Living a Holy Life- February 2nd and 9th

Following Christ requries more than one hour on Sundays; it is a way of life.  It means living a holy life, full of faith and good works made possible through God's sanctifying grace.

Through prevenient grace, God leads us to faith; through justifying grace, God assures us that we are forgiven and restored to God's favor; through sanctifying grace, God draws us toward Christian perfection.

Jesus said, in his sermon on the mount, "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:48).  The Book of Hebrews tells Christians, "Therefore let us go on toward perfection," going beyond the assurance of justification and living a holy life in obedience to God.

Perfection is an intimidating word.  Some of the best pitchers in baseball history have never thrown a perfect game, and very few  high school students manage to get a perfect score on teh SAT.  Even those people who are the very best at what they do occasionally make mistakes.

Fortunately, Christian perfection is not about being flawless.  It is about being completely in tune with God's will.  John Wesley described perfection as being "habitually filled with the love of God and neighbor."   Through sanctifying grace, God changes our heart so that we desire to be like God.  As a result, that change motivates us to "go on toward perfection." 

The first Methodists were members of the Anglican Church who met in small-group class meetings that were focused on holiness.  The Methodists would gather in class meetings to pray, read Scripture, and hold one another accountable.  Class members would make a covenant with one another to avoid sinful behvior, to perform acts of charity, to participate in worship, and to grow in God's grace.  Those who failed to live up to the covenant were exptected to repent and, and with the help of their fellow class members, continue striving for perfection.

Wesley had three General Rules for those in the Methodist classes:  Do no harm, do good, and attend upon all the ordinances of God.  By obeying these simple rules, we grow in love of God and neighbor and become holy.