timothy 1:7.

We’re naturally selfish. But God has called us to a life of service: “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago,” Ephesians 2:10.

So how are you doing at holy living? Have you heeded Paul’s call to “… remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living …”? Do you have a sense of urgency about living a holy life?

Scotty