Mar 20, 2019
CROSS exists to mobilize a generation to lay down their lives in pursuit of the glory of Jesus Christ among all the unreached and unengaged peoples of the world.
Twenty-four people traveled with Milton Seventh Day Baptist Church to Louisville, Kentucky, January 2-5, 2019, for this missions-focused conference for young adults. What a blessing it was!
• 7,500 in attendance
• 24 sent by Milton SDB Church
to experience great worship,
great preaching, great prayer
for the unreached
• Serving one GREAT GOD!
• As a result, 9 of the 24 are
prayerfully considering a call to
missions.
To experience the panel discussions and main speakers, including David Platt and John Piper, go to: https://crossforthenations.org/
By Micah Crandall
January 2-5, a group of us from the area surrounding the Milton SDB Church went to the Cross Missions Conference. The conference exists to equip a generation to lay down their lives in pursuit of the Glory of Jesus Christ— and that is what it did. I came away from the conference with a strong internal urge to pursue Holiness. Holiness is something that is often neglected by people my age. In fact Kevin DeYoung, one of the speakers at Cross, actually described us as being allergic to holiness. Being holy is to be set apart from what is common; to be different or unique in comparison to this world. Working with this definition, it is easy to see why such a thing that is constantly talked about in Scripture has often been neglected—being different can be utterly terrifying for most people. Yet this is what it is to be holy: people set apart from the world in how they live, speak, act, think, and view the world around them. This is a high calling, but as Christians we are called to be holy as God is holy.
“As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’” (1 Peter 1:14-16)
What does God’s holiness look like? If we are to be holy like God, what are we striving to be like? God’s holiness is hard to describe; as imperfect beings it’s hard to fathom perfection, but you can think of it as somewhat like the sun. It is unique, at least in our solar system; it is powerful; and it is the source of life. You can go even further and say that like the area around the sun is hot, the area surrounding God’s presence is also holy. Like the sun is a good thing, so is the holiness of God. But if you get too close to the sun, you will burn up and the same is true of God’s holiness. Because we are sinful beings, impure and unholy, we cannot stand in His presence. Not because His holiness is bad but because it is that good. In order to be near to God, we need to become holy, but that is a process we cannot undertake on our own. This is why we need Christ. When He died on the cross, He took our unholiness upon Himself and imputed His holiness onto us.
Becoming holy is not something that we can avoid as maturing Christians, and pursuing holiness further is essential for Christian growth and mission work. Mission work is incredibly hard, and not for the spiritually weak. You will face persecution, spiritual warfare, loneliness, sickness, strain with your teammates, and so much more. If you’re not spiritually mature, you will fall and fall hard. The best way to grow as a Christian is through a commitment to pursuing holiness in all areas of your life. Make no mistake, this is a battle for purity of mind, heart, and body.
It is the battle against sin and not one to be taken lightly if we want to be good witnesses for Christ. I am reminded of a quote from John Owen, “Do you mortify? Do you make it your daily work? Be always at it whilst you live; cease not a day from this work; be killing sin or it will be killing you.” I implore SDBs to make the pursuit of holiness our goal as we ask God to use us for His glory. Soli Deo Gloria.
