Holiness

The Heart God Purifies

Book Details

Discerning Reader Editorial Review

Reviewed 11/11/2008 by Leslie Wiggins.

Recommended. A sympathetic and Christ-centered call to holiness.

If people could see your inner thoughts and desires, would they find that you are a holy person?  Jesus is returning for an unblemished bride.  Are you prepared for his imminent return?  In her final installment of the Revive Our Hearts Trilogy, Nancy Leigh DeMoss unpacks biblical holiness.  I say biblical because many people have a mental picture of what it means to be holy that is contrary to how the Bible describes holiness.  Picture in your mind a holy person.  Is she joyful?  Is she loving and gracious to others?  Does she enjoy what is good?  Do you enjoy being around her?  If your answer is “no” to any of these, then your definition of holy is not biblical.  A somber, judgmental woman who is burdened by her own unattainable ideal is not the biblical picture of a holy woman.

DeMoss begins with a biblical defense for holiness.  It’s gotten a bad rap, so to speak, and DeMoss sets out to demonstrate, using scripture and the example of her father, that a holy life is the most splendid life one can live.  To understand holiness, DeMoss explains the two facets of holiness.  To be holy means “to be set apart, to be distinct, to be different.”  God wants us to be holy because He is holy.  If we are His, then He has set us apart for Himself.  To be holy also means to be morally pure, free from sin, like God.  She writes, “Yes, holiness involves adherence to a standard, but the obedience God asks of us is not cold, rigid, and dutiful.  It is a warm, joyous, loving response to the God who loves us and created us to enjoy intimate fellowship with Him.  It is the overflow of a heart that is deeply grateful to have been redeemed by God from sin.  It is not something we manufacture by sheer grit, determination, and willpower.  It is motivated and enabled by the Holy Spirit who lives within us to make us holy.”  The scriptures she uses teach how holiness makes a Christian glad and joyful.  Likewise, a half-hearted pursuit of holiness ends in regret and disappointment.

True holiness is a spiritual work that originates in our hearts and minds through the work of God’s Spirit.  While it is God’s work, that does not mean we should have relaxed attitudes about growing in holiness.  The Bible provides several motivations for us to pursue holiness.  DeMoss underscores seven powerful incentives to motivate her readers to pursue holiness: because God is holy, because holiness is God’s stated goal for every believer, because Jesus died to deliver us from sin, because we are saints, because our intimacy with God depends on it, because we are going to live eternally in a holy city, because the well-being of others depends on it. 

In addition to these motivating factors, DeMoss warns of the power of sin to lead us astray and wreck our lives.  Too many professing Christians treat sin as if it were not that big of a deal, as if we can stop it before things get out of hand.  The idea that a certain amount of sin is tolerable is one of the many lies Satan uses to deceive us.  DeMoss teaches that sin, even a little bit, is nothing less than spiritual adultery.  “Imagine your mate walking in the door and saying in a casual tone of voice, ‘By the way, honey, I’ve been carrying on a little affair with that gal who works down the hall from me.  Nothing serious really – just a fling.  OK, I’ll admit we’ve slept together – but probably not more than six or seven times.  I want you to know that I still love you, and I really hope you’ll stay with me and keep meeting my needs.’  [That scenario] gives us an inkling of what we are doing to our heavenly Husband when we persist in “sleeping” with our sin, while claiming to be committed to our relationship with Him.”  Sin has terrible effects, but the fact that all sin is against God ought to cause us to mourn over our sin.  In pursuing holiness, DeMoss explains how important it is that we face our own sinfulness, repent, and be restored.

We will struggle in our fight against sin.  We will never be perfectly holy this side of Heaven, which is why it is imperative to remember that the Christian life is lived by faith.  DeMoss explains, “From start to finish, the pathway of holiness is a life of faith – faith in the person, the work, and the gospel of Christ.  We were justified – declared righteous – by faith in the atoning work of Christ on our behalf.  And we are sanctified – progressively made righteous in our practice – not by our own efforts, but through faith in His sanctifying grace.”  She does not advocate a pharisaical self-righteousness or moralism.  She calls us to rest in Christ, gaze on Him, and be transformed.  Only He can make us holy, therefore, we must keep our eyes on Him.  To help, DeMoss outlines a “Portrait of Holiness,” using various scriptures from the New Testament to illustrate how Jesus lived on this earth.  As we learn from him and follow him, His righteousness will become more and more beautiful to us, so that sin and the things of this world will lose their power to entice us away from Christ.  As we keep our eyes on Him, we will become more sensitive to sin in our lives.  We have to learn how to uproot the “weeds of sin.”  On the other hand, pursuing holiness involves more than adhering to a list of “Thou shalt nots.”  There are also several “Thou shalts!”  We are to put on righteousness.  DeMoss writes of her own struggle to be intentional to “put off” sin and “put on” righteousness.  She highlights six means of grace that have proven to be particularly helpful to her: the Word, confession, communion, the Body of Christ, church discipline and suffering.  God uses these means of grace to conform us to the image of his son and bring us joy.

Finally, DeMoss warns against hypocrisy. As Jesus points out to the Pharisees in Matthew 23, it is not what is on the outside of a person that counts, but what is on the inside of a person.  When God is at work on the inside, then His work will manifest itself in a changed lifestyle.  Growth in holiness will have a radical impact on our churches and communities.  DeMoss laments the fact that so many western churches no longer take holiness seriously.  More concerned with being “relevant” and helping people feel comfortable, the church has become virtually indistinguishable from the world.  “It is time for the repenters to repent,” writes DeMoss.  Christians must recover a passion for the glory of our holy God.  “We can scarcely imagine the impact that will be felt in our world when we do.”

Each chapter includes questions for group discussion and/or thoughtful introspection.  I would recommend using a notebook or journal of some kind for writing out answers and prayers.  Some portions of this book are intended for devotional use over a week or two.  For instance, for the “Portrait of Holiness,” DeMoss provides scripture references and several questions to help the reader better understand how Jesus lived and how we can imitate His example.  In the back, DeMoss includes a helpful leader’s guide with instructions for leading a group through reading this book.

I enjoyed reading Holiness for several reasons.  DeMoss writes with sympathy and compassion.  She understands our struggle to be holy.  Rather than get in the way, the inspiring anecdotes help illustrate the truths she teaches.  God’s call for his people to be holy is no laughing matter.  I can tell that DeMoss takes His call quite seriously; she does not use humor to get her points across.  Sometimes that can be a bad thing, but it works for this book.  She does of good job of making the reader feel her dire need to forsake sin and pursue holiness.  I also appreciate her focus on Jesus Christ.  I did not come to the end of the book thinking, “Wow, that Nancy Leigh DeMoss sure is something.  I just love her.  I wish I could be like her.”  In other words, this book is not about Nancy and her relationship with Jesus.  It’s about the reader’s relationship with Jesus. 

It’s my pleasure to recommend this book.  I hope you’ll read it.