Holiness VS. Morality

Alright…


It's been awhile, but I'm restless tonight and these thoughts have been working through for a bit...


Holiness VS Morality


I don’t think they’re the same thing, but I think that as a church we’re allowing the two to become synonymous. I’d say that holiness is a foundation for morality… even that morality is an expression of holiness… but the two are otherwise fundamentally distinct. I’ve written on this before, and my position still remains that there is no holiness outside of a relationship with God. God alone is holy and there is nothing else that is holy without being connected (in relationship) to Him. Morality, on the other hand, is an evaluation based on legal standards. That is- morality is our term to describe how well we do or do not adhere to certain behavioral standards (laws). For some reason, I’ve heard a lot of talk in the last few weeks about needing to preach holiness and how we are forgetting that holiness is an essential element of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I agree, but I think that most often when I hear this the word that should be used is morality. Why? Because most often this message is accompanied with a list of things that Christians should be concerned about- drinking, abuse, abortion, sexual perversions, etc- rather than being accompanied by an emphasis on growing in intimacy with our God.


Let’s split the two up… holiness is not achieved by what you do or do not do. Holiness is the result of God’s presence. Holiness is the result of growing in relationship with God. Morality is just one way that we are ENABLED to EXPRESS that relationship. In conclusion… we can’t see morality as a means of holiness, REVERSE IT. Grow in your relationship with God. Learn to diligently and intentionally accept His love and forgiveness and the blessing of the Holy Spirit- and LIVE. Focus on His presence. Transformation is His work, not ours. Sanctification is HIS work, not ours. Consecration is your willingness to submit to His work in you, not your struggle to fix yourself so you can feel like a “better Christian.”