Holiness: The Heart God Purifies - Chapter 7 – The Heart of Holiness

 

 Holiness:  The Heart God Purifies

By Nancy Leigh DeMoss

 

Quotes & Summary in Black – My thoughts in Red

 

Chapter 7 – The Heart of Holiness

How would you feel if the doorbell rang right now, and you went to the door to discover you had a surprise visit from distant relatives who were planning to stay for a week and were eager to take a tour of your house? Would you have to scramble to avoid embarrassment?  If you’re like me, there are probably some closets and drawers you wouldn’t want them to open.  Unless you’ve just finished your spring cleaning, chances are you’d be hoping your guests didn’t look closely enough to see the accumulated dust, the sun streaming through streaked windows, or the cobwebs in the corners.

As Christians, we are called to maintain lives that can be “toured” by outsiders at any time, without embarrassment.  A commitment to holiness means having a life that is always “ready for company” and open for inspection—a life that can stand up to scrutiny—not just in the obvious things, but in the hidden places where most might not think to look.

Lately, my life has not been “ready for company”… it has been messy and cluttered… just like my house.  I need to take time to get both my house and my life in order.  I need the Holy Spirit to be at work in my life… tossing out things that need to be removed and wiping me clean from the sins that have stained me.  Lord, be at work in my heart… change me from the inside out.  May I be “ready” at all times.  Thank you for never giving up on me.

Most Christians know how to do a quick pick up in their lives, whenever others come around to take a look.  They’ve learned how to keep up a holy appearance.  They know how to look and act “clean” when they’re at church or want to leave a good impression on a friend. But here’s the real test: what would others discover if they took a closer look at your life? What would they find if they started opening the closets and drawers of your life?

I’m not even sure I know what in in my closets and drawers right now.  I don’t think I have huge, blatant sins laying around, but I do have dust… little particles that make me unholy and unclean.  There are definitely areas in my life that I need to clean up, areas that I need to make changes, things I need to toss out and change… things I may not even be aware of.  I think that the first step is to draw closer to God so I can become more aware of the things that would displease Him and need to be removed. In the past, the closer I was to Jesus, the easier it was to spot the areas in my life that I needed to renovate and change. 

This is one of the primary issues Jesus had with the Pharisees of His day.  They were consumed with keeping up appearances, while content to live with and overlook the mess beneath the surface, where it counted most.

As Jesus pointed out, it’s not that what’s on the outside is unimportant.  It’s that it’s meaningless to present a polished, immaculate image, while masking the underlying scum.  Such hypocrisy evoked a response from the Lord that was far from mild. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.” (Matthew 23:27-28).

No wonder no one wants to be known as a “Pharisee” today! Like the Pharisees, we have an amazing capacity to feel good about ourselves because we don’t commit certain kinds of sins, while brushing off as insignificant the interior pollution of our hearts.  So we’ve never committed physical adultery… but we entertain lustful thoughts about someone else’s mate.  We don’t commit acts of physical violence… but we harbor hatred towards those who have wronged us and mentally assassinate them or emotionally cut them off.

Lord, I pray that my outer appearance and inner life will match… but I also pray that it would be pleasing to You.  Be at work in my life. I want to live a Holy life that is pleasing to You.  I know that it is impossible without the help of the Holy Spirit. Be at work in my life… changing me and molding me into the image of Jesus.

Does Jesus’ description of the Pharisees in any way apply to you?

v  Is there any hypocrisy in your life?  Is what’s on the outside the same as what’s on the inside?  Do you appear outwardly to be godly, while inwardly harboring unholy attitudes, thoughts or values?

I don’t think that I am harboring unholy attitudes, thoughts or values.  I know that I am not perfect and have a lot of work to do in my life… both inside and out.  I don’t keep that a secret.

v  Are you as concerned about the inward reality of your life—that which only God can see—as you are about how you appear to others?

Yes, I am just as concerned about the inward reality of my life… my heart and what only God can see… because I know that what is in my heart… inside me will eventually flow out of me. I want to be cleansed fully, from the inside out.

v  If people could see your inner thoughts and desires, would they conclude that you are a holy person?

I am a person in process… I don’t think I am a holy person.  I am a forgiven person… in need of a Savior… with a desire to be Holy.

 

Making it Personal… (I left these blank for you to reflect on)

The New Testament authors challenge believers to recognize their position in Christ—justified, redeemed, chosen by God, set apart for His purposes.  Then we are exhorted to live a life—inside and out—that is consistent with our position.

Take time to look up each of the following passages from Paul’s epistles that describe some aspect of what it means to live a holy life.  Then prayerfully consider the application questions.

Put on the new self (Ephesians 4:17-24)

v  Are you a new creature in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17)?

v  Is your lifestyle obviously different from those who do not know the Lord?

v  Could it be that you are struggling and striving to be holy, but finding it impossible, because you have never been made right with God through faith in Christ?

v  Do you have a spiritually sensitive and responsive heart, or has your heart become hard and cold toward God?

v  Do you have an underlying desire to be holy and to please God in all you do?

 

Speak the truth (Colossians 3:9-10, Ephesians 4:25)

v  Are you an honest person? (Be honest!)

v  Are you deceiving anyone about anything—in your home? In your workplace? In your church?

v  Are you pretending to be something that you’re not, trying to leave a better impression of yourself than is honestly true?

v  Are you more concerned about what others think of you than what God knows to be true?

 

 

Put away anger (Ephesians 4:31)

v  Are you holding anger in your heart toward anyone?

v  Do you have a hot temper?  Do you fly off the handle easily?

v  Are you easily irritated? Prone to impatience?

 

 

Don’t steal—give! (Ephesians 4:28)

v  Have you taken things that don’t belong to you? Borrowed things you’ve never returned?

v  Are you a hard worker, or are you sometimes slothful or undisciplined in your work?  Do you give your boss a full day’s work for a full day’s pay?

v  Are you honest in completing expense reports? Tax returns? Taking exams and writing papers for school?

v  Have you stolen the affections of someone else’s mate? Have you defrauded  someone of the opposite sex by creating expectations you can’t righteously fulfill?  Have you robbed anyone of his or her sexual purity?

v  Are you sensitive to the needs of others and quick to respond to those needs in practical ways?

v  Are you robbing God by spending on yourself money that belongs to Him?

 

 

Watch your tongue (Ephesians 4:29, 5:4)

v Do you speak words that are true, pure, good, and kind?

v Does profanity, unholy talk, or coarse jesting come out of your lips?

v Do you gossip? Slander others with your tongue?

v Do you tease others in ways that could be hurtful?

v Do you have a critical tongue, perhaps under the guise of being helpful?

v Do you speak words that are useless or toxic to those who hear them?

v Do your words encourage and build others up? Do your words minister grace to those who hear them?

v Do you express thankfulness verbally—to God and to others?

 

Be sensitive to the Spirit (Ephesians 4:30)

v  Are you sensitive to the things that grieve the Holy Spirit, or can you sin and not be grieved about it?

v  Is there anything in your heart attitudes or outward behavior that you know is not pleasing to the Lord?

v  Are you quick to obey the promptings of the Spirit through His Word and in your heart?

v  Are you quick to respond to the conviction of God’s Spirit when you have sinned?

 

Put on forgiveness and love (Colossians 3:12-13)

v  Are you holding a grudge or harboring bitterness in your heart toward anyone? Is there anyone who has hurt or wronged you that you have not fully forgiven?

v  Is your life marked by love?

 

Let His peace rule (Colossians 3:15)

v  Does the peace of Christ control your life, or do you often fret and worry about circumstances beyond your control?

v  Do you trust the sovereign wisdom and love of God to order your steps?

 

Be filled with His Word (Colossians 3:16-17

v  Do you seek to fill your mind and heart with the Word of God?

v  Do your conversations with other believers center on the Word and the ways of God?

v  Is the whole of your life lived in the name and for the sake of the Lord Jesus?

v  Are you a grateful person? Do you frequently express gratitude to God and to others?

 

Embrace your God-designed role in the home (Colossians 3:18-21)

v  Are your family relationships ordered according to the plan God has revealed in his Word?

v  Wives: Are you submitting to the authority and leadership of your husband? Do you show reverence and respect in your attitude toward him and in the way you talk to him and about him to others?

v  Husbands: Do you love your wife in the selfless, sacrificial way Christ loves His church? Do you treat her gently and kindly?

v  Sons and Daughters: Are you obedient to your parents’ authority?

v  Parents: Are you giving godly direction to your children?

v  Fathers: Are you leading your children spiritually in a way that encourages and motivates them to follow Christ?

 

Holiness in the workplace (Colossians 3:22-23; 4:1)

v  In your workplace (whether in or out of your home), do you labor as unto the Lord?

v  Are you diligent in your work? Do you do what you’re assigned to do?

v  Why do you do what you do?  Do you have a hidden desire for fame, recognition, or human praise? Are you trying to impress your boss and your fellow workers, or are you trying to please the Lord?

v  Do you deal fairly with your employees?

v  Do you treat those you serve, and those who serve you, in a way that is consistent with the way God treats you?

 

Exhibit godly character (Ephesians 5:1)

v  Is there anything in your life that does not bear a “family resemblance” to God?

v  Is there any pattern or practice in your life that, of others followed it, would lead them away from God?

v  Is your conduct blameless and above reproach in every area of your life—not by the world’s standards, but by the standard of God’s Word and His holiness?

 

Be morally pure (Ephesians 5:3)

v  Are you walking in moral purity and freedom? Is your thought life pure?

v  Do you guard your heart and your eyes from influences that might tempt you to sin morally?

v  Are you chaste and discreet in your relationships with members of the opposite sex?

v  Do you secretly fantasize about a relationship with another man’s wife, or another women’s husband?

v  What about the things you read and watch and listen to when you are alone—are they pure, are they lovely, are they holy?

v  Do you have any secret or private moral habits that are impure?

 

Avoid the darkness (Ephesians 5:8,11)

v  Do you have an appetite for activities you know to be sinful?

v  Do you enjoy talking with others (or even laughing) about shameful things?

v  Does your life paint a contrast to the darkness of the world around you and draw people to His light?

 

Walk in the light (Ephesians 5:8-10)

v  Do you consciously seek to know and to do what will please the Lord?

v  Is there any area of your life that could not withstand the scrutiny of His holy light? Any area in which you are not walking as a child of the light?

v  Does your lifestyle mark you as a child of God?