Does Holiness Matter?

I noticed an interesting news story yesterday regarding college students and marijuana use. See this link:

www.redorbit.com/news/health/955445/marijuana_is_a_popular_part_of_student_life_college_students/index.html?source=r_health

One quote in particular stood out to me: "Other friends prefer to go out and drink a coffee or juice," Gabriel said, "and I'd rather stay at home and smoke a doobie." I find his statement simultaneously amusing and saddening.

The university where I serve is rather conservative socially, so I am not certain if the statistics in the article hold true here or not. I occasionally encounter students struggling with illegal drugs, but it seems that alcohol is the drug of choice amongst our student population.

I have, however, witnessed the same cavalier attitude amongst Christian college students toward the issue of alcohol abuse. In particular, underage drinking and excessive drinking do not seem to be quite as taboo for churched students as they were when I was college during the 90s. There were certainly Christian students who abused alcohol, but their sense of shame was stronger; it was more of a social no-no, so to speak.

I am a big proponent of the doctrine of grace. I believe it, teach it, and try to model it. I strongly believe that we are justified by the grace of God alone, apart from works. I cringe when I hear preachers adding works to the Gospel or implying that a person cannot be a Christian and struggle with sin at the same time. I also cringe when external factors (drinking, smoking, dancing) are consistently used as the primary measuring stick for spirituality.

That having been said, I wonder if the evangelical church has done a poor job in the past half-century of encouraging believers that holiness is worthwhile (perhaps out of a fear of being legalistic). This issue of substance abuse is a case in point. When students are blatantly violating Romans 13 and Ephesians 5 with no apparent sense of remorse, something has gone wrong.

I think what has gone wrong is that they do not understand that holiness goes hand-in-hand with fulfilling our purpose in life. We cannot effectively glorify God by reflecting His character if we willfully disobey Him. What do we stand to lose? A purposeful and eternally significant life. The praise of our Savior at the judgment seat of Christ (Mt 25:23). Eternal reward (2 Tim 4:7-8).

If those who minister to these students do not spur them toward holiness, I fear nobody else around them will. So how well are we fulfilling our task, to raise up disciples for the next generation?