STRATEGY FOR WINNING THE BATTLE FOR HOLINESS

BELOW ARE SOME SPECIFIC ACTION PLAN

1. Yield to God’s power – ask the Holy Spirit for power and strength. Therefore submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you (James 4:7).

2. Every day commit yourself to put the flesh to death. Likewise count yourselves also to be truly dead to sin, but alive to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lust (Romans 6:11-12). 

3. Decide to be holy every day. Pray: “Today, I offer my day to you, Lord – I want to consecrate it to you, and I want to be holy, and I will be holy today. Today I will make a covenant with my own eyes before you Lord” (see Job 31:1).

4. Guard your hearts always, be aware when temptations come, where your weak points are – and flee. But you, O man of God, flee these things and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, and meekness (1 Timothy 6:11). If the salmon stops swimming, it will be carried back by the current – if you let your guard down, you will fall. 

5. Be conscious of your thoughts: submit them to Christ. Do not sugar-coat or justify sin. Call sin a sin and do not make excuses for yourself. Count yourself dead to sin. [Say to yourself: “I do not do those things anymore – I am dead to those things.”] We take every thought captive so that it is obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).

6. Live a life with accountability now – live in the light! Make commitments and be accountable to one another for those commitments; we can help each other – not judge, but help. You yourselves used to be in the darkness, but since you have become the Lord's people, you are in the light. So you must live like people who belong to the light, for it is the light that brings a rich harvest of every kind of goodness, righteousness, and truth. Try to learn what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the worthless things that people do, things that belong to the darkness. Instead, bring them out to the light (Ephesians 5:8-11).

One day, everything that we do in darkness will be brought to light; God will expose all our hidden thoughts and actions. It is better to be accountable here now (where we can change) rather than when God judges us. There is nothing that can be hid from God; everything in all creation is exposed and lies open before his eyes. And it is to him that we must all give an account of ourselves (Hebrews 4:13).

7. Get rid of all our grudges, resentments and lack of forgiveness and live in freedom! All these are chains that bind us in prison and prevent us from growing in holiness. 

8. Fill your mind with God’s word. As it says in Philippians 4:8: Finally, my brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honest, whatever things are right, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, and whatever things are of good report; if there is any virtue and if there is any praise, think on these things. 
9. Guard your eyes always – especially with the media: "I have made an agreement with my eyes. Then how can I look with lust at a virgin?” (Job 31:1)

10. Develop good holy habits – for new Christians, this will include habits of prayer, reading Scripture, and doing service. For older Christians, habits like simple living, generosity, dying to one’s self, simplicity, humility, and being Christ-like in all that you do are things for you to grow in.

11. Review your day before you sleep. How did the battle for holiness go today? Were there battles lost and is there anything you need to repent of? 

12. For married people, decide to be a “one-woman man” or a “one-man woman.” We should not have any intimate or special relationship with anyone of the opposite sex aside from our spouse, including those in fantasies and daydreams. For all men, God desires us to treat “older women as mothers, the younger as sisters in all purity” (1 Timothy 5:2) and the same would go for women in their relationships with men. For single people, you need to offer your sexuality to God daily and decide to be chaste in all of your relationships. Unless you are in a courting relationship in preparation for marriage you should have no intimate or special relationship with anyone of the opposite sex, including those in fantasies and daydreams. 

13. Avoid situations and circumstances that are not healthy for purity. “Wax melts before fire.” One pitfall many Christians face daily is the area of media, especially use of the internet. While there are many good things the internet provides us, there are also many bad things available out there – where the flesh and the world can cause havoc in our lives. You need to live a life with accountability in the way you use the internet.

14. Live in the present and not in the past – do not re-live the “sins of our youth.” Consider yourself dead to sin, including your past sins. Avoid the passions of youth, and strive for righteousness, faith, love, and peace, together with those who with a pure heart call out to the Lord for help (2 Timothy 2:22).

15. Be patient – never give up; it is a battle for a lifetime.

This article is written by Tom Caballes