The Holiness of God P3

Recap

Last week we went through 1 Peter 1:13-25 and other Scriptures demonstrating that God as a Holy, Holy, Holy God has called all his children to be holy. He has pronounced them to be holy onto Himself and that our job is to behave in a manner that projects that call, that inner reality that we are holy

We talked about the necessity of being convinced that God has set us apart for his own purposes and for a work that we must do. That work is the display of His glory on the earth by the demonstration of changed lives by the power of the Holy Spirit.

We talked about our portion in holiness which is scriptural… Which is to workout our salvation… to workout does not mean save yourself but it does mean an outward manifestation of the inner reality of salvation.

We do not work so that He will elect us, love us, empower us, sanctify us. We work because He has already elected us, he continually loves us, empowers us, and sanctifies us.

Today we will talk about the balance between our work, which we must do with the fact the the objective is impossible in and of ourselves because the standard of holiness is not to be as holy as you can be, but the standard is the very holiness of God. If that is mind boggling, you are beginning to understand. (pray)

Leviticus 11:44–45 (NASB95)

‘For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. And you shall not make yourselves unclean with any of the swarming things that swarm on the earth. ‘For I am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus you shall be holy, for I am holy.’ ”

If you read the the entirety of this chapter you will find a list concerning what to eat and what not yo eat. God was using the distinction of clean and unclean animals to separate Israel from other idolatrous nations who have no such restrictions. He is illustrating that His people must live His way.

Through dietary laws and ritual, God is teaching them the reality of living His way in everything. He instructs them in sacrifices, rituals, diet, and even clothing and cooking to teach them that they are to live differently than everyone else.

This is to be an external illustration for the separation from sin in their hearts.

The people are to be holy (separate) in outward ceremonial behavior as an external expression of the greater necessity of heart holiness. The connection between ceremonial holiness carries over into personal holiness. The only motivation given for all these laws is to be holy because God is holy.

God physically separated Israel from all nation so that through Israel God could teach and reach all nations. Moses’s instructions to the Israelites set the stage for what future believers. God’s holiness was not just a distant ideal, it was their objective. And the objective was to be based on the character and mind of God and not based on the rules and regulations. Which is the reason why they carried the law way farther than what was intended. They were attempting to reach holiness by the law instead of by the giver of the law.

THE STANDARD OF THE HOLINESS IS A PERSON, NOT A LAW

Take a look at the following Scripture:

Matthew 5:43–48 (NASB95)

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. “For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? “If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Just about every time Jesus says, “you have heard that it was said” it is some allusion to the law and practices of the OT which he is not abolishing but fulfilling which means bringing it to its intended conclusion.. This passage begins with the mandate from the OT

Leviticus 19:18 (NASB95)

‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.

And look at

Deuteronomy 23:3–6 (NASB95)

“No Ammonite or Moabite shall enter the assembly of the Lord; none of their descendants, even to the tenth generation, shall ever enter the assembly of the Lord, because they did not meet you with food and water on the way when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you. “Nevertheless, the Lord your God was not willing to listen to Balaam, but the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you because the Lord your God loves you. “You shall never seek their peace or their prosperity all your days.

Here they followed, or attempted to follow that law to its logical conclusion which leads to racism (Jonah), and even to legalism, rather than following the law giver to His intended conclusion.

Since I am to love my fellow Israelite and not take vengeance on him, then this must mean that everyone else that does not follow that category I get to hate.

God says, or Jesus.. that would not make you different or separate or holy. It makes you the same, common, even profane. The standard is the perfection of the Father.

The command to be holy as God is holy or to perfect as God is perfect is not measurable by data. It is affirmed by God.

God’s law was never about mere rules. God desires a complete righteousness from the heart.

Christ sets an unattainable standard. This sums up what the law itself demanded.

James 2:10 (NASB95)

For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.

Though this standard is impossible to meet, God could not lower it without compromising His own perfection.

Tool Example: All analogies fall short at some point. Fixing bar stools with a screwdriver……

When we attempt to live as God called us to live, holiness becomes a major point of reference. We are attempting to live in such a way that God will be acknowledged by our lives.

People will look at us and see that holiness has as much to do with being separate from things that are not holy as it is about being willing to get right in the middle of a broken world that needs to see the great joy that holiness brings.

Being perfect as God is perfect means a surrender of our will to him, so that his perfect will is extended in us.