A Call to Radical Holiness
by Kevin Offner
God calls all Christians to be holy. To be holy or sanctified literally means
to be "set apart." Almighty God, in saving us through faith in Jesus Christ,
has called us out from the world and set us apart to belong exclusively to him.
And our God is jealous over his people: Christians are called to be different
from non-Christians.
At the turn of the century, American evangelical Christians were concerned
about liberalizing tendencies within the churches. Christians increasingly were
seen as not very different from non-Christians in what they believed and in
how they acted. Therefore several "fundamentals" of the faith were affirmed
by evangelicals - teachings such as the deity of Christ, the authority and inspiration
of the Bible and the need for personal rebirth by the Holy Spirit in order to
go to heaven - and conservative Christians began to be called "fundamentalists."
Much could be (rightly) said about what was wrong with the fundamentalists.
They soon based their distinctiveness on externals rather than on the changed
heart God had given them. They defined themselves more and more by what they
were against rather than what (and Whom) they were for. Their hatred of sin
too often spilled over into a seeming hatred of people, and they were known
more for their anger than their love. But there was at least one very right
thing about the fundamentalists: they realized that following Jesus meant that
they were to be holy, set apart, different from the world.
Where does this "set apartness" need to be encouraged today among students?
Here are my thoughts. They are neither exhaustive nor in order of priority.
May God raise up individuals and local chapters where courage, not fear, is
the defining character quality. May we dare to be counter-cultural out of loyalty
to our Lord.
Radical Relationships
"They'll know we are Christians by our love," was the refrain to a popular
song among Christians in the late sixties. Non-Christians may (indeed, will)
hate us, but the hatred should be because darkness hates the light - not because
we come across as arrogant, condescending or angry. The world clamors for its
rights and claims "victim" status, but Christians should stand apart by our
radical yielding of rights and willingness to suffer for what is right.
We must
be quick to forgive. We must stop all lying, all backbiting, all cheap slashing
with our tongues. We must go out of our way in doing good to others. And we
must put to death all worldly competition, making it our aim to take joy in
others' successes.
Whether extravert or introvert, every Christian should have the reputation
for being someone who cares for people (which includes peacemaking and confrontation).
Do you stand out in the radical ways you treat other students? Whether your
peers agree or disagree with your theology, would they find it impossible to
deny that you always valued relationships over grades, computers and music?
Radical Approaches to Money
There is just no getting around it: Jesus said more about money than he did
about any other single topic. Money easily becomes an idol (anything in which
we place our security and trust instead of God). Being radical here does not
necessarily mean intentional poverty, but it does mean an unmistakably loose
grip on our possessions. Radical Christians will be generous and sacrificial.
(C. S. Lewis gave us a rule of thumb for giving: give until it hurts - not because
we're sadists but because all false allegiances need to be broken of their power.)
We must be marked by our frugality and self-restraint, knowing from daily experience
how to say no to the consumerist impulse our culture foists on us. The cross
needs to come to bear on each of our lifestyles - it cannot be mere business-as-usual.
Whenever people walk into our dorm room, or see the clothes we wear or watch
how we spend our discretionary money, they should see something different about
our priorities. They should quickly notice that materialism just doesn't seem
to have much of a pull on us.
Radical Work and Rest
Work can become an idol or a mere means for getting money. Again, Christians
should be radically different. In your work as a student, do you study to the
glory of God, bringing your God-given talents and creativity to bear on the
academic subjects themselves? We must aim for quality work without succumbing
to workaholic idolatry. Every office, lab, business, and home should somehow
look different because of the salt and light that radical Christians bring with
them to their work.
And we must be different in the way we value rest. "Six days you shall labor
and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God;
you shall not do any work" (Exodus 20:9-10). Let's take the idea of Sabbath
seriously. Let's be ruthless about insisting that one day a week will be different,
set aside in a unique way for worship, "re-creation" and rest.
Christians have
historically named Sunday the Lord's Day. Would you dare not to schedule any
meetings or do any homework on Sundays? Break the routine once a week! Maybe
this means switching off the television, turning off the phone, choosing to
ignore the world's entertainments, or even fasting. We should each decide before
the Lord how we will spend Sundays.
Radically Different In Our Sexual Ethics
The Christian teaching on sex is quite simple and to the point: no sexual activity
between anyone, ever, other than husband and wife. Premarital, extramarital
and homosexual sex is wrong and disobedient to God. In an age of ever-increasing
sexual promiscuity and casualness over all things sex-related, we Christians
ought to stand out like beacons in our purity, avoiding even the appearance
of evil here.
Let them call us prudes. Let them wag their heads in derision
when they hear of our pre-marital virginity or our decisions to remain celibate.
Let them say we are old-fashioned, backward, out of step. The goal, of course,
is not to be awkward and uncomfortable with our bodies. We should enjoy the
opposite sex, give appropriate hugs and even revel in our God-given physicality.
But always with the crystal-clear, mutual agreement that sexual activity is
a gift to be honored and protected for marriage.
We also should be radical in noting and eschewing the rising emphasis upon
androgyny in our culture today. The label "sexism" is quickly applied to almost
any differentiation one would ever encourage between men and women. Our differences
as males and females should be joyfully appreciated. In a world that has lost
the wonder of sexuality, the church needs to value the beautiful, God-created
diversity of men and women as equal in worth and yet different.
Radical Followers
Let's keep our eyes fixed firmly on the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's strive to
be like him in every way we can. He died for us, and he bought us to belong
exclusively to him. Let's respond to his great love by radically following him,
however different it will make us look in others' eyes.
"When the Spirit presents Christ to our inner vision it has
an exhilarating effect on the soul, much as wine has on the body. The Spirit-filled
person may dwell in a state of perpetual fervor amounting to a mild and pure
inebriation. God dwells in a state of perpetual enthusiasm. He pursues his labors
always in a fullness of holy zeal."-A. W. Tozer
One thing I learned about myself is that sometimes I read Christian books and articles in view of other people. It's a bad thing to do but I do it. We all have flaws. If you read this and applied it to someone else, please reread this again and apply it to your life. How far away are you from this ideal that God wants for us?
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