Why Live Holy? | GRACE, THE POWER OF THE GOSPEL by Andrew Wommack

Why Live Holy?

The Gospel is the power of God. It’s good news—specifi-cally, that our right standing with God is based on His grace, not our performance. The law was given to show us our need of a Savior. Salvation is more than just forgiveness of sins and the initial born-again experience. It includes everything purchased for us through the atonement of Jesus—like healing, deliver-ance, and prosperity.

The Question

In the first five chapters of Romans, Paul presented grace in such a strong and powerful way that it was inevitable for this question to arise:

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?

Romans 6:1

Romans is the definitive work on what grace really is.

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Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul had just expounded this subject of grace in masterful fashion. As I said before, Romans is the definitive work on what grace really is. Therefore, we could certainly say that Paul presented this truth in proper balance. However, three different times in Romans (3:8; 6:1; 6:15), Paul had to deal with this question: “What am I saying then? Am I saying that you can just go live in sin because God is dealing with you based on grace and not performance?”

Three times a man who presented this truth in perfect balance had to counter what he knew people were wondering in their hearts: Let me see if I have this straight here, Paul. My sin isn’t the issue. It’s not separating me from God. My performance has no bearing on my right standing with Him. All I must do to access God’s grace is place my faith in what Jesus Christ did. Are you saying that I can just go out and live in sin? If Paul, presenting this properly, had to repeatedly deal with this question, how then can we think that we could present the Gospel any better so that no one would misunder-stand it?

If we’re truly preaching grace the way Paul did, it’s inevitable that somebody will jump to this conclusion and ask, “Are you saying that I can just go live in sin?” Of course, Paul’s answer to this in every instance was a resounding no! That’s not what he was saying. That’s not what I am saying. That’s not what any true teacher of God’s

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then why bother?
favor with God,
what gains us
holiness isn’t
If our
WHY LIVE HOLY?

Word is saying when they preach grace. But if the question doesn’t come up, then we haven’t communicated grace to the same extent Paul did.

In fact, if that question doesn’t arise, then you haven’t properly presented the Gospel. If you have emphasized God’s grace sufficiently, then this should be a logical question that must be addressed.

God Forbid!

I understand that—by implication—this brings quite a bit of judgment upon what most people are calling “the Gospel” today.

The church I grew up in preached hellfire and damnation, emphasizing over and over again the fact that we were born sinners. They focused on the judgment end of it but didn’t present the good news. God’s grace and our new nature were never emphasized. While listening to

such “Gospel,” I didn’t wonder even once, Can I just go live in sin? The way the Bible was presented, I was continu-ally made aware of sin. They told me I sinned every day—constantly—and needed to confess it, even if I wasn’t aware of a specific action. I was under so

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much condemnation and sin-consciousness that I never mistook what was being preached to me as saying that I could just go live in sin if I wanted. Although the people ministering in the denomination I grew up in would probably take this as a tremendous compliment, that’s certainly not the same Gospel Paul preached.

Paul presented the Gospel—the grace of God—in such a way that he was misunderstood. If we’re presenting the Gospel properly today, then we’re going to have to come back and answer this question: “Are you saying then that I can just go live in sin?” If you don’t have to deal with this thought in the minds of your hearers, then you haven’t yet presented the Gospel in the same way as Paul.

That being said, let me add that Paul was not encouraging sin. In Romans 6:2, he began to answer this question saying, “God forbid.” This was the strongest renunciation Paul could have made in the Greek language without employing some type of profanity. This was an emphatic, absolute denial. He was saying, “No! Absolutely not! Let it never be!”

Why then wasn’t Paul’s attitude, “Hey, since it’s by God’s grace, just keep living in sin”? If our sin isn’t what’s stopping God from moving in our lives, and it’s not our holiness that earns His blessing, but it’s His grace only; then what is the purpose of holiness? Why live holy? If our holiness isn’t what gains us favor with God, then why bother?

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living in sin.
not advocating
correctly is
Anyone who preaches the grace of God
WHY LIVE HOLY?

The Purpose of Holiness

Of course, most people today are well versed in the fact that the Bible teaches us to live holy. I’m not going to take time to go into all that. But I do want to look at what Paul said here in Romans 6 about why we should live holy. What is the purpose of holiness?

Paul gave two reasons for, “Why live holy?” The first begins here in verse 2.

How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

Romans 6:2

The number one reason why a Christian doesn’t live in sin is because we are no longer by nature a child of the devil. After being born again, it’s not our nature to sin anymore. I recognize this raises several questions, which we’ll come back

and consider. But before we do, let’s look at where he raised the question again and supplied us with reason number two.

What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

Romans 6:15,16

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Meeting with other believers is important because it changes your heart toward God—not His toward you.

The second reason to live holy is: Living holy will stop Satan’s inroads into your life. If you are living in sin, you’re yielding yourself to the author of sin. This allows the devil to bring death and destruc-tion into your life. If you yield yourself to holiness, then you’re yielding yourself to God who is the author of that holiness. This produces godly results.

In summary, the two reasons for a

Christian to live holy are:

It’s our nature to live holy, and

Living holy stops Satan’s inroads into our lives.

Paul was certainly not advocating sin. I’m not advocating sin. Anyone who preaches the grace of God correctly is not advocating living in sin. We’re just saying that our motive for living holy is not to get God to accept us. We live holy because it’s our nature to live that way, and we don’t want to give the devil any access into our lives.

Holiness Helps You

For a born-again believer, living holy is a fruit—not a root— of salvation. It’s a by-product of living in right relationship with

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God, but not a means to obtain it. Now that’s a powerful reve-lation you need to get hold of!

Of course a Christian is supposed to be holy. Holiness is important, probably more important than you’ve ever heard preached. But why? Why is it so important?

Most people who don’t understand grace operate under a legalistic mindset and relate to God based on their performance. These kinds of people say that the reason why holiness is so important is that it’s how God moves in your life: “He moves directly proportional to your holiness.” That’s not true. That’s not what this scripture is teaching.

Many people believe that the reason why they are supposed to attend church is that God is somehow keeping track of their attendance. If you attend well, then you may get your prayers answered. If you don’t attend, then God will be upset with you and probably won’t answer your prayers or move on your behalf. That’s not true.

God doesn’t move in your life based on your church atten-dance. If you never went to church again, God would love you exactly the same. But you wouldn’t love God exactly the same. You’d miss out on fellowshipping with other believers and the encouragement and challenge it brings. You wouldn’t hear and apply the Word of God in the same way while sitting at home all by yourself. Meeting with other believers is important because it changes your heart toward God—not His toward you.

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If you never went to church again, God would love you just the same. But you’d be foolish not to attend church because you wouldn’t love Him the same. Can you see how holiness (attending church) helps you?

It’s your nature to live that way (worship, fellowship, and study God’s Word with other believers), and

It helps you resist the devil (by being around other Christians and in the Word together).

Run to Win

If you never studied the Word again, God would love you exactly the same. But you wouldn’t love God the same because you wouldn’t have the revelation of His truth. You’d be thinking according to someone’s opinion. You aren’t really free to just develop your own opinions about God. Somebody is going to influence you, one way or another. Either you’ll be influenced by the death, negativism, and wrong conceptions of the world and religion, or you’ll get into God’s Word and learn “the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).

Sanctify them [or make them holy] through thy truth: thy word is truth.

John 17:17

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Run to win!
Lay the weights aside and be more effective.
WHY LIVE HOLY?

Remember, being in God’s Word changes your heart toward Him. It softens your heart, but God loves you just the same if you never study His Word.

Since God’s love toward us doesn’t change based on our performance, does this mean we shouldn’t get into the Word?

No! If we’re truly born again, it’s our nature to hunger for the truth—and as we just saw, the Word is the source of truth. If we’re aware of the reality that we are in a battle and Satan is coming against us, then we’ll realize that it’s to our advantage to get into the Word because it changes our heart and corrects our attitudes. Being in God’s Word gives us revelation and helps keep the devil from having access into our lives.

I’m advocating the same standards as those who demand holiness, but from an entirely different motive. Go to church, pay your tithes, study the Word, love people, get rid of bitter-ness and anger—keep all the standards. I’m advocating holi-ness, but for totally different reasons. This is the point Paul was making. The motive for holiness changed!

You shouldn’t be living holy and thinking, If I’m holy enough, God will love me… accept me… answer my prayers… heal me… prosper me…. All of these things—your entire rela-

tionship with God—must be based on grace. If you’re truly born again, you desire to live holy and to minimize Satan’s opportunities against you.

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Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.

Hebrews 12:1

You’re a runner running the race of life. The person who’s organized the race and put it on may not be mad at you if you don’t finish first, but if you have weights—sins—holding you back, it’s definitely going to hinder you in running for the Lord. You won’t be as effective as someone else. God won’t love you
less, but you might love Him less. Lay the
weights aside and be more effective. Run

Wrong
to win!
motivation
gets wrong
results. Motive Is Everything

Some may say, “Well, living holy is still the bottom line. What’s the big deal?”

Motive is everything! According to God’s Word, your motive is actually more important than your action.

Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity [God’s kind of love], it profiteth me nothing.

1 Corinthians 13:3

Holy acts—in this case giving to the poor or even laying

down your life for another—profit you nothing unless they’re

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done motivated by God’s kind of love. If your motivation for living holy—giving finances, or sacrificing your life for someone else, for example—is debt, obligation, or trying to earn something, then your motive is wrong. You aren’t doing it out of a love response for what the Lord has done, but you’re doing it to try to gain a positive response from God. You believe that God is responding to you, instead of you responding to Him. If that’s your motive, it profits you nothing!

This is exactly why so many people aren’t healed, deliv-ered, and prospered. They’re doing the right things—studying the Word, paying their tithes, among others—but they are putting their faith in what they are doing. They’re thinking, God, is it enough? Now will You move in my life? Wrong moti-vation gets wrong results. That’s not true Bible faith. True Bible faith must be in what God has done for us, not in what we are doing for God!