The Good News of Holiness
February 11, 2016
1 John 5:3 “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.”
In our culture words like law, obedience, and holiness have a negative connotation. Thus, we tend to see God’s laws and commands as a heavy burden. We see holiness as an ideal that is unattainable. However, scripture doesn’t have this view. Jesus and the apostles saw these words a bit differently. They understood obedience to God’s commands as a good thing…a really good thing. Holiness is the amazing truth that God not only forgives our sin, but also gives us the power to overcome sin. This is good news! And if we really think about it, scripture is right, “Wouldn’t our relationships be better if we were free from things like pride, selfishness, and hate? Wouldn’t it be great to be delivered from strongholds like lust and anger? What a relief it would be to be set free from all that plagues us.” As Methodists, we believe it is possible to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind and to love our neighbors as ourselves. This is what it means to have an undivided heart. This is what holiness is all about. God in His grace frees us from our past mistakes. God in His grace gives us the ability to live a new life. God’s Word was not given to us to burden us or to restrict us. God’s Word is our path to freedom. God made us good. Sin messed it up. Holiness is the promise that He can make us good again. That is good news!
— Rev. Brandon Dasinger/Teaching Pastor and Director of Missions
In our culture words like law, obedience, and holiness have a negative connotation. Thus, we tend to see God’s laws and commands as a heavy burden. We see holiness as an ideal that is unattainable. However, scripture doesn’t have this view. Jesus and the apostles saw these words a bit differently. They understood obedience to God’s commands as a good thing…a really good thing. Holiness is the amazing truth that God not only forgives our sin, but also gives us the power to overcome sin. This is good news! And if we really think about it, scripture is right, “Wouldn’t our relationships be better if we were free from things like pride, selfishness, and hate? Wouldn’t it be great to be delivered from strongholds like lust and anger? What a relief it would be to be set free from all that plagues us.” As Methodists, we believe it is possible to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind and to love our neighbors as ourselves. This is what it means to have an undivided heart. This is what holiness is all about. God in His grace frees us from our past mistakes. God in His grace gives us the ability to live a new life. God’s Word was not given to us to burden us or to restrict us. God’s Word is our path to freedom. God made us good. Sin messed it up. Holiness is the promise that He can make us good again. That is good news!
— Rev. Brandon Dasinger/Teaching Pastor and Director of Missions