The Pursuit of Holiness

Jerry Bridges wrote The Pursuit of Holiness as a practical guide for Christians seeking to live holy lives. The book addresses what Bridges sees as a critical gap in Christian teaching: While believers readily discuss God's provision for overcoming sin, they rarely confront their own responsibility for pursuing holiness. In the Preface, Bridges frames this dual emphasis through a central analogy: Farming is a joint venture between the farmer and God, since the farmer cannot cause rain or germination, but God will not plow or plant on the farmer's behalf. Holiness, Bridges argues, likewise requires both divine provision and human effort.

Bridges opens with a personal anecdote: One morning, shortly after reading the apostle Paul's declaration in Romans 6:14 that sin shall not master the believer, he received an infuriating phone call that left him seething with anger. The episode introduces his broader question: Why do Christians who genuinely desire holiness so often feel defeated by sin? He identifies three root causes: a focus on personal "victory" over sin rather than recognizing that sin grieves God; a misunderstanding of "living by faith" as eliminating the need for personal effort; and a failure to take all sin seriously. He defines holiness not as adherence to prohibitions or a dress code, but as moral blamelessness, separation from sin, and consecration to God.

Bridges then establishes the holiness of God as the foundation for the believer's pursuit. God always knows what is right and always acts accordingly, without hesitation or inconsistency. Because God is holy, He demands holiness from all His people and judges sin impartially, even among His own, pointing to consequences that Israel's King David, Israel's leader Moses, and the prophet Jonah faced for their disobedience. Bridges warns against "cultural holiness," in which Christians merely conform to the standards of other believers rather than to the character of God. He contends that God hates sin with infinite intensity, can never tempt anyone to sin, and disciplines disobedient believers, sometimes severely.

He argues that holiness is not optional, distinguishing between positional holiness, the righteous standing believers receive through Christ's sinless life and atoning death, and practical holiness, the obedient life believers must pursue. These two complement each other: Salvation is a salvation to holiness. True saving faith necessarily produces a desire for holy living, and holiness is required for fellowship with God, for effective service, and for assurance of salvation. Bridges illustrates this last point with the story of a young Christian whose father claimed conversion at age ten but showed no evidence of faith across several decades.

Bridges examines Christ's holiness as both the believer's security and example. Christ's holiness was not merely the absence of sin but active conformity to the Father's will, and this perfect righteousness is credited to believers. Bridges presents Christ's life as a practical model, challenging readers to adopt Jesus' statement, "I always do what pleases Him," as a personal goal. He cites theologian John Brown's definition that holiness consists in "thinking as God thinks, and willing as God wills" (32).

Bridges next explains God's provision for holiness through what he calls a change of kingdoms. Drawing on Romans 6, he argues that believers have been delivered from sin's dominion through union with Christ in His death. He uses a warfare analogy to explain why Christians still sin: Though sin's reign has been overthrown, the believer's sinful nature wages guerrilla warfare, and lifelong sinful habits persist. God has provided the potential for resisting sin, but the responsibility for actually resisting belongs to the believer.

He then describes the ongoing battle in greater detail. Indwelling sin, the sinful principle that remains active within believers, has its seat in the heart, which Bridges defines broadly as the whole soul encompassing reason, emotions, conscience, and will. Sin works primarily through evil desires that actively seek satisfaction and through gradual deception of the reasoning faculty. Bridges balances this picture with the Holy Spirit's threefold ministry: revealing sin, creating desire for holiness, and providing spiritual strength. Believers access this help through consistent engagement with Scripture and prayer.

Bridges reframes the believer's responsibility around obedience rather than victory. He recounts a period when he believed any personal effort toward holiness was "of the flesh," which he now identifies as a foolish misconstrual of dependence on the Holy Spirit. He challenges Christians to replace the language of "victory" and "defeat" with "obedience" and "disobedience," arguing that calling oneself "defeated" by sin subtly shifts blame, while calling oneself "disobedient" accurately locates responsibility.

He outlines the practical process of putting sin to death. The first requirement is developing conviction through sustained engagement with Scripture, including memorization. For issues not directly addressed in Scripture, Bridges presents a four-question formula: Is it helpful? Does it bring me under its power? Does it hurt others? Does it glorify God? The second requirement is commitment, a willingness to refuse sin without exception. Personal discipline provides the vehicle: planned Scripture intake through reading, studying, memorizing, and meditating, along with systematic application to daily life. Bridges stresses perseverance, arguing that the growing gap between a believer's knowledge of holiness and practice of holiness is the Holy Spirit's means of drawing believers to ever-deeper holiness.

Bridges applies these principles to specific domains. Regarding the body, he argues that physical appetites become instruments of wickedness when left uncontrolled, and he prescribes reducing exposure to temptation. Regarding the spirit, he argues that inner thought life and attitudes matter as much to God as outward conduct, identifying sins believers often overlook: envy, jealousy, bitterness, an unforgiving spirit, and a critical spirit. He illustrates with biblical figures such as Joseph, who was sold into slavery by his brothers, rose to power in Egypt, and refused bitterness, declaring that God intended his suffering for good.

Bridges also examines the role of the will, explaining that the Fall, humanity's first sin and resulting corruption, disrupted the harmony among reason, emotions, and will. Believers must guard their minds through Scripture and their emotions through awareness that sin attacks primarily through desires. In a chapter on habits, he argues that repeated acts of refusing sin create a disposition toward holiness, and he presents four principles: form habits through repetition, never allow exceptions, maintain diligence in all areas of obedience, and refuse discouragement after failure.

Bridges links holiness to faith, demonstrating from Hebrews 11 that obedience and faith are inseparable. He traces examples: Abel, Adam and Eve's son, who obeyed God's revelation about acceptable sacrifice; Noah, who built the ark in faith over 140 years; and Abraham, the patriarch who left his homeland at God's command for an unknown destination. He offers a working definition of faith as "obeying the revealed will of God and trusting Him for the results" (116). Addressing holiness in an unholy world, he argues against withdrawal and for active engagement as salt and light, prescribing Scripture-based convictions and open identification with Christ.

In the final chapter, Bridges connects holiness to joy, arguing that obedience produces joy rather than drudgery. He identifies three sources of joy: fellowship with God, the satisfaction of obeying rather than resisting Him, and the anticipated reward of hearing "Well done, good and faithful servant." He returns to his farming analogy, asserting that God has provided everything necessary for holiness but that the decision to pursue it belongs to the believer. In a brief afterword, Bridges notes that this book focuses on putting off the old self and directs readers to his sequel, The Practice of Godliness, which addresses putting on the new self through Christlike character development. The book includes a 12-lesson Study Guide for personal or group use.