Behavior (391) (anastrophe from ana = again + strepho = to turn) literally describes a turning around or turning back and is used figuratively to refer to one's conduct, especially focusing on our daily behavior and our general deportment. In essence anastrophe deals with on the whole manner of one's life.
Anastrophe is used of public activity, life in relation to others. Being holy as members of a holy people, they were to show themselves holy in every kind of dealing with other men.
Marvin Vincent writes that behavior (anastrophe) is
a favorite word with Peter; used eight times in the two epistles...The process of development in the meaning of the word is interesting. 1. A turning upside down. 2. A turning about or wheeling. 3. Turning about in a place, going back and forth there about one’s business; and so, 4, one’s mode of life or conduct. This is precisely the idea in the word conversation (Lat., conversare, to turn round) which was used when the AV (KJV) was made, as the common term for general deportment or behavior..."
TLNT...
The most banal sense of the root verb anastrepho is “return, come back from one place to another,” hence “retrace one’s steps” (1Sa 25:12; 2Sa 3:16)—sometimes retains the etymological nuance “to return upside down,” like runaways thrown back on top of each other (1Mac 7:46; cf. Jdt 1:11); sometimes it has the sense of coming and going, “living.” Hence its metaphorical usage: “walk in virtue.”
Only this moral nuance is retained in the noun anastrophe, designating a mode of existence, a way of behaving. This became a technical term in NT spirituality. Just as the way of life of the pagans is stigmatized, so also is “perfect conduct from childhood” praised (2Mac 6:23, kallistē). When Paul testifies concerning his conscience (“It is with simplicity and the purity of God—not in fleshly wisdom, but in the grace of God—that we have conducted ourselves in the world, particularly in our dealings with you,” 2Co 1:12), he contrasts two modes of existence and already gives anastrophe the exemplary sense that will be required especially of ministers of the church; the model, who is particularly visible, ought to be inspiring. Life lived in the faith is a persuasive testimony. It is above all Peter who demands of all Christians an unassailable comportment. Whether with respect to bearing, dress, or behavior in family and social relations, every action and reaction in the context of the community, that is, the concrete life of the believer, should be noble and radiant: “Let your behavior among the nations be noble” (1Pet 2:12), apt as a result to disarm criticisms (1Pe 3:16), notably those of husbands won over by the chaste and quiet deportment of their wives (1Pe 3:1, 2). (Spicq, C., & Ernest, J. D. Theological Lexicon of the New Testament 1:111-112. Peabody, MA.: Hendrickson)
Wuest...
In classical Greek, the verb meant among other things “to turn one’s self about, to turn back, round, or about, to dwell in a place,” the noun, “a turning back or about, occupation in a thing, a mode of life, behaviour.” One can see that the ideas of “a mode of life” and “one’s behaviour” are derived from the fact of one’s activity. Thayer’s note is helpful. He says that the verb means “to conduct or behave one’s self, to walk,” the latter meaning not referring here to the physical act of walking but to the act of determining our course of conduct and the carrying out of that determined course of action. The noun means “one’s walk, manner of life, conduct.” In the biblical use of the word, the moral and spiritual aspect of one’s manner of life is in view.
Anastrophe - 13x in 13v - Gal 1:13; Eph 4:22; 1 Tim 4:12; Heb 13:7; Jas 3:13; 1 Pet 1:15, 18; 2:12; 3:1f, 16; 2 Pet 2:7; 3:11. NAS = behavior(6), conduct(4), manner of life(2), way of life(1). There are no uses in the non-apocryphal Septuagint.
Galatians 1:13 For you have heard of my former manner of life (referring to Paul’s ethical conduct) in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it;
Ephesians 4:22-note that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit,
1 Timothy 4:12-note Let no one look down (present imperative + negative = stop letting them look down) on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe.
Comment: "Speech, conduct" = The Christian's words must always be backed up by their works (behavior, lifestyle).
Hebrews 13:7-note Remember (present imperative) those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate (present imperative) their faith.
James 3:13 Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show (aorist imperative) by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.
1 Peter 1:15-note but like the Holy One who called you, be (aorist imperative) holy yourselves also in all your behavior;
1 Peter 1:18-note knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers,
1 Peter 2:12-note Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, (Why?) so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.
Comment: Barclay = To modern ears the Authorized Version (1Pe 2:12KJV) can be a little misleading. It speaks about “having your conversation honest among the Gentiles.” That sounds to us as if it meant that the Christian must always speak the truth, but the word translated conversation is anastrophe, which means a man’s whole conduct, not simply his talk. That is, in fact, what conversation did mean in the seventeenth century.
1 Peter 3:1-note In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, 2 as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior.
1 Peter 3:15-note but sanctify (aorist imperative) Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;
2 Peter 2:7-note and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men
2 Peter 3:11-note Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness
Comment: Note the dramatic contrast in conduct in Peters two uses in 2Peter, sensual versus holy.
Dwight Edwards remarks that the related verb form
anastrepho... means to "turn above, back, again, etc." Each of us are like a diamond in God's hand, and He wants to be able to turn any facet of our life to this darkened world so they can see Jesus Christ reflected in that particular area. (1 Peter Well done Exposition)
John Stott...
On May 28, 1972, the Duke of Windsor, the uncrowned King Edward VIII, died in Paris. On the same evening, a television program recounted the main events of his life. Viewers watched film footage in which the duke answered questions about his upbringing, his brief reign, and his eventual abdication.
Recalling his boyhood as Prince of Wales, he said: "My father [King George V] was a strict disciplinarian. Sometimes when I had done something wrong, he would admonish me, saying, 'My dear boy, you must always remember who you are.'"
It is my conviction that our heavenly Father says the same to us every day: "My dear child, you must always remember who you are."
Let us constantly remind ourselves of who we are [in Christ.] (John Stott, The Message of Romans. InterVarsity, 1994);
All (pas = all with no exceptions - every manner of conduct whether it be work or rest, business or pleasure) of life is holy and to be live bring glory to God. Holiness is not to be compartmentalized into certain “religious” areas of our life. Holiness is a way of life that affects everything we do. Holiness is a lifestyle, not conformity to a list of rules. Even such ordinary activities as eating and drinking can be done to the glory of God (1Cor 10:31). If something cannot be done to the glory of God, then we can be relatively sure that it is not in the will of God.
Albert Barnes comments that
The meaning is, that since God is holy, and we profess to be his followers, we also ought to be holy. (Barnes, A: Barnes' Notes on the Bible)
F B Meyer writes that our daily behavior
is so absolutely important because it is our witness to the world. Our character, as exemplified in our behaviour, is the world's only Bible and sermon (2 Corinthians 3:2-3). Let us learn to walk so as to please God, and to bless mankind. To walk is at first a Matter of considering every little step, but afterwards it becomes the habit of the soul (see note Colossians 1:10). (Our Daily Walk, August 26th)
One man expressed it thus:
You are writing a gospel, a chapter each day;
by the things that you do and the words that you say.
Men read what you write, distorted or true,
what is the gospel according to you?"
Augustine said
Let the acts of the offspring indicate similarity to the Father.
Jesus is our pattern of holiness and although we are to imitate Him we can never equal Him for He is absolute holiness. As the moon is a reflection of the sun's glory, so our lives should be a reflection of the One Who called us to salvation. God calls His children to bear a family resemblance.
Richison asks a pithy question...
What is the outstanding characteristic of your life? Humanly speaking, what is it? How you answer this question depends on your understanding of the phrase "manner of life." Most people answer by what they do. That is not accurate. Your manner of life is what you do based on what you think. What you really are is what goes on in your mind. What you do is a result of what you think. Our manner of life is what you think and do. This manner of life consists of acquired characteristics as well as inherent characteristics. This is no mere pious fantasy. It is more than a nice idea; it is a divine directive. God wants our lives to match the gospel. So often our lives clash with the gospel. God is greatly exercised about how we behave ourselves with the gospel. He is concerned about the quality of our lives because our lives reflect on Him. "Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel," (Php 1:27-note). (1 Peter 1:15 1:15b 1:15c 1:16)
Paul prayed that there would be no grounds of accusation because of unholiness in the lives of the Thessalonian saints writing
may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all men, just as we also do for you so that He may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints. (1Th 3:12, 13-notes)
Dearly beloved, is there any ground of accusation because of unholiness in your life? An awareness and anticipation of Christ's imminent return should motivate holy conduct.
One of the goals of God's discipline is holiness, the writer of Hebrews recording that our earthly fathers
disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, that we may share (partake of) His holiness. (see note Hebrews 12:10)
Vincent adds that
Holiness is life. Shall we not be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For, in contrast with the temporary, faultful chastening of the human parent, which, at best, prepares for work and success in time and in worldly things, his chastening results in holiness and eternal life. (Vincent, M. R. Word studies in the New Testament. Vol. 4, Page 544).
J H Jowett writes that
The purpose of God’s chastening is not punitive but creative. He chastens “that we may share His holiness.” The phrase “that we may share” has direction in it, and the direction points toward a purified and beautified life. The fire which is kindled is not a bonfire, blazing heedlessly and unguardedly, and consuming precious things; it is a refiner’s fire, and the Refiner sits by it, and He is firmly and patiently and gently bringing holiness out of carelessness and stability out of weakness. God is always creating even when He is using the darker means of grace. He is producing the fruits and flowers of the Spirit. His love is always in quest of lovely things. (Jowett, J H, Life in the Heights, page 247-248)
Bob Deffinbaugh writes that
Holiness is the choice to march to the beat of a different drum... The desires which characterize the fallen world we live in once dominated us. These desires are themselves to be rejected and replaced by new desires. This is what holiness is all about—not just doing what God wants, but desiring those things in which He delights. (Deffinbaugh: A Call to Holiness)
Douglas Wilson...
An old Puritan tells us that a “blurred finger is unfit to wipe away a blot.” This is something we need to hear; we live in a generation that has blurred virtually everything. When this blurring happens, everything about true religion suffers, but nothing suffers more than the concept of the holy. That which is holy is distinct, clear, separate, and other—it is in no way blurred. Christians must recover the doctrine of holiness. (Reformation and Revival Journal)
James Montgomery Boice has some practical thoughts on holiness...
But when we ask..."How can I be holy?" we come to this point at once, for the answer is always, "Through a study of the Bible and the application of its truths to daily life. "Jesus indicates this in our text in regard to sanctification by saying, "Sanctify them in (Ed: in the sphere of or "atmosphere" of) the truth; Thy word is truth" (John 17:17). It is a striking thing, which we realize more and more as we grow in the Christian life, that nearly all that God does in the world today, he does by the Holy Spirit through the instrumentality of his written revelation. This is true of sanctification. Sanctification means to be set apart for God's use. So our text tells us that the only way this will ever happen to us is by an appropriation of God's truth as is recorded for us in the Bible.
So far as the truth goes, the world lives by an illusion, and this is an inevitable problem for us unless we have a sure way of countering and actually overturning its influence. Ray Stedman writes correctly of this problem when he says, "The world lives by what it thinks is truth, by values and standards which are worthless, but which the world esteems highly. Jesus said, 'What is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God' (Luke 16:15). That is how the world lives. And how can we live in that kind of a world—touch it and hear it, having it pouring into our ears and exposed to our eyes day and night, and not be conformed to its image and squeezed into its mold? The answer is, we must know the truth. We must know the world and life the way God sees it, the way it really is. We must know it so clearly and strongly that even while we're listening to these alluring lies we can brand them as lies and know that they are wrong."[Stedman, Secrets of the Spirit, 147-48]. Stedman is saying that Christians should be the greatest of all realists, because their realism is that of the truth of God. This by its very nature should lead to their greater and greater sanctification.
Dead Ends to Holiness - If we are to receive the blessings God has for his church, we must receive them in the way God has planned to give them to us, and this means that there are many ways in which holiness will not come to us.
It will not come through preaching or listening to preaching, for instance. Most of us know people who have specialized in Bible conferences and conventions to such a degree that they are fully aware of the points at which one speaker varies from another and even at times of what a speaker is going to say before he says it. One Bible teacher said that "they can readily foretell a speaker's third point while he is still in the midst of the second." But this alone does not produce holiness, as such people often testify. In fact, they are often quite restless and confess to a lack of true blessing in their lives. What is wrong? Simply, they are looking to men for their teaching, rather than to God. And when they do hear the Word of God, they hear it without that full yielding of the spirit to God's truth, which produces growth through obedience.
A second way in which we will not find holiness is through prayer or, still less, through prayer meetings. Prayer is important, and the Christian who is growing in the Christian life will inevitably find that times of prayer, both public and private, are increasingly precious to him or her. But however valuable prayer is, it is not the God-ordained means for growth in holiness. Prayer is preparation for such growth. But at what point in prayer does God actually speak to us and direct us in the way we should go? It is only when God the Holy Spirit brings the words of Scripture to our minds or directs us to the Bible for the direction we need. Apart from this corresponding reflection on the Word of God, prayer is merely a monologue. As such, it may relieve our personal anxieties, but it does not provide direction. On the contrary, when we study the Word and pray over it, God leads us clearly and keeps us from the suggestions of Satan or the kinds of autosuggestion (or wish fulfillment) that all too frequently pass for divine guidance in the lives of some Christians.
Third, we must not expect to find holiness through a special experience, sometimes called a second blessing. There is nothing wrong with special experiences of God's grace; in fact, it is a strange Christian life that does not have many of them. But the error consists in supposing that sanctification will come through one, or even more than one, decisive experience. It does not work that way. Consequently, whenever you find yourself looking for an experience, you are always on the wrong track and in spiritual danger. Sanctification comes rather from seeking always and increasingly to have the Lord Jesus Christ exalted in our lives. And the way to do that is by discovering what He desires of us and for us in His Word.
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A boy who had just listened to a long sermon walked out of church with a big frown on his face. His father had pulled his ear during the service to keep him from fidgeting. "What's the matter, Johnny?" asked one of the deacons. "You look so sad." The frustrated young fellow responded quickly, "I am. It's hard to be happy and holy at the same time."
This boy was probably expressing the feelings of many young Christians, and perhaps many adults as well. They have the idea that if they are to be good, they can't possibly be happy. The nineteenth-century South African minister Andrew Murray corrected that misconception. He said, "Holiness is essential to true happiness; happiness is essential to true holiness. If you would have joy, the fullness of joy, an abiding joy which nothing can take away, be holy as God is holy. Holiness is blessedness. . . . If we would live lives of joy, assuring God and man and ourselves that our Lord is everything, is more than all to us, oh, let us be holy! . . . If you would be a holy Christian, you must be a happy Christian. Jesus was anointed by God with 'the oil of gladness,' that He might give us the 'oil of joy.' In all our efforts after holiness, the wheels will move heavily if there be not the oil of joy."
The joy of Christ should ring through our souls in our most holy moments. We're on the road to spiritual maturity when we've learned that happiness and holiness are not enemies, but friends. —D. C. Egner (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)
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Octavius Winslow devotional (Evening Thoughts) on 1Peter 1:15, 16...
IF this motive to sanctification came clothed with such solemnity and power, and was so felt by the Jewish Church, what should be its authority and influence with the Church as it now exists! The increased power and solemnity of this motive is drawn from the more resplendent exhibition of God's holiness in the cross of Christ. With no such development of the Divine purity, as an argument to sanctification, were the saints of the Old Testament favored. But we possess it; so that if we continue in sin, after we have believed, we are "without excuse," and God is "clear when He judges." Here, in the cross, is God's grand demonstration of His holiness. Here has He, as it were, unveiled His great perfections, and shown what a sin-hating, holiness-loving God He is. What! could He not pass by His dear Son—did He give Him up to the "shame and the spitting,"—did He not withhold His "darling from the potter of the dog,"—did justice sheathe its sword in the heart of Jesus—did it smite the Shepherd? And why all this? The answer comes from Calvary, "I, the Lord, am a holy God." And then follows the precept—oh how touching!—"Be you holy, for I am holy." See how the justice of God (and what is the justice of God but His holiness in exercise?) revealed itself as a "consuming fire" on Calvary. Our dear Lord was "a whole burned-offering" for His people; and the fire that descended and consumed the sacrifice was the holiness of God in active and fearful process. Here, then, springs the solemn necessity for sanctification in the believer. The God he loves is holy—his Father is holy, and He has written out that holiness, in awful letters, in the cross of His well-beloved Son. "Be you holy, for I am holy." We must study God in Christ. There we see His holiness, justice, wisdom, grace, truth, love, and mercy, all unfolded in their richest glory and most benevolent exercise.
The necessity for sanctification also springs from the work of Christ. The Lord Jesus became incarnate and died as much for the sanctification as for the pardon and justification of His Church; as much for her deliverance from the indwelling power of sin as from the condemnatory power of sin. His work had been but partial and incomplete, had no provision been made for the holiness of the believer. But He came not only to blot out sin, but to rend asunder its chain—not only to remove its curse, but to break its scepter. The believer in Jesus may be but imperfectly aware how closely associated his sanctification is with the obedience and death of Christ. Yes, that the very death of Christ for sin out of him, is the death of sin in him—that no inroads are made upon the dominion of indwelling sin, no conquests obtained, no flesh crucified, no easy-besetting sin laid aside, save only as the believer hangs daily upon the cross. Observe how the Holy Spirit connects the two—the death of Christ and the holiness of the believer "And for their sakes," says Jesus, "I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth." As their High Priest to atone and purify, He set Himself apart as a holy sacrifice to the Lord God for the Church's sake: "For their sakes I sanctify myself," or set apart myself. Oh, what a motive to holiness is this! Saint of God! can you resist it?
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Declaration Of Dependence:
Does Holiness Come
By Striving After it or By Resting in God?
By Jerry Bridges
(Click here for other resources to Discipline Yourself)
As I sat in the doctor’s waiting room, my attention was drawn to a portrait of a man sculpted out of a block of marble. The sculpture was complete down to about mid-thigh, but below that the partially chipped away marble gradually phased into the outline of the original block. The man in the sculpture was handsome and robust, the kind of body any man would like to have. But the arresting thing about the picture was that the sculptor’s hammer and chisel were in the hands of the man being sculpted. The man was sculpting himself. As I pondered the painting, I was struck by its graphic portrayal of how many Christians seek to grow in personal holiness. We try, as it were, to sculpt or mold ourselves. We seek to grow in holiness through our own personal efforts and willpower. And we’re just as ludicrous as a block of marble trying to sculpt itself.
Holiness is not, as is so often thought, adherence to a set of rules. It is conformity to the character of God—nothing more, nothing less. It is God’s plan for us. He has “predestined [us] to be conformed to the likeness of his Son” (Ro 8:29-note). To this end, Paul says, “We are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2Cor 3:18). The words conform and transform in these verses have the same root. A form is a pattern or model. Transformed speaks of the process; conformed speaks of the end result. We are being transformed into the likeness of Christ so that we might finally be conformed to the likeness of Him who is our pattern or model.
Who, then, transforms us? Paul tells us in 2Cor 3:18 that it is the Spirit. We are not sculpting ourselves into the likeness of Christ. Only the Holy Spirit can do that. The writer of Hebrews recognized this when he prayed, “May the God of peace . . . work in us what is pleasing to him” (He 13:20, 21-notes). Paul prayed similarly for the Thessalonian believers, “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you [make you holy] through and through” (1Th 5:23-note). We as believers can no more make ourselves holy than a block of marble can transform itself into a beautiful statue. We are totally dependent on the Holy Spirit to do this work in us. Yet over and over we place the entire burden for growing in holiness on ourselves. We make resolutions, we try harder, and we may even succeed in changing some of our outward conduct. But we cannot change our hearts. Only God can do that.
It was said of the Lord Jesus, for example, that He “loved righteousness and hated wickedness” (He 1:9-note). To be transformed into His likeness, then, is to be brought to where we, too, love righteousness and hate wickedness. This is more than merely changing our conduct or conforming to a set of rules. It is a complete renovation of our hearts, something only the Holy Spirit can do. Is the road to holiness, then, one of dependence on God, or of personal discipline? Surely it is one of dependence on God.
THE MYSTERY
OF SANCTIFICATION
We must not, however, carry the analogy of the marble statue too far. After all, a piece of marble is absolutely lifeless. It has no mind, no heart, no will. The sculptor receives no cooperation from the lifeless block of marble, and expects none. The same is not true of believers. God has given us mind, heart, and will with which to respond to His work in us, with which to cooperate with His Spirit in the process of transforming us into the likeness of Christ. He intends that we understand His will with our minds, that we yearn to do it with our hearts, and that we actually make choices of obedience with our wills. We are to “make every effort . . . to be holy” (He 12:14-note). We are to train, or discipline, ourselves to be godly (1Ti 4:7-note). We are to put to death the traits of our sinful nature and clothe ourselves with the traits of godly character (Col 3:5-note; Col 3:12-note). The New Testament is filled with injunctions about holy character that address our responsibility. In the pursuit of holiness, we must not be passive blocks of marble in the hands of a sculptor.
Is the road to holiness, then, one of dependence on God, or of personal discipline? Surely it is one of personal discipline. But how can this be? If the work of transforming us into Christ’s likeness is the Holy Spirit’s ministry, where does our responsibility fit in? How can we be simultaneously responsible for pursuing holiness and totally dependent on the Spirit?
I am an engineer, both by training and by temperament. One characteristic of engineers is that we always want to know how things work. I carried this analytical attitude into the Christian life. For years I tried to analyze the precise relationship between the Holy Spirit and the human personality. I visualized two gears, one representing the Spirit and one representing my own personality, and I wanted to know just how they meshed. I kept trying to answer the question of exactly how my personal responsibility for growing in holiness fit together with the work of the Holy Spirit.
I finally gave up. I concluded that God has not answered that question anywhere in the Bible. The mutual relationship of the Holy Spirit and the human personality in the work of sanctification is a mystery known only to God. But our inability to explain just how God works in and through our personalities should not keep us from believing that He does. He not only instructs us to “work out [our] own salvation with fear and trembling,” but also assures us that He Himself “works in [us] to will and to act according to his good purpose” (Php 2:12-note; Php 2:13-note). Although God has not explained to us the mystery of how He works in us, He has made our responsibility clear. He has also made it clear that, in carrying out that responsibility, we are dependent upon Him. I call this dependent discipline.
The word discipline sums up our responsibility to grow in holiness. The qualifying word dependent emphasizes our need for God’s work in all that we do. Apart from Him, we can do nothing (Jn15:5). What, then, are our responsibilities for growing in holiness?
Let’s look at four words that I believe summarize our responsibilities: renewing, watching, choosing, and praying.
RENEWING
RENEWING OUR MINDS: Paul tells us that we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Ro 12:2-note). He is not talking of a mere acquisition of information. He is talking about a fundamental change in our values. Nevertheless, in order to change our values we must know what God’s values are, and this does mean we must acquire new information, In Titus1:1, Paul writes that “the knowledge of the truth . . . leads to godliness.” We must know the truth about sin and righteousness before we can hate the one and love the other. Our hearts cannot love or hate what our minds know nothing about.
To gain “the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness” we must diligently study the Word of God. Although there are many different methods of Bible study, all of them require diligence (Click here for synopsis of the most profitable Bible study methods -- Inductive Bible Study). We are to “look for [the truth of God’s Word] as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure” (Pr 2:4). No Christian who treats the Word of God with casual indifference or approaches it only sporadically and haphazardly will progress much in holiness. We are transformed by the Holy Spirit, but He does this as our minds are renewed by His Word. Not only must we study God’s Word, we must also hide it in our hearts. (Click for discussion of Biblical Meditation, Click for a "Primer of Biblical Meditation") The psalmist wrote, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you” (Ps 119:11). The word hidden conveys the thought of storing something up against a time of future need. We do this by meditating continually on God’s Word, by constantly thinking about it, and by applying its truths to the everyday situations of life. I personally have found a systematic Scripture memorization program to be absolutely necessary to continual meditation on God’s Word. I cannot think throughout the day about what I do not have in my memory.
WATCHING
WATCHING AGAINST TEMPTATION: Jesus said, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation” (Mt 26:41). This is another area of discipline. It is something we must do. We must continually watch, or guard, against temptation. We must guard against temptation within ourselves. James wrote, “Each one [of us] is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed” (Jas 1:14-note). We must face the fact that evil desire lurks in our hearts. It searches constantly for occasions to express itself.
Evil desire comes in many forms. We often think of grosser desires like lust, but there are other, more subtle, ones: the acquisitive urge always to have the latest gadgetry; the feeling that we always need one more outfit to complete our wardrobe; the compulsion to “win” in all our relationships; the will to intimidate or manipulate other people. Watching against temptation from within ourselves requires honest, humble self-examination to learn what particular evil desires hide in our hearts and when and how we are most vulnerable to them.
We must also guard against temptations that come from the world around us. As our minds are renewed and our values changed, we begin to recognize temptations from our environment that we didn’t notice before. But we must make conscious decisions to keep from falling into those temptations.
I once became aware that my favorite news magazine always ran several articles calculated to appeal to unhealthy sexual interests and that I always read those articles. Conscious decision for me was to cancel my subscription. Someone else, tempted to live beyond his means through the “just say charge it” credit card philosophy, might need to cancel his credit cards. “The prudent see danger and take refuge,” Solomon said, “but the simple keep going and suffer for it” (Pr 27:12). The person pursuing holiness must be prudent. He must watch for the moral danger of temptations. Most of us know our areas of vulnerability; we should take special precautions to guard against temptations in them.
CHOOSING
CHOOSING OBEDIENCE: In The Freedom of Obedience Martha Thatcher writes of practicing obedience one step at a time. Our daily lives contain a constant stream of moral choices that are made one at a time. Some choices can be made deliberately and with reflection; others must be made spontaneously and instantly. But whether deliberately or spontaneously, we are choosing all day long, every day. Someone sends you an angry letter, unjustly criticizing you. You choose to respond in kind or to be gracious and forgiving. The cashier at a restaurant gives you ten dollars too much change. You choose to keep it or to give it back. We choose to tell the truth or to lie, to forgive or to harbor anger and resentment, to entertain lustful thoughts and looks or to refuse them. We choose to respond to opportunities to show compassion and care for others or to ignore them in favor of our own interests. Choices like these, made over time, develop our character in one direction or the other.
In 2Pe 2:14 (note), Peter writes of false teachers who “are experts in greed.” Another Bible version says they have hearts “trained in greed” (NASB). The word trained could also be rendered “disciplined.” These false teachers had disciplined themselves in greediness until they were trained in it—experts in greed. They were disciplined, all right, but in the wrong direction. How had they become experts? One choice at a time. God wants us to be experts in purity, experts in honesty, experts in compassion and forgiveness. How will we become such experts? One choice at a time.
Dawson Trotman (Born to Reproduce), founder of The Navigators, used to say, “You are going to be what you are now becoming.” The choices we make each day determine the person we will be in the future.
PRAYING
PRAYING FOR HOLINESS: (Other related resources: Praying His Word, Spurgeon's Gems on Prayer) Prayer is not the last in a series of four disciplines but a necessary companion to each of the other three. We are to pray for God to renew our minds as we study the Bible and meditate on its truths. We are to “call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding” (Pr 2:3). We should pray not only for understanding of the truth in our minds but also for the rooting and building of biblical convictions in our hearts. We should pray that God will make us alert as we watch for internal sinful desires and external temptations to which we are vulnerable. We need to ask God to reveal to us matters in which we are not living according to the truth. And we should pray to God for strength to choose right, to say no to temptation and yes to His will. We should pray that He will change our deeply rooted desires so that we will, like Jesus, love righteousness and hate wickedness. We cannot effectively renew our minds through God’s Word, watch against temptation, or choose what is right without the enabling power of the Holy Spirit. We must be faithful in these disciplines, but we can only be effective in them as the Spirit both enables us and blesses our efforts.
Prayer for holiness should be of two kinds. First, we must have daily, persistent, persevering prayer asking God to enable us and to bless us in our discipline. We should pray daily about the areas of sin where we are especially vulnerable, whether they involve doing things we should not do or failing to do things we should do, or even harboring sinful attitudes like resentment, self-pity, or covetousness. Then we should develop the habit of short, spontaneous prayers throughout the day when ever we must make choices. A brief “Lord, help me,” uttered silently in the very face of temptation, is an acknowledgement of our dependence on the Holy Spirit to supply the power to resist temptation and choose His will.
FINAL DEPENDENCE: As successful as we may be in the needed disciplines, however, we must not think that the disciplines themselves make us more like Christ. That is the work of the Holy Spirit. Only He can produce spiritual growth in us. Consider a farmer and his crops. There are certain “disciplines,” or tasks, he must do. He must plow, plant, fertilize, and cultivate. In some areas, he must irrigate. But he cannot make the seed germinate and grow. Only God can do that. The farmer, whether he recognizes it or not, depends on God both for the physical and mental ability to do his tasks and for the capital to buy his supplies and equipment. And he obviously depends on God for the growth of his crops. In the same way, the Christian depends on God to enable him to perform his disciplines. But the performance of the disciplines does not itself produce spiritual growth. Only God can do that. Growth in holiness, then, is not a matter of personal discipline plus God’s work. It is a matter of dependent discipline, of recognizing that we are dependent on God to enable us to do what we are responsible to do. Then it is a recognition that even when we have performed our duties, we must still look to Him to produce the growth. “So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow” (1Co 3:7). (Jerry Bridges - Bolding and Links added)
Torrey's Topic
Christian Conduct
Believing God -Mark 11:22; John 14:11,12
Fearing God -Ecclesiastes 12:13; 1 Peter 2:17
Loving God -Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37
Following God -Ephesians 5:1; 1 Peter 1:15,16
Obeying God -Luke 1:6; 1 John 5:3
Rejoicing in God -Psalms 33:1; Habakkuk 3:18
Believing in Christ -John 6:29; 1 John 3:23
Loving Christ -John 21:15; 1 Peter 1:7,8
Following the example of Christ -John 13:15; 1 Peter 2:21-24
Obeying Christ -John 14:21; 15:14
LIVING
To Christ -Romans 14:8; 2 Corinthians 5:15
To righteousness -Micah 6:8; Romans 6:18; 1 Peter 2:24
Soberly, righteously, and godly -Titus 2:12
WALKING
Honestly -1 Thessalonians 4:12
Worthy of God -1 Thessalonians 2:12
Worthy of the Lord -Colossians 1:10
In the Spirit -Galatians 5:25
After the Spirit -Romans 8:1
In newness of life -
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