There is a fundamental change you must make when you determine to live by faith. You can no longer depend on organized religious institutions as a functional substitute^[1] for personal dependence on God.

^[1] A functional substitute is an institution that replaces another primary institution when that primary institution becomes inaccessible or unresponsive, or is held in low esteem. As used above, dependence on organized religious institutions (to provide direction in your life) replaces personal dependence on God. Functional substitutes will be discussed more completely in Chapter 18.

    If you want to live by faith, you must be in direct communication with Almighty God Himself, and then pattern your life after His holiness. You can no longer measure your life according to the standards held by your Christian peers. You must take personal responsibility for establishing your own standard of holy living.

    God initiated four specific areas of growth in my Christian life. I have already mentioned the first three:

      1. A foundation of knowing Jesus as Almighty, Sovereign, Creator God.

      2. The desire to ask Jesus to give me a deep love for Him.

      3. The desire to ask Jesus to give me an implicit trust (faith) in Him.

    The final area of growth was,

      4. The desire to ask Jesus to make me a godly man even when I have no innate desire for holiness.

    In the same way I have prayed for both faith and a love for Jesus, I have also prayed that God would produce holiness in my life. I regard the three requests of loving Jesus, trusting Jesus, and being a godly man as the essential elements in my relationship with Him. All other things—including ministry—are secondary issues that will grow out of these three.

    I have described these benchmarks in my own life because I think they are biblically relevant. God, however, will lead you uniquely.

    Ephesians 1:4 states God's earliest purpose for our being:

    [God] chose us in [Jesus Christ] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him (NASB).

    Before God began creating the cosmos, He determined that He would choose for Himself people who possessed His absolute holiness. Of course, we now understand that this holiness is only available through faith in Jesus. But the earliest demand of Almighty God is, nonetheless, that we as believers are to be holy and blameless, meeting the same standard God holds for Himself.

    His standard is not relative to our standing in human society. The holiness He demands is His own absolute standard of holiness.

    In Matthew 5:48 Jesus said,

    "Therefore you are to be perfect,^[2] as your heavenly Father is perfect." (NASB)

    ^[2] The word means completed, finished or perfected rather than holy. However, in this context holiness would be implicit in describing one as being complete or finished.

    Nothing less is satisfactory to Him.

    Scripture clearly identifies the believer living in today's world as one who is called to live a holy (godly) life.

    Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation-if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel (Colossians 1:21-23).

    As obedient children, do not be conformed to [your] former lusts ...but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy" (I Peter 1:14-16 NASB).

    A pursuit of holiness will include the following:

    1. A high standard of obedience toward God.

    Offer yourselves to God...you are slaves to the one whom you obey-whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness (Romans 6:13, 16).

    2. Holiness as a frequent and intense subject of prayer.

    But, you man of God...pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness (I Timothy 6:11).

    Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace (2 Tim. 2:22).

    3. A disciplined life that avoids sin.

    Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body.... Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness (Romans 6:12-13).

    Biblical holiness is often mistaken for moral or religious behavior. It is neither. Moral behavior is commendable, but it is a learned human response. Religious^[3] behavior apart from the work of God is perverse because it adopts creeds and standards of behavior as functional substitutes for the work of God in a believer's life. True holiness is a reflection of God's perfect nature manifested in the believer's life. It cannot be counterfeited by human effort.

^[3] James 1:27 talks about "pure and undefiled religion" which pleases God. Religious behavior which merely adopts creeds and standards of behavior as functional substitutes for the work of God is, however, contrary to biblical Christianity and is therefore perverse.

    For the majority of believers, there is probably no greater hindrance to a life of prayer and godliness in today's society than television, video, and cinema entertainment. Let me simply relate my own perspective without suggesting that it is more than my personal standard.

    I almost never watch television. We have not had a TV in our home for many years. This is an admission of personal weakness, not strength. I become engrossed in anything I do, and therefore find it difficult to turn off a program after I've begun watching it. However, it has been my personal experience that television watching of any kind has an immediate and noticeably dulling effect on my prayer life. It isn't simply that watching TV robs me of prayer time. The vitality of my prayer life diminishes immediately.

    We must avoid simplistic moral pronouncements that deny something—television programming in this case—because it is "evil." We need to dig deeper and carefully evaluate the core issues. (In this discussion I am considering only the content of entertainment programming—not educational programming. In addition, television technology is amoral; it can be used for either good or evil.)

    Romans 1 has a direct application to a core issue regarding media entertainment. After listing what he has described as "every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity" in the earlier part of the chapter, Paul says:

    Although [those who have practiced evil] know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do those very things but also approve of those who practice them (verse 32). (Emphasis added.)

    Paul is describing an amphitheater crowd cheering on those who are practicing evil. Even when they are not doing evil themselves, the crowd is vicariously enjoying watching others flaunt evil. In Paul's description, the cheering comes from spectators in Satan's stadium. Today, the cheering comes from the living rooms of professing Christians who are able to applaud without going to the arena. I must ask myself this question, "If sin is so heinous that Jesus gave His life to free me from its bondage, what happens to me when I vicariously enjoy that which He died to save me from?" There is no way I can take delight in what Jesus hates without seriously eroding my relationship to the One I profess to love.

    There is another core issue that comes even closer to the present topic of holiness. When one begins to pursue godly living, there is a natural gravitation toward holiness and avoidance of sin. This does not occur merely because we are coerced to avoid sin, but because we genuinely "hunger and thirst for righteousness" (Matthew 5:6). While we are pursuing godliness, something is happening inside which internally motivates us to want to avoid contamination from sin. Said in another way, while pursuing godliness, we are moving in the direction of asking, "How can I arrange to encounter less sin?" The opposite response is required when we watch most of television's entertainment programming. The viewer must constantly be asking, "How much sin can I tolerate before I must change channels?" You simply cannot be asking the latter question and expect to grow in godliness. It is impossible.

    I am aghast at the naiveté of the Christian television, video, and cinema audience. Obscenity, profanity and explicit sexuality are far from the primary objectionable issues in modern entertainment programming. Jesus didn't die just to save me from hearing certain words. He died to save me from a value system that idealizes wealth, physical attractiveness and prowess, deceitfulness, unfaithfulness in marriage, independence from absolute moral authority, and all of the other misplaced values that are routinely portrayed in programming and advertising. (Notice "and advertising.") When evaluating programs for their children, Christian parents often fall into a predictable trap. They make an effort to screen programming for objectionable language and sexual content without giving consideration to the value systems being taught. We cannot willingly submerge ourselves in an unbiblical value system and not have it negatively affect our spiritual growth.

    This last section has been candid. However, considering the excesses of the Christian community today, it is an issue that both our lay people and our leaders must seriously evaluate. God demands holiness. We cannot expect to develop a life of faith without dealing severely with our natural human appetite for sin.

    Someone may observe that believers could not live in the real world if they were so fragile that watching television programs containing offensive language and negative value systems would cripple them spiritually. The answer has to do with our responsibility to make personal choices.

    For more than 25 years I purposely worked in the secular world and I frequently heard offensive language. When I started a new job, I took personal responsibility for the kind of calendars hanging in my workspace and I was meticulously careful of my own speech. Though I never reprimanded others for their foul language, in time other employees occasionally corrected their offensive language when they were around me. There were times when I simply walked away from conversations or avoided working with certain individuals because I didn't want to hear the trash. I believe it can be appropriate for us as believers to work in a profane environment with the intent of living a godly life and bearing witness to the work of God in our lives. If God has directed us in this decision, I believe that we can trust the Spirit to protect our minds in those situations that are truly outside of our control.

    That is very different from choosing to expose ourselves to the same profanity, obscenity and sexually explicit programming in our entertainment. Said somewhat facetiously, I expect the Spirit to protect my mind when I am engaged in spiritual warfare in the workplace for His sake. I do not presume on His protection of my mind when I am watching television; He has given me a will controlled by spiritual judgment. In addition, there is an "off" button He expects me to use. Protection of my mind as I sit in front of a television set is my responsibility.

    What has been said about television could equally be applied to reading. For some believers, pulp novels, checkout counter tabloids, and other reading choices become a powerful deterrent to growth in Christ.

    Godliness is not a burden the believer must bear. Our redemption will result in a life that is satisfying in every respect. It is one of Satan's great deceptions that holiness is drudgery. In eternity, we will find that reflecting God's holiness is a wonderful satisfaction. We can experience that same delight in this life as well.

    Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied (Matthew 5:6 NASB).

    In light of my closing suggestion, we need to be careful that we do not adopt what has been called legalism. More often than not, this is merely a restatement of a particular denomination's standard of spirituality in a by-gone era. Holiness is not self-denial or asceticism. It is not living by rules that identify certain things that we cannot do.

    Legalism is just as repugnant to God—and as detrimental to a life of faith—as is living in known sin. It, too, is merely a self-effort of works.

    Under no circumstances does legalism precede living by faith.

    I have purposely waited until the end of this chapter to give a definition of holiness. (I will use holiness and godliness synonymously.) Notice how the following definition emphasizes total dependence upon that which God alone produces. Holiness is never a product of self effort.

    Holiness (godliness) is that which is produced by the thoughts, motives, desires, and actions which are placed in a believer's life by God.

    Grammatically, according to this definition, it is an unspecified "that which" which is holy. That is, something which is holy will result from the thoughts, motives, desires, and/or actions which God has given. Equally, "that which" could be eliminated from the sentence, and then it would be the thoughts, motives, desires, and actions themselves which would be identified as being holy. Either possibility can be true.

    Using this definition, I can test my thought life, my motives, my desires, and any consequential actions to determine whether or not they reflect God as their source. I can also reverse the process and ask if whatever I am involved with produces in me thoughts, motives, desires, and actions which God Himself would place in my life.

    This does not imply that only thoughts, motives, desires, and actions which have "God content" are holy. An ethical business transaction can display motives and actions which God has placed in one's life. Dealing calmly with a difficult neighbor may evidence God's control over a person's desires. An individual's disciplined mind in our self-indulgent and sexually-oriented society can evidence a thought life which comes from God.

    We must also confront the momentous postmodern shift which is taking place in western culture today. Postmodernism is neither good nor bad. It is merely a change in world view. As with any world view, however, its participants must evaluate each element of its perspective. Whether you are older with a modern mind-set, or you are a younger postmodernist, you must be thoroughly biblical in your pursuit of a godly life. We who are older must understand that it is just as permissible for a postmodern believer to adapt holiness to his or her culture as it was for us to adapt holiness to ours. (We must not forget how diligently we worked at making first century Christianity fit our lifestyle. We must also remind ourselves that our efforts were often far from satisfactory.) Nonetheless, just because society has so completely embraced media portrayal of violence, overt sexual behavior and self-indulgent life styles, does not mean that this media portrayal can coexist with a "hunger and thirst for righteousness."

    Of necessity, this dilemma will require careful evaluation. You cannot afford to let either society or your church be your guide.

    I believe that the issue of holiness will be the deciding factor in the success or failure of the decision of many readers to live by faith.

    You may decide that you will begin praying for faith, and then discipline yourself to spend the necessary time in extended prayer. You may be willing to face what comes by way of adversity in order to grow by faith. You may decide that, if God directs, you will make your time and your finances wholly available to Him.

    But if you attempt to compromise in the area of holiness, Satan will "devour" you.

    I cannot tell you that either media entertainment or certain types of reading are forbidden to you. That is God's prerogative. Yet, I can well imagine that even though you are willing to make every other sacrifice to live by faith, you may stumble in this one area.

    Before the foundation of the world, God chose us to be holy and blameless before Him. He still holds us to the same standard of righteousness to which He holds Himself. Certainly, this is through the imputed righteousness of Jesus, and allows for the continued necessity of confessed sin. But we cannot willfully compromise His work of producing holiness in our lives and still expect to live by faith.

    I would give you this counsel. If you are serious in your intent to live by faith, plan to refrain from any media entertainment for at least one year. If you live alone—or can reach agreement with your spouse—remove all TV sets from your home. If there are others in the family who would object, then have them move the TV into their own room. (Do not insist that other family members follow your example unless it is their own choice to do so.) Finally, I would suggest that you eliminate media entertainment before you begin pursuing faith.

    Holiness in regard to media entertainment may be the single most difficult issue you will face in learning to live by faith.

    This chapter bothers me. It could so easily be misread. If you understand it to be saying that you must create a "don't do" list if you want to be "holy," you will fail. You will also fail if you blindly follow someone else's recommendation in order to attain personal holiness. Any such self-imposed discipline will either fail and you will revert back to your previous lifestyle with a sense of defeat, or it will produce in you a self-righteous arrogance which is far from true holiness.

    You will ultimately fail in any attempt at personal holiness unless it is built on a deep love for Jesus which produces an overwhelming desire in you to please Him. Though you will be uncertain at times, molding your actions on your love for Jesus is the only way you can avoid the trap of legalism.