A Message To Those Seeking Holiness

My Dear Christian Friend:

The experience of salvation is a miracle of spiritual transformation that resets the moral compass of a person’s life. In simplistic terms, as sinners, our moral compass was calibrated to satisfy our will—we believed that what we wanted was right and what we didn’t want was wrong. In the experience of salvation, the Holy Spirit of God enters our lives in the new birth obliterating the old settings replacing them with the will of God as the “true north” of the moral compass.

Prior to our conversion we had become painfully aware of our condition as sinners. We knew that much of what we did was wrong and we came to realize that the cause of our wrong-doing was that deep inside, we were essentially wrong. This realization made us uncomfortably aware of guilt that would not go away regardless of how good we tried to be or the “good things” we did to compensate for the bad things. As much as we hated to admit it, our lives had become a mess we could not straighten out on our own. For some of us, this realization may have come early in life, perhaps our teen-years, and for others it came much later.

At some point in our lives, the thought came to us that God was probably the answer. Conveniently we heard the gospel and eventually came to believe that God would forgive us our sins and straighten out our lives because of what Jesus did on the cross so long ago. Using this little gift of faith God gave us, we confessed to God that we were sinners, repented putting our faith in Jesus Christ and asked God to forgive our sins. I am sure that right now you can recall that experience, no matter how long ago it was in your life.

As a new Christian, you experienced the joy of sins forgiven and you found that there was a new center to your life—no longer yourself, but God and the things of God. You enjoyed reading the Bible; you enjoyed going to church; you enjoyed telling others what God had done for you. You found that 2 Corinthians 5:17 (If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.) was much more than just a Bible verse, it was your experience. 1 John 1:9 (If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.) was a glorious truth that you knew to be true for you because you had been forgiven and you were living in the joy of that forgiveness. Surely, you had no desire to commit any more sin—that was the farthest thing from your mind (1 John 3:6 , Whoever abides in him does not sin.)

However, in the process of time you may have “slipped up” and then you wondered how you could have done that, or said that; it seemed so contrary to your experience and your love for Jesus. As more time passed, you may have found your “slipping up” becoming uncomfortably a regular happening even though you had no real desire to commit any sins. You even may have wondered if God had really saved you at all.

Most Christian churches teach that Christians are bound to sin more or less every day in word, thought, or deed and that there is really no such thing as a victorious Christian life. All too often good people who would really like to live without committing sin give in to this kind of teaching and they accept the “sinning Christian” as the standard for the Christian experience. Eventually they ignore the guilt and they accept that they will go to heaven even if they continue to sin—because no one can help but sin and it is faith in Christ that admits people to heaven. This is not the Christian experience the Bible really teaches. Christ came to save us from our sins, Matthew 1:21 , not to save us IN our sins. It is not my place, neither is it yours, to stand in judgment of “sinning Christians” as they will give an account to Christ at the Final Judgment and it is God who determines who is saved and who is not.

It may be that you are not satisfied with you experience with God; it may be that you are not satisfied with your church situation because you do not get the encouragement or teaching you need to live a holy life. That is probably why you have clicked on this page.

BE ENCOURAGED!

There are thousands upon thousands of your fellow Christians that have realized the experience of living without committing sin. This is not to say that it is impossible for them to sin, but it is to say that they have an experience with God whereby they can live in obedience to everything they know to be the will of God. If they can have this experience, you can too.

This experience is rooted first of all in your experience with God through Jesus Christ. Secondly, you need to be taught from the Bible what holiness is and how you can live a holy life. Then you need to put your faith in Christ and consecrate your will to the leadership of the Holy Spirit (Romans 12:1–2, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.) This may sound too simple, but this is essentially all that is involved. Finally, you need the encouragement and counsel of like-minded Christians. That is not to say that you cannot live a holy life while attending the church you now attend, but you will be the “ugly duckling” in that church and you probably will be misunderstood by the very people you love and with whom you worship.

WHERE CAN I GO?

Believe it or not, there are many churches in the United States that are holiness churches—holiness in the sense of what you are looking for. Just because a church has the word holiness in its name does not necessarily mean that it is the holiness you are looking for. The best indicator is a church’s theological position. Holiness churches that believe in living without committing sin are generally Wesleyan-Holiness or Wesleyan-Arminian in their theology (these two terms mean essentially the same thing).

The holiness movement in the United States has undergone some growing pains and some examining of its beliefs over the past few decades. Some have abandoned their holiness positions in favor of a more evangelical teaching and these churches are probably not much different from the church that has discouraged you. But, there are many churches out there that still hold to holiness or have come back to the holiness message. Just ask questions, observe, and keep looking until you find the church where you can prosper in your experience with God.

There are just a few churches in Lawton , OK that hold to the holiness theology. At the Lawton Church of God holiness of life if believed, taught and lived. If you live in the Lawton area, we cordially invite you to visit us and to talk about your desire to live a holy life. You will find spiritually minded people who can understand what you want in your Christian experience.

Sincerely, 

     D. F. Bayless, Pastor                  Click here to contact us by email.

          Lawton Church of God       Telephone: 580-536-4007 (Please leave a message if no answer.)