Taking Holiness Seriously
William Law's Great Book
It may not have a catchy title like some of today's Christian self-help books, but William Law's A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life is a true masterpiece—and the subject of last month's installment of Dr. Ken Boa's "Great Books Audio CD" series.
Before the word worldview was ever coined, William Law was writing about it, putting before his readers the absolute absurdity of believing one thing and doing another.
You may never have heard of William Law, or A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life, which he wrote 300 years ago. But, as Ken Boa shows us, you have heard plenty about the people Law's book influenced—among them John and Charles Wesley. John Newton, the man who penned "Amazing Grace," called reading the book a life-changing event.
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Even skeptics were moved by the depth of Law's thoughts. Samuel Johnson, well-known for his dictionary of the English language, wrote this: "When at Oxford, I took up Law's Serious Call, expecting to find it a dull book . . . and perhaps to laugh at it. But I found Law quite an overmatch for me; and this was the first occasion of my thinking in earnest of religion after I became capable of rational inquiry."
What then has made this book have such a profound effect? Simply this: Law tells it like it is. In his day, church attendance was high, and generally people did not question the veracity of the Scriptures. The trouble was—as in every age, and today—their lives did not reflect their professed beliefs. Law writes to believers in the most direct and persuasive way to encourage them to bring their lives into alignment with their beliefs.
Using fictional characters, Law illustrates his points. For example, he writes of Julius, a man who would become so flustered if he missed his weekly prayers at church, but who had absolutely no qualm in living the rest of his life in frivolous diversions. Of this Law writes, "Why is he one person in prayer and another in practice? There cannot be anything more absurd."
Law takes it a step further in the next chapter asking, "Why are you not as pious or holy as the early Christians? It is not ignorance or inability, [but] because you never thoroughly intended it. They were ordinary people [but] with extraordinary intention."
Law's point is a good one. Think how much intention we may put behind succeeding in business or getting in physical shape. We read books; we set plans; we exercise self-discipline; we seek out workshops or mentors or personal trainers. But have we ever been so intentional in becoming holy or—to put it another way—in seeing our lives match our beliefs?
Law does not discount the role of divine grace in a believer's sanctification. But he does chastise us for believing that growing in holiness does not require intent and effort.
As Ken Boa says in his commentary on A Serious Call, "This book will wear you out and . . . work you over. It will overwhelm you." Boa suggests reading Law's work "devotionally because he doesn't waste words or mince thoughts."
If you are serious about living as a Christian, I suggest you pick up A Serious Call or Ken Boa's CD. It may work you over, but it is a workout we all desperately need.
