“And He said, ‘That which comes out of the man, that defiles the man, for from within out of the heart of men proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.'” (Mark 7:20-23). This one small passage alone convinces me that the Lord both desires and commands that His followers live sanctified lives and that such is possible, even to be expected.
Are we to believe that God’s sons and daughters must be defiled every day they live, that they thereby, as it were, wallow in defilement. When the command is given to “Be you therefore perfect even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect,” are we to believe we have no power or ability, even with God’s help, to obey such a command? (See Matthew 5:49). There, of course, must be a concerted, conscious decision to walk that pathway of moral perfection, to exercise the will to say, “NO” to every temptation of the flesh and spirit. It should not be assumed that this walk is indeed an easy one, but we are warned that “the way of transgressors is hard.” (See Proverbs 13:15). Of the two pathways, the way of holiness or the way of transgression, the easier of the two is the walk of holiness in that it is less fraught with dangers and inexorable penalties. It is, of course, often easier to give in to the pulls of the flesh when first the temptation arises, but we will find that a continued resistance will in but a short space of time cause the temptation to lessen its attraction and pull until before too long the temptation is no longer felt at all. Of course, Satan will always seek a more convenient time and manner to move again, but, as the old hymn says, “each victory will help us some other to win.” Think on these things.
Christ’s Faithful Servant (Galatians 1:10-12),
Donald Wiley