I heard a great sermon this morning that talked about holiness. In particular, about what it means to live holy lives. It reminded me of something I read by John MacAuthur:
To convince a man God can save, I need to show him a man He saved. To convince a man that God can give hope, I need to show him a man with hope. To convince a man that God can give peace, joy, and love, I need to show him a man with peace, joy, and love. To convince a man that God can give complete, total, and utter satisfaction, I need to show him a satisfied man. When the world sees people who are holy, righteous, peaceful, joyful, and fulfilled, they see the evidence of God’s transforming power.
At stake is the eternal destiny of unredeemed souls. Christians who are unholy lead unbelievers to slander God; those who are holy lead them to glorify God. The central issue in evangelism is holy living. A powerful church is not built on its strategy, but on the virtue and holiness of its people. What we believe is linked to how we live, and how we live is directly linked to the effectiveness of our gospel proclamation. So, Christian, it’s imperative that you be “blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15).
Once again (and it is good that I am) I find myself challenged about the way I live as a witness, first to my family and secondly to a watching world. Not that we should ‘perform’ to gain credence, popularity or self satisfaction… but rather, that we should live our lives in such a way as to reflect the transformation that God’s grace has performed in our hearts. Why? Because it matters to God.
