By Dillon Schupp
Last Sunday, Pastor Mark did an absolutely incredible job talking about the holiness of God, with perhaps the most important point being this:
“Jesus came from ‘out there’ to ‘right here’ to make you holy.”
That’s tremendous for understanding the nature of what it means to be saved and be a follower of Jesus. Jesus did not simply come to get us out of hell. He came to make us more like Him- to be holy.
So what does that mean, exactly?
Does it mean simply making decisions that reflect what Jesus says instead of what I want?
Does it mean saying “no” to things that distract us from Jesus?
Does it mean coming to a proper understanding of who God is and what He is like?
Does it mean becoming more involved in the local church?
Does it mean reading the Bible and understanding it more?
Does it mean that we pray more?
The answer is…maybe.
Not everything that looks like holiness is true holiness. In fact, there’s a version of “holiness”- a counterfeit one- that comes directly from hell.
Let’s consider the case of the Pharisees.
These were guys that – in their context- pretty much checked all the boxes of what we listed above.
They obeyed the moral laws diligently. They had the entire Old Testament memorized. They were theological giants. They gave, they served, and they lead in the local synagogue. They spent hours upon hours in prayer. They were even passionate about converting people to Judaism.
And yet this is what Jesus had to say about them:
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.”- Matthew 23:15, emphasis added
Jesus called the most apparently “holy” men of the time and their converts children of hell. Let that sink in for a moment.
The people every parent would have told their child “I want you to be like them when you grow up” were called “children of hell” by Jesus.
Sure, they looked holy. But their version of “holiness” was straight from hell, and here’s why. Jesus had this to say about the Pharisees just a few moments before:
“Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others.”- Matthew 23:5-7, emphasis added
The problem with the Pharisees was not in what they did. It was the attitude they did it with.
The problem was not with the Pharisees practice. It was with their pride.
And that is when “holiness” comes straight from hell- when it begins to produce pride in our lives.
Consider this:
- Perhaps you make pretty good, seemingly godly moral decisions…but how do you view people who have made the opposite choices? Do you see yourself as somehow better than them?
- Maybe you’re becoming very disciplined and putting your phone away at night to focus on your family…but what do you think about the husband/dad of the family you’re hanging out with one night whose always on his phone? Do you sit in silent judgment of him?
- You love to study theology, and perhaps you have a rich and thorough understanding of biblical doctrines…but when you interact with someone who doesn’t share your view, do you immediately assume they don’t love God as much as you do…and that they are somehow “deceived”?
- You’re becoming deeply involved in the local church, which is great…but do you criticize and gossip about your friends who just “don’t get it” and travel or stay at home on Sunday?
- You’ve started praying more than ever before…but how do you treat or view the person who never prays?
- God’s done a serious work in your life recently…but do you look down on and become frustrated with people who are not yet at the place you just recently came to?
There is not quicker way for the enemy to completely neutralize the work of God in our hearts than to take what God is doing…and use it to fill us with pride. Sure, we may look “holy” on the outside…but inside we are rotting, and each step we had taken to grow spiritually prior to the onset of pride is basically negated.
It is impossible to be growing in pride and also growing truly holy.
Or, put another way: It’s impossible to be growing more proud and more like Jesus at the same time. It doesn’t happen, because one of the chief characteristics of Jesus is humility.
Paul writes this in Philippians:
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus. Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!- Philippians 2:5-8, emphasis added
If you’re truly becoming more holy, you’re going to become more humble. And the way to humility is to look God’s holiness.
Here’s how that works:
Think of the picture at the top of this post. How does that make you feel?
For me, when I see something like that, especially in person, I am reminded of how small I am in comparison to the size of the ocean and the universe. It doesn’t produce an awareness of my greatness, but my smallness.
Spiritually, when we look more and more at Jesus and the example He set, and when we ponder God’s greatness more and more, what should be produced in us is not a sense of how amazing we are- but how amazing God is. And when I consider what Jesus did by going to the cross to die for me and save me even though there was NOTHING in me to deserve it, that should produce a profound recognition of just how amazing God’s grace is- and the result is humility because I realize God’s grace has nothing to do with me. There is literally no room for pride.
If I’m really looking at Jesus, then the byproduct will be humility. If humility is not being produced, then I’m not actually looking at Jesus- which means I’m not following Him more closely, which means I am not becoming more holy.
You could sum it up like this: If you’re not becoming more humble then you are not truly becoming more holy.
It becomes critical, then, to ask ourselves this question:
How can I identify pride in my life?
First off: We have to recognize that 100% of us struggle with pride. If I am the type of person who says “Pride isn’t really a struggle for me,” then- and there is not a gentler way to say this- I have willfully blinded yourself to reality. The truth is all of us are hard-wired to look out for number one- to crave attention, and to be the most important person in the room. That is true because all of us are born sinful, and the primary fruit of sin, the one that gives birth to all other sins, is pride, because the essence of pride is placing ourselves in the place of God and choosing what we want instead of what He does- because we think we know better.
All of us struggle with it- and none of us are immune.
Second: How often do I realize that I am in the wrong…and actually admit it and apologize for it? If I never find myself on the side of the conversation that says “I messed up, I was wrong, I’m sorry…will you forgive me?”, then that is a red flag that pride is running rampant in my life. If I an always the one pointing out the problems- and reject others when they point out my own (more on that in a minute), then it’s probably because I think I have the perfect perspective and everyone else is off (read: pride).
In fact, I would go as far to say that if we’re always asking for an apology and giving an apology is not a regular occurrence in our lives, then pride is occupying the center seat…because none of us are that awesome. We all make mistakes…and a humble person can recognize them and apologize for them.
A proud person may realize his or her mistakes…but will never apologize because their ego cannot handle it.
If we can’t say “I’m sorry and I was wrong,” then something is wrong: pride is running our lives.
If you want to see someone’s level of humility and holiness- or your own- check the level of apologies.
Third: How easily do my feelings get hurt? Proverbs 19:11 (NIV) says this:
A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.
A mature person- a humble and truly holy person- is one who is able to digest something that was offensive…and move on. And many times it doesn’t require a drama-filled conversation to do so.
If I constantly find myself in long discussions because of a real or perceived slight, or if I constantly find my feelings hurt…it’s a sign that pride exists in my life, because wounded feelings are often simply the product of wounded pride.
NOW- that does not mean that some people do not do truly offensive and hurtful things. They do! And sometimes we should be wounded because of what happened- we would not be human if we were not. And sometimes that requires a conversation…but only if the goal is to improve the relationship. If the goal is to vent or unload on someone, that conversation needs to simply not happen…and you need to let it go.
(NOTE: Obviously this does not refer to criminal acts or, say, a cheating spouse- those things cannot be simply let go. The one should be reported to the authorities, and the other requires a conversation and counseling- but, again, to heal the relationship- not to just let the offending person “have it”.)
A proud person can’t let it go…and has to get their pound of flesh…which leads to this…
Fourth: How much grace do I extend to other people? A humble person realizes that they must be as gracious with others as Jesus has been with them. A proud person, on the other hand, demands grace from others for their faults…but cuts other people absolutely zero slack.
Finally: How do I handle loving correction? When someone lovingly confronts you and says “________ is not good in your life and needs to change,” do I accept it…or do I get defensive? Do you start listing all the things the other person did…or point out what someone else is doing that is not even in the conversation?
Better yet…how did I respond to this post? Did I think it was written with me in mind and get angry? Did I feel targeted? Because if so…that’s a red flag for pride, because anytime pride is pointed out in our lives, it produces a very defensive response.
A humble person is- if nothing else- highly teachable. They realize they do not have it all together. They realize others can see issues they can’t. And when they are pointed out, they say “Thank you” and take steps to correct.
A proud person simply cannot receive correction- because they believe they are never wrong.
Here’s the really dangerous reality in all of this: We can think we don’t have a pride problem, that we don’t need to apologize, that other people are the problem because they hurt my feelings, that we don’t need to give grace to others, and we don’t need correction…and yet still appear “holy” because…
- I’m always at church when the doors are open
- I read my Bible and pray ever day
- I know systematic theology
- I am not making poor moral decisions
- I’m involved in the church and even tell others about Jesus
In other words, you can look awesome on the outside…but on the inside, pride is absolutely destroying you. I may have something that looks like holiness…but is a dangerous counterfeit because, in my heart, my goal is not the glory of God- it’s the glory of me, impressing others and myself with my “holiness”- and looking down on those who aren’t where I am.
And Satan loves to get followers of Jesus in that exact situation because- eventually- pride always undercuts what we want to do, because ultimately pride produces division among people. It destroys unity in the local church- the very thing Jesus prayed for- and it ruins the churches effectiveness.
So yes- let’s ask God to make us more holy. But let’s realize that true holiness doesn’t start with a moral lifestyle, or coming to church more, or plumbing the depths of theology.
True holiness starts with humility…because-
God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.- James 4:6 (NIV)
God’s greatest favor in our life is that we come closer and closer to Him…and that can’t happen without humility.