CHANGING CHURCH PART IV

Published 10 years ago, Wagner suggest the changes we have seen of late qualify as "The New Reformation". That may be a bit of an overstatement but, be that as it may, Wagner has been a rather astute observer of the growing apostolic nature of ministry in the 21st century.

In today's post, we will see that the New Testament's expectation of holiness is not legalistic, but relational.

"Since we love God, we naturally want to please him. All the Bible is doing is telling us what pleases God and what doesn't please him. These lists are very valuable if we want to maintain our personal relationship with him on the highest level. Nothing could be clearer than 1st John 2:3 in that regard, "Now by this we know that we know him (relationship), if we keep his commandments, (obedience). It goes on, "He who says, I know him, and does not keep His commandments, is a liar and the truth is not in him."

If being holy or not being holy depends, in the final analysis, on our personal choices, where do we get the power to make the right choices? We don't have the power within us, because we have a sinful nature. This power only comes from being filled with the Holy Spirit. That is why it is important that we ask God to fill us with the Holy Spirit at the beginning of each day. He promises to do it if we simply asked (see Luke 11:9-13). 

Part of the package of being filled with the Holy Spirit is that he will convict us of sin, righteousness and judgment, (see John 16:8). That means that when we step out of bounds and do something that does not please God, we will know it for sure because the Holy Spirit within us will let us know.

THE POWER TO MAKE RIGHT CHOICES 

ONLY COMES FROM BEING FILLED BY 

THE HOLY SPIRIT 

I am saying all this to help give us confidence that we actually can be holy. Let me get personal about this. I happen to be writing this paragraph in the afternoon. So far today I have not sinned. I say "so far" because I don't think I will ever be in the place where sin could not enter my life before the day is over. I believe that some holiness denominations have going to an extreme with doctrines of eradication and sinless perfection. They teach that when we receive the second blessing of the Holy Spirit, namely sanctification, we no longer need to be concerned about committing any more sins. I have serious doubts about that.

Even though I don't agree with eradication, I am still planning to live the rest of today without sinning. What do I base this expectation on? Every morning I pray the Lord's Prayer, which is given in Matthew 6:9-13. My habit is that when I pray, "Forgive my sins as I forgive those who sin against me," I do a mental review of the past 24 hours to see if I have anything that needs to be confessed. This morning when I prayed I had nothing to confess. How can I be sure? I am filled with the Holy Spirit and He brought nothing to my mind.

My conclusion is that if I can go one day without sinning, I can go another day, and I can go for any number of days. But I keep praying and staying filled with the Holy Spirit, because I know that at any time, often when least expected, sin can invade my life when, (I did not say "if") it happens, I will have to deal with it immediately."

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