Collegiate Impact

Giving people a positive, realistic, life-giving picture of holiness is crucial. Paul does this very thing: “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.” (Rom 6:22)

• “You embarrassed yourself by confessing your sin and weaknesses publicly. Now you’ll be shunned; no one will accept you.” Actually, the opposite is true. Christians who humbly and genuinely confess their sins and weaknesses are among the most loved in the body of Christ.

• “Although you confessed, you are still guilty and will always feel guilty about what you have done. You will never be free.” Actually, John teaches that “If we confess our sins, [God] is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 NIV); and the Psalmist says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us” (Ps. 103:12).

• “You have no power, and your life will never change.” Actually, in Christ we are dead to sin and are new creations (Rom. 6:1ff.; 2 Cor. 5:17). As Paul reminds us, “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20).

Avoid commiserating groups.

Paul said, “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15:57). As your ministry moves forward experiencing real life in God, your people will need to stay close to others who can hold them accountable and help them walk victoriously together.

Too often, accountability groups see little victory, instead degenerating into commiserating groups where empathy is high but real life change is low. The specifics of public confession and repentance detailed above also need to be practiced in small groups and accountability groups.

Anytime a system is created where sin is simply pushed down, there will not be long-term freedom. Sin must be identified at its root, confessed and renounced, and brought to the cross, where grace and forgiveness are abundantly supplied.

Wherever sin operates, toxicity creeps in and chokes the life of Christ being experienced by the individual and the believing community. However, where holiness exists, there is purity, and the Holy Spirit expresses His life, peace, and power. To see real transformation, holiness must be embraced.

Rarely in contemporary ministry does one find a robust view of the holiness of God and the holiness of the believer. But Paul encourages us, “Dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God” (2 Cor. 7:1).

In light o the degenrate campus atmosphere, it is crucial that we give our staff and students a positive, realistic, life-giving pricture of holiness. Paul does this very thing: “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life” (Rom. 6:22). Holiness should never be viewed as an impossible task or burden, but as life-giving streams of water, freely available to everyone through the Holy Spirit.

Conclusion

A life-changing move of the Holy Spirit is a paradox. On the one hand it encompasses the power of heaven being released to accomplish all that God desires for a given ministry and the lost community connected to it. On the other hand it is fragile, and the Spirit’s work can be quenched at any point. This is the tension that anyone ministering in these sacred moments of God’s manifest presence feels.

However, if we employ the principles above and trust the Holy Spirit to lead us forward in a variety of ways beyond the scope of this article, I believe that a deep, sweeping move of the Spirit will be something we no longer simply read about in history books, but a reality we observe with our own eyes. Let us pray and walk by faith toward that end.