STE:Holy Christianity  by Tony Capoccia

   God saved me over 7 years ago in Kokomo, IN, from a life of
drunkenness, immorality, materialism and selfishness. At that time I
was a pilot at Grissom AFB and was witnessed to by a fellow pilot by
the name of Bob Hey. He approached me one day and invited me to attend
the Wednesday night service at a Baptist church. One may have asked,
why would a person like myself, who was then driving new sport cars,
drinking and going to parties almost every other night, and whose mouth
was filled with profanities and other dirty talk; yes why would I have
responded to an invitation to attend a Baptist Prayer meeting? The
answer I can now give as I look back was simply the fact that Bob was a
holy man. He had lived that holy Christlike life before me for a number
of months before he asked me to church.

   It is interesting to note that after I was saved. A number of other
pilots in the same squadron came up to me to let me know that they were
also "Christians." My innocent response was, "Wow, that's neat, I never
knew that! I didn't know that you were a Christian." Most of them
smiled and went on their way. I wonder if they ever stopped and thought
about my answer. Why had these men who were professing Christians not
had the impact in my life as Bob Hey had? The answer was the lack of
apparent holiness in their lives.

   Now don't get me wrong, these other men did not get drunk or swear
like the rest of the squadron, but they did act enough like the rest of
us that I failed to notice their Christianity. But Bob Hey was
different because I could see the Lord in his life. At first I mocked
him but then I was convicted; eventually I followed him to Christ. If
we are to have an impact on those around us for the gospel, as Bob had
with me, then we must be a holy people. In the Book of 1st Peter,
Chapter 1, verses 15 and 16, we find a very clear command given to be
holy, "Just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for
it is written: Be holy, because I am holy."

   The holiness that God demands of our lives is a process, consisting
of the following steps:

   I. First Step: COMMITMENT--To God by our conversion.

   Our text declares that we have been called by a holy God, therefore
we must be holy. Holiness begins with salvation. Prior to our
conversion we are incapable of being holy. The Bible declares that,
"all of our righteous acts are like filthy rags. . ." (Isa 64:6). In
other words, before salvation we are unable to do anything that is
pleasing or pure in God's sight. To be holy is to be devoted to God, or
set apart for Him. In our unsaved state we are not committed to Him;
rather, we are doing "our own thing." Often times we may be doing
religious acts, but they are for the wrong reasons.

   For example, in my life prior to conversion, I appeared very holy
(at times). I think back when I served as an "Altar Boy" in the Roman
Catholic Church. I used to dress up in a long black robe, with the pure
white outer garment, and then assist the priest during the Mass. I
would bow and pray in Latin, and ring the golden chimes, and at times
hold the sacred incense. The reason I did these things was that I
believed that God would be pleased and would thereby give me grace to
get to heaven. You see I was trying to "earn" my way, rather than by
simply trusting Jesus by faith alone. In effect, I was saying that the
death of Jesus on the cross plus my religious acts would get me into
heaven. But the Scriptures say, "It is by grace you have been saved,
through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is a gift of God--not
by works, so that no one can boast." I could not earn God's grace by my
religious deeds because it is a gift and I could not be holy at all
because I was not saved.

   There can be no holiness without salvation, for holiness demands a
life of purity and righteousness. Paul tells us, "Just as you used to
offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to
ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to
righteousness leading to holiness. When you were slaves to sin you were
free from the control of righteousness. . .But now that you have been
set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap
leads to holiness." (Romans 6:19-20, 22). There is no capability for
holiness when in our unsaved state we are slaves to sin. A sinful life
is the opposite of a life of holiness, in the same way that Satan is
the opposite to the Holy God. As slaves to sin, our master is Satan
even though we may not have admitted such a fact. He is a deceiver and
most of those who follow his ways are not aware that they are under his
control. One writer put it this way, "every person is either a child of
God or a child of the devil, and we can determine which they are by the
outward manifestation of their lives. For if they are immoral, or
drunkards, or liars, or gossips, or slanderers, or cheaters, or
hypocrites, or have any other sinful behavior as the norm of their
life, then they surely have Satan as their father for they imitate him.
In contrast, if they are pure, and loving, and kind, and honest, and
faithful, as their lifestyle then they are surely the children of God,
for they imitate their Holy Father in heaven."

   II. Second Step: COMMITMENT--To the Word of God.

   Our text tells us that He who called us is holy, and that we are to
be holy because He is holy. The charge to us is to understand the
holiness of God and the holy requirements He has for our lives. There
is no knowledge of the holiness of God and the specific commands for
our holy walk outside of the Word of God. We live in sort of a "big
bubble" which comprises our universe. God's throne room is outside of
the "bubble" and, therefore, we have no ability to learn about Him
unless He reveals Himself to us. It was Jesus who gave us the greatest
picture of the holiness of God when Philip asked Jesus, "to show us the
Father, Jesus replied, anyone who has seen me has seen the Father." (Jn
14:8-9). It is impossible to walk in holiness without understanding the
Scriptures which contain God's Word to us. Timothy wrote, "All
Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking,
correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be
thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2Tim 3:16-17). To be holy is
to walk in righteousness and to do good works, and it is the Bible that
is to be our guide.

   I once met a converted Catholic nun who claimed that she did not
need to study the Word of God where it gave specific commands about
what we should or should not do. She felt that all one needed to do was
to do everything in love and all of the specific commands of God would
be satisfied. While she was right in theory, she was wrong in practice.
You see, because we are still in the flesh, we have the ability to
deceive ourselves when it comes to practice. I may think I can decide
what to do in all situations, but in reality I will many times choose
that which is most satisfying to my flesh. I once heard of a Christian
woman who felt that she did not need to read the Bible for she was
filled with the Spirit who would tell her all that she needed to do.
She recounted how when she awoke in the morning she would wait in bed
until the Spirit told her to get up and get dressed. Somedays she would
never get dressed for the Spirit had not told her so. It was sad
because one day, she claimed that the Spirit told her only to put on
one shoe, so she "hobbled" around all day with only one shoe. She had
confused "feelings" with God's direction because she did not know who
God is from the scriptures. She was deceived. How easily we can be
deceived; so, to really walk in holy ways we must carefully study the
Word of God.

   III. Third Step: COMMITMENT--To be holy in all we do.

   This is where it all comes together. In order to walk a holy walk we
need to first be committed to God as our Savior, second to be committed
to the reading and the study of the Word of God, and lastly to be
committed to be holy in all that we do.

   To walk a holy walk is one of the primary reasons why God saved us
and has left us here on earth. He has not left us here on earth just to
worship Him, because we would do that better in heaven; we are not here
just to serve Him, because we shall serve Him night and day in heaven;
we are not here just to fellowship with one another, because our
fellowship will be sweeter and unrestricted in heaven. We are primarily
here to mirror Christ to others so that all men will be drawn to Him.
God's desire is that, "all men be saved and come to a knowledge of the
truth." (1 Tim 2:4). That is why God chose Abraham and formed the
nation Israel, brought them into the promised land, and blessed them so
abundantly so that the rest of the world would "take notice" and hear
the message of salvation from the mouths of the Jews. But the
Israelites did not walk holy and they kept the knowledge of God to
themselves. They even made it a crime punishable by death if a Non- Jew
got "too close" to the Jewish worship areas in the Temple.

   Even though the Jews failed to fulfill their purpose for God He
still wants to use holy people to stand before the unbelieving world to
declare His saving grace. God has not changed from what he declared in
the Old Testament that, "He does not take any pleasure in the death of
the wicked." (Ezekiel 18:23). God wants to reach the lost peoples. But
God needs people who are living moment to moment holy lives, for God
declares that, "without holiness no one will see the Lord." (Hebrews
12:14). Just as in the illustration I used earlier, I never saw the
Lord until a man of holiness came along. As Christians, we are God's
light in the world, and perhaps the only God our unsaved neighbors will
see is us as we reflect Him. But if our lives are not manifested by
holiness, then our ability to win anyone to Christ will be severely
hampered.

   A. PRACTICAL STEPS

   1. Lead Pure and Reverent Lives.

   How do we project our lives of holiness before the lost world? Are
we to be like the Pharisees of the Bible, who used to announce
themselves with trumpets whenever they put their offering into the
temple treasury? No, our God wants us to win the world by our quiet and
holy lives. This is best illustrated in God's command for wives who
have unbelieving husbands. Certainly the closest relationship a
believer can have with an unbeliever is that of marriage. Listen to
what God says about how to win an unsaved husband to the Lord, "Wives,
be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe
the word, they may be won over by the behavior of their wives, when
they see the purity and reverence of your lives." (1 Peter 3:1-2). When
our lives speak of holiness, then in time we will get to speak about
the Gospel message. This is our goal for, "faith comes from hearing the
message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ." (Romans
10:17). We will not get to deliver the message until we can live a life
of holiness before them, and to do that we will have to be holy in all
that we do. This also means that we must live every moment of our lives
with a holy heart that seeks to do all that we understand God has
commanded us. Even when no one else is watching us we must be holy, for
surely our Father in heaven has His eyes on us continually just as His
word claims, "the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous..." (1 Peter
3:12). We must first live holy before God and then the world will see
our walk and give us the opportunity to share with them.

   2. Obey Man's Laws.

   Remember to be holy is to be godlike, for only God is truly holy. I
was challenged to try to imitate Christ in my own life in 1978, when as
a new Christian I asked myself while driving to work, "I wonder how
Jesus would drive this car?" I realized that he would probably be fully
attentive and would not drive over the speed limit of 55 mph. I was on
Highway 31 at the time "keeping up with traffic" (doing about 63 mph),
knowing that "I could get away with that." So I "throttled down" to 55
and the whole world "passed me by." But it was then that I realized
that when you try to live holy as Jesus would you will be different
from the world. It was later that I read in the Bible, in Romans
Chapter 13, that, "Everyone must submit himself to the governing
authorities, for the authorities that exist have been established by
God....and he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against
what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment upon
themselves." (Roman 13:1-2). There are no options for the Christian
when it comes to the law. God is the creator of government, and when we
willfully break man's law then we become guilty of sinning against God.

   a. In Our Cars.

   1) Speed Laws.

   I once heard a pastor "joke" about receiving a speeding ticket while
driving back from a baseball game. Sin is never a joking matter to God.
As Christians we like to rationalize certain sins away; for example,
take the 55 mph law. Some say, its really unsafe to go slower than the
"general flow" of traffic. Another rationalization may be, "well I once
talked with a State Trooper, and he said that they don't give tickets
for anyone unless they are driving faster than 63 mph." No matter what
the rationalization it still doesn't change the law. The "sign" says
MAXIMUM SPEED 55 MPH, not maximum speed 55 MPH or traffic flow
whichever is higher! And that trooper is not hired to determine the
laws, but rather to enforce them, and he must answer to God for his
advice. We are commanded to keep the law and that means driving no
faster than 55 mph.

   Some of you may be saying this is not important! What does driving
the Speed Limit have to do with my witness to the lost. Everything! It
is these seemingly little sins that hamper our testimony, just as those
"little foxes ruin the vineyards, " in Song of Songs 2:15. I have had
many unbelievers ask why I drive so slowly? I simply tell them that as
a Christian I am commanded to obey all the laws of the land (in so far
as they don't violate God's higher law). I have been driving the speed
limits for over 8 years now and can affirm that every time I look at my
speedometer and watch all the cars that pass me by, I am always
reminded of the holy God that I serve and am encouraged to walk holy in
other areas too.

   2) Parking.

   I remember one day as a new Christian "pulling" up to a Christian
Book store in the shopping center, and as I parked my car in front of
the store, I noticed the sign there, "No Parking Fire Lane." In my
heart I said, "but everybody does, look at all the cars, besides its
cold out there." Again the Holy Spirit won as my mind was reminded of
God's call to holiness...obey the authorities and move the car.

   3) Paying all required Fees.

   In California, I sold a car to a lady who was a Christian. She was
praising God how the car was exactly what she had prayed about and that
it was so neat that I was a Christian too. It seemed that every other
word from her mouth was "Praise the Lord." Even her glasses had "Praise
the Lord" engraved on them! When I was signing the title over she asked
if I would mind putting down a selling price about $1,000 less than she
was paying so she would not have to pay so much tax. I was shocked and
replied that "I would not do such a thing, because it would offend my
God!" I know where the lady was coming from, for that was the way I
would have acted as an unbeliever. But I now see that it would be a
plain and simple act of stealing money from the government. God says
that we must obey the authorities.

   We could go on an on about a Christian and his car, but I think you
get the idea. What I am trying to do is to give some hints on how to
apply holy living to our lives.

   b. At Our Jobs.

   1) Honest Days Work.

   How can we be holy on the job? Again its a matter of obedience to
the authorities. In fact the Bible is very specific about service to
our "Bosses, " listen to the Word of God, "obey your earthly masters in
everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win
their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the
Lord, not for men...It is the Lord Christ you are serving." (Colossians
3:22-24).

   That means no shoddy work! Christians should be the best workers
there. Normally we spend most of our waking hours at the workplace and
this makes it the ideal place to share the Gospel. But, let us remember
that in this we must be careful. It is our holy lives that will speak
for us, and when the opportunity to speak for the Lord is available we
must be sure that it in no way interferes with the job we are getting
paid for. I once had an unbeliever tell of a employee who was a
Christian, but that he was a problem worker in the fact that he spent
undue time in the restroom reading his Bible and sharing with other
workers the Gospel message. While that Christian may have thought that
he was doing good, in effect he was bringing discredit upon the Name of
Christ. I had to learn this lesson myself, and I find that when I am
given an opportunity to share in the office I ask the individual if we
can finish "talking" over lunch or after work. Some may say, "but what
if they won't be interested later?" Well, that the Lord's problem. All
I know is that I am required to be holy in the workplace.

   2) Truthfulness in Documentation.

   I find that in my Job as a Pilot that there are many pieces of paper
that need to be completed in association with each flight. In fact, it
is often said, "that when the weight of all the paperwork equals the
weight of the airplane, then we can takeoff!" But with each document
there is the temptation to "sign it off" without accomplishing the
requirement. In this age where most people are a law unto themselves, I
find that as I honestly try to fill out the papers others will often
make fun of me, but I remember that without holiness no one will see
the Lord. Being honest in everything we document not only pleases God
but is a powerful testimony for Christianity.

   c. In Our Homes.

   When we are not at Church or at work, or at school we are usually in
our homes. This is an area where we must be holy, for it is the place
where our "batteries" should be recharged with a fresh charge of
Holiness before we face the unbelieving world. Here are just a couple
of suggestions.

   Watching Television.

   I was astounded when I read about a year ago that the average
American Family watches over 7 hours of TV per day. Amazing! I don't
know where they get the time. Whenever I think of TV I am normally
reminded yet of another passage of Scripture that speaks of our need
for absolute holiness. Paul writes to the Ephesians, "Be imitators of
God...among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or
of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for
God's holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or
coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving." (Eph
5:1, 3-4).

   I will make a statement that many of you may not agree with, but it
needs to be made, and that is that I do not believe that a Christian
can watch TV with any regularity and still maintain a holy walk with
the Lord. I base this upon the verses I just quoted. God says that as
his Holy people we cannot have "even a hint of sexual immorality,
impurity, obscenity, foolish talk, or coarse joking in our lives!" The
majority of what you will see on TV is sexual immorality, impurity,
obscenity, foolish talk, and coarse joking. Very little is spiritually
uplifting.

   Basically the TV, and that includes Cable, entertains the public
with what God calls sin. On TV one can hear the name of the Lord taken
in vain, over and over. On TV we are entertained by such scenes as
murder, theft, adultery, drunkenness, slander, and on and on it goes.
These things God calls sin and they are never to be used as
entertainment to Christians. Some may reply, but that's simply a
portrayal of life. I will agree that many of these same things go on
around us each day. I hear the Lord's name taken in vain each day at
work, but the difference is, God has commanded that I be a "light" in
that darkness. But TV is a one way avenue, it just blasts the garbage
into the home. I do not have much of a chance to witness to the TV
personalities as they parade across the screen. I cannot influence them
at all.

   The Apostle Paul, by the Holy Spirit, gives us a rater's guide to TV
viewing in Phillipians 4:8. Use the program to measure your programs.
If whatever show you want to watch meets these requirements, then by
all means watch, "whatever is true, whatever is nobel, whatever is
right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if
anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about these things." (or
watch these things!). (Php 4:8). TV not only brings impurity into our
lives but it also waste the valuable time that the Lord has given to
each Christian. People like TV because it takes no skills to watch it.
One does not have to even think because it all happens before his eyes.
Oh, how much time is wasted by Christians sitting before the TV, when
they could be learning God's Word, or raising the children that God
gave them, investing time into their lives, or communicating with their
spouses, or helping others with their needs. Kathy and I have a TV, but
it is only on for some major news event. I realize that I don't have
enough time right now for all the tasks that are before me. There are
times I am on the floor playing with my children, when I wonder how
Christians who watch TV survive. Remember the average viewer spends
over 7 hours a day watching the TV screen!

   IV. Conclusion

   Holiness is a process. We must first be committed to Christ by
responding to His call of Salvation. Secondly, we must commit ourselves
to the study of the Word of God. And Lastly, we must be committed to be
holy in all that we do.

   Someone may ask, "So what if I don't? I'll still get to heaven,
because I am a Christian!" My answer to you is this, as Christians
walking in complete holiness is not an option. It is a command that in
the Greek literally means be holy immediately! Right Now! To refuse to
commit oneself to a life of holiness can have some of the following
results:

   1. Discipline from the Holy Father. He is a Good father who will
discipline any child of His that refuses to follow His commands. To
refuse to be holy is the same as refusing to be baptized, or refusing
to abstain from immorality, or refusing to be in fellowship with other
believers, or refusing to return a portion of our wealth back to the
Lord. These commands are not options, they are directives from the Lord
God! And discipline is painful.

   2. A Lack of Real Blessings in this Life. The Word of God is filled
with statements about blessings for those who are obedient to God. We
find such statements as, "He Blesses the home of the Righteous; Blessed
is he who keeps God's statutes (laws); blessed is the man who listens
to me; blessed are the pure in heart." God blesses the Holy person.

   3. Sufficient doubt of One's Own Salvation. God said that without
holiness, no one will see the Lord. Another application of that verse
is that if we will not seek to be holy, the we have every reason to
doubt salvation. The truly saved must be holy for they will see the
Lord.

   4. A Lack of Rewards. The Lord has promised rewards in heaven for
the good we do while in the body. In Ephesians we read, "the Lord will
reward everyone for whatever good he does." (Eph 6:8). You may say,

   "I'm not concerned about how many rewards or honors I'll have in
heaven." Or perhaps you think its crass to focus on what you'll receive
or earn in heaven. But God says that He's going to reward us.

   I only know that He gives good and perfect gifts and whatever
rewards He wants to give will be wonderful. I don't serve Him for the
rewards, but I acknowledge that He is going to give them.

   Dear Friend, I have shared from my heart. Our Sweet Precious Savior
wants to use us and bless us, but He demands holiness. He knows we are
weak, and He does not look on the outside but rather inside at the
heart. He wants a heart that seeks holiness. We will fail many times in
our attempts to be holy, but we must have a heart that continually
seeks holiness, and is grieved when we fail. Our Lord and Savior wants
us to mirror Him to an unsaved world. May He help us to walk in
holiness.

   Tony Capoccia Bible Bulletin Board
