The modern church talks a lot about relevance.
Church leaders discuss engagement, community, leadership and influence. Entire ministries are built around helping churches connect with culture and reach the next generation.
John Bevere believes those things matter. But he says Christians have missed something far more important.
“The one and only description of the church that Jesus is coming back for,” Bevere said on a recent episode of the John Bevere Podcast, “here it is. Ephesians 5:25-27. Christ loved the church. He gave up His life for her to make her holy and clean.”
Bevere was quick to clarify that relevance has value.
“It is not a relevant church. Now, is relevance important? Boy, it is. You will not win the lost if you’re not relevant,” he said.
But he warned that relevance is not the defining characteristic of Christ’s bride.
Instead, Scripture points to something many churches rarely emphasize anymore.
“Holy.”
Holy, Holy, Holy
Bevere pointed to Isaiah 6 and Revelation 4, where heavenly beings stand before God’s throne crying out, “Holy, holy, holy.”
“What I find so interesting is they’re not crying faithful, faithful, faithful,” he said. “They’re not even crying love, love, love.”
“The predominant characteristic of God is His holiness,” Bevere said. “And the same is true for His bride.”
According to Bevere, many believers have become uncomfortable with the subject because holiness has often been associated with legalism.
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But he argues that rejecting legalism should never mean abandoning holiness.
“The Bible says that the grace of God teaches us to deny worldliness and ungodly desires, but we should live holy,” he said.
He also challenged modern preaching that focuses almost exclusively on encouragement while avoiding correction.
Quoting Paul’s instructions to Timothy, Bevere noted that Scripture calls ministers to “correct, rebuke and encourage.”
Then he made a sobering observation.
“We got rid of the first two and we took the encourage and made it the goal.”
A Bride Set Apart
Holiness is not about rules. It is about relationship.
“The reason holiness is so scary to some people is because people who talk about it make it the end goal,” he said. “Holiness isn’t the end goal. It’s a doorway into intimacy and communion with Almighty God.”
That intimacy, he said, requires believers to be fully devoted to Christ.
Drawing from Scripture’s description of God as jealous for His people, Bevere compared holiness to the commitment found in marriage.
“A girl, when she gets married to a guy, says goodbye to 3.9 billion guys,” he said. “You’re the only one that I’m giving my heart and my life to for the rest of my life.”
In the same way, Christians cannot claim devotion to Jesus while continuing to embrace the values of a world that opposes Him.
“He’s a fiercely jealous lover,” Bevere said.
His message ultimately comes back to a question every believer must answer.
Not whether we are relevant, popular or comfortable.
But whether we are ready.
“The question I want you to ask yourself is, will you be ready?” Bevere said. “Will you have a wedding garment that is clean and bright because that wedding garment is made out of your obedient actions to Him?”
That is the defining issue facing the church today. Jesus is not returning for a church that looks like the world. He is returning for a holy bride prepared for His coming.
James Lasher, a seasoned writer and editor at Charisma Media, combines faith and storytelling with a journalism background from Otterbein University and ministry experience in Guatemala and at the LA Dream Center. A Marine Corps and Air Force veteran, he is the author of The Revelation of Jesus: A Common Man’s Commentary and a contributor to Charisma magazine. For interviews and media inquiries, please contact [email protected].
