Pursuing Holiness - Together | February 2011 Elder Update

02.01.11

     

    2011_02_elder

    In North American culture, individualism and independence reign. However, the New Testament describes Christian community as interdependent. Interdependence involves mutual encouragement, intimacy and accountability. 

    Interdependent Christian community also includes a commitment to holiness. Though our culture affirms some of the positive benefits of community, it often balks at the uniquely Christian commitment to holiness in community. It sees as “cultish” communities that want members to be mutually accountable to each other for some definite ethical standard.

    It’s no surprise, then, that many churches seem to endorse a very private pursuit of holiness. Yet the New Testament presents a community in which the members have a mutual responsibility to one another in their pursuit of holiness. The members of local churches need to help each other grow in godliness. 

    We have been trained to share the Christian message effectively with others, taught how to develop a regular prayer life, and equipped to minister to those in need. We understand that many Christian activities must occur in a corporate, or group, setting. So why do we seldom understand our growth toward Christlikeness, our sanctification, as a communal endeavor? 

    The Bible clearly calls us to understand what moral wholeness, or integrity, looks like in the Christian life; it also encourages us to engage in the process of growth with others. It must be remembered, first of all, that we are not sanctified merely as individuals but as members of the body of Christ…. We must therefore live in such a way as to advance and enrich the sanctification of the fellow believers whom our lives touch. (Anthony Hoekema) 

    Edmund Clowney commented, "Growth in true holiness is always growth together; it takes place through the nurture, the work and worship of the church."

    Paul consistently described a corporate dynamic of growth (Romans 15:14; 2 Corinthians 1:4; 1 Thessalonians 4:18; 5:11,14; 2 Thessalonians 3:11-15; Titus 1:9; 2:4,15). Paul never imagined sanctification of isolated individuals but always of individuals within the context of an intimate community. 

    For a powerful example of the kind of community believers ought to experience, consider one of Jesus’ final prayers on earth. In John 17:20-23, Jesus says He desires believers to have the same intimacy with one another as He and the Father share. One significant reason for that level of intimacy is the encouragement it provides for growth. In that kind of supporting— and at times correcting—community, believers help each other so that their active living is saturated with the principles of Christian integrity. 

    Pursuing holiness together within the context of the local church of fellow members is no trivial commitment. However, if you are willing, to enter into this process, you will find yourself not only supported in your struggle against sinful influences but also given a renewed vision and motivation for pursuing holiness together.