Personal Holiness - Part 2 — William MacDonald

The Instinct for Holiness in the New Birth

For holiness that are set forth in the Word of God, then some of the areas in our lives that should be affected, and then some of the principles from the Scriptures that should guide us in our everyday life.

There are many, many different motives for holiness, but before we get to them, I'd just like to say that when a person is truly born again, he receives an instinct for holiness. It isn't a question of gritting his teeth from then on and trying to be holy.

There's a real instinct for holiness. I'm dealing with a young fellow out on the West Coast just now. He's only been saved a short while. Before he was saved, he was on drugs. He was on liquor. He was with a motorcycle gang.

He was a real tough... But God was working in his life. And one day he was going through a shopping mall with his sister and brother, and there was a girl there, a young girl witnessing for the Lord. And she came up to this group of three young people and she said, Have you heard the word of the Lord?

And his brother and his brother and sister started to mock and jeer and laugh. But he said, No, what is it? Seriously. Shortly after that, he was on a college campus, and one of our fellows spoke to him about the Lord Jesus, and he was ripe fruit.

He just fell right into the hands of the Lord. Well, when God saved him, he changed him. He was no longer an unclean animal. He became a clean animal overnight. And I don't think I've ever been in the presence of this fellow, just a young fellow in his early twenties.

I don't think I've ever been in his presence where he hasn't spoken to me longingly and lovingly of the coming of the Lord Jesus. Now, that's a wonderful thing, isn't it? If you could take a young tuff like that out there, tasting the world and see him saved by the grace of God, and his life is absolutely transformed.

I look at him and I can hardly believe it's the same guy. I often think of that dear girl in the shopping mall that day who said, Have you heard the word of the Lord? You know, I hope she hasn't gotten discouraged.

She doesn't even know he's saved. She might have thought she made a fool of herself out there that day because the other two young people laughed and scorned and jeered. But I think there's a word of exhortation there for all of us in our witness for the Lord Jesus.

No word ever spoken for the Lord ever falls to the ground. That should be a real encouragement to us. We might think that we see nothing from our witness. It's there just the same, but you might need it in heaven.

I'm getting a little off the track, but I have a friend out there in California. He's an American Airlines pilot. And before he was saved, he lived back on Long Island, he and his wife. And a family next door used to talk to him about the Lord.

And they had a very cold, hard exterior, this young couple I'm speaking about. And they just kind of shrugged it off. One day this pilot was deadheading in a plane and he sat next to the president of Dallas Theological Seminary.

I wonder if our Lord can arrange the seats on a plane, isn't it? And not long after that, he was flying. He was co-piloting with a pilot who spoke to him about the Lord. And by then he was ready and he got saved.

Now that family back on Long Island probably thought that their witness never meant a thing, but it did. Those people never forgot it. And it was just one of the links in the chain of their salvation.

But what I started off to say was that when God does save us, he changes us, doesn't he? I think one of the distressing things we see today is so much profession and so little change. Where is this instinct for holiness today that I'm speaking about?

The Command to Be Holy and the Cross of Christ

Well, in addition to the instinct, there are a lot of powerful motives in the word of God why we should live holy lives. This is up to mention one right at the beginning of the meeting, because the Bible commands it.

God says, Be ye holy, for I am holy. The holiness of God. God is holy. He's without any taint of sin or defilement. And if we are his children, we should bear the family likeness, shouldn't we? A very powerful motive to me is the fact that our sins cause the death of the Savior.

I don't know how I can ever forget that, but I do. When I sin, I forget it. Our sins cause the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. And I should not want to go on in that which caused him his suffering, shame, and death.

The hymn writer says, The depths of all thy suffering no heart can e 'er conceive. The cup of wrath o 'erflowing, for us thou didst receive. And all of God forsaken, on the accursed tree, with joy and sorrow mingling, we do remember thee.

I think the only times I ever sin are when I forget Calvary. But isn't it amazing that in some way perhaps you and I don't understand that God took our sins and placed them on the Lord Jesus. There on the cross, he bore the concentrated essence of eternal hell that I should have borne forever.

It's really amazing that the Lord Jesus would ever love us so to bear our sins in his body on the tree. And now that I'm saved, should I go on in that which caused his passion? The idea is unthinkable.

That should exert a tremendous influence on my life. My love to the Lord Jesus should be a motivation for holiness. I owe him all that I am. I owe him all that I have. I'm his for time and eternity. And my love for him should exert a purifying influence on my life.

When George Armending, the young fellow, he was out with another lad who tried to entice him to sin. And George said, no, he said, I can't do that. And the other kid said, oh, your father told you not to do it.

And he said, no, my father didn't tell me not to do it, but I know it wouldn't please him. That's good, isn't it? My father didn't tell me not to do it. I know it wouldn't please him. And one of the greatest desires of our lives should be ever to do the thing that pleases the heart of Christ.

I remember Stacey Wood saying that years ago at a conference at Yosemite, that daily we should pray that prayer, Lord Jesus, help me to do the thing today that pleases your heart. Our love for Christ should make us want to live holy lives.

Holiness as a Witness to God's Name

Another motivation for holiness is that our sins bring dishonor on the name of the Lord Jesus. People are reading us every day. They're watching us like hawks. It's okay for them to do it. They don't think anything, but they have higher standards for us than they have for themselves.

I often think of how David's sin brought dishonor on the name of God. God said that to him. He said, because you've done this, you've caused the enemies of God to blaspheme. You know, they're still blaspheming.

They still dig up the name of David. In one breath, they say amen after God's own heart. In the other breath, they catalog the sins that he committed, especially the sin of adultery and murder. At the end of the prayer meeting, we sang that chorus today, to glorify thy name.

That's it. That's what we're here for. To glorify the name of the Lord Jesus and not bring dishonor on it. Another, I think, powerful motive for holiness is that the life of holiness is the best life.

This is so hard for people to come to realize, because sin seems so attractive in prospect, but it's so bitter in retrospect, isn't it? When the temptation is there before me, it seems so appealing. And yet afterwards, there's the sting of the scorpion, or the bitter taste.

New Testament Commands for Christian Living

The life of holiness is the best life. The New Testament, the Bible, is filled with commandments. It's filled with instructions in righteousness for the people of God. And when a lot of people hear that today, they raise the cry of legalism.

In fact, if you say anything to some people today, they say, oh, that's legalism. This is one of the great dodges today. That isn't legalism. The New Testament is filled with commandments, and these commandments are designed for our good, not God's.

Did you ever think of that? All the commandments of the Lord in the sacred scriptures are for us, not for God. What does it mean to the great God, whether we obey or not? He's still unrivaled in His majesty, glory, and excellence.

But God has filled the scriptures with instructions for us, commandments, if you will, and they're designed for our welfare. They're designed for our happiness. They're designed for our good. You can't go against them and get away with it.

You can't go against them and be happy. What a wonderful book the Bible is. And I should just add that the commandments of the New Testament are not law with penalty attached. They're simply given to show us how to live a life that will be fruitful and productive and result in eternal reward.

Another motive for holiness, sins let down Christians who have trusted you. Do you know that the body, the church of Christ, exerts a sanctifying influence on believers? And when I sin, I'm letting down those who have really trusted me, who have really looked to me, and I must not do that.

And then finally, sin hinders our prayer life. Remember the psalmist said, if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. There must be clear channels of communication with God, and sin clogs them.

So I cannot really expect a fruitful, effective prayer life if I'm going on in sin. Now, there are many other motivations for holiness, and we're going to be touching on some of them before the morning is over.

Holiness has to do with almost every aspect of our lives. It has to do with our speech. The tongue is an offending member. It's really amazing, isn't it? Somebody said the tongue is a wet place and it's apt to slip.

The word of God says, let no filthy communication proceed out of your mouth, but rather that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace to the hearers. And I think as I examine my heart today, I realize that one of the greatest causes of offense are the things that we say, and how we need to pray that God will set a watch before our lips.

Offending member. I've often told the story of my friend George Verwer. He started to tell me something one day. He was speaking about another individual, and he started to tell me something about that individual, and it sounded really juicy at the beginning.

And right in the middle of the sentence, he stopped, and he said, No, that wouldn't be edifying. I've been dying of curiosity ever since. But it was a tremendous lesson just the same. It really was. It was a tremendous lesson to me that a man had the discipline in his life to stop in the middle of a sentence, and he never finished the sentence.

I thought, boy, I want to be like that. I want to be able to discipline that little member like that. Holiness has to do with our speech. It has to do with our temperance. I don't know many things that are more harmful to our testimony as Christians than short fuses, whether in the home, at work, in social context, or whatever it may be.

Be kind to one another. Tenderhearted. Forgiving one another, even as God in Christ has forgiven you. Temper. Only one time that I know that we're justified in anger, and that's in the cause of God, when God's cause is at stake.

Then it's commanded, be angry and sin not. Let not the sun go down on your wrath. Wrath is a very dangerous thing, and it's not safe in hands except the hands of God. And I admire people who have their temper under control.

It's one of the things that's required of an elder, isn't it, in a local fellowship. Must not be short-tempered. They must have this area of his life in discipline. Holiness affects our honesty. We live in a society that's really based upon the big lie.

You know that. And you know the temptation in your own life to shade the truth, and somebody asks you something you don't want to tell them, and right away something comes out that isn't true at all. Scripture says we're to lie not to one another.

Holiness in Appearance, Food, Relationships, and Worship

We're members one of another. Holiness affects the clothes that we wear. You wouldn't think that, would you? People say today, God isn't interested in the outward. God is interested in what's inward. Well, that's true.

God is interested in what's inward, but oftentimes the outward is a barometer of the inward. And you turn to a passage like Isaiah chapter 3, where he excoriates the women of Judah, and it has to do with what they were wearing.

It's a very plaintive passage of Scripture to me, because in many ways it was fulfilled during the Holocaust in Nazi Germany some years ago. And other passages in the New Testament have to do with our clothes as well.

Holiness has to do with our food and drink. You wouldn't think so, would you? But it does. And in some areas that's becoming more and more of a problem. I've been in two homes recently, and on the table two big flasks of wine, and I was asked whether I wanted the red wine or the white, and I didn't know the difference and wanted neither.

Not because I think it's wrong to drink wine, but because I think it can be very stumbling to young believers. I know there are cultures in the world today where drinking wine is quite accepted among Christians, and that's all right.

But in our country, a country that has never known moderation in drinking, it can be a great stumbling block to others. Paul said he wouldn't drink wine as long as he lived, if it caused a brother to stumble.

That's the way I feel. Holiness has to do with our body. Paul rings the changes on that in 1 Corinthians 6, doesn't he? When he reminds us that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. I'll tell you, it's a very powerful section of the Word of God.

It should exert a profound influence on us when we remember that truth. Holiness has to do with the marriage relationship. How well we know. With the parent-child relationship. With the child-parent relationship.

It has to do with our business relationships. I hope to be talking about that before the week is over. Some of the ethical problems that people face in business today. And what a wonderful opportunity it is for Christians to be different in business.

Christians to be known as those whose word is their bond, and who will not cheat, who will not fudge, who will not cut corners. Holiness has to do with our social relationships, our companionships. Has to do with our material passions.

Has to do with our worship. Worship the Lord in a beauty of holiness. Paul speaks about the incongruity of coming to the Lord with unconfessed sin in our lives, and pretending to worship Him. Coming to the Lord when things haven't been made right with our brothers.

He says, leave your gift at the altar, go make it right with your brother, then come and offer your gift. Very, very practical. Holiness has to do with our spotlight. And we may be speaking more about that too in the days to come.

What a problem this is, eh? Disciplining the mind and the things that we think. Because the mind is the fountain from which the stream of action flows. And the Bible teaches if you can control the fountain, you can control the action too.

It all begins in the mind. Our attitudes toward others, toward other believers and toward the unsaved as well. Our music. Our recreation and amusement. Our spare time. I guess we could say that holiness has to do with every aspect of our lives.

Principles for Decisions in Christian Conduct

But I'd like to go over some of the principles that God has given in His Word today that will guide us. I know that this will be elementary for some of you here, but I think it's basic, and I think we have to go over it all the time.

And I really believe that if we apply these principles in our lives, that they should solve every problem that we could face. Every day, decisions come up in life. Can I do this? Can I, as a separated Christian, engage in this activity?

And as you know, God doesn't deal specifically with every activity in the Bible. Because if He did, we wouldn't be able to carry our Bibles to meetings, would we? It'd be like New York and Los Angeles telephone directories combined if God were going to deal with every specific type of activity.

So what God does is, He tells us to put certain principles into our computer. Just feed these things into your computer, and then when the problem comes up in life, push the button, and the right answer will come out every time.

And it will, too. So let's go over some of these principles that should guide us in Christian conduct in the life of holiness. The first is, is it distinctly forbidden in the Word of God? The first test is, go to the Word of God.

Does the Word of God have anything to say about the subject at all? And of course, if it does, that settles it. For instance, 2 Corinthians 6, verse 14 says, Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers.

You could hardly be clearer than that, could you? Don't be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. In marriage, in business, in any other type of a yoke, God says, avoid it. That should settle a lot of areas in life for me.

It doesn't mean that I separate myself from the world, because I'm called to go to the world and testify against it that its deeds are evil, and to announce to the world that there's a way of deliverance from that shallow way of life, that there is eternal life in Christ Jesus.

I don't separate myself in public, but I avoid unequal yoke. I avoid foreign entanglement in the Christian life. And no amount of rationalization can get around that verse. It's crystal clear. In the Greek, it means exactly the same as it means in the English.

Giving Glory to God in Every Activity

That's the first thing. Does the Bible have anything specifically to say about it? Secondly, is there any glory for God in it? 1 Corinthians chapter 10, verse 31. Whether ye eat or drink, whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Now, that's a very helpful thing to me. That really narrows the area of activity very well. Can I do this thing and glorify God in it? Can you go to work tomorrow and glorify God in the office? Yes, you can do that.

You can do that by being a conscientious worker, by not being a clock watcher, by being different from the others in the office, by producing and doing good work and accurate work. Can you wash dishes to the glory of God?

Yes, you can wash dishes to the glory of God. Ruth Graham has that little text over her sink, doesn't she? Divine service is conducted here three times daily. Well, that's true. That's a divine service.

Washing dishes, caring for that family. It's wonderful, isn't it, how Christianity ennobles some of the menial tasks of life. Can you mop a floor to the glory of God? I could mop a floor to the glory of God.

Don't know about you. But there are a lot of things I couldn't do to the glory of God. There are a lot of things the Lord wouldn't get any honor out of at all. Those are the things I want to avoid. Principle number three.

Separation from the World

Is it of the world? The Lord Jesus, speaking of his disciples in John 17, 16, said, They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. First of all, of course, I have to have a good idea in my mind of what the world is.

And I think of the world as a system man has built up in order to make himself happy without God. I think of it as a system that's an alienation to God. I think of a system where Satan is the ruler and all unbelievers are subjects.

I think of it as a system that has its own lifestyle, its own modes of thinking. Very shallow, too. And Jesus said, My disciples are not of the world. They don't belong to that system. They belong to a different kingdom, and they're marching to the beat of a different drummer.

So, when I face problems in life, I have to ask myself, Is this of the world? The honors, the achievements, the things that men glorify, that are abomination in the sight of the Lord. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.

If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. And James says that the man who's a friend of the world is an enemy of God. Just think of that. An enemy of God. And what it really means, if I'm going to go arm-in-arm in the world, I'm a traitor to the Lord Jesus because it was the world that crucified Christ.

And it really was. It was the religious world that crucified it. But I must have nothing to do with that system except to testify to it. Number four, would Jesus have done it? Peter tells us, 1 Peter 2 .21, that he is our example.

Following Christ's Example

We should follow his steps, 1 Peter 2 .21. Would the Lord Jesus have done it? I think that's valid. You say, but he's not living in the 20th century. He doesn't face the problems that we face today. He is living in the 20th century.

He does face the problems of the world. And we should make the decisions that he would make. You say, but Jesus went in and sat and ate with publicans. That's right, and we should too. But I want to tell you something.

Peter compromised his loyalty to God when he did it. But the Lord Jesus accompanied with publicans and sinners. He was faithful to God in all things. And he testified fearlessly to them too. He said things that I don't say when I go into homes.

He said to Simon the Pharisee, I came in here, you gave me no gifts. You didn't give me the common civilities of life. I mean, that's pretty blunt, isn't it? This woman, from the time I came in, hasn't ceased to wash my feet with tears.

Readiness for the Lord's Return

Number five, would you like to be found doing it when the Lord returns? I think we quoted that verse last night. 1 John 2 .28. Abide in him that when he shall appear, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before him at his coming.

I must confess that at various times in my life, this has been a very powerful motive for me. Because I do believe in the imminent return of the Lord. I believe he's present anyway. He sees all I do. He hears all I say.

He's writing all the time. And he's coming again too. What do I want to be found doing when he comes again? Number six, which nature does it feed? A reminder that each of us as believers has two natures.

An old, evil, corrupt, fallen nature that loves to feed on filth and garbage. A new nature. The nature of Christ himself. That loves that which is holy. That loves that which is pure. Loves the word of God.

Loves the things of God. I have to ask myself the question, which nature does it feed? Like the raven and the dove that Noah sent out of the ark. That raven could go out and have a ball feeding on the flotsam and jetsam and the surface of the water.

All the dead carcasses. But the dove couldn't do that. The dove couldn't be happy until it planted its feet on resurrection ground. And I have a raven nature. And I have a dove nature too. I have that old, evil, corrupt nature.

And in it there dwells no good thing. But I have the nature of Christ too. The nature that I feed is the nature that dominates. That helps me in a lot of the decisions of life. Number seven, can you feel free to do it when you remember that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit?

The Body as the Temple of the Holy Spirit

Paul uses that argument very bluntly in connection with the whole subject of immorality. I'm joining a body that is the temple of the Holy Spirit with a prostitute. But of course it applies even in a one from that as well.

Can I take into my body things that I know that cause cancer, for instance? That's the way to use the temple of the Holy Spirit. Solves a lot of problems in life. Number eight, is it fitting behavior for a child of God?

Fitting Behavior for Children of the King

Is it fitting behavior for a child of God? We're to walk with the dignity of children of the King. And the world is expecting that from us. I like to tell the story of when I was in the Navy and one night I went out to supper with an unsaved pilot.

And I had witnessed to him a great deal. He knew just where I stood. And we went into a restaurant in Jack London Square there. And we ordered our meal and ate it. And then the waitress said, will you have dessert?

And he said, yeah, I think we will. And she said, what would you like? And he said, well, I'd like a daiquiri. I didn't know what a daiquiri was, so I said, make it two. I thought a daiquiri was apple pie and ice cream or something.

I didn't know it was a liqueur. So I said, make it two. And he said, no, make it one. And then he ordered, he said to me, you order something else. I just tell that story because he had standards for me that he didn't have for himself.

And he wouldn't let me order. I found out what a daiquiri was for a daiquiri. There's a legend, I don't know whether it's true, but there's a legend about the French Revolution, Louis XVI, when the revolution was on and they were overthrowing the royalty.

And they took Louis XVI and his wife out, and they put their heads in the guillotine and executed them. And then they said, OK, and now the Prince Royal, the Prince Royal was a six-year-old boy at that time.

And they said, we're going to kill him too. And so they took him out with his long golden curls tumbling down over his shoulders, and they took him out to execute him. And then a shout came out of the crowd, said, don't kill him.

You'll only send his soul to heaven. That's too good for royalty. They said, turn him over to Meg, the old witch. Let her seduce him into sin. She'll teach him filthy words. She'll teach him to be a sinner.

And then when his soul dies, he'll go to hell. That's what royalty deserves. So according to the legend, that's exactly what happened. They turned him over to old Meg, the witch. And this vile woman of the back alley began to try to teach him dirty words.

But every time she prompted him to be profane, he would say, I will not say it. I will not say those dirty words. I was born to be a king. I won't talk that way. I was born to be a king, but I won't talk that way.

Good. Dear friends, we are born children of a king. The world has high standards for us, and we have to ask ourselves constantly the question, is it fitting behavior for a son of the king, for a daughter of the king?

Stewardship of Money and Time

Okay, number nine, if it involves the expenditure of money, could the money be better spent? A lot of things are good in life, a lot of things are better, and some things are the best of all. And we have to grade things in our own mind.

It's not something that you can judge me or I can judge you. But one of the joys of life is to see the dollar go far for Jesus, I think. To learn to live frugally, it's a fun way, in order that everything above common expenses might go to further the work of Christ on earth.

So I ask myself the question, if it involves the expenditure of money, could the money be better spent? Jesus said, make friends to yourselves of the mammoth of unrighteousness, that when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitation.

And also, could the time be better spent? We're stewards of time as well. Paul says, redeeming the time because the days are evil. Some things are just a colossal waste of time. They have no value as far as the heavenly kingdom is concerned.

Good for us to learn time management, to learn to discipline our time. What effect, next, what effect will your conduct have on others? Romans chapter 14 is the key passage on this, isn't it? I have to think of that.

I have to think, what effect will my conduct have on others? You know, Spurgeon was a great smoker. Don't justify that. You're smoking on that basis. But he was a great smoker. And I don't know whether this is true, but somebody told me this last year, that one day he went outside and he saw a big billboard and it said, Smoke the tobacco that Spurgeon smokes.

And he quit. Because he realized that his smoking was being used as a justification for others. How sensitive we have to be to what others, how they might be stumbled or offended by our behavior. Number 12, is it doubtful?

Paul says, Whatsoever is not of faith it's in. I think it's a good thing. I ask myself the question. Is there a doubt in my mind? And you know, there are a lot of things that come up during the week that I really do have an honest doubt in my mind about it.

It's neither black nor white. It's in that gray area. And of course, the rule is, if it's doubtful, don't do it. Does it have the appearance of evil? In 1 Thessalonians 5 .22, in the King James Version, it says, Avoid the very appearance of evil.

It doesn't say that in your modern version, but it's a possible translation of that passage. And I think it's a good one, too. And there are things that I might do that are innocent enough in themselves, but they have the appearance of evil.

Somebody looking on might misjudge. But I have to be very, very careful in that regard. Next, is it a weight? Let us lay aside every weight of the sin which doth so easily beset us. I think a weight is anything that slows you down in the Christian life.

No role in the Olympics against carrying extra baggage when you're running. But that isn't what they do. They strip down so they have as little weight as possible so they can give it all to the race. Material things can be a tremendous weight in life.

They can hinder our mobility for the Lord. They can anchor us when the Lord wants us to be moving. Watch out for the weight. And one final thing I'd just like to suggest to you, and that is this. How does it appear in the eyes of Christ?

I think it was F .W. Grant who said that the only real test for anything in the Christian life is how it appears in the eyes of the Lord Jesus. That's good. Now, I think if we really feed these principles into our computer, next week when we go back to Minneapolis or wherever it is, we're going to face problems.

We're going to face plenty of them. If we keep those principles fresh in our minds, they'll solve the problems. All we have to do is obey them. All we have to do is respond to them. Have that tender, sensitive heart that's not trying to weasel out, but a heart that wants to please the Lord Jesus Christ above everything else.

Prayer for Courageous and Consistent Holiness

Shall we pray? Father, we've told it out now. We would like to pray it in. We ask you, Lord, again this morning, that we might be people who are characterized by holiness. We might not be the greatest soul winners.

We might not be the greatest evangelists, the greatest preachers, the greatest teachers. But, oh, Lord, if we might just be holy, if we might be just islands of purity in a sea of filth, holding forth the word of life in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.

We pray, Lord, that you'll give us backbone, that you'll give us spine, that you'll give us courage to make the right decisions as they come up in life. Deliver us, Lord, from compromise. Hold the cross ever before our eyes with the Savior hanging there, dying for our sins to deliver us from this present evil world.

And may we gladly go forth to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach, living for Him from day to day. We ask in His worthy and precious name. Amen.