"The Completion of Holiness" II Corinthians 7:1

A. The pursuit of holiness is such a critical part of Christian practice because holiness is reflective of the character, nature and being of God. And we know that God has commanded His covenant people to pursue it.

The Christian should never be content to living under the influence of our fallen nature. It should cause godly sorrow and conviction and challenge us in our love for God through Jesus Christ in such a way as to progressively sanctify sin out of our lives.

B.Our journey towards holiness is pursued in the context of relationship out of an expression of love and gratitude to God for His grace to us in Christ.

And there are current and future promises regarding this relationship that have implications for the pursuit of holiness. Look back at your text to the first half of verse 1 to what I am calling “The Implication of the Promises:”

I. The Implication of the Promises (1a): “Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit,”

A. The promises that Paul is referring to are associated with God’s Spirit dwelling in us and believers being His temple. And how this foreshadows what is coming in eternity where we will dwell with God and we will be His people and He will be our God forever.

The hindrances of Sin will be no more in that day because we will have a glorified body. If you don’t like the idea of the emphasis on holiness in the Christian life then you are not going to like heaven very much either.

You see Christian if God’s Spirit lives in you that is the indication of you being in spiritual relationship with God. And that relationship currently is pointing us to a physical relationship to come where we will dwell with Him in His eternal Kingdom.

At the core of all these promises is a relational promise that we will be connected to God forever as our Father and us as His children. And everything about that eternal union will be characterized by holiness in eternity.

B. Since we have those promises and we live by faith in hope of their fulfillment then the implication would be that we should pursue holiness now in anticipation of what is coming.

This is why Paul says, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit.

Now why would he say that if Christ is the one who has cleansed us by faith alone?

He says it because he is not referring to our justification but our sanctification.

God certainly works in us to will and to act but we still will and we still act in obedience to Him. Such things are works of righteousness that are the by-product of true saving faith.

The defilement that we need to be cleansed from is that which comes from sin.

The redeemed of God are justified by grace through faith alone but they are progressively being sanctified of their defiled actions of sin in the body that does spiritual harm.

Christian these promises regarding our current and future relationship with God are not just there for us to reflect on. But they are a helpful guide for our ambition as we live the Christian life. Look back at the second half of verse 1 at the Ambition of the Promises:

II. The Ambition of the Promises (1b): “bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.”

A. The promises of our current and future relational union with God fuels our ambition for holiness towards a certain goal.

B. Holiness will come to completion in delivering us to God as He is. All the contradicting aspects of sin’s defilement will be eventually removed forever.

For the Christian the pursuit of holiness is not optional, it is the fruit of true saving faith in the life of the believing Christian because the Holy Spirit is present in our lives and grace is effectual.

Christian if God didn’t intend for us to be pursuing holiness in our sanctification there would be no reason for Him to give us the Holy Spirit to live in us.

C. The fear of the Lord is not the terror that an unbeliever should have on the final day but it is a reverence for God because He is Holy and He is your creator and redeemer.

Your complete and total allegiance belongs to Him and your purpose in life is defined by Him.

He contextualizes the whole of our lives and our identity is in Christ by His design.

If this is all true then we are set on the path to completion in Christ for our ultimate good and joy.

God is fully aware that there is greater freedom and joy for us to be had in the pursuit of holiness than sinful worldliness could ever offer you.

Romans 6:23 “23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Proverbs 14:12 -“12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.”

D. This fallen world calls to us like the two sirens calling to the sailors in Homer’s Odyssey. They call in an attempt to lure the sailors towards the rocks as to crash the ship.

E. But Christian God calls us in Christ to Himself and away from the danger of our destruction. He calls us to a deeper and more fulfilling relationship with Him.

He calls us to be liberated from the bondage of sin and death even in our current actions that we might find fullness of joy in Christ.

He calls us this morning to dine with Him at His table, to set down before Him and eat of His provision to us in Christ.

Conclusion:

Unbeliever come to Christ. There is no other way to be justified before a Holy God except for His Holy provision to us. Believe the gospel!

Believer, He has provided for you come to Him by faith alone in Christ. Confess your sin and and know that He is faithful and just to forgive you and cleanse you.

Let us examine our hearts before Him today in preparation for the Master’s table. Lets Pray!