02/12/20 I HAVE A DEAL FOR YOU

02/12/20 I HAVE A DEAL FOR YOU

Does your pastor preach that God commands, enables and requires holiness of heart and life?
If not, come to our church, because we do.

A friend asked a good question.
Got 2 questions, friend. Is is possible for a person to have a holy life, but not a holy heart? Can a person have a holy heart, but not a holy life? It would seem the answer to those questions would be “no,” but I would appreciate your take on it. I am trying to understand if holiness of “heart and life” are redundant terms. Thanks!

MY RESPONSE...
It is not redundant, but it is often confused and therefore people think that when Christians DO the right thing, then they must be holy. On the other hand there are people who have come to a point of total surrender and heart purity, but they move from being entirely sanctified to being sterilized and they are TOO HOLY to do the work that needs to be done. AND YES, I realize there is contradiction in these examples. However, I don't doubt that people actually are led astray.

I believe that the saved person, who has a new heart a new man and begins to do the works of God, begins to live and walk in a holy manner, but still has the old man, which is a spiritual corruption (as is addressed in Romans 7). This is referred to as having clean (holy) hands. The person who is saved has the power of God to walk in the Light and therefore to have a holy life. But the saved person who has not been purified by the infilling of the Holy Spirit, which delivers from all sin (inbred as well as active or behavioral) therefore needs to be purified in his inner man, by the purging out of the old man. This complete trust in Christ to save from all sin brings a believer to the point where he will love God with the whole heart, mind, soul and strength. This is a holy heart, cleansed from all sin.

To recap quickly...
There are believers who do the works of God, but struggle from time to time with the old man. Those believers do live a holy life.
There are believers who have finally surrendered all and trusted Christ for cleansing from all sin (the old man) setting them free from the law of sin and death and bringing them into the law of love, the law of liberty, the royal law, the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (as in Romans 8). The heart is made perfect in love. Sadly, sometimes those people think that the experience of heart purity is the destination, when in reality it is not. It is essential to a holy heart, but walking in the light and growing in grace is essential to maintaining a holy heart and life. As John tells us, we must walk in the light in order to be cleansed from all sin and to be cleansed from all iniquity.

I just saw your comment and rushed through my answer, since I am headed to service, but I did not want to put off a response. If I did not make myself clear, I am sorry. I will be glad to try again later.