Mirrors of the Man
Grow 2021 • Sermon • Submitted
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Holiness Is For You
Holiness Is For You
Holiness is expected and it is our birthright as new born Christians.
For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
God has commanded us to be holy, 1 Pet:1:15–16
but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
“Separation to God, and the conduct befitting those so separated.” W.E. Vine.
For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified. For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness.
cf. Eph 4:22, 24.
Check your attitude toward sin: is it self-centred or God-centred.
Understand correctly what Paul meant by “living by faith,” Gal. 2:20. We have a personal responsibility for our walk in holiness.
Take sin seriously. It is easy to categorise sin and use false comparisons such as, “Well, at least I don’t _______.”
Andrew Bonar said, “It is not the import of the thing, but the majesty of the Lawgiver, that is to be the standard of obedience.
Sin is sin because God says it is. A “white” lie is a lie. Lying is sin.
Get a grip on how absolutely pure God is and how absolute His moral hatred of sin is, and you’ve taken your first step in the pursuit of holiness.
Holiness Is Not An Option
Holiness Is Not An Option
Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:
Personal holiness does not merit salvation. Isa 64:6.
But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.
“Even our tears of repentance need to be washed in the blood of the lamb.”
2. Christ was the One who was obedient and righteous on our behalf. Romans 5:19
For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,
Jesus’ perfect life is credited to us. Heb 10:10
By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Without HIS holiness, none of us could ever hope to see the Lord. Therefore, we must be holy in practice, Eph 1:4
just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,
Living in sin after becoming a Christian is to live contrary to the life God intended for us, having saved us! Holiness isn’t a necessary condition of salvation, but it is certainly a part of continued salvation once added to the body of Christ. Titus 2:11–12
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age,
Holiness then is demanded to have fellowship with God. We will not live perfect, sinless lives as Christians but we must always be pursuing holiness.
Get a grip on the fact that holiness is essential to our continued well-being in our new lives of faith.
The Joy of Holiness
The Joy of Holiness
Walking in holiness is the experience of the truest joy. Obedience to God brings joy to our lives, John 15:10–11
If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.
Jesus’ love for us is not conditional on our obedience. However, our experience of His love is dependent upon our obedience.
A holy life produces the joy of that promise of the reward of eternal life with God. Heb 12:1–2
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Jesus endured for joy. So must we!
His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’
Joy helps produce a holy life. Neh 8:10
Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
God has provided us all we need to live a holy life before Him.
He has given His Son to die for our sins.
He has given His Spirit as the seal of our salvation.
He provided us His Word so that we can know what is truly right from what is very wrong.
He has added us to the church where we can encourage and support one another in our new lives of holiness.
He hears and answers our prayers as we ask Him for help in this pursuit of holiness.
So, get a grip on the joy that living a holy life brings to the committed Christians’s life.
Mirrors of the Man
Mirrors of the Man
It is because Jesus was holy that God makes us holy.
It is because Jesus was holy that we can know what it means to make holy choices for our lives.
It is because we pursue holiness that we become mirrors of the Man Who redeemed us and empowered us to live the holy life before God.
[Andrew Gardiner]
When the world sees us, let it be said in that encounter that we are mirrors in whom others see Jesus living!