He Who Cares Nothing for Holiness

“He who cares nothing for holiness knows nothing of the love of Jesus.” – CH Spurgeon. Amen indeed! Take heart Australian Christians who are taking your stand against pending same-sex marriage legislation in this country. You’re on God’s side and He’s on yours. And, as for those Christians who do stand for this “marriage” and accuse us of not having the love of Jesus, be warned. You’re not on God’s side and He’s not on yours. It matters not to me if you have a string of tiles before your name and a string of letters after it, if you stand for this “marriage” you stand against Jesus Christ. 

Much is being said about love by our Christian opponents over this issue, but there’s not a lot being said by them about truth. Perhaps they think the two go hand in hand. That depends; without truth we can not define love. Jesus said it’s the truth that sets us free, not love. John 8:31-36. As is a popular saying presently – no truth, no freedom; know truth, know freedom. In addition, we can not know either one unless we abide in Jesus’ word. It is living according to His word that makes us a disciple of Christ, not living according to misguided emotions, feelings and opinions. Let the accusations pass you by over this matter; they will stand before Christ to give an account for their words and in doing so they will discover it was Him they were accusing, not us.

Brother Spurgeon’s statement confirms the Bible’s declaration. Hebrews 12:14 tell us without holiness, no one will see the Lord. Theological cleverness is noticeable in the writings of these same-sex marriage advocates with a string of tiles before their name and a string of letters after it, but holiness is even more noticeable – by its absence! Should such people be flung out into eternity without holiness, they’ll know it in an instant they’re hell-bound, not heaven-bound. Nobody is made holy by theological cleverness; we’re made holy by possessing a right relationship with God, and that is made possible only by trusting in Jesus Christ as the Savior of your sin-filled soul. Don’t allow these people to drag you into hell with them.

The lack of holiness within Christianity is one primary piece of evidence the great apostasy fast approaches; the falling away from the pure gospel of Jesus Christ, just before the man of sin, the son of perdition comes on the scene 2 Thessalonians 2:3-5. A couple of Bibles translate the falling away as “the rebellion.” That translation fits perfectly for the purposes of this post; the spirit of rebellion controls the lives of all Christians not controlled by the Spirit of holiness. Don’t be deceived by their wordy prayers in the church or the closing of eyes and the lifting up of hands as they sing their songs of praise and worship to God. God is not impressed! Fervent lips with a wicked heart are like earthenware covered with silver dross Proverbs 26:23.

He who cares nothing for holiness truly does know nothing of the love of Christ. That explains his lack of spiritual power and authority to combat the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life 1 John 2:16. In other words, when the love of the world and its sordid playthings hold greater attraction for him than the love of God, he is a prisoner to them, regardless of how many Amen’s and Hallelujah’s he shouts out. Satan and his crowd don’t care if he keeps that up all day. He knows he’s got him and he knows he has a legal right to him. Jesus knows it too! That’s why He said, No one can serve two masters…… Matthew 6:24; Luke 16:13. Jesus Christ will share Himself with no one or no thing; you’re either in or you’re out!

He who cares nothing for holiness knows nothing of true compassion either, for such is Holy Spirit-given. True compassion convicts of sin, it doesn’t condone it, coddle it or comfort it. When practicing fornicators, adulterers, homosexuals, and sodomites walked into the Corinthian church, they were told they would not inherit the kingdom of God, just as thieves and drunkards etc would not inherit it unless they repented from the sin of it all and turned to Christ. And such were some of you, said compassionate Paul the apostle. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God 1 Corinthians 6:9-11. Now that’s a truth you won’t hear or read from the opposing titled and lettered crowd.

He who cares nothing for holiness knows nothing of the true mercy of Jesus Christ. Experiential knowledge of such causes us to seek after holiness with all our heart. We know the horrendous price Jesus paid on our behalf for it. Just like the dying thief on the cross beside Jesus, we know we deserve hell, not heaven. Paul the apostle knew it too. He wasn’t into same-sex practice but he did say he was the chief of sinners! This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, of which I am chief 1 Timothy 1:15. Although there have been only a few in every generation, the holiest of God’s people are those who know what they’ve been saved from, more so than what they’ve been saved to.

He who cares nothing for holiness knows nothing of the grace of God. Given that God has placed the word 170 times in 159 verses of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation, there is no excuse at all for such ignorance. And it’s here that it must be stressed, not everyone who says they’re a Christian is a Christian. Many are not, in fact. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast Ephesians 2:8-9. “I am saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone.” That’s the born-again, Holy Spirit-led, Jesus Christ-centered, Bible-based Christian’s boast. As it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord 1 Corinthians 1:31 (ESV)

He who cares nothing for holiness knows nothing of the righteousness of God. If he did, he would not confuse righteousness with goodness! Quote: “Righteousness is God’s own perfection in every attribute, every attitude, every behavior, and every word. Thus, God’s laws, as given in the Bible, both describe His own character and constitute the plumb line by which He measures human righteousness.” – Charles Swindoll. Based on that grand definition, how very different is righteousness than goodness. Goodness is prized, righteousness is despised! Not so for true Christians though; the Lord Jesus has made us righteous just as He is righteous. For He (God) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him 2 Corinthians 5:21.

He who cares nothing for holiness knows nothing of the justice of God. He claims to know plenty about social justice, but it’s based on silly Cultural Marxist egalitarianism, the total antitheses of the justice of God. God doesn’t steal from the rich demanding it be given to the poor – especially the freeloaders and the unwashed lazy among them! True justice is an attribute of God just as holiness and righteousness are attributes of God. He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice; righteous and upright is He Deuteronomy 32:4. The same cannot be said of God-hating Marx and Lenin and their God-denying, jealous, envious and very angry, deluded followers.

He who cares nothing for holiness knows nothing of the severity of God’s forthcoming judgment. True, God’s love he knows nothing of, but that doesn’t stop him from talking about it so as to manipulate the gullible into believing God approves of their desires – especially the current desire for same-sex marriage. All but the righteous will face God to be judged by Him for their every thought, word and act at the Great White Throne Judgment Revelation 20:11-15. After the judgment comes eternal condemnation and punishment. Sin has its price! But the LORD shall endure forever; He has prepared His throne for judgment. He shall judge the world in righteousness, and He shall administer judgment for the peoples in uprightness Psalm 9:7-8.

He who cares nothing for holiness knows nothing of true repentance. If he did he would care everything for holiness. For godly sorrow produces repentance to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death 2 Corinthians 7:10. Therein lies his problem. He will express worldly sorrow for his sins, but he will not express godly sorrow. Why not? He loves his sins too much to let go of them altogether. A simple definition of holiness today: Holiness loves what God loves; holiness hates what God hates. God loves the Spirit of holiness; God hates the spirit of rebellion. As Christians, we would be wise to know which one influences us at this most evil time. Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God 2 Corinthians 7:1.