Since you died, as it were, with Christ and this has set you free from following the worlds ideas of how to be saved by doing good and obeying various rules, why do you keep right on following them anyway, still bound by such rules as not eating, tasting, or even touching certain foods? Such rules are mere human teachings, for food was made to be eaten and used up. These rules may seem good, for rules of this kind require strong devotion and are humiliating and hard on the body, but they have no effect when it comes to conquering a persons evil thoughts and desires. They only make him proud.[Colossians 2:20-23 TLB]

“Since you died with Christ and this has set you free... from...obeying rules, why do you keep... bound by rules…”

It is a common practice among those who emphasize holiness to want to seek purity of life by mechanical means. Holiness is often being sought as things men must "do" rather than a revelation of what Christ has already completed (by grace) on the cross. The quest and passion to live a holy life is usually very strong and consuming. Therefore, hungry men, who sincerely detest the pollutions of their carnal nature, in a bid to dispense with the evil nature, begin to pursue victory with their energies instead of appropriating the divine provision of grace that has conquered sin in man.

In error, they deny themselves of lots of legitimates in order to accomplish a holy nature. They come up with several rules of holiness and engage themselves with them, but they never look unto God to impart His finished work in them as they surrender to Him. Holiness now becomes what men labour to achieve rather than what Christ has consummated on His cross.

“Such rules are mere human teachings,...they seem good...but have no effect... in conquering evil...”

When we were still struggling to be holy, we were told to be gentle even when our old man, the nature of sin in us (commonly referred to as "adamic nature", "carnal nature", "sinful nature" or "the flesh") had not died. We trained the old man in us on how to be gentle. We minded the way we talked, lived, worked, moved and behaved. Our step was doctored every moment so that it would not go out of the way to follow its natural course. We laboured to suppress the old man in us, and compelled him to live a "wrong life" contrary to his own nature (by trying to copy the Christ life).

The nature of the old man is sinful and carnal, but we constrained it to hide its true nature and manifest some good traits contrary to who he is. Though we might have achieved much success by looking gentle and godly, but all that was by "practice", it was not our "nature". The pig tried to perfume and clean itself up, but a sparkling beautiful pig is still a pig anyway.

Our gentleness and holiness was by "performance". It was an "act", it was not by "life". We only compelled the old man to live newly, but that did not change who we were. We became hypocrites living the wrong life. We became deceivers living to please the world, living to show the world that we are what we are not. But heaven knows us through and through that we are only performers and actors living the wrong life and displaying a contrary picture from the inner life that we actually carry.

“These rules may seem good... and humiliating and hard... but they have no effect...”

Even though the desire to live a holy and righteous life was great, commendable and godly, but the means we employed in achieving holiness was completely opposed to the design of Christ. God did not want us to give instructions and rules and guidance to the old man on how he should live. God did not desire to force the wrong man to live a right life. He knew that all that emanated out of the old man, no matter how clean it appeared, was simply odious to His glory. He therefore came to totally terminate that old man, and install Himself on the throne of our hearts as the "NEW MAN", whose only nature is to radiate holiness without being compelled or instructed.

To use the old man to do what Christ ought to do in us, is simply to put the old man to work. The old man became more magnified and exalted, and Christ became humiliated. To engage the old man in keeping righteous rules is a slap on the face of Christ. Though we think we are trying to honour Christ by trying to keep some rules of holiness, but it is actually a disregard to His finished works, a dishonour to His Holy name, a discredit to His death, when the flesh (the enemy of Christ) is used to pursue what only the cross of Jesus is capable.

By this, the flesh became more robust, we got a superficial solution that only worsened our carnal states the more. The flesh became more arrogant and fat, it became more groomed and it grew stronger in us, and alas, it was still the same old man, so odious to God.

Genuine living in holiness, genuine living to please God, genuine fruit of the Spirit ONLY comes after the demise of the old man. True holiness is the life that is lived by the NEW MAN (Christ in us), and NOT what we compel self to do. True holiness is a product of "life", not the performance of an act, not the applied systematic teachings we have learnt, neither is it a product of internal struggles, self disciplines and stringent commands.

“Since you died, as it were, with Christ and this has set you free...”

Holiness is not a practice as many want to execute today, rather, holiness is a life. Holiness is NOT a performance, or an activity we do. It is NOT a set of rules and regulations that we follow, nor is it a commitment we force ourselves to carry out. Rather, Holiness is a divine work wrought in the heart, which flows out in lifestyle. It is not what we do, it is who we are. It is an offshoot of divine breaking, it is not rules and regulations we force on our body, it is not a set of rules or codes of conduct we follow and adhere strictly to. NO, such activities and performances are things that we engage the old man to do, when he has not died.

There is so much of self-righteousness today that we call holiness. But, a life that does not emanate out of crucifixion, is not a holy life. We can engage ourselves in several endless self denials and commitments, yet they do not please the Lord because no matter how beautiful and sanctimonious before men they seem, they are still all "works" of the same flesh Christ came to kill.

Holiness is a life that grows out of a root, and that root is Jesus Christ Himself dwelling in human lives. The origin of holiness is the cross. If the cross did not crush the self in man, holiness cannot grow out. Holiness is the resurrection life that grew because the old man died and was buried. Wherever the old man is still alive, be sure there is no holiness.

“These rules may seem good, [they] require strong devotion and are humiliating and hard on the body, but they have no effect [in] conquering... evil thoughts and desires...”

Much sermons today on holiness are preachings that compel natural men to conform their activities to christlikeness. This is NOT the gospel, it is more of moral instructions or civic education that men teach in the society as moral education. Todays gospel is more of the LAW than of GRACE. They compel men to "DO" rather than to “TRUST” or "SURRENDER". But Sermons should enthrone Christ, who alone can make men holy.

Only the cross of Jesus Christ can produce holy men. If only we can preach Christ and enthrone HIM in us, rather than preach a set of rules and instructions which engage the flesh that ought to be killed?

The preaching of church traditions, rules, regulations, codes of conduct, behavioural mannerisms and the law, never set a man free, they only suppress the rottenness of his heart from seeing the light of the day. Those who are exercised by plenty laws, whose holiness is a measure of several personal efforts and self-denials, are usually very critical. One can see that all they have (or profess) was achieved by human efforts. Though you may see some natural goodness and human piety in them by their much exercise, yet the air around them with the breath of their spirits lacks that divine sweetness of grace that only Calvary imputes. They see others who are not like themselves as unholy people.
They put themselves in so much bondage that never set them free.

True freedom and total victory is ONLY a product of the cross, not a product of human efforts and laborious performances.

Many times, we make the church "physically holy", but God is not looking at all those external decorations. Regardless of all external conformities, God looks down and still sees our rottenness and iniquity within. God sees the inner man, not our outward dressing and appearance. The Cross is NOT to make men physically or outwardly presentable before men, while they are still spiritually rejected by God.

God wants to build holy men in life, NOT just in performance. He wants victorious men who are totally and truly free. He is not looking for hypocrites, who suppress something rotten in the heart that they do not want men to see.

A boy gives himself a law: "I do not want to shake hands with girls, because I want to be holy...". So he counts that as holiness unto himself and makes it a standard for judging holiness in others. Check his heart to confirm whether that rule has set him free from internal struggles and lust, or it has only suppressed an internal rottenness and evil from coming to the fore.

Though we are not proposing that men should go about in unrestrained looseness with the opposite gender, and shaking just any girl they meet, but total freedom from internal rottenness and sin, can never be achieved because a mere rule of holiness was set to prevent self from misbehaving. Total liberty within and without only comes because the cross has crushed the man of sin within, for whom you are setting rules to keep in check.

The means to victory, is NOT the LAW, some RULES of HOLINESS, TRADITIONS or DOs and DO NOTs, it is the CROSS, it is GRACE.

"Traditions", rules, "dos & do nots" only obscures the cross. It gives a false hope, it tries to proffer an alternative to the genuine. Exalting tradition is a slap on Christ who offered His life to accomplish holiness. Tradition reduces the potency of the cross. Tradition says "Christ cannot do it, just follow my rules..." Tradition tries to copy the cross, but only offers a counterfeit, a fake superficial victory that does not get to the root. Tradition washes the externals clean, but leaves the heart polluted. Tradition beautifies you before men and does not care about what God is looking at. Tradition makes you pompous, it boasts on your works (your dos and do nots), it never submits to grace. Whatever tradition has achieved cleanly blocks Jesus and the cross from your sight, and makes you proud and boastful as if holiness is achieved by your energy and works.

“For by grace are ye saved through faith and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Eph 2:8-9)

True holiness, a complete evacuation of the old man, is only accomplished by Jesus at the cross, not by trial or by denial…

Selah…