So where does holiness factor in to all of this. Do we throw out morality and say, “As long as you believe on Jesus, you can do whatever you want”? Some churches teach this kind of thinking. Paul did not.
The debates in Acts 15 and Galatians 2 are not about right and wrong. They are about whether or not the Law of Moses was for everyone or just the Jews. The council ruled that non-Jewish converts did not have to keep the Law.
The Law included teachings on certain foods to eat, how to be ceremonially clean for entering the temple, how to handle foreigners in the Holy Land, and how to live morally. Some object that if we are not under Moses’ Law, we are free to do all kinds of sin. Long-time Bible teacher David Gray answered such a thought this way:
Perhaps it would be objected that if the Ten Commandment law is “done away” and “abolished,” there would be no commands against sins such as murder or adultery. Not so! In the first place, the bondage of the law is lifted only to those “in Christ,” not for the sinner. Secondly, does there need to be a law to tell the Holy Ghost-filled Christian not to murder or commit adultery? Not if there is a work done by the Holy Ghost on the inside!…
Under the law a man could hate all he wanted just so he did not kill, or be consumed by lust just so he did not commit the act of adultery. Not so under grace. Here the heart is dealt with, not merely the outward actions.[1]
We are set free from the list of rules so we can pursue a lifetime relationship with Jesus Christ. What changes has your love for God brought in your life?
A believer should develop personal guidelines to stay out of sin and live a wholesome life. Pastors should warn the church of pitfalls and social norms they see as destructive to the Christian faith. Some call these “standards,” “church rules,” or “holiness principles.”
While we need to discuss and address moral traps in our day, we need to be aware of the danger of saying, “You have got to do this to be saved.” We change our lifestyles because of our salvation, not to earn it.
Your goal should not be to find how close to sin you can live and still get to heaven. Your love for Jesus should lead you to seek out how to glorify Him in everything: attitudes, clothing, eating habits, hobbies, thoughts, music, entertainment, and so much more. Sincere believers want to build themselves up in the Lord, not please their flesh.
Just as James the Elder sent a letter of guidelines for personal holiness, we benefit from contemporary advice like this. The paganism of that day involved worship of idols. Today, Western society worships sex.
Your love for Jesus will not lead you into lust and lewdness. Most of our holiness teaching deals with sexual immorality. Here are a few areas thoughtful Christians have found they needed to discipline themselves for Jesus’ sake:
Clothing. Do you dress to draw attention to yourself or try to “fit in”? Do you dress humbly so others can see Christ?
Words. Do you talk in a way that people can feed from your words? Or do you destroy, depress, and demand?
Music. Does your audio entertainment lift you closer to God? Or does it bring you down in passion and sorrow?
Entertainment. Television is about sex. Do you feast on Hollywood fare? Do you go to places of lewdness such as shows, the movies, or swimming pools? Do you listen to crude humor or read sordid romances?
If James were writing a list of guidelines to protect your faith, what should be on it?
[...] Christians think they are approaching spiritual nirvana by keeping the Law of Moses. Since the Ten Commandments say to observe the Sabbath, they think they are getting closer to God by reserving Saturday as the [...]