God is ideal; he lacks nothing. God is holy; he is about apart and wholly separate from sin. As with a lot of God’s attributes, he desires to speak perfection and holiness to his creation. So he did.
Lucifer, an angel of God’s, didn’t get enough of God’s perfection and holiness. He wanted all of it. He rebelled against God and lost all of what God gave him. He became God’s nemesis – renamed Satan. Ever since, Satan wishes for holiness’s wreck.
He elicited the autumn of Adam and Eve, depriving them of holiness. He continues on his rampage against holiness. He wants our help; he wants co-conspirators. And humanity is altogether too quick to comply, but that’s our nature.
God’s enemy employs five methods to wreck holiness: relativism, tolerance, contextualization, liberty and legalism.
Relativism
Relativism conveys that there are not any absolutes. This perspective legitimizes innumerable truths contradicting each other.
Relativism ruins holiness because there is no such thing as a longer a supreme authority. One just isn’t wholly other. Satan deceives people into pondering multiple acceptable authorities exist. Ironically, all options outside of God point to Satan. He is the one other authority people submit.
God rescues holiness from relativism’s wreck. John 14:6 says, “…I’m the way in which, the reality, and the life. No one involves the daddy except through me.”
Tolerance
Relativism results in tolerance. If you don’t accept multiple worldviews, you have to be intolerant, resulting in the intolerance of intolerance. If you tolerate multiple worldviews and authorities, holiness is diluted as God’s glory is shared. God can’t be altogether wholly other because he shares his holiness with other worldviews and authorities, diminishing his glory.
God rescues holiness from tolerance’s wreck. Isaiah 48:11 says, “My glory I is not going to give to a different.”
Contextualization
In God’s quest to rescue holiness, he chosen Israel as a lightweight to the nations. He made this people holy. God gave Israel a charge to be separate from other nations. By doing so, other nations would look to Israel and find God attractive. Israel failed.
This rescue initiative continues with the Church. The Church is supposed to be an entirely set apart people testifying to God’s holiness. This is achieved through the church’s union to Christ, who fulfilled all Israel should be.
Contextualization is when God’s holy people relate to their context. They hook up with their context in meaningful ways. Contextualization is hard. God’s people should contextualize without jeopardizing holiness. Our enemy wishes to see contextualization abused.
1 Corinthians 9:22 says, “…I actually have change into all things to all people, that by all means I would avoid wasting.” Unfortunately, false teachers use this text to abuse contextualization, giving license to liberty.
God rescues holiness from contextualization’s wreck. Earlier in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 he says, “Do you not know that you simply are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you’re that temple.” Our union with Christ gifts us with the Holy Spirit making us God’s temple. False teachers abusing contextualization beware.
Liberty
Liberty, otherwise often called antinomianism (against law), says that God’s law is entirely abolished by grace. Humanity is not any longer expected to cherish and keep God’s law. This makes way for license to abuse grace. Our enemy would really like to see grace abused. Where relativism dilutes holiness, liberty dirties holiness. Liberty is fostered by foolishness.
God rescues holiness from liberty’s wreck. Romans 7:12 says, “So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.” Though we’re incapable of keeping God’s law, it doesn’t mean that we must always not long to maintain it. Here we’re liable to wreck holiness with one other abuse.
Legalism
The flip side of liberty is legalism. Legalism has two parts. Legalism just isn’t attempting to maintain the law of God. It’s assuming we will keep it. Furthermore, legalism says God’s acceptance if present in keeping God’s law. Impossible! If that were the case, God’s grace in Christ’s death, resurrection and all of the implications is nullified (Gal. 2:19-21).
Legalism can also be when people make latest laws, parade them as God’s law and expect others to maintain those laws. Often these latest laws are conceived to guard from sin’s temptation or affect. Legalism is commonly sown from fear. Worse, people imagine that God’s acceptance relies on these fabricated laws of men. Legalism restricts faith.
Legalism is a tragic wreck to holiness since it restricts other attributes of God like beauty, creativity or power. Legalism restricts love.
God rescues holiness from legalism’s wreck with faith and love. This is achieved by God’s faithfulness and God’s love through Jesus Christ (Rev. 1:4-6).
As holy people we reply to God’s faithfulness and love in kind. Galatians 3:11 says, “Now it is obvious that nobody is justified before God by the law, for the righteous shall live by faith.” And Galatians 5:14 says, “For the entire law is fulfilled in a single word: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Conclusion
The past few years have seen two significant doctrines under fire: the doctrine of hell and the doctrine of Adam. It will little doubt be long before the doctrine of Satan comes into query.
Nothing could be more satisfying and to Satan’s advantage then for him to persuade the world he doesn’t exist. He would have free reign to wreck holiness. Though it’s uncomfortable to discuss God’s enemy, it’s critical to acknowledge his handiwork.
Seeing Satan’s handiwork directs us to see God’s counter-offenses. In every way, God in Christ counters Satan’s feeble efforts to wreck holiness. Christ our King rescues holiness from Satan’s clutches.
Joey Cochran is a graduate of Dallas Seminary and a church planting intern at Redeemer Fellowship in St. Charles, Illinois under the supervision of pastor Joe Thorn. You can follow him at jtcochran.com or @joeycochran.
