Message for THE LORD'S DAY MORNING, July 31, 2016 Christian Hope Church of Christ, Plymouth, North Carolina by Reggie A. Braziel, Minister TOPIC: Holiness, Christian Living Be Holy, As I Am Holy I Peter 1:13-16 (NKJV) Please turn with me in your Bibles to I Peter chapter one. And let's read verses 13-16. I Peter 1:13-16 (NKJV) 13 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; 15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 because it is written, Be holy, for I am holy. P R A Y E R ************************************************************ I N T R O D U C T I O N There are those who would have us to believe the world is getting better. They would have us to believe that because we have more medicine...more knowledge...more technology...and more energy available to us now than ever before in history that the world is better than it has ever been before. But for those of us who have a biblical world-view, the world is not getting better. In fact, it is worse than it has ever been before!
We live in a world of UN-HOLINESS. Every single day, our eyes, and our ears, and our minds are assaulted with unholiness everywhere we turn. We live in a world that is filled with un-holy language... un-holy relationships...un-holy lifestyles...un-holy habits... un-holy TV shows...un-holy music...un-holy movies...un-holy books...and un-holy magazines. How can you and I possibly live holy lives when we live in a cesspool of unholiness? *************************************** What Does It Mean To Be Holy? The word holy comes from the Hebrew word qodesh (KO-DESH) which means, separate or apart or to be set apart. * God set apart the seventh day of creation as a day of rest, a Sabbath day, that distinguished it from every other day of the week. (Genesis 2:3) *In Exodus 3, Moses was drawn to the burning bush in the Desert of Midian. That bush was uniquely different than anything Moses, or anyone else for that matter, had ever seen before. It was set apart. It was holy. In fact, you remember GOD instructed Moses to remove His sandals, because you are standing on holy ground. * In Exodus 28 we read where the garments of Israel's priests were uniquely different than any other type of garment worn by man. They were set apart as holy.
For you and me to live HOLY lives means we are to be uniquely different than the rest of the world. We are to be set apart in our actions...our attitudes...our habits...our speech...our priorities... and our relationships. As Christians there should be a very distinguishable difference between us and those who do not know GOD. For my message this morning I would like for us to primarily focus on the last six words of verse 16, Be holy, for I am holy. (repeat) As we look at this verse carefully, you notice two very distinct truths. Truth #1: Our GOD Is A HOLY GOD 1. God says, Be holy, FOR I AM HOLY. 2. Holiness is the very centerpiece of God's wonderful attributes. Everything GOD is...everything GOD does... Everything GOD thinks...everything GOD says...everything GOD feels...every action GOD takes...flows from His holiness. 3. GOD is the standard of holiness in this universe. GOD does not lives by someone else's standard of holiness, HE IS THE STANDARD! 4. GOD is completely Holy in His character. I John 1:5 (NKJV) says, This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.
5. GOD IS LIGHT! Light in the scriptures symbolizes purity and sinless perfection. Not only has GOD lived a perfectly pure life, GOD HIMSELF is perfectly pure. His character is totally transparent. His life is an open book! And in Him is no darkness at all. That means GOD doesn't have a dark, shady past. GOD doesn't have any dirty little secrets. GOD doesn't have any skeletons in His closet. GOD is incapable of sin. GOD is incapable of wrong doing! 6. If you were to examine THE MIND OF GOD with a fine-toothed comb, you would find He has never had a sinful thought. If you were to examine THE HEART OF GOD you would find He has never had a sinful desire. If you were to examine EVERY ACTION GOD HAS EVER TAKEN you would discover He has never done anything out of sinful motives. If you were to WATCH A MOVIE OF GOD'S LIFE FROM THE BEGINNING OF ETERNITY UNTIL NOW you would never catch God in any shameful or embarrassing act. If you were A FLY ON THE WALL IN HEAVEN you would never catch GOD engaging in any unholy conversations with His angels.
7. GOD IS PERFECTLY HOLY! In His eyes there's no such thing as BIG SINS and LITTLE SINS. Every SIN is BIG! In God's eyes, there's no such thing as BAD SINS and NOT- SO-BAD SINS. They're all BAD! 8. BECAUSE HE IS HOLY, God hates the very appearance of sin! He hates even the slightest aroma of sin. He can't stand the sight of sin! HE hates SECRET SINS and OPEN SINS...SINS of OMISSION and SINS of COMMISSION...ACCIDENTAL SINS and DELIBERATE SINS. He hates them ALL! 7. GOD IS PERFECTLY HOLY! He hates the very appearance of sin! He hates even the slightest aroma of sin. There's not a single sin GOD detests less than another. He hates SECRET SINS as well as OPEN SINS. He hates SINS of OMISSION as much as SINS of COMMISSION. He hates LYING as much as He does STEALING...GOSSIPING as much as much as SWEARING...PRIDE as much as ADULTERY. 8. BECAUSE GOD IS PERFECTLY HOLY He never laughs at sin... never jokes about sin...never makes light of sin...and never turns a blind-eye to sin. 9. Let me remind you that right at this very moment you and I are in the presence of our holy GOD. If you don't feel a deep sense of reverential awe in His presence then you don't fully understand or appreciate His holiness. 10. Our God is a holy God! That brings us to our second truth and that is...
TRUTH #2: Our HOLY God Calls Us To Be A HOLY PEOPLE v. 15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, v.16 because it is written, Be holy, for I am holy. 1. Let's consider three things about our holiness. (A) The STIPULATION of our holiness. After what we have just learned about the holiness of GOD, it seems impossible for you and me to be holy as He is holy doesn't it? But we must understand that not only is holiness possible for the Christian, it is a requirement! Notice this is a COMMAND, not a SUGGESTION. If it were impossible for you and me to be holy, God would never command us to do something we couldn't do, would He? We must understand that HOLINESS is NOT and OPTION! HOLINESS is NOT something GOD requires of a select few such as ministers and missionaries. GOD commands ALL who are His CHILDREN to be holy, for I am holy! GOD wants ALL His children to LOOK like Him...and ACT like Him...and THINK like Him...and BE like Him...and to LOVE what He loves...and to HATE what He hates... so that the world knows we BELONG TO HIM! HOLINESS is our spiritual paternity test that proves GOD is our Father! And while HOLINESS does NOT save us, it is one of the evidences we have truly been saved.
HEBREWS 12:14 (NKJV) says, Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: You see,if you and I are truly God's children, we will want to honor Him, and bring glory to Him, and please Him, and the way to do that is to be holy as He is holy! (B) The STANDARD of our holiness. There is a term we use to describe the best possible measurement to test the performance of something. We refer to it as the gold standard. When it comes to measuring our holiness, GOD tells us, I AM your GOLD standard. v. 15 But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in your conduct. v. 16 Be holy, for I am holy. GOD is our gold standard for holiness. For there is NO one truly Holy but GOD. He is perfectly holy. NO one surpasses the holiness of GOD. He is the standard by which we are to measure our holiness. When you and I measure our holiness by someone or something other than GOD, we get a false reading. There are two false standards we tend to measure our holiness by:
(1) The first thing we tend to measure our HOLINESS by is NON-CHRISTIANS CHRISTIANS. Remember Jesus' parable of The Pharisee and The Tax Collector in Luke 18:10-12 (NKJV) Jesus tells us... 10 Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank You that I am not like other men extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess. We have all heard of people patting themselves on the back. This Pharisee is using both hands! (One hand) God, I thank You that I am not like other men----extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. (Other hand) I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I possess. I mean this guy has both arms a flayling! He is literally beating himself to death with self-praise!
That's what we do when we use non- Christians as the standard to measure our holiness. We become arrogant, and proud, and holier-than-thou just like that self-righteous Pharisee. But not only do we often measure our holiness by the non-christians... (2) We also tend to measure our HOLINESS by our own FELLOW CHRISTIANS. II Corinthians 10:12 (NKJV) For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. If I'm here every time the Church doors are open and you're not, does that make me holier than you? If I give more money to the Church than you do, does that make me holier than you? If I do more good deeds than you, does that make me holier than you? If I hold an important position in the Church and you don't, does that make me holier than you?
Of course not! To use our fellow Christians as the standard by which we measure our own holiness is like comparing two dirty cars. They may be dirty in different places but both are still dirty. You see, my dirty rags are no cleaner than your dirty rags. We are all sinners. The only standard we can use to measure our holiness is GOD HIMSELF. He is the gold standard of holiness! When we compare our holiness to the holiness of GOD, we like Isaiah of old, should cry out, Woe is me, for I am undone, I am a man of unclean lips. Well we have looked at the STIPULATION of our holiness, and the STANDARD of our holiness. Finally, let's look at... (C) The SOURCE of our holiness. How do we become holy as God is holy? We don't become holy through SELF-EFFORT EFFORT. We don't become holy by taking a class on HOLINESS 101. We don't become holy by taking holy pills or by drinking a bottle of holy tonic. In order for you and me to be holy as God is holy requires two things:
(1) First, we must DESIRE to be holy. Our scripture tells us very plainly that GOD desires for each of us to live holy lives, to be holy as He is holy. But God has given you and me a free will. Holiness is a choice! You and you alone can decide to obey Christ or to pursue your own selfish desires. You and you alone can decide to live your life to please God or live your life to please yourself. Holiness is a choice. In order for us to be holy as He is holy we must DESIRE to be holy as much as GOD desires for us to be holy. (2) And secondly, we must YIELD to the HOLY SPIRIT. Galatians 5:16 (NKJV) I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Galatians 5:25 (NKJV) If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. You and I do not have the POWER or ABILITY to live holy lives by ourselves. Our sinful nature gravitates towards unholiness. That is why we must rely on God's Holy Spirit to give us the strength and the power to say no to those things that are unholy, and yes to those things which are holy.
The Holy Spirit is constantly prodding us towards holiness, and godliness, and Christ-likeness. This is why we must not resist or quench the Holy Spirit. The more we yield to the Holy Spirit, the more we grow in holiness. We grow to love the things God loves, and to hate the things God hates! ************************************************************************ C O N C L U S I O N In the forests of northern Europe and Asia lives a little animal called the Ermine. The Ermine is known for his snow-white fur in the winter. He instinctively protects his pure white coat against anything that would soil it. Fur hunters take advantage of this unusual trait of the Ermine. They don't set traps to catch him, but rather they find the ermine's home, which is usually in a hollowed out tree or cleft in a rock. And they smear the entrance and interior with all kinds of grime and filth. Then the hunters set their dogs loose to find and chase the ermine. The frightened animal instinctively flees for its home but will not enter because of the filth. Rather than soil its pure white coat, the ermine is trapped while preserving its purity. For the ermine, purity is more precious than life itself! In the forests of northern Europe and Asia lives little animal called the ermine, known for his snow-white fur in winter. He instinctively protects his white coat against anything that would soil it. Oh that we would be so diligent as the Ermine to preserve our purity against the filth of sin. Let us Be holy as GOD is holy.