Growing in Holiness

Introduction

A friend in Bible College was so excited and wanted to show me his tattoo. He was just itching for someone to ask about it so he could witness about Jesus. All around his bicep he had tattooed what he thought was the Hebrew phrase, “Praise the Lord.”

In Hebrew there are two letters almost identical. One is used for the phrase, “Praise the Lord” while the other forms the phrase, “Defile the Lord.” I looked at it and then asked, “Why did you write, ‘Defile the Lord’ on your arm?” He was horrified! He could have checked with me or one of the Hebrew professors.

If we try to become holy on our own we will make mistakes that lead us away from the Holy Spirit’s goal to conform us to Jesus’ image. Today I want to put the spotlight of our hearts on holiness. You don’t hear much about it anymore. We’re too busy being seeker sensitive and not offending church visitors. But Jesus didn’t call us to cater to the world.

I want to highlight three facets of holiness this morning. Some people don't believe we can become mature and holy in Christ in this life. But why would God command us to be holy as He is holy if it were not possible?

1 Peter 1:14–16 ESV

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

Let's look deeper into what a holy life means and how to live it to please God and glorify Jesus.

Be Separate from the World

2 Corinthians 6:14–18 NLT

Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever? And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said: “I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord. Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you. And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”

God Is Separate from His Creation.

This first facet of holiness calls us to imitate God in His character. He is above His creation, outside of time, and existed before creation.

He is worthy of worship because He is greater than creation. His Holiness means He does not share the attributes of the world He made.

We must not mistake His interaction with us and this world as if He fits into this world.

God looks down at us to receive our worship. We look up to Him to see His infinite greatness.

New Testament writers refer to Jesus as, “Emptying Himself,” (Philippians 2:1-11), “the darkness has not overcome the Light,” (John 1:5), and countless references to God on earth.

If we worship the works of our hands we underestimate His power. God is not required to forgive us or show us mercy. That's why we call it grace, a gift from God. And while He is worthy of our praise, we are not worthy of His grace.

We can barely understand His holiness. He could do nothing for us and be justified. But His holy character and righteous actions are only half of the story.

We Are Separate from the World.

“Imitation is the greatest form of flattery.” But one of the ways we worship God is by emulating His holiness in our lives.

Just as God is separate from His creation, we are separate from the world. We don't join in its wickedness. We seek to please God by living His way.

We live for the praise and pleasure of the audience of One.

We don’t look down on people to be separate from the world. To be separate, we do not share the world’s values, worldview, and principles.

Jesus calls us to be salt and light in this world (Matthew 5:13-16).

Salt acts as a preservative and seasoning.

You preserve righteousness here. You show people the way to Jesus.

You season your conversations with God's grace and truth. People see a godly perspective from you.

Light provides revelation and exposure.

You are a witness and ambassador of Christ, revealing Him as Savior and Lord.

You expose the fruitless deeds of darkness, every sinful act that opposes God.

A separate people lives by and demonstrates godly perspectives, values, worldview, and principles. We live them out as we walked before others.

Illustration: Most people know I’m a Christian. But when they discover I’m a minister they act like they are walking on egg shells. I’m a laid-back guy and don’t force my views on others. But they realize something is different about me. Maybe they see God’s fingerprints on me. I live by different standards. They won’t offend me but they might offend Jesus.

Application: You do yourself and Jesus no good if you live like the world. Why would they become Christians after seeing you live like them? God calls you to, “Come out from among them” and show Jesus to a world that can’t see Him.

Be Pure before God

2 Corinthians 7:1 NLT

Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God.

A second facet of holiness comes through purity toward the Lord. We show purity by not mixing worldly values with godly values.

Old Testament Saints Observed Clean and Unclean Laws.

Part of Moses’ Law highlights clean and unclean animals, bodily fluids, practices, and foods (Leviticus 11; Deuteronomy 14).

Clean things mostly reflected life. Unclean things reflected death. Sickness was unclean but health was clean.

Clean and unclean laws kept people from getting sick, dying, and showed them the purity God expects from his people.

Unlike the nations around them, Israelites didn’t mix two things that didn't belong together.

New Testament Saints Practice Clean Living.

New Testament purity shows up differently. Christians don’t follow Mosaic Laws accept for moral laws.

Clean and unclean laws fall under civic and ritual laws. We find principles for pure living from civic laws. We see Jesus’ ultimate sacrificial fulfillment of ritual laws.

We can find principles for holy living in the civic laws meant for Israel. We don't have to follow them to the letter to understand how to apply the spirit of these laws in our lives today.

Some baffling laws to us, like not wearing clothing with two fabrics or mixing dairy with meat kept them from living like the nations around them.

I’m glad Christians don’t follow these laws to the letter today because I like cheeseburgers. I don’t know where you would find clothing made with one fabric anymore.

Illustration: At my church in Shillington, PA I filled one third of a 5 gallon drum with water and dumped half a bottle of motor oil on top of it. No matter how much I shook it the oil settled above the water. Godly values don’t mix with worldly values.

You can't live like a saint on Sunday and a sinner Monday through Saturday.

So to be pure we must reject impurity through sins. Sin leads to death and sin is unclean.

Purity speaks of godly, clean living which leads to life. Obedience to the Holy Spirit leads to eternal life.

Application: As we obey the Holy Spirit and do everything He tells us to do, we are on the path of holiness to life in Jesus. This world is passing away but we have an eternal destiny in heaven with God.

Reject Worldliness

James 4:7–8 NLT

So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.

James introduces us to a two-part holiness approach in our third facet of holiness. Let’s look at the second part, resisting the double, first.

Resist the Devil.

Too many Christians pay more attention to resisting the devil than the devil fleeing from you. Resisting Satan, temptation, and sin without realizing God’s power that makes the devil flee is why Christians struggle daily with temptation.

If we fully realized our identity in Christ, His power and authority in us, we would never walk the tightrope between sin and righteousness.

Jesus won the battle over sin at the Cross. We are dead to sin, living for God. Don’t keep returning to the vomit of your past before you knew Jesus.

Earlier in James 4 James explained we cannot ride the fence between worldliness and godliness. We are either a friend of the world or a friend of God.

James preached the original fire and brimstone sermon, calling his congregation to reject worldliness. We cannot experience spiritual success when we waffle between Jesus and the world.

Illustration: In Bible College I knew I would be a pastor and wanted to win the battle over sin once and for all. I waged war against it. A friend once asked me if I love Jesus as much as I hate sin. I was glorifying the war against sin more and knowing Jesus as my best friend.

Do you love Jesus as much as you hate sin?

James calls Christians who must cleanse their hands from evil “double minded.” They are paralyzed by indecision. They haven’t chosen to either be a friend of the world or a friend of God.

Submit to God.

The first part of James' command to Christians is to submit ourselves to God. We submit to Jesus, pleasing God by resisting temptation and obeying the Holy Spirit.

When we draw near to God He draws near to us. The closer we get to God the deeper our relationship goes with Him. The first step is pushing away from temptation and sin. The next step is drawing close to God.

The more we draw close to Jesus the easier it is to resist the devil. As he walked on water toward Jesus Peter began to drown when he looked at the winds and the waves instead of Jesus.

Many of you remember the old chorus we used to sing, "The world behind me, the Cross before me. No turning back, no turning back. You can only look at one thing at a time. What are you looking at? Let us turn our undivided attention toward Jesus.

Don't focus so much on resisting the devil that you forget to submit to God.

We must humble ourselves before the Lord (James 4:10). When we humbly submit ourselves to the Lord we open the floodgates of his grace in our lives.

Application: Let’s focus on Jesus more than the world. Let’s put our energy into being friends of God. We want to experience the power of knowing God, being immersed in His Spirit, and walking with Him through the storms of life.

Conclusion

Jesus is calling you to be holy as He is holy. If He commands it, it is possible. He expects it of you. Pursue holiness with all of your heart. Come out from among the wicked things in your world. Follow Jesus. Separate yourself from the things that don’t glorify Jesus. Fully commit yourself to knowing Him alone.

Don’t mix worldly things with godly things. No one can have it both ways. Stop riding the fence. This world is passing away. Only Jesus’ path leads to eternal life. Choose the privilege of friendship with Jesus. Grow deeper in Him.

Where are you on the path to holiness today? Do you need to shore up any of these three areas of your life? Don’t leave here before you do.