GOD'S BREATH PUBLICATONS

Are You Avoiding Evil, or Pursuing Holiness?

By Michael K. Farrar

© 1998

 

You might be a little confused about the title above. You might be saying, “Aren’t you pursuing holiness when you’re avoiding evil?” Or, “When you’re avoiding evil, aren’t you pursuing holiness?”  You might even quote 2 Corinthians 7:1 to support your position, “Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.”

 

Well, while it is true we are to avoid evil things as Christians, I think we are not always pursuing holiness when we do.

 

Many people, both Christians and non‑Christians often try to avoid evil. Most people with common sense and some moral fiber consider it wise to stay out of the way of evil. It doesn’t require a commitment to our Lord to simply step out of evil’s way. Many people who consider themselves good upstanding citizens would tell you they try to avoid the evil path. I would suggest however, that you can avoid evil in your life, without seeking and pursuing holiness.

 

Jesus referred to this situation when he discussed the spiritual lives of the Pharisees in Matthew 23:25‑26 saying, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self‑indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.” He stated that while your actions of avoiding evil may appear to be honorable, if your internal condition is unholy you will never see God. Hebrews 12:14 says, “Without holiness no one will see the Lord.” The Pharisees had the appearance of holiness due to actions, but inwardly were far from it.

 

Pursuing holiness is more than avoiding evil. It is seeking to be Christ‑like and filled with God’s Holy Spirit. Pursuing holiness is letting God’s Holy Spirit have His way with your heart. Avoiding evil outwardly does not always reflect your heart condition. You can avoid evil and still hold onto your self‑will. However when you strive to be holy, you sacrifice your will and replace it with God’s will. 

 

Avoiding evil is simply crisis management. You don’t have to think about God unless something evil presents itself. You can jump from evil temptation to evil temptation attempting to avoid each of them without ever thinking of God in‑between. Pursuing holiness is another matter. It is CONSTANTLY, MOMENT-BY-MOMENT seeking God’s presence in your life. Evil will present itself to you at times while you are pursuing holiness. But since you have already sought out your Savior before evil ever came into view, what do you think are the results of such a holy life? Yes, the ability to avoid evil is probably a much easier decision when you have been consistently pursuing holiness.

 

They say that the best training a person can receive for detecting counterfeit money is to handle the real thing. If a counterfeit Jesus or evil temptation comes your way, do you struggle at examining it, evaluating it, testing it, seeking to determine if it is really evil or not? I would submit to you, that if someone is consistently pursuing holiness, they don’t have to think twice about whether something is evil or not.

 

Pursuing holiness is not an option for a Christian it is a commandment. 1 Peter 1:15‑16 says, “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’”

 

Now we come to a very important point. If a Christian is called to do more than just avoid evil, and to pursue holiness at all costs, can we do it by ourselves? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Only by the power that God gives us through His Spirit can we even attempt to pursue holiness. Isaiah 55:8,9 says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

 

Our natural tendency, even if we are born‑again Christians is often opposite from what God wants us to do or what we might wish to do. Paul struggled with this himself in Romans 7:21‑23 saying, “It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love to do God’s will so far as my new nature is concerned; but there is something else deep within me, in my lower nature, that is at war with my mind and wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. In my mind I want to be God's willing servant, but instead I find myself still enslaved to sin. So you see how it is: my new life tells me to do right, but the old nature that is still inside me loves to sin.” What is the answer? Paul gives us the answer later in this same chapter in verse 23, “Who will free me from my slavery to this deadly lower nature? Thank God! It has been done by Jesus Christ our Lord. He has set me free.”

 

You see you CAN’T do it yourself, NO WAY, NO HOW. Only by trusting in God, receiving Jesus in your life and letting His Holy Spirit have your heart will you be able to even attempt to seek holiness. Ephesians 2:10 states, “For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” 

 

You must also understand that while you are JUSTIFIED before God by the death and resurrection of His Son, you are in the process of SANCTIFICATION as His child, as you seek to become holy. God, with your cooperation and obedience, perfects the work of making you holy. Philippians 1:6 says, “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”     

 

You must understand that while we are justified before God the process doesn’t end there. It can be just as bad to rest in your justification and not pursue the process of sanctification (becoming holy), as it is to simply avoid evil things. James speaks of this in the following verses, 2:17, 24, 26, “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” Seeking holiness requires some action on your part. While this includes avoiding evil, it is not limited to it. Seeking holiness means letting God possess your total life, not just certain outward actions.