“I have a deep conviction for many years that practical holiness and entire self-consecrationto God are not sufficiently attended to by modern Christians in this country. Politics, or controversy, or party spirit, or worldliness, have eaten out the heart of lively piety in too many of us. The subject of personal godliness has fallen sadly into the background. The standard of living has become painfully low in many quarters. The immense importance of ‘adorning the doctrine of God our Savior’ (Titus 2:10), and making it lovely and beautiful by our daily habits and tempers, has been far too much overlooked.” (J.C. Ryle. Holiness: Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties, and Roots. [Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2007.) (p.xxi) In the introduction to his classic book, J.C. Ryle poignantly and with sharp precision makes an analysis of holiness, or the lack of it, in the church of his day. It is not surprising that the above quote is relevant to our church today. Today many Christians and non-Christians almost look identical. They wear the same designer brands: worldliness, selfishness, superficiality, individualism, materialism, and plenty more. What used to be so distinct in a Christian—selflessness, humility, self-denial, meekness—have all but disappeared, and worse, they are not even addressed. Most Christians see these Christ-like traits as unattainable and a relic of a bygone era. What has lead to this dismal situation? What are the causes? Why has it gotten this bad? The answers are not as easy as asking them, howbeit, an attempt to respond to them, in my opinion, can and should be at least endeavored. The possible causes may be: 1) weak gospel preaching, if any gospel is being preached at all, 2) a dearth in biblical/doctrinal preaching, 3) a poor emphasis on the holiness of God, 4) a poor understanding of biblical conversion, 5) lack of emphasis on sin and the lack of confrontation of it, 6) the increase in individualism, and 7) poor or non-existent discipleship. These, among others, may be a starting point of where we can begin to reshape the future of Christianity. Will you be the one to help in this change? Will you begin with your own personal holiness? Let’s begin to honor and glorify God by restoring the church’s old glory.
0 Comments