Be Holy

Introduction: Salvation is the Journey not the Destination

John 3:16 ““For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”

You might recall Major Adam telling us that Salvation is not the destination for Christians. It’s the beginning of a our journey with God. There are two groups that are created from this truth;

God saved me, I am ok

Like purchasing a bus ticket, waiting for the bus to arrive.

2. God saved us to make us Holy. So what now?

Holiness is often viewed as this prestigious status that only a select few can obtain. That is not the case.

SA Doctrine #9 “We Believe that continuance in a state of salvation depends upon continued obedient faith in Christ.”

While we ARE saved, this state of salvation is a “use it or lose it” thing.

SA Doctrine # 10 We Believe that it is the privilege of all believers to be wholly sanctified and that their whole spirit soul and body may be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Holiness Is for the whosoever, its not a subgroup of Christians. WE have the privilege to experience this lifestyle everyday when we chose to walk with Jesus.

Holiness is a Calling

The Calling 1 Peter 1:15 “Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct;”

This letter that Peter had Silvanus write, was written to several churches across Asia Minor (modern day Turkey). Most were non-Jewish Christians facing persecution, hostility and harassment from their Greek and Roman neighbors. Peter wasted no time to instruct them to be Holy. Why? Because it is a calling from God, who is Holy.

I am reminded of the Women caught in adultery. She had sinned and the Law called for death. However, instead of calling for her execution, Jesus pardoned her sin and he commanded her to go and sin no more. God meets us where we are but He doesn't want to leave us there. Peter wanted to remind the church of this calling because God set them apart. God had plans for them to be different. God wants us to be different, set apart, through His Spirit. which enables us to become what God wants us to be; Holy

It comes with a Standard;

Leviticus 19:2 “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.” - God’s standard is that his people reflect Him in holiness

2 Corinthians 7:1 “Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and of spirit, making holiness perfect in the fear of God.” The promises is being reconciled back to God.

Shoes as an illustration for holiness

What is Confusing about Holiness?

Monasticism Does Not Make Us Holy

the idea that being secluded from people and society will not make us Holy.

the idea that

relativism is our modern day threat. satan, through society, wants us to dry a new line in the sand of do’s and don’ts. He did the same in the Garden

Legalism is not it either

We can’t earn God’s favor through Hosea 6:6 “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.”

rules

works

ceremonies

He pointed out that victory over the sinful nature is produced by the Holy Spirit as we cooperate with him

What is the Conduct of Holiness? What does that mean for us?

Holiness isn’t something that you obtain like a skill. It’s something that obtains you.

Imagine your heart is a house and every room is filthy. God comes knocking at the door because he wants to come in. Now you can let him visit from time to time; for the unbelievers. For the believers, we let him in to take residence. His mail is forwarded to our address. Over time, when we allow, he takes time to clean out every room.

all its filth, the stain on the carpet, the holes in the wall, the half-filled cups of pop left on the dresser; our habits, behavior and character.

yielding to him, making time for him everyday. what we experience is:

Love God and Others

Mark 12:30–31 “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.””

1 Corinthians 13 “If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke like a child,…”

Philippians 2:1–4 “If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.”

In Genesis, when Joseph was tempted to sleep with Potiphar’s wife, he refused, stating “how can I sin against God?”

Loving God is loving others and loving others is loving God. As we grow in faith, our desire to do right by others and God grows; having their best interest at heart. Not just to Christians but to non-christians as well. Not just our neighrbors but our enemies as well.

Treat Others Respectfully

James 2:1–4 “My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Have a seat here, please,” while to the one who is poor you say, “Stand there,” or, “Sit at my feet,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?” ,

James 2:8 “You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.””

since we are made in the image of God, we treat others as such. We aren’t holy because we treat others with respect, holiness compels us to treat others with respect and dignity. meaning we do not show partiality.

Fulfill the Moral Standards Written in the Ten Commandments (

Romans 8:1–4 “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

James 2:10–12 “ For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. For the one who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery but if you murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty.”

We arer not above the law nor do we follow the Law out of obligation. TheLaw isloving God and loving others. So we intentional keep the commandments as anexpression of our love.

Obey God

Romans 12:1–3 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.”

1 John 2:15 “Do not love the world or the things in the world. The love of the Father is not in those who love the world;”

This goes for God’s word. We are aware of what scripture says about our conduct, behaviors and attitude. We respond to God’s word with odeience and its our obedience that credits us as righteousness. when it comes to holiness, we are obedient to every word God says. There is no formula and if you notice, each one of these things are acts of obedience

Pray

1 Timothy 2:8 “I desire, then, that in every place the men should pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument;”