The Gospel Of The Ordinary: Reclaiming Holiness In The Mundane

We often treat holiness as a pursuit reserved for the cathedral, the prayer closet, or the mountaintop experience. We imagine that God is most present when we are most “spiritual”—detached from the noise of the office, the chaos of the kitchen, or the exhaustion of the commute. But the biblical witness offers no such luxury of compartmentalization.

Functionally—whether we intend it or not—we often drift toward a modern form of Gnosticism. This is an ancient error that values the “soul” while discarding the “body” of our daily vocation. If the Lordship of Christ does not extend to the way you answer an email, lift a heavy load, or handle a sink full of dishes, then you are not practicing the holiness of the New Testament.

The Root: Set Apart by Nature

The New Testament term for holy, ἅγιος [hagios], fundamentally means to be “set apart” or “different.” It is not merely a moral category; it is an ontological one—meaning it has to do with our very nature and being. To be holy is to belong to another world while living fully in this one.

In the Old Testament, even common pots and shovels were called “holy” (Zech 14:20-21) because they were dedicated exclusively to the service of Yahweh. Your life is that vessel. Your “ordinary” hours are the liturgy of your priesthood. As Calvin noted in his Institutes of the Christian Religion, the knowledge of God and the knowledge of ourselves are inextricably linked; to know God as the Holy One (Isa 6:3) is to realize that every square inch of our existence is His territory.

The Tension: Sovereign Gift and Solemn Duty

Here we encounter the “Great Tension” of the Christian walk. On one hand, we rest in the sovereign decree of God. We are “sanctified in Christ Jesus” (1 Cor 1:2, ESV). This is a finished work—a gift of grace. Yet, on the other hand, the Wesleyan tradition rightly reminds us of our urgent responsibility: “As he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct” (1 Pet 1:15, ESV).

We must reject the lethargy that says, “If God wants me holy, He will make me holy,” just as we must reject the legalism that says, “I will make myself holy so that God will love me.” The truth is found in the “Compatibilist Mystery”—the reality that we work because He is already at work in us (Phil 2:12-13). Holiness is the fruit of a heart “perfected in love”—a heart that finds its singular delight in the will of the Father.

The Physician’s Warning: Mortification and Vivification

To live a holy life in a secular age requires what the Puritans called “The Mortification of Sin.” John Owen famously warned in The Mortification of Sin:

Be killing sin or it will be killing you.

Holiness in daily life is the active execution of the “old man” (Rom 6:6). When you feel the surge of pride during a meeting or the whisper of discontent in your home, that is the battlefield. But it is also “Vivification”—the process of being made increasingly alive to God.

This happens through what John Wesley called the “Means of Grace.” We do not pray, fast, or meditate on the Word to “earn” points. We do them because they are the conduits through which the Holy Spirit empowers the will. If you neglect these means, you are attempting to fight a spiritual war with an empty musket.

The Practice: Doxology in the Dirt

How does this look on a Tuesday?

Holiness in Speech: It is the “seasoning” of your words with grace (Col 4:6) so that you do not participate in the casual cynicism of the breakroom or the gossip of the neighborhood.
Holiness in Labor: Whether you are analyzing data, changing a tire, or caring for a restless child, it is doing your task with such integrity that your work takes on a “sacred” quality (Eph 6:5-8).
Holiness in Suffering: For those whose “ordinary” is defined by chronic illness or unemployment, holiness is found in the quiet, gritty trust that God’s grace is sufficient even when the body or the bank account is not (2 Cor 12:9).
Holiness in Rest: It is the stewardship of your leisure, ensuring that even your “down-time” is an act of trust in God’s provision rather than an escape into mindless sensuality.

A Final Charge

“Without [holiness] no one will see the Lord” (Heb 12:14, ESV). This is a sobering truth. A faith that produces no appetite for holiness is a faith that likely does not possess the Spirit of God.

Yet, for the weary soul, remember the words of Andrew Murray in Abide in Christ: “Abide in Him.” Your strength does not come from your resolve, but from your union with the Vine. Wake up tomorrow not with a list of rules, but with a surrendered heart that says, “Lord, this day is Yours. Let every word, every task, and every interaction be ἅγιος [hagios]—set apart for You.”

In this surrender, you will find that holiness is not a heavy burden to bear, but the very path to the joy and freedom for which your soul was created.