Holiness and Our Wills

     
          More highlights from The Pursuit of Holiness, by Jerry  Bridges.

          Chapter 13  -  Holiness and Our Wills


                                            "For it is God who works in you to will
                                             and to act according to His good purpose."
                                                                                   Philippians 2:13


          It is the will that ultimately makes each individual choice of whether we will
     sin or obey.  It is the will that chooses to yield to temptation or to say no.  Our
     wills, then, ultimately determine our moral destiny, whether we will be holy or
     unholy in our character and conduct.

          This being true, it is critically important that we understand how our wills
     function -- what causes them to turn in one direction or the other, why they
     make the choices they do.  Above all else, we must learn how to bring our wills
     into submission and obedience to the will of God on a practical, daily, hour-by
     hour basis.

          John Owen said the heart as used in the Bible generally denotes all the facul-
     ties of the soul as they work together in doing good or evil - the mind, the emo-
     tions, the conscience, and the will.

          These faculties were all implanted in man's soul by God, but were all corrupted
     through man's fall in the Garden of Eden.  Our reason (or understanding) was
     darkened (Ephesians 4:18), our desires were entanlged (Ephesians 2:3), and our
     will perverted (John 5:40).

          With new birth our reason is again enlightened, our affections and desires re-
     directed, and our wills subdued.  But though this is true, it is not true all at once.
     In actual experience it is a growing process.  We are told to renew our minds
     (Romans 12:2), to set our affections on things above (Colossians 3:1), and to
     submit our wills to God (James 4:7).

          The will has become stubborn and rebellious and will not consent to that
     which reason knows to be the will of God.  Compelling forces that influence
     our choices we make come from a variety of sources.

          It may be the subtle suggestions of Satan and his world system (Eph 2:2) or
     the evil enticements of our own sinful nature (James 1:14)  It may be the ur-
     gent voice of conscience, the earnest reasoning of a loving friend, or the quiet
     prompting of the Holy Spirit, but from whatever source these compelling forces
     come, they reach our wills through either our reason or our emotuions.

          Therefore we must guard what enters our minds and what influences our emo-
     tions.  Solomon said, "Watch over your heart with all dilegence, for from it flows
     the springs of life" (Proverbs 4:23).  If we diligently guard our minds and emo-
     tions, we will see the Holy Spirit working in us to conform our wills to His own
     (Philippians 2:12-13).

          David said. "How can a young man keep his way pure?  By living according to
     your word" (Psalm 119:9).  There is absolutely no shortcut to holiness that by-
     passes or give little priority to a consistent intake of the Bible.

          Solomon told us that wisdom, understanding, and discretion will guard us from
     the evil way (Proverbs 2:10-12).


                               "For the Lord gives wisdom, from His mouth
                                come knowledge and understanding."
                                                                           Proverbs 2:6


          God gives these qualities to the one who receives His sayings, who inwardly
     treasures His commandments who makes his ear alert to wisdom and his heart
     ready for understanding, who prays for discernment and understanding, and who
     seeks understanding as if it were hidden treasure (Proverbs 2:1-5).

          To guard our minds, we must give priority to the Bible in our lives -- not just
     for the spiritual information it gives but also for the daily application of it in our
     workaday lives.

          The psalmist encourages us to delight ourselves in the law of God (Psalm 1:2),
     and it was said prophetically of Jesus, "I delight to do Thy will, O my God"
     (Psalm 40:8).  So we see that we are to set our desires on spiritual things and de-
     light ourselves in the law and will of God.


                                                      **********

          In the final analysis it is God who works in us to will and to act according to
     His good purpose, but we are expressly told by Paul to work at this ourselves
     (Philippians 2:12).  Our responsiblilty regarding our wills is to guard our minds
     and emotions, being aware of what influences our minds and stimulates our de-
     sires.  As we do our part, we will see the Spirit of God do His part in making us
     more holy.