An excellent book that I recommend is "
The Pursuit of Holiness" by Jerry Bridges. It can be purchased at
Amazon.
"To be holy is to be morally blameless. It is to be separated from sin and, therefore, consecrated to God. The word signifies separation to God, and the conduct befitting those so separated… To live a holy life, then, is to live a life in conformity to the moral precepts of the Bible and in contrast to the sinful ways of the world. It is to live a life characterized by the “(putting) off of your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires… and (putting) on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22, 24)." (Page 16)
"To pursue holiness, one of the disciplines we must become skilled in is the development of Bible-based convictions. A conviction is a determinative belief: something you believe so strongly that it affects the way you live. Someone has observed that a belief is what you hold, but a conviction is what holds you."
"In all that has been said so far about our responsibility for holiness--the necessity of conviction and commitment, perseverance and discipline, and of holiness in body and in spirit--the activity of our wills is always implied. It is the will that ultimately makes each individual choice of whether we will sin or obey. It is the will that chooses to yield to temptation or to say no. Our wills, then, ultimately determine our moral destiny, whether we will be holy or unholy in our character and conduct." (Page 123)
"Above all else, we must learn how to bring our wills into submission and obedience to the will of God on a practical, daily, hour-by-hour basis." (Page 123)
Definition of the heart mentioned earlier. "In that definition Owen said the heart as used in the Bible generally denotes all the faculties of the soul as they work together in doing good or evil--the mind, the emotions, the conscience, and the will." Page 124)
"Nor only must we guard our minds, we must also guard our emotions. To do this, it is helpful first to realize that while God most often appeals to us through our reason, sin and Satan will usually appeal to us through our desires.
See the
interview with Jerry Bridges in Christianity Today.
But why must we grow in grace? Why should make every effort to increase in virtue? Why should every Christian earnestly, faithfully, diligently pursue holiness? The Bible is wonderful because it never gives us just one motivation for obedience. God says more than, “Because I told you so.” He motivates us from several different angles and based on several different reasons.
I see in 2 Peter alone
twenty motivations for holiness.
See also
Pursuing Holiness in an Unholy World.
In order for us to win the battle of holiness in our lives, we need a good strategy. We need to have specific battle plans to succeed. Below are some specific action plans we can implement.
An Outline Study on
The Pursuit of Peace and Holiness from Hebrews
Grace Moments
What Me Be Holy?
Bible Verses About Holiness
