JACKSON, Tenn. — Oct. 17, 2018 — Chuck Lawless, vice president of spiritual formation and ministry centers at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, said putting faith in practice begins with holiness. Lawless spoke in 51社区 chapel Wednesday in the first of three addresses for Union鈥檚 Faith in Practice Week.
鈥淲hen we think about living out our lives for Christ, the foundation of that is that we must be holy men and women of God,鈥� Lawless said. 鈥淲e have to be holy inside and out. We walk out of our holiness to take the gospel to our neighbors and the nations.鈥�
Lawless said the way the enemy lured Adam and Eve into sin in Genesis 3 is the same way he seeks to lure believers away from holiness today. He seeks to bring people into conversation, make them believe God鈥檚 Word doesn鈥檛 matter and tempt them with what they don鈥檛 have.
Lawless said through the Bible, Christians know where the line of sin is, but they often seek to get as close to it as they can without sinning.
鈥淲e put ourselves as close to the line as we can get and hope we can handle it, then we cross the line and wonder why it happened,鈥� Lawless said.
He said the moment believers feel themselves thinking about sin and leaning toward it, they should run. He said knowing Scripture is the best way to recognize temptation.
鈥淒o you know God鈥檚 Word well enough to recognize the lies that the enemy speaks?鈥� Lawless asked.
He said the enemy lures people toward sin with excuses and lies, then he turns on them once they cross the line, bringing shame and guilt and forcing them to hide from a holy God.
鈥淭he enemy who over here was the enticer, he now becomes the accuser because he wants us to be caught in our sin,鈥� Lawless said.
He said the hope for Christians does not lie in their ability to resist the enemy, the world and their own human nature. Their hope lies in a God who pursues them.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 care how deeply you are in sin; God knows exactly where you are,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he God we serve is a God who comes looking for us.鈥�
Lawless will continue Faith in Practice Week with addresses Thursday and Friday morning at 10 a.m. in the G. M. Savage Memorial Chapel on Union鈥檚 campus.
Watch Wednesday鈥檚 chapel address .