Session 3: Practicing the Virtuous Life: THE HOLINESS TRADITION
SESSION THREE
Practicing the Virtuous Life
THE HOLINESS TRADITION
THE FOOTPRINTS OF GOD
At our last meeting each of us agreed to try one of the exercises in the Contemplative Tradition. Let’s share our experiences by answering the following question:
What did you learn about God and about yourself while doing the exercise?
After a few minutes of silent prayer, open with a time of sharing that the leader begins by reading this opening paragraph and answering the question posed.
JESUS AND THE VIRTUOUS LIFE
Gospel Passage: Matthew 4:1-11
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written,
‘One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written,
‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and ‘On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’”
When everyone has had a chance to respond, ask a member to read this Scripture passage.
Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written,
‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’”
Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.
Reflection Question
Have you ever had someone come to you and tempt you with an offer that was hard to refuse? Describe the circumstances.
THINKING IT THROUGH
Jesus’ baptism comes right before his testing in the wilderness (Matt. 3:13-17). This is important, because at the conclusion of his baptism a “voice from heaven” proclaims that Jesus is “his Son” (Matt. 3:17). Exactly who Jesus is has just been confirmed, and now the devil will do everything he can to destroy Jesus.
After a brief discussion, choose someone to read this section.
Notice that it was “the Spirit” who led Jesus into the wilderness “to be tempted.” This may seem odd to us: How could God instigate Jesus’ temptation? The word translated “to be tempted” actually means “to be tested.” There is a subtle but important difference. God tests; the devil tempts. God does not want Jesus to fail; the devil does. The Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness to fast and to pray and to resist the forces that assault him during his mission. Having overcome them, he is ready for his journey toward the Cross.
There are three temptations: turn stones into bread, leap off the temple roof to see if angels will come to the rescue, and acquire all of the kingdoms in the world. The first two temptations challenge Jesus to prove his deity: “If you are the Son of God …”; the last temptation dares Jesus to reject his deity. Jesus rebukes all three by quoting from the Hebrew Scriptures (Deut. 8:3; 6:16; 6:13). The devil shows that he too knows the Scriptures, trying to make the second temptation more appealing by quoting from Psalm 91 (vss. 11-12). However, Jesus knows better, and he cannot be tricked. In the end the devil leaves because he has been unable to entice Jesus to sin.
It is important for us to see one thing: Jesus remained true to his mission throughout his testing and emerged pure at its end. He could have turned stones into bread—he had the power. He knew that God would protect him—he had the relationship. He could have accepted the devil’s offer of power and fame and glory—a much more pleasant destiny than execution on a cross. But he did not; three times Jesus did not yield. His responses tell us much about the nature of sin and the importance of purity.
Reflection Question
Why did Jesus not yield to any of these temptations?
GOD AND THE HOLINESS TRADITION
God cares about sin. The Bible makes it very clear that the people of God can be free from the power of sin. And what is sin? According to the Bible sin is rejecting the commandments of God. Adam and Eve rejected God’s command and ate the fruit; the people of Israel rejected God’s command and fashioned a golden calf; Jonah rejected God’s command and ran away from his calling. Every time the commands of God were rejected in the scriptural narrative, disaster followed. Disaster still trails the heels of sin. Why follow God’s commands? Because God knows the consequences of sin.
Have one member of the group read this entire section.
Most of us are accustomed to thinking of God’s commandments as rules that stifle our happiness and make us feel guilty. How untrue this notion is! The commands of God are given to us so that we might live abundantly. Take, for example, the Ten Commandments (Exod. 20:2-17). Each commandment calls us to the blessed life, the pathway to true happiness. The seventh commandment, “You shall not commit adultery,” may seem to restrict our sexual freedom. In reality, though, the opposite is true. To engage in an adulterous affair leads to pain and loneliness; to remain faithful to our spouse brings true freedom. God knows this.
Holiness is something God wishes for us simply because it is the best way to live. The commandments of God are not meant to make our lives a dull drudgery, but to make them whole and full. God’s plan completes and integrates our lives; sin disrupts and fragments our lives. While sin seems appealing on the surface—the fulfillment of all of our desires—beneath the surface lurks poison that will ultimately destroy us.
Writer and philosopher Dallas Willard teaches that sin is “slop.” Sin stains and ruins our souls. We are drawn to it and tempted by its whispers of pleasure only to find that it offers a short season of delight and a long—sometimes lifelong—season of pain. Because God knows this, he prescribes a way of living that helps us resist the seductive yet destructive clutches of sin. Living a holy life is not limited to “super saints”; rather, it is healthy and functional for everyone.
How have you seen disobeying one of God’s commands or the power of sin fragment and destroy a person’s life?
Reflection Question
Allow each person a few moments to respond to this question.
WHAT IS THE HOLINESS TRADITION?
From the heart of God and the manifest life of Jesus, we have seen how God desires holiness, purity, and virtue in our lives. A holy life has been defined as a life that is functional and healthy and whole. But holiness, or purity of heart, is not merely obedience to certain rules. Jesus chastened the Pharisees for outwardly obeying God’s law while neglecting the “word of God”—that is, the spirit of the law.
As before, have a member read this entire section.
Holiness was defined by the Israelites as a way to separate the clean from the unclean. Later, the Pharisees in particular refined the definitions of holiness in terms of outward rituals that determined “clean” and “unclean.” Washing properly, not working on the Sabbath, eating only certain foods, avoiding the company of Gentiles (especially tax collectors and harlots)—all these were the way to holiness. But Jesus openly challenged this division between inward purity and outward ritual. “What goes into your mouth does not make you ‘unclean,’ but what comes out of your mouth, that is what makes you ‘unclean’” (Matt. 15:11, NIV). Jesus turns our attention away from ritual purity and points to the purity of heart from which flows unshakable obedience to God (Matt. 5:8).
Yet Jesus also said, “If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments” (Matt. 19:17). Not keeping the commandments is not even an option. We do not refer to them as the “Ten Suggestions,” as if they were hints to help us improve ourselves. No, keeping the commandments is mandatory, and God provides a way to obey them: yielding our lives to him. Obedience is the natural outgrowth of a life that is bound to God. If we are in love with God, we will obey his laws. Why? Because we love and trust God as a child loves and trusts a parent. Thus we follow his way. We do not obey his commands grudgingly; rather, we keep them willingly, because our experience with God proves that obeying his commands is our best course of action. To trust and obey is at the heart of the Holiness Tradition. As we shall see, trusting and obeying manifest themselves in our lives in many ways.
Reflection Question
Give each member a chance to respond to this question if he or she wishes.
Why did Jesus criticize the Pharisees for focusing on outward action rather than on the inner source of action?
PRACTICING THE HOLINESS TRADITION
Once again we have come to a place where our theology must become practical. Since God desires for us to be holy, it is our task to find ways to enter into his way of holiness.
Again, choose a member to read these paragraphs.
We have noted that it is not merely outward obedience of certain rules or rituals that makes us holy. When we engage in certain disciplines, we are not instantly holy, nor have we completed a task that is rewarded by a merit badge of godliness. Rather, we do certain disciplines and exercises as a means of training, much as an athlete trains to become more proficient at a particular sport.
The result of doing the following exercises is a greater ability to obey God’s commandments. We become able to do that which we were unable to do, able to keep commandments we were unable to keep. For example, two of the following exercises help discipline the tongue. If I tell myself simply to stop saying negative things, I will likely fail. But if I begin with the “inside”—praying for a pure heart and then committing to watch my words—I open the door to the Spirit to begin helping me. When I am about to say something negative, the Spirit speaks a word of caution to me, and that blessed split second makes change in my behavior possible.
The result is not, “Wow, aren’t I special because I stopped saying negative things!” (which sounds much like the words of the Pharisee in Jesus’ parable in Luke 18:9-14), but rather, “God is beginning to mold and shape my life.” Remembering the difference between working from the inside out and from the outside in is extremely important when practicing these disciplines.
EXERCISES IN THE HOLINESS TRADITION
Have each member read over the exercises silently, or have members read them aloud, one at a time. Spend a few moments considering them as each person chooses the exercise he or she will do before the next meeting.
Pray for the Holy Spirit to purify your heart and mind; then listen.
In bringing about change, God works from the inside out and he works via the Holy Spirit. Set aside a substantial amount of time (say, one hour) for a deep and heartfelt prayer. During that time, ask God to purify your heart and mind through the power of the Holy Spirit. The key to the effectiveness of your prayer will be your willingness to surrender control of your life to God. Ask God to search your heart to see if there is any hidden evil in your life or any activity that God wants you to quit. Then listen. When you have a sense of what God wants to free you from, pray that the Spirit will purge that sin—even the desire for it—from your life. Holiness is born in prayers like these.
Respond to temptation with the word of God.
Jesus overcame the devil’s temptations by holding fast to God’s commandments. Memorize those three responses (Deut. 8:3; 6:16; 6:13), and when you are tempted by the enemy to (1) gratify selfish desires, (2) doubt God’s power, or (3) seek wealth, power, or fame, respond to the temptation with the corresponding verse of Scripture. Jesus used the power of God through Scripture to defeat the devil, and so can we.
Try a twenty-four-hour partial fast.
Jesus fasted in the wilderness to gain spiritual strength. When we fast, we are saying no to the uncontrolled appetites of our body and thereby gaining mastery over them. The practice of fasting also reveals hidden traits—anger, selfishness, inability to delay gratification, laziness, and so on—which can become areas for change (and growth) in the future. A simple way to begin is to fast from lunch to lunch, skipping dinner and breakfast in between. After eating lunch on the first day, do not eat a full meal until lunch on the second day. During the twenty-four hours drink plenty of water, and at mealtimes drink a glass of fruit juice if you want. Remember, in the fasting you are “feasting” upon God.
Practice these two disciplines for “taming the tongue.”
What we say reveals what is in our hearts. That is why Jesus said that it is not what goes into the mouth but what comes out that defiles a person (Matt. 15:11). In other words, what we say makes us “unclean.” James also reminds us of the power of words (James 3:5-12). Like fire, they can refine or destroy. The following disciplines will help you monitor the things you say and gain some control over the awesome power of the tongue.
Go a day without saying anything negative.
In the morning, ask the Holy Spirit to “set a guard over [your] mouth” (Ps. 141:3), preventing you from saying anything negative. Be ruthless about this! Do not let even the slightest hint of criticism or judgment come out of your mouth. You may find yourself in situations that call for an honest appraisal; for example, you may be asked what you think about something. Be honest, but do not be critical. Instead, search for ways to be positive about everything around you and be ready to give compliments as often as you can.
Go a day without saying anything that is dishonest.
Jesus said of Nathaniel that he was a person without “guile” (John 1:47, KJV). What a compliment! Guile is dishonesty, deceit, double-talk, falsehood, shading the truth, manipulating words, and the like. Pray that the Spirit will make your heart pure and honest and alert you to anything that is less than forthright. Do not manipulate your words; let your “yes” be “yes” and your “no” be “no.”
In both of these activities you will find a great sense of release. Our negative words hurt not only others but ourselves as well; they affect our spirit. The old adage says, “When we throw mud, we can’t help but get some on ourselves.” When we say dishonest things, we live in fear that we will be found out, that someone will see through our falsehood. We are forced to tell more lies to keep the original lie going. We find freedom and peace when we begin taming the tongue.
ENDING AND BEGINNING
Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.
Amen.
Allow each member time to share which of the above exercises he or she plans to do during the week. Encourage each other in this venture. After everyone has shared, join hands in a circle and pray the Lord’s Prayer aloud and in unison.
Ask for a volunteer to lead the next meeting.