Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
Ephesians 5:25-27
Jesus gave His life to save lost sinners—people like you and me who had no hope apart from Him. But though Jesus loved us as we were, He did not save us to leave us as we were. After listing a catalog of sinful living, Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, “And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11). The church of God is made up of individual believers, and the church will not be glorious and holy unless the members are growing in sanctification.
Charles Spurgeon said, “There is nothing which my heart desires more than to see you, the members of this church, distinguished for holiness. It is the Christian’s crown and glory. An unholy church? It is of no use to the world and of no esteem among men. Oh, it is an abomination, Hell’s laughter, Heaven’s abhorrence. And the larger the church, the more influential, the worse nuisance does it become when it becomes unholy. The worst evils which have ever come upon the world have been brought upon her by an unholy church.”
One of the primary reasons that the church is not having the influence on society for righteousness that it should is that in far too many cases our churches are not made up of Christians who are committed to holiness. The more like the world we live the less impact we have on the world. If we long to see a holy church, we must begin with holy lives. God’s work in the world is always preceded by His work in His people.
