The Pursuit of the Holy: A Divine Invitation
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Simon Ponsonby tells us the story of a holy God seeking friends among the unholy, bringing life to those who, left to themselves, would have missed out completely. Here we discover how God longs to share something of his own purity with us. In an instant he changes our standing with him; over a lifetime he can change our attitudes and our actions. But are we on board? If even a few of us were ready and willing, the result would be a chain reaction with the power to transform the society around us. The book starts with a look at God s essential and unique holiness (the as I am holy part) and what that means for us as sinful human beings (the Be holy part). We then learn that, contrary to what we might expect, God actually moves towards us not away from us. And so the command to be holy as I am holy becomes reachable.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"Why should the world take Christians seriously if we are not reflecting Jesus in our lives?" This question is key to Ponsonby's rigourous exploration of holiness in a fresh and compelling invitation to "be holy as I am holy". Ponsonby states:- "This pilgrimage is not one of subservient creatures before their Creator, neither of soldiers before their commanding officer, but of sons and daughters and lovers of God. To be holy is to be fully alive, fully human, and whole, as God intended." Rather than unattainable perfection, Ponsonby encourages others to understand that our pursuit of holiness is a life-long transformation process that is not only desirable but is also an exciting opportunity and offer placed before us to go for it. Holiness is a supremely positive word that reflects God's desire to restore His children into His likeness. Moses and Isaiah are two characters Ponsonby uses to provide vivid windows into God's restoration process. Careful study and examination of these men and their encounters with God reveal many things about the divine characteristics of God's beautiful holiness.
Simon Ponsonby affirms that because of God's gracious love and desire for communion with us, he has done what is possible for us not only to pursue holiness, but to achieve it. While we can never count on attaining moral perfection in this life, we need not settle for less than increasing victory over sin. And as more and more Christians choose to partner with God in the ongoing process of sanctification, we set the stage for revival. Chapter 5, "Unholy Religion", was my favourite chapter. It unveils the Pharisees and their legalism, versus Jesus' version of what it means to be holy in a wonderfully helpful way.. Having grown up surrounded by a cultural and faith-based legalistic environment, I found much to relate to. There is history, research, theology, warmth and humour in abundance in this unique and powerful book yet most Christians will struggle to complete it. Worthy of reading and engaging with more than once!. I felt the author wrote an affective and applicable book on the holiness of God, but also on our own reflection of it in our own lives. The book is definitely a thinking book: read, ponder, pray and apply! Technical, substantive and challenging!
Simon Ponsonby affirms that because of God's gracious love and desire for communion with us, he has done what is possible for us not only to pursue holiness, but to achieve it. While we can never count on attaining moral perfection in this life, we need not settle for less than increasing victory over sin. And as more and more Christians choose to partner with God in the ongoing process of sanctification, we set the stage for revival. Chapter 5, "Unholy Religion", was my favourite chapter. It unveils the Pharisees and their legalism, versus Jesus' version of what it means to be holy in a wonderfully helpful way.. Having grown up surrounded by a cultural and faith-based legalistic environment, I found much to relate to. There is history, research, theology, warmth and humour in abundance in this unique and powerful book yet most Christians will struggle to complete it. Worthy of reading and engaging with more than once!. I felt the author wrote an affective and applicable book on the holiness of God, but also on our own reflection of it in our own lives. The book is definitely a thinking book: read, ponder, pray and apply! Technical, substantive and challenging!
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3 reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Excellent
4 Nov 2010
Format:Paperback
One of the greatest articulations of sanctification I've ever enjoyed. Challenging. Biblical. This is sanctification by grace through faith. Parts of it read like performance-based santification. But it's all grounded in the wonderful, sin-killing cross. I had a difficult time laying this book down. Quite a page-turner, this one. It shines among the many I've read on the same subject.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Understanding Holiness
21 Oct 2010
Format:Paperback
I felt this was an exceptional book on the subject of the holiness of God. Examples of subjects in the book: the holiness of God, the sinfulness in us, justification and sanctification, conforming to His nature and character, legalism/perfectionism, shame/guilt, and we are dead to sin and alive in Him. Many wonderful and inspiring quotes are used throughout the book. Many Scripture references are used such as Isaiah chapter 6. I do not feel it is a book that made it difficult for me to understand or apply in my life. The author explains things well; yet it is a thinking book, often I would need to ponder and pray about what I'd read.
Thank you to David C. Cook--B&B Media for my free copy for reading/reviewing.
Thank you to David C. Cook--B&B Media for my free copy for reading/reviewing.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
The Pursuit of the Holy
27 Oct 2010
Format:Paperback
This review is going to be short and to the point. While the author has the credentials of a thoughtful theologian, and the degrees to back it up . . . and while his purpose for writing this book is pure and unadulterated by anything the world has to offer . . . the book is fundamentally flawed (in this reviewers opinion.) The source of the spring is tainted by the subtle poison of works righteousness.
Author Simon Ponsonby is quite correct in his diagnosis of the condition of the 21st Century church. The church has failed to be salt and light in the world. The church has been more influenced by the world, than the other way around. The church does need to "open up those deep, old wells of holiness." A radical transformation does need to take place if we are to win the world to Christ.
However, we do not love our neighbor, and thus attain holiness. We do not practice good works, and thus attain holiness. We do not search the scriptures, and apply the principles of God's Word to our lives, and thus attain holiness. Heaven forbid, we do not "conform to Christ and the gospel we profess," and thereby attain holiness!
Author Simon Ponsonby hit the center of the target when he declared (along with many other notable theologians), "the doctrine of the holiness of God, rightly understood, is among the most exhilirating and motivating of all dotrines we could speak about, for to address this subject is to get at the very core of who God is." (p. 32) The quotation from Puritan Thomas Brooks is crucial; "God's holiness is his nature, God's nature is his holiness."
However, having hit the very center of the target, it is somewhat disconcerting to see the author move away, deliberately or no, from the application of these declarations - holiness is not an article to be acquired by works righteousness. Holiness is a state of being. It is not something we do, it is something we are. And apart from the relationship one has with the Lord Jesus Christ, apart from acknowledging his Lordship in our everyday lives, apart from Jesus Christ "having the preeminence in all things," (Colossians 1:18) the believer can never hope to be holy.
We love our neighbor as we love ourselves; we seek the things of others, and not our own things; we love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, because we are holy, and thus are able to do so. The church is not holy because of what she does, but because of whose she is. And if the church of the 21st Century is not the salt and light that she ought to be, if the world is doing a better job in terms of social justice and relieving the poor and the oppressed, it is not her activity level that needs to be adjusted . . . it is her relationship to the one who purchased her that needs to be revisited. The rest will follow.
As an historical overview of the failings of the church, and a blueprint for where the church ought to be, The Pursuit Of The Holy by Simon Ponsonby is an excellent work. But with sincere apologies to the author, there doesn't need to be another "divine invitation". That invitation was given, long ago, at Calvary.
Author Simon Ponsonby is quite correct in his diagnosis of the condition of the 21st Century church. The church has failed to be salt and light in the world. The church has been more influenced by the world, than the other way around. The church does need to "open up those deep, old wells of holiness." A radical transformation does need to take place if we are to win the world to Christ.
However, we do not love our neighbor, and thus attain holiness. We do not practice good works, and thus attain holiness. We do not search the scriptures, and apply the principles of God's Word to our lives, and thus attain holiness. Heaven forbid, we do not "conform to Christ and the gospel we profess," and thereby attain holiness!
Author Simon Ponsonby hit the center of the target when he declared (along with many other notable theologians), "the doctrine of the holiness of God, rightly understood, is among the most exhilirating and motivating of all dotrines we could speak about, for to address this subject is to get at the very core of who God is." (p. 32) The quotation from Puritan Thomas Brooks is crucial; "God's holiness is his nature, God's nature is his holiness."
However, having hit the very center of the target, it is somewhat disconcerting to see the author move away, deliberately or no, from the application of these declarations - holiness is not an article to be acquired by works righteousness. Holiness is a state of being. It is not something we do, it is something we are. And apart from the relationship one has with the Lord Jesus Christ, apart from acknowledging his Lordship in our everyday lives, apart from Jesus Christ "having the preeminence in all things," (Colossians 1:18) the believer can never hope to be holy.
We love our neighbor as we love ourselves; we seek the things of others, and not our own things; we love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, because we are holy, and thus are able to do so. The church is not holy because of what she does, but because of whose she is. And if the church of the 21st Century is not the salt and light that she ought to be, if the world is doing a better job in terms of social justice and relieving the poor and the oppressed, it is not her activity level that needs to be adjusted . . . it is her relationship to the one who purchased her that needs to be revisited. The rest will follow.
As an historical overview of the failings of the church, and a blueprint for where the church ought to be, The Pursuit Of The Holy by Simon Ponsonby is an excellent work. But with sincere apologies to the author, there doesn't need to be another "divine invitation". That invitation was given, long ago, at Calvary.
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