Taking a Stand for Holiness

Category:  Sermon

Taking a Stand for Holiness

Text: 2 Thess. 2:13-17

Introduction: Taking a stand. What do you stand for? Every body stands for something.

The bookends of the Bible are holiness – Everything in-between stands for holiness, and there is never a call to excuse sin, or to make room for the works of the Devil. The  Lord has called us in righteousness, and we must not back away from that call. It is holiness that God calls us to, and it is holiness that is to be the trademark of the church.

An old hymn – Holiness unto the Lord is my watchword and song. Holiness unto the Lord as we’re marching along; sing it, shout it, loud and strong. Holiness unto the Lord now and forever. When we stand for something, we do not back down.

I.          Standing on an Awesome Salvation. (vv. 13-14)

            A.        Saved  by the Will of God.

                        - God chose us to be a holy people. Israel was a chosen people. We are                                   chosen to be God's holy people,  a kingdom of priests and a treasured                              possession.

            B.        Saved by Faith in Christ

                        - trusting in the sufficiency of Christ. How far does the blood of Christ go?                     Trusting him not just to cover our sins, but to wash our sin away.

            C.        Sanctified by The Holy Spirit.

                        - the Spirit applies the will of God and the work of Christ to the believer in                     a sanctifying action.

II.        Standing on an Abiding Foundation. (v. 15)

            A.        A Sure Gospel

                        - The Gospel is good, and the Gospel is true, but the Gospel is not too                          good to be true.

            B.        A Strong Tradition

                        - Like bricks stacked one on another, we stand on the shoulders of faithful                                 men.

            C.        A  Secure  hold

                        - Shackleton's Adventure - ice, water, land and security - A place to stand.

III.       Standing on an Affirming Connection. (vv. 16-17)

            A.        A Connection by Grace

                        - When we could not reach God, God reached down to us. This in itself                                    should give us confidence, for it is not us that must draw a gracious                          influence from God, but God extends Himself to us in a connection of                                  grace.

            B.        A Connection of hearts

                        - a heart to heart talk, and a heart to heart walk.

                        - “I will give you a new heart, I will remove your heart of stone and give                                     you a heart of flesh.”

            C.        A Connection for Holiness

                        - As a lamp is connected to an outlet for the purpose of producing light, so                    are we extended grace for the purpose of  producing holiness.

Conclusion: The purpose of God’s salvation is holiness, and the provision is that we may walk in holiness. If God’s purpose is that we walk in holiness, and God provides the means to do so, dare we stand on any other foundation. It is about time that we quit making excuses. The Bible tells us not to sin, We back down to the idea that we should not sin very much. Imagine a soldier who aimed at not getting shot very much.