Holiness is a Matter of Habit

Date: January 7, 2017

Audio Sermon: Click on the play button below.

Holiness is when we reflect the character of God in our life. But such patterns of living are foreign to us at the time when we become a son or daughter of God. Holiness is built in the life of a believer just like any other type of behaviorism…through repetition and training (and of course, with the help of the spirit of God). In other words, holiness is not something achieved by having the right checklist or knowing all the do’s and don’ts. Holiness is about a shift in our attitude and desire that stem from a change in our character, and our character is influenced by what sort of personal qualities we are nurturing in our life and the type of choices we make each day. In this sermon, I encourage the listener to take seriously the need to form godly character in order to grow in holiness, and by continuing to establish Christ-like qualities and decision-making, we can be able to make the right choices when the pressure is on and we are faced with temptation. No one pulls out their rulebook in the face of temptation. There’s rarely ever time for analytical or deductive thinking. Rather, we make our choices in the moment based upon the character we have developed thus far in our life. Therefore, in order to become holy and reflect the character of the God who created us, we must recognize that holiness is a matter of habit. The time to begin developing the right character is now, because one day (probably tomorrow, next month, next year, and the rest of our lives), we will be tested by the Enemy. The question is: are we seeking to develop the character that it takes to be holy?

~JW