According to Barna Research Group in 2006, only thirty-five percent of Americans believe that God call us and expects us to become holy. Less than half of self-proclaimed born-again believers agree with this.[1] And I imagine that over the last fifteen years or so, those numbers have decreased quite a bit. It’s evident that we live in a culture that doesn’t prize holiness. People today do whatever they want to do, whatever feels good and right to them. Even many Christians are throwing biblical values to the wind and doing whatever the world around them is doing: watching inappropriate movies, listening to explicit music, wearing revealing clothing, scrolling through Twitter or TikTok for hours on end, and engaging in actions that were once unheard of.
According to Kevin DeYoung, there’s a hole in our holiness, and it needs to be addressed now.
What exactly is the hole in our holiness? DeYoung writes,
“The hole in our holiness is that we don’t really care much about it…There is a gap between our love for the gospel and our love for godliness.”[2]
We don’t care about being holy. We don’t think it’s that important. We think it’s too hard. God promised us an easy, carefree life, right? Wrong. God calls us to live a holy life. In fact, holiness is the entire reason for our redemption. This may seem legalistic, but it’s not. Holiness is not the foundation of our faith, but it is the fruit of it. And we’re called to be holy because God Himself is holy (1 Peter 1:16).
“God is holy, so most basically being holy means being like God. This is why it’s so critical that Christians know the character and work of the one they worship. If you want to know what holiness looks like, look at God.”[3]
In this book, DeYoung not only discusses what holiness is, but also why we should pursue it. The Law that God has given us is not bad or outdated; it is still true and good. God’s grace does not mean we’re exempt from obedience to the Law; it’s the reason why we should seek God and strive to obey Him in all matters. Contrary to what the world tells us, holiness is possible, though we will never be perfectly holy on this side of heaven. We will fail, and when we do, God calls us to repent and live out the new identity we have in Christ. Holiness is a lifelong process that is both hard and good.
“Holiness is the sum of a million little things – the avoidance of little evils and little foibles, the setting aside of little bits of worldliness and little acts of compromise, the putting to death of little inconsistencies and little indiscretions, the attention to little duties and little dealings, the hard work of little self-denials and little self-restraints, the cultivation of little benevolences and little forbearances.”[4]
It’s hard to believe that The Hole in Our Holiness is ten years old because its message is still so relevant today. Kevin DeYoung even includes a chapter on sexual immorality and sexual purity that speaks well to our current cultural climate. DeYoung is one of my favorite authors, and I love that he always shares biblical truth in a clear and understandable way and sprinkles in his signature humor and wit. If you’re looking for a short, easy read that will help you grow in godliness and live in obedience, this is a great book to check out.
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[1] “The Concept of Holiness Baffles Most Americans,” Barna Group, accessed February 7, 2022, https://www.barna.com/research/the-concept-of-holiness-baffles-most-americans/.
[2] Kevin DeYoung, The Hole in Our Holiness: Filling the Gap between Gospel Passion and the Pursuit of Godliness (Wheaton: Crossway, 2012), 10, 21.
[3] Ibid., 39.
[4] Ibid., 145.
