HOLINESS

TEXT: Hebrews 12:14

INTRODCTION: Our text deals with a subject of deep importance: holiness. It should cause us to ask the questions: are we holy, and will we see the Lord. These questions are never out of season – Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. There are times for doing many things, but there is no time in which a man ought not to be holy. This question concerns every rank of man: rich and poor, learned and unlearned, master and servant. There is no rank or condition in life in which a man ought not to be holy. In this hurrying and bustling world, let us stand still for a few minutes and consider the matter of holiness

I.    what is true practical holiness - what sort of person is called holy by God

A.       A man may go to great lengths, and yet never reach true holiness

1.      It is not knowledge:  Balaam had that

2.      It is not a great profession:  Judas Iscariot had that

3.      It is not doing many things:  Herod had that

4.      It is not having a zeal for certain matters in religion: the Pharisees had that

5.      It is not a morality and outward respectability of conduct:  the young ruler had that

6.      It is not taking pleasure in hearing preachers:  the Jews in Ezekiel's time had that

7.      It is not keeping company with godly people-Joab and Gehazi and Demas had that

8.      None of these were holy; a man may have any one of these things, and yet never see the Lord

B.       What then is true practical holiness

1.      It is a hard question to answer, because we may over-state or under-state the matter and do harm

2.      Holiness is the habit of being of one mind with God; having His mind as described in Scripture

a)      It is the habit of agreeing with God in His judgments-hating what He hates-loving what He loves

b)      It is measuring everything in this world by the standard of His Word

c)      He who agrees entirely with God, is a holy man

3.      A holy man will endeavor to shun every known sin, and to keep every known commandment

a)      He will have a hearty desire to do His will

b)      He will have a greater fear of displeasing Him than of displeasing the world

c)      He will have a love for all His ways

d)      He will feel what Paul felt

Romans 7:22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:

e)      He will feel what David felt

Psalm 119:128 Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way.   

4.      A holy man will strive to be like the Lord Jesus Christ

a)      He will live the life of faith in Him, and draw from Him all his daily peace and strength

b)      He will labor to have the mind that was in Him, and to be "conformed to His image" - Romans 8:29

(i)      It will be his aim to bear with and forgive others, even as Christ forgave us

(ii)    ) to walk in love, even as Christ loved us

(iii)  To be lowly-minded and humble, even as Christ made Himself of no reputation and humbled Himself

c)      He will remember that Christ did not come to do His own will

(i)      That He thought more of godly poor men than of kings

(ii)    That He sought not the praise of men

(iii)  That He was full of love for the sinners, and that He boldly denounced sin

d)      A holy man will try to remember these things, and by them he will endeavor to shape life

I John 2:6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.     

5.      A holy man will be spiritually minded

a)      He will set his affections on things above, and hold the things of earth with a loose hand

b)      He will not neglect the business of the life that now is; but the first place in his mind and thoughts will be given to the life which is to come

c)      He will aim to live like one whose treasure is in heaven

d)      He will pass through this world like a stranger and pilgrim traveling to his home

e)      He will commune with God in prayer, in the Bible, and in the assembly of His people

(i)      These things will be the holy man's chiefest joys

(ii)    He will value every thing, place and company, in proportion as it draws him nearer to God

C.       This is a brief sketch of what holiness is

1.      This description of holiness is not meant to discourage a tender conscience

2.      It is not meant to make a righteous heart sad, or throw a stumbling-block in the way of a believer

II.  holiness does not shuts out the presence of indwelling sin

A.       The greatest mystery of a holy man is that he carries with him a "body of death"

1.      Often when he would do good "evil is present with him"

2.      The old man clogs all his movements, and tries to draw him back in every step he takes

Romans 7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.

3.      It is the distinction of a holy man that he is not at peace with indwelling sin, as others are

4.      He hates it, mourns over it, and longs to be free from its company

B.       Holiness does not come to perfection all at once, nor must they be found in full bloom and vigor before we can call a man holy

1.      Sanctification is always a work in progress

2.      All must have a beginning, and we must never despise "the day of small things"

3.      The history of the brightest saints had many a "exceptions" before they reach the end

4.      The gold will never be without some dross, until we reach the heavenly Jerusalem

5.      The holiest men have many blemishes and defects when weighed in the balance of the God

6.      Their life is a continual warfare with sin, the world, and the devil; and sometimes they will not overcome, but will be overcome

7.      The flesh is ever lusting against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh

Galatians 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

C.       To have the character of holiness is the heart's desire and prayer of all true Christians

1.      They press towards it, even if they do not reach it

Philippians 3:13-14 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

2.      They may not attain to it, but they always aim for it

3.      It is what they strive and labor to be, even if it is not what they are

D.       True holiness is a great reality

1.      It is something in a man that can be seen, and known, and marked, and felt by those around him

2.      It is light; and if it exists, it will show itself

3.      It is salt; and if it exists, its savor will be perceived

4.      It is a precious ointment; and if it exists, its presence cannot be hid

E.       Gold is not the less gold because it is mingled with alloy

1.      Light is not the less light because it is faint and dim, nor is grace the less grace because it is young and weak

2.      After every allowance is made, how can a man deserves to be called "holy", who willfully sins, and is not humbled and ashamed because of them

Hebrews 12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

3.      We dare not call anyone "holy" who makes a habit of willful neglect of known duties, and willfully does what he knows God has commanded him not to do

4.      How can a man be a true believer, if sin is not a great burden, sorrow, and trouble

Conclusion: We have looked at the characteristics of practical holiness. Let each of us examine ourselves and see whether we are acquainted with it. Let us prove our own selves