Whenever God’s sovereignty is denied or obscured, and when there is a man-centered emphasis in place that believes holiness really comes from the energy that we give it—the things that we do—it is going to be a self-made holiness. What will always result is a counterfeit in place of the genuine article. Of course, the great examples in the Bible were the Pharisees. And Jesus said that they cleaned the outside of the cup, but they left the inside filthy and rotten. Now you say, I thought you said that sanctification is to be expressed concretely in action. Yes, it is—but not hypocritically. It may not be an outward appearance that is the exact opposite of what is going on in the heart. And Jesus condemned the Pharisees for that in Matthew 23:25. You know, that happens today among legalists, who replace spiritual, biblical holiness with a shallow list of do’s and don’ts—a few behaviors that anybody can do if they really want to do it—replacing the kind of spirituality found in the Bible with man-made rules that are not, in fact, taught by God’s Word. Now again—let me say again—I am not denying that sanctification involves actions: an outward turning from sin, an embrace of concrete godliness.
But the problem, Jesus says, is that the weighty matters of the law—the real issues—faithfulness, righteousness, love, peace, a true consecration of self for the glory and the pleasure of God—they may be completely lacking. As Jesus said, “Do not neglect the outward things. The things that you are doing are good in themselves—you tithe, you do these ways—it is all good. But the problem is that the reality is not there. You are living on the surface, living a life of appearances, and there is no actual yielding of yourself for the glory and pleasure of God.
So we may not divorce our spouses, but the question is, do we really love them? Do we serve them? We may tithe of our income—and we should, and that is a good thing—but is it a source of pride or a humble work of joy, that we might be used to serve God and his kingdom? So on it goes, over and over—especially when we find ourselves looking down with contempt on others because of the things that we are doing that are different. And C. S. Lewis made the important statement: You can always be sure—if what you are doing, even if it is a good thing, is causing you to look down on others—that it is not God who is acting on you but Satan. It should produce humility in us—a sense of joy toward the Lord. And so modern-day legalists may cultivate very little love and completely miss the point of a life consecrated to God’s glory, and yet feel they are being holy because they vote the right way, or they avoid restaurants where alcohol is sold, or this or that. These choices may be good things in and of themselves, but they spring from pride rather than an actual consecration of the heart to God, with love for others. Well, how different Christianity looks when it is empowered not by human effort and rules and human glory, but rather by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit—the Spirit of holiness, as he is often called in the Bible.1
Richard D. Phillips
1 Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more.