Holiness – In Jesus Alone
I have in my hands a book called The Holiness Pulpit, which is a collection of old sermons about the life of holiness to which Christians are called. I have read through these sermons and found them most helpful and encouraging, and this week I want to share with you one of the sermons by Rev. Donald Shafer, who was a bishop of the Brethren in Christ church in the 1970s. His sermon was entitled Holiness, a Call to Wholeness.
He begins the sermon by talking about an encounter he had at an airport in Denver Colorado. As he was hurrying along to catch his plane a group of young people accosted him – and he says “their dress was an obvious sign of separation. The young men had shaven heads, save for a single tuft of hair protruding from the top. The young ladies wore veils and they spoke of a ‘holy man’s’ writings.” They were Hare Krishnas, and insisted that the writing of the holy man from India that they follow would solve all of our problems.
Holiness Equals Wholeness
Shafer says this: “as I watched these young people, it reminded me of some characteristics of what we would call holiness. They were obviously dedicated, committed, willing to be different, separate, obedient, evangelistic, concerned, kind, consecrated, and seeking perfection. But there was an emptiness, a futility, and clearly no personal knowledge of the living Christ.”
I think that what Shafer is saying is true today - there are many people who are seeking a kind of spirituality in various places, an experience of the holy and supernatural. But in the end, it is only Jesus Christ who can offer us a true glimpse of the holy – all other so-called ‘holy men’ pale in comparison to Jesus, who was fully human and yet fully divine.
So Shafer goes on to say: “What does the call of holiness say to our generation? I propose that holiness is a call to wholeness! I believe holiness and wholeness are synonymous.” And then he quotes from Paul’s letter to the Galatians: “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” (Gal 5:1), and then 5:24 which says “those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires”.
Christ: True Wholeness
Holiness (or wholeness) comes from one place. It comes from a living relationship with the living God – Jesus! And when we surrender to Him and follow Him, we find freedom as we put to death our old unholy passions and desires.
So if you’re looking for wholeness of your soul, or holiness – don’t go looking at so-called holy men who lived and died like the rest of us. Look to the One whose life was perfect, whose death was remarkable and who rose from the dead. He alone holds the key to a holy – and whole – life.
