“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

     There are no words in the Bible more solemn and sobering then the words of Romans 3:23. They grasp the heart of a fallen creation with a death grip. What do these words mean? They mean that at man’s best, he is far short of deserving God’s eternal blessings. At man’s worst, he will involve himself in practices that even an animal would never do.

      When God calls His children to holiness (separation from sin and worldly selfishness and separation unto God in priestly, sanctified ministry), He expects us to strive to manifest His glory (the image in which man was originally created) in our lives (be “light”). The “light” of our lives will increase as we learn to live in the power of His indwelling Spirit and strive to live in the center of God’s will.

      The person who understands the wickedness of his heart will never be content to live on the fringe of God’s will. That person will not live on the edge to be seduced by the shadows of temptation. If you are constantly living in the shadows of temptation, it is because whatever is tempting you is between you and the light of God’s glory. When a Christian chooses to live within the circle of God’s will, he does not cast shadows because he becomes part of the light. The closer you bring your life to the center of God’s will, the brighter your light will become.

     However, before God can lead us to the high ground of the center of His will, He must take us to the low ground of the center of our will. There we see ourselves as God sees us. Spiritually blind, struggling in the darkness and covered with the filth of our own degradation.

“1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. 2 The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. 3 They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one” (Psalm 14:1-3).

“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away” (Isaiah 64:6).

     Do we dare call ourselves Christians and children of the Holy One of Israel while continuing to live in the darkness of this world of sin and half hearted commitment? The call to holiness is a call to return to the glory of God at the center of His will and to manifest that glory through our lives. Anything less is either ignorance or unbelief.
Just because Christians no longer involve themselves with the external practices of the “works of darkness” that does not automatically make them a manifestation of the glory of God. It is not just the absence of sin that makes a person holy. Holiness comes from the heart. Holiness is the essence of desire for righteousness. Before holiness can ever be realized in any real and practical way, a Christian must be genuinely motivated to be satisfied with nothing else. That motivation will only come from a genuine love for God.

      God shows acts of love toward us because He is love. Acts of love flow from the fountain of the inner man; what we are inside. Holiness is a fruit of a heart that truly hungers after a right relationship with God. Holiness is not the goal. Being right with God and loving Him is the goal.

     No matter how hard a believer tries, he is incapable of either loving God or producing holiness in his life apart from the help of the Holy Spirit (grace). All the believer can do by himself is whitewash his sepulcher. That is nothing more then externalism.

“43 For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 44 For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. 45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. 46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say” (Luke 6:43-46)?

     Externalism is not the same as Holy Spirit produced holiness. True holiness flows naturally from a heart that “hungers and thirsts” after God.

“As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God” (Psalm 42:1).

“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6).

     The word “glory” in Romans 3:23 that we all come short of is translated from the Greek word doxa (dox'-ah). It can mean many things, but in the context of Romans 3:23 it seems best to translate it praise. Because we are all sinners by nature, we all fall far short of deserving praise from God. God’s praise always comes with great blessing. The emphasis of Romans 3:23 is that we do not deserve any kind of blessing from God.

     The central problem of mankind is that we are sinners. Saved or unsaved, we are sinners. The fountain of our hearts produce only corruption, unless that heart is changed by regeneration and controlled by the Holy Spirit. If our hearts are not changed by regeneration and controlled by the Holy Spirit, we will be constantly leaning in the direction of worldly temptations regardless of how white our sepulcher is to everyone around us. You will usually fall in the direction you are leaning. Christians lean toward worldly practices and pleasures because they love the world.

“If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (I John 2:15).

     In other words, anytime we put what the world has to offer before what God wants us to do we are manifesting our love for the things of this world and our lack of love for God. God measures our love for Him by our willingness to submit our will to His will. This submission is called obedience.

     Our desire to put God first in our lives is measured by the effort we make to maintain our fellowship with Him. That effort is how we measure our love for Him. We do not do it to just to express our love for Him, but because we love Him. Our love for Him is what motivates us to maintain unbroken fellowship with Him.

“For this is the love of God, that we keep (action) his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous (attitude)” (I John 5:3).

     God measures our love for Him by our ACTIONS and ATTITUDE in response to His truth. Rebellion is defined as the unwillingness to submit our will to the authority of another. Therefore, rebellion is an expression of attitude by action. It begins with an attitude that results in wrong action. Every willful act of disobedience is also an act of rebellion. Each act of rebellion manifests our lack of love for our Lord at any given moment in time. Attitude + Action = (reveals) our love for God. (A+A=L). Attitude reflects the direction in which we are leaning. Action reflects the direction in which we move or act.

     In order to really learn to love the Lord, we must learn the principle of the broken will (submission). Loving God is work. Loving anyone is work. Loving someone is spiritual warfare. Loving anyone is a battle with SIN (temptation, satanic outside forces of evil) and SELF (internal carnal desires to sin). True love is Holy Spirit produced.

“22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts” (Galatians 5:22-24).

     The “fruit of the Spirit” comes from yielding ourselves, body, soul and spirit into the control of God’s Holy Spirit. Hungering and thirsting after righteousness is hungering and thirsting after God. Putting God first and self last in the priorities of our desires must go hand in hand. The New Man in Christ (Gal. 5:24) and the Old Man are a contradiction against each other (Gal. 5:17).

     I frequently ask people who come to me for counseling if they (in their opinion) love God. Almost always, regardless of improper attitudes or actions, they answer, yes. The following principle applies: anytime we continue to habitually have a problem with a particular area of sin in our lives, the PROBLEM is that we love ourselves more than we love God.

     In that area of our lives, God is not first. God measures our love for Him by our willingness to submit our will to His will and when doing so is not a great burden for us. The Bible concept of love is “Right Action + Right Attitude = Loving God.” If the action is right but the attitude is wrong, the action of obedience does not qualify as loving God. Read Deuteronomy 6:4-6.

“4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6 And [because that is a reality} these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart” (Deuteronomy 6:4-6).

     The Shema of the Old Testament was repeated twice daily, every morning and every evening. God expects total commitment of all that we are to Him, body (might or physical strength), soul (will and personality) and spirit (desires and attitudes). Loving God (putting Him first) involves that kind of commitment. According to Deuteronomy 6:6, truth must be in the heart (not just in the head) before it can ever be a fountain of holiness in our lives.

     Why is temptation such a problem? The answer is simple. If you are too hot it is usually because you are standing too close to the fire. If you have pitched your tent toward Sodom, that is the direction you are leaning. You can always expect to fall in the direction you lean.

     Why is being holy so hard? The answer is equally as simple. If you are too cold it is usually because you are standing too far from the fire. If you learn to seek God’s face and walk with Him, you will find living right will come a lot easier. You will also discover an ever widening gap between you and the things of this world that have tempted you for years. The closer you walk with the Lord, the more you will grow to love Him. You will also find those temptations that haunted you for years to be far less tempting.