God tells us in Scripture, “Be holy, for I am holy.” Many of us struggle each and every day with what it means to be holy. Do we follow a list of do’s and dont’s? If so, whose list do we follow? If not, how do we live holy? “The Pursuit of Holiness” by Jerry Bridges helps answer these questions and does from a realistic and Scripture viewpoint.
I have to admit, I didn’t think at first that I needed to read this book. I passed it several times in the bookstore. It was given to me as a gift for Christmas because my wife saw me eyeing it so frequently. I am glad she did, for I am both challenged and encouraged by it.
Bridges starts off reminding us that holiness is a personal responsibility. Many of us trust in God to handle the particulars of our lives, re-creating us (see 1 Corinthians 5:17) and drawing us closer to Himself. We realize that we are not perfect, but we trust that we are not condemned, either. We get focused on gaining victory over sin and the bad habits of our lives, but never really get very far. His answer is that we are too self-focused, to be victorious, rather than understanding that “sin grieves the heart of God.” He tells us, “every time we sin, we are doing something God hates” (28).
He also encourages us that while we are responsible for our part, God has already accomplished His part in making our lives holy. We can trust in the holiness of Christ to make up the difference where we are unable. We have power in the Holy Spirit to break the habits that hold us back. We must take the time to break old habits, those that formed over years of living, but are based in or cause us to sin.
One of the keys to holiness is that of obedience. God doesn’t call us to be victorious, but He does expect us to be obedient. In regards to making use of the Spirit’s power: “To live by the Spirit is to live both in obedience to and dependence on the Holy Spirit” (74).
He puts out some practical helps to living holy and in obedience, stressing the fact that while we might fail at first, that should not be unexpected. “Any training – physical, mental, or spiritual – is characterized at first by failure. We fail more often than we succeed. But if we persevere, we gradually see progress till we are succeeding more often than failing” (102). We must also be careful not to be led by our emotions, but by our reason and our wills.
Returning to the dialogue about habits, we are finally encourage to create new habits, habits of holiness. One of the keys to breaking the sinful habits in our lives is to “never let an exception occur.” He is speaking in part about rationalizing one last indulgence in a habit. “When we allow exceptions we are reinforcing old habits or else failing to reinforce the new one” (134).
I recommend this book to any and all. It is a real, practical, easy to read and easy to understand discourse on holiness. We cannot shirk from God’s call to be holy, regardless of its implications or difficulties in our current lifestyles. “The Pursuit of Holiness” is timeless help for all.