Be Holy as I am Holy
Notes
Transcript
What does God want them to know? To be Holy as God is Holy
Why? It is our identity, it gives peace, proclaims Jesus
What does God want them to do? Be Holy as God is Holy
Why? It is our identity, it gives peace (shalom; wholeness), proclaims
We are doing a series on foundations discovering who is God....provider, providential, omnipresent, omniscience, omnipotent....We can talk about WHO God is and we do talk the attributes of God, but I feel like the Lord is calling us to discover and see who God we are in Christ....what does it mean to be a Christian foundationally, what does that mean?
ME
When you hear the world Christian what does that mean to you? Or what world think it means when they hear the word Christian?
What comes into their mind or you mind?
Jesus follower
Lover
The people who think they are better than others
Old fashioned
Bigots
Haters
Republicans
Hypocrites
TENSION
This is a pretty massive list and contradictory list....it is far removed from the original reason people were called Christians or little Christ…They saw Jesus and saw that you acted in a similar manner....
There are 2 major reason why this contradictive list happens
1. One of the reasons for this is because a lot of Christians do not act like Christians…we do not live or walk righteously…we take ownership
2. 70% of the United States claim they are Christians but only about 15% of the United States faithfully follow Jesus…the other 85% either do not follow God or is it very secondary in their life.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A CHRISTIAN? A CHRIST FOLLOWER? HOW DO WE EVEN BECOME ONE? WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSE TO DO? HOW ARE WE SUPPOSE TO ACT AND LIVE?
This what Peter is pointing out to the Christians of the Dispersion…he starts his letter stating what it means to be a Chrsitian
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
These are Gentile exiles people who are spread out over all the world because of persecution.
What does He says to these new Christians in the faith on how they are to live? What are they suppose to be? what does it mean to have a new identity.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
(New, something that did not previously exist, we did not step into we were completely transformed)
Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
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.”
hardship
CHILDREN (we will get back to that)
The ways you used to live
God has called you HOLY (we will get to that)
What’s fascinated is what part of the Bible is Peter quoting? One of the most overlooked books Leviticus
This is a good reminder to us the New Testament preachers only had on book, the Old Covenant....their is power in the word
Jesus quotes the Old Testament directly 78 times
The Apostles 209 times directly
For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground.
For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.”
(For I am THE LORD
(Leviticus is all about purity)
(we have been brought out of the GREATEST EGYPT of SIN, DEATH, and SHAME)
Peter quotes a verse from a book about 3 things
purity
identity
redemption
This is giving us incite to what it means to BE HOLY AS I AM HOLY
Purity, identity, redemption
Nor is it what some people think holiness is? Betterness
Does that mean we walk around saying look at me “I am HOLIER THAN THOU!?!”
NO, JESUS REBUKED THE PHARISEES AND REBUKES US WHEN WE ACT THIS WAY....THAT IS PRIDEFUL
Holiness and being holiness is something God wants us to be, but holiness and pridefulness do not go together, they are like oil and water, actually in God’s eyes holiness mixed with pridefulness is like gasoline and a match, because it causes so much destruction…this is why Jesus was so mad at the Pharisees, because it was their religion that claimed to follow YHWH that led people away from God and to God.
PRIDEFULLY HOLY PEOPLE WHO ARE THE GREATEST THREATS TO THE WORLD.
PRIDEFULNESS IS NOT IN GOD’S CHARACTER
humility is and it is not a high value
the book of virtues a classic book though it is not does not have HUMILITY AS A VIRTUE
So What does it mean to be holy as God is Holy?
First lets find out what it means for God our Father to be Holy
What does the word HOLY mean?
Primary meaning: means to be set apart
Not equal
Holy different, not in pridefulness
We’ve learned about this recently God is set apart in power, love (always loving, always faithful, we have love with strings attached), presence (He is omnipresence we are limited) goodness, mercy, knowledge, sovereignty,
“Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?
all other gods
the gods of Baal, Diana, Buddism, Hinduism, power, sex
HOlY SEPERATE, HOLY GOOD
“There is none holy like the Lord: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.
God is holy other, there is no one like our God!
He is matchless
Secondary meaning: is to be righteous, to live righteously
first definition is to be set apart but not set apart to live whatever way we want but God is set apart to live righteously
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.
God always acts in a righteous way!
100% of the time God acts in ways that are righteous
whoa
When we start to understand this and see this the only response is what ISAIAH DOES
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.
Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”
And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.
And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar.
And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”
When Isaish sees the holiness of God he says I AM UNCLEAN
I need my unholiness caused by sin to be atoned for
When we see God’s holiness Like ISAIAH and God says BE HOLY as I AM HOLY…I CANNOT DO THAT....I am unclean, I cannot live righteously
And you are right there is no amount you can do to be HOLY, no amount of good works, you need a redeemer a sanctifier to cleanse your sin.
we need what Isaiah had our sins atoned for
you need grace
HOW BECOME HOLY IS ONLY GOD, how we continue to live holy is a work of God and us called santification.
This is what Peter reminds them of after telling them to be HOLY....remember this is who you are…Peter is telling them to live who they are
And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile,
knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold,
but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
WHAT PETER IS SAYING IS BY THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB YOU HAVE BEEN MADE CLEAN, HOLY
I don’t feel like it, I don’t act like it, I don’t look like it,
The enemy wants those who feel unholy to believe their unholy....because if you believe you are unholy how are you going to live?
Some of us might say where is this is scripture.
THIS IS SUCH A FOUNDATIONAL BELIEF TO WHO ARE AS CHRISTIANS THAT 216 TIMES GOD CALLS US…SINNERS? NO 300 TIMES SINNER IS USED NEVER REFRER TO SAINS, WE ARE CALLED SAINTS
DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE GREEK WORD FOR SAINTS IS? ἅγιος
TO THE SAINTS IN EPHUS, ROME, GALATIA
To the Holy Ones
To the set apart ones
To the ones who live righteously
You have been made HOLY by the BLOOD of THE LAMB
What Peter is saying to the HOLY ONES be HOLY as God is HOLY
What does that mean to be set apart?
Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.
Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
Be set apart from the world, the world does things this way you are set apart from the world ways to the KINGDOM ways
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
We are to be in the world but not of the world
Set apart in we have different morals and standards.
We are set apart in our sexual practice
we do not sleep around
we forgive the unforgiveable (just as we have been forgiven, there is a limit over here)
we love the unlovable (conditional love)
we worship God and not money, sex, or power
we are political but it is not rebulican or democrate but Jesus is king
we are humble (pride is way of kingdom of this world)
we do not live as Holy ones in pride to say I am better, which doesn’t make sense
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
The
And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.
We are going to live righteously, not perfectly
We are going to live in the ways of Gods standards, not ours
WHY?
It is who we are
Peace (shalom): living contrary to ones nature brings an absence of peace, many us have experienced an absence of peace when we live in contrary nature to who God calls us to be....when we sin we have anxiety and one of the reasons is because we are living contrary to our new identity....
Preaches Jesus
Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.
Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
the churches greatest witness to the world is when it is the holiness…the time when the church has been the most effective is not when it is cool and realvant but when it has been the holiest....we have been so abcessed with believing realivant, Jesus is realvant, they have so much peace, love, fruit of the spirit....
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
that’s attractional…when the when the HOLY ONES live like HOLY ones..
SET APART FROM SOMETHING to SOMETHING