The Holiness of God and His Church

The Sacredness of God

Why do people today not seem to experience God the way people in the early church experienced Him? Is it because He has chosen to remain silent from His church? Is it because He doesn’t want to communicate to His people? I don’t believe that it is any of these. I believe that it is because we have lost the importance of the sacredness of God. God is Sacred.

To defy His sacredness in the Bible came with significant consequences. Francis chan puts it this way:

I was bothered the first time I read about God killing Uzzah just because he tried to keep the ark of the covenant from falling. Uzzah touched the ark because the cart it was riding on hit a pothole (). It seemed like a trivial mistake with good intentions. Sure, God had forbidden anyone from touching the ark, but what was Uzzah supposed to do? Let the holy ark of God fall to the ground? Isn’t it a little puzzling that King Saul’s sacrifice cost him the kingdom ()? After all, he waited seven days for Samuel the priest to come and make the offering, but he didn’t show up when he said he would. To me, it seems noble that Saul offered the sacrifice because he didn’t want to go to war without first acknowledging God. Now the kingdom would be torn from him? Or what about Moses, who didn’t get to see the Promised Land because he struck the rock rather than speaking to it ()? After everything Moses went through, was it such a big crime to be frustrated with the people and strike the rock in anger? Then there are Ananias and Sapphira. They were both struck dead because they lied about how much money they donated to the church (). And this is in the New Testament! Really, who hasn’t exaggerated? To top it off, Paul told the Corinthians that many of them were sick and some had even died because they celebrated Communion in an unworthy manner (). If Paul wasn’t exaggerating, could we be one sip away from death? To us, many situations in Scripture involve a punishment that was too severe for the crime. But why do we feel this way?

Chan, Francis. Letters to the Church (pp. 29-30). David C. Cook. Kindle Edition.

Chan, Francis. Letters to the Church (pp. 29-30). David C. Cook. Kindle Edition.

The Sacredness of God is to be revered by us. So how do we do this?

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 5

1 aGuard your steps as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil.

2 Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few.

3 For the dream comes through much effort and the voice of a fool through many words.

It is always better to do more listening when you come into the presence of the Lord. Often times we rush into His presence and tell him our wish list and the say amen. Entering the presence of the Lord is sacred. We would do good to listen to the Lord before we speak. We need to ask the Lord for clarification of His will. What the Lord has to say to us is more important than what we say to Him?

So how do we discern the will of the Lord? We must study His word for general direction and principles. When we have specific concerns we ask Him? He will answer by causing the thought to come to mind. He may use our circumstance to make His will known to us. He may use a passion in our heart to move us in the direction he desires. His will is always going to line up with His will.

The bottom line is we need to return to reverencing God. There is overwhelming evidence we have lost this.

The breakdown of the family - broken families are not rooted in the love of God

The general decline in health in america - stress to achieve the American dream rather than the will of God

Corruption of our government - pass laws that are contrary to scripture.

Secularization of our schools - We have removed God from our schools so we have much more liberal colleges.

The death of churches worldwide and decline in church attendance in America - We are too busy

When we return to God and stand in awe of Him, He will correct our wrong ways

and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), .

Holiness of His Church

Being a church member is much more than just having your name on a church roll.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 5

for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church,

30 because we are members of His body.

Ephesians 5

Ephesians 5:29–30 NASB95

for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, because we are members of His body.

To be a member of a church means to be a part of the body of Christ. Let’s think about that for a moment. Everything we do is a representation of Christ. That is why personal holiness is paramount for the believer. A lost and dying world is looking at the body of Christ. We need to bring honor to Him.

Ephe

Ephesians 2:19–22 NASB95

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.

We are to be a dwelling place for the Lord. Where you take your body is where you take the Lord.

1 corinthian

1 Corinthians 3:16–17 NASB95

Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.

We must understand that we are the temple of the Living God. When we criticize other people we are technically criticizing the temple of God

There was a time when people would be willing to sacrifice to be a part of the New Testament church. Today many people make church a matter of convenience. If it is beneficial to me then I will go. This is evident by the entertainment mentality of the church. The early church didn’t need the energetic music, great videos, attractive leaders, or elaborate lighting to be excited about being a part of God’s body. The pure gospel was enough to put them in a place of awe.

Chan, Francis. Letters to the Church (p. 44). David C. Cook. Kindle Edition.