God has called His people to be set apart for His glory and purpose.
God has called His people to be set apart for His glory and purpose. Believers are taught to be holy as He is holy (1 Pet.1:15-16). A life of holiness will distinguish us from the world (2 Cor. 6:14-16). We affirm, of course, that the call to live holy lives necessitates the work of regeneration and sanctification effected by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 15:16; 1 Cor. 6:11). However, we also recognize that this entails the believer’s yielding to and cooperation with the Spirit (Gal. 5:16-18)
The Pillar
The Church is committed to nurturing and encouraging holiness in the lives of her members through the communication of clear Biblical teachings, the promotion of constant self-examination against Biblical standards (2 Cor. 13:5), the continuous encouragement to persevere in the spiritual disciplines—e.g., devotional time, study of the Word, fellowship, etc. (1 Corinthians 9:27), the periodic call to repentance, and when necessary, the loving application of church discipline to confront and restore fallen brethren (Gal. 6:1; Matt. 18:15-17). We dare not lower these standards to that of the world. We remind ourselves that the church cannot expect God’s work to be accomplished, nor Christ’s name to be glorified, if Christians commit moral compromise (2 Cor. 6:14-7:1). We bear within our hearts the promise of our Lord’s return. In this light, we strive to be ready to give an account of every detail of our lives (1 John 3:3; Rom. 14:12; 1 Pet. 4:5).
The Practice
The believer’s pursuit of a life of holiness and integrity involves the following:
a. A life of wholesomeness, discipline and moderation that regards the body as the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19-20, 9:27)
b. The priority of building strong marriages and godly families (Ps. 127:1)
c. A strong, righteous, biblically motivated work and business ethic (Prov. 20:10, 23; Titus 2:9; 1 Tim. 6:1-2)
d. The proper stewardship of time, abilities and resources (Eph. 5:16; 1 Tim. 6:17-19)
e. The practice of humility, honesty and Christ like love towards all persons and in all relationships (Col. 3:12-14; Eph. 4:2)
f. The practice of biblically confronting and restoring fallen brethren (Matt. 18:15-17; Gal. 6:1)
g. The genuine submission to all authorities established by God (Rom. 13:1-2; Titus 3:1)
h. Maintaining sexual purity in word, thought, and action (1 Cor. 6:12-20; Eph. 4:29)
i. The rejection of opportunities for undue personal advantage or sordid financial gain and the refusal to participate in anything contrary to Biblical ethics (2 Cor. 12:17-18) and
j. The avoidance of compromise by not being bound together with unbelievers in marriage (includes dating or courting unbelievers or entertaining their courtship) or “in any spiritual enterprise or relationship that would be detrimental to the Christian’s testimony within the Body of Christ.” (2 Cor. 6:14-7:1)
The Parameters
Though we emphasize leading a life of holiness, we must carefully guard against pharisaic teaching, legalism, asceticism, antinomianism, “Christian perfectionism”, pietism, mysticism and other distortions of Biblical holiness.