All unsaved persons have certain ideals. Although a person may live in sin, he still cherishes certain lofty ideals. He has a concept about what constitutes a holy living. Although he cannot live that way, he considers it as his standard for a holy living. It is interesting to note that although many unbelievers indulge in sin and lust, they have an idealistic concept of what constitutes a holy life. They think that if they can achieve such a state one day, they will be holy persons and will be beyond earthly contamination.
All intellectual people have an idealistic picture of what constitutes a holy living. Even with less educated and less sophisticated people, there is a concept that a person is good and noble if he achieves a certain standard.
We brought this kind of thought into the church when we were saved. We have the concept that as Christians we should now achieve the ideal living which we failed to achieve before. In the past we lived in sin, grew up with lust, and had no power over the weaknesses of our flesh. Now that we have believed in the Lord, we should live out an ideal life. But here lies man’s basic frustration: He thinks that he can live his version of an ideal life. He does not realize that this ideal life belongs altogether to the world; it has nothing to do with being a Christian. Please bear in mind that even though many people have become Christians, their standard is still a heathen standard. Their ideal life is a heathen ideal. They bring their philosophies into the church. Such philosophies pose quite a problem to a Christian. A new believer must deal with this matter in a clear and definite way.
What is this ideal life that man aspires to? Simply put, a man bound by sin is filled with all kinds of lust and greed. Although he can do nothing about them, he yearns to be free from them. On the one hand, his heart is drawn toward material things. On the other hand, he yearns to be delivered from these material things. Man’s ideals are always based on what he cannot do. The more he is bound by something, the more he yearns for the opposite thing. The more lusts a man has, the more his ideals are shaped by the desire for deliverance from these lusts. The more a man lusts for material wealth, the more he aspires to be freed from material wealth. The whole world is filled with asceticism of one form or another. Please bear in mind that asceticism is not man’s rule of conduct, but an ideal that he cherishes. With this ideal, man mollifies himself. This ideal affords man a goal, an excuse to forget about himself. He sets a certain standard and goal, telling himself that if he attains to this standard, he will have reached the ultimate pinnacle of attainment. This is the source of asceticism.
Almost all unbelievers yield to lust, but in their hearts they admire those who are freed from lust and from material bondage. Hence, asceticism is a standard and an ideal that an unbeliever, that is, a man without Christ, sets before himself.
After a person is saved, he subconsciously carries this thought of asceticism into the church. Though he never practiced it in the past, he admired those who practiced it. Gentiles indulge in lusts on the one hand and admire asceticism on the other hand. They crave material things, yet they admire those who are free from material things. They cannot be a certain way, yet they admire those who are that way. After they become Christians, they carry their privately cherished ascetic ideals into the church, thinking that it is the duty of a saved person to practice asceticism.