Gospel Holiness: Elements, Part 1 (negative)

Driving home: If your heart is set upon holiness, you will not be able to relinquish that desire without inner pain.

A story of a young man proposing to a woman who rejects him, illustrating that if his heart was truly set on her, he would experience deep pain and not give up easily, just as a heart-rooted desire for holiness cannot be frustrated without inner grief.

It is something that has its roots in the deep inner recesses of the human being. Now, when you have your heart set upon something, you cannot relinquish it. Or see that heart desire unrealized without experiencing deep inward pain. Here's a young man, and he says his heart is set upon winning the hand of a certain young woman.

9:50 - 10:19 Read in full sermon

Driving home: If your heart is set upon holiness, you will not be able to relinquish that desire without inner pain.

An example of a young man determined to be a first-string half-back, showing that a heart-rooted desire is conscious, shapes one's entire life, and is known to all around them.

And then the second thing about this kind of heart-rooted desire, you know when you've got it. This kind of desire is not something that resides in the subconscious. You take that young fellow who's determined that he's going to make first-string half-backs. He knows it and everybody else knows it.

13:05 - 13:22 Read in full sermon

Driving home: If your heart is set upon holiness, you will not be able to relinquish that desire without inner pain.

A story of a man in a burning building, illustrating that if his desire to escape is earnest, he will put forth serious effort and use all faculties, just as a heart-rooted desire for holiness involves the whole man's conscious effort.

Now, a heart-rooted desire and serious effort frame and mold the life. It'll involve the whole man. Here's a man who's in a building and the building is burning and he looks at the first avenue of escape out the door and down the stairs and he says, well, I can't do that. The flames are belching up the stairs.

14:07 - 14:44 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He elaborates on 'heart-rooted desire,' explaining it as a deep, conscious longing that causes pain when frustrated and involves the whole person in serious effort, akin to a…

A personal anecdote about grade school report cards having both a grade and an 'effort' mark, emphasizing that gospel holiness involves conscious, deliberate effort from the child of God.

Back when I was in grade school, I don't know if they have this in any of your schools around here, we've got two marks for every subject. The first mark is that the heart is set upon something that is not meant to be an object. The first mark, and that was the big one, it was A, B, C, or D, or F, whatever else, or X, I forgot what they gave for flunking, that would go in the main block, but then it would always be a little number after that. It was A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, B3, and that little number was an expression of the effort. You see, the second in terms of effort. And you know, my parents n...

15:35 - 16:32 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not claim to be a Christian if you are at home in the realm of sin, including gossip, squandering time, failure to forgive, or omitted duties.

An extended analogy of a young boy (Johnny) delighting in a mud puddle and his father accidentally falling into the same mud puddle while rushing to catch a bus. This illustrates the difference between living in sin (Johnny, whose heart is in the mud) and falling into sin (Daddy, whose goal is elsewhere, and the mud is an obstacle).

In the direction of holiness, and we find the explanation of this in verse 9, whosoever is born of God does not make a practice of sin, for his seed remaineth in him. That principle of divine life, that seed remaineth in him, and he cannot sin. He cannot practise sin. He cannot be at home in the realm of sin, because he is born of God. And the life of God in him is a life of sin. And the life of God in him is a life of sin. And the life of sin is a life that is reaching out and upward and in the direction of holiness and perfection. You say, what is the difference between living in sin and fal...

31:42 - 32:45 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The fourth characteristic is aspiring to perfection of holiness, citing 1 John 2:1, 1 Peter 1:15, and 2 Corinthians 7:1. Martin uses a marriage analogy to explain that while…

An analogy of a young couple making marriage vows, aiming to be the 'perfect husband' or 'perfect wife' out of love, even knowing they won't achieve perfection. This illustrates that the Christian's longing for perfect holiness is a spontaneous longing of genuine love for Christ, despite knowing it won't be fully attained on earth.

you included, tells me that we can't be perfect here on earth, and yet he said, Look, the Bible says, Be ye perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect. The Scripture tells us that we're to have him as the standard of our holiness, and if we can't attain it, why does God say we should? He said, It seems a mockery to me. If we know we can't, we'll just throw up our hands and say, Well, if we can't, let's not try. Well, how would you answer a question like that? I got digging around and scratching for some answers, and I think I came up with an analogy that was helpful to him, I trust. It was to...

55:00 - 55:59 Read in full sermon