Making a Habit of Holiness. T
I. Intro -I am going to tell you what I am going to tell you before I tell you. I like to teach in propositions, which I will test with the word. - The word is as much truth as we are graced with - God knows the limits of our minds ands has given a more sure word that meets these limitations. We have in the Bible all we need to know- but let us not forget that God is more truth than can be exhausted here. Being Godlike does not make us little Gods. We know the difference in truth and error, but we have not attained to Godhood. I have my doubts about adhering dogmatically to any "ism" whether it be dispensationalism, Calvinism, or covenantism when these are systems devised by finite minds to attempt to comprehend mystery. They may be very biblical, and very helpful but do not let us forget that adherance to these does not tell us more of the nature of God than he has revealed. His law serves in this function- to show us what his holiness is like in human terms. - God shows us his way, he gives us a share in his glory, but does not completely reveal his mind or deify us. He himself is pleased top indwell our temples- so propositions will be given and the ramifications thereof will be explored from the standof Biblical truth.
proposition
1. The necessary result of pursuing holiness is spiritual conflict.
Proposition
2. The necessary result of pursuing holiness is spiritual power
So what is holiness?
a. opposite of self absorbtion
b. not man centered- great danger
c. Godlikeness
II. Why is holiness
necessary?
a. Without
holiness no one will see God.
b.
God commands holiness
c. God provides holiness-
2
Tim 1:7 God has given us a spirit of power, love and self discipline
It has been said that the race
of holiness is run on a battlefield. We will see in this lesson that
establishing our holiness was not only Christ's work on the cross, but it is
also our resurrecrtion's purpose, and a prerequisite to usefulness. In fact, Establishing the means to holiness in man has been
the centerpiece of God's redemptive plan in the history of the universe!
To establish the monumental
nature of the importance of our holiness, we need to look at the history of the
universe in a nutshell - you are not only going to get comedy and tradgedy in
this, but also drama, mystery and a happy ending.
The
pursuit of holiness is a quest we will never complete in this life. Hebrews
12:14. Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy, for
without holiness noone will see the Lord.
- in some translations it is pursue-NIV says make every
effort- captures the flavor of the word used for persecution - to track down
and destroy- intense word. - Serious effort here. 1 Peter 1:16 quotes the old
testament- Be Holy for I am Holy...a quesrt for God without a quest for
personal holiness in in vain- What is holines?- primary meaning God's
separateness, transcendence God is out and above us as creatures- God isd not
meaning for us to be transcendent as He is. More like Isaiah 6- Holy, Holy ,
Holy-isaiah was undone- lost all integerity- Moral quality of holiness melted
him down- conformity to to the character of God.
Chriostlikeness or Godikeness.
God predestined us to be conformed to the likeness of his son Romans 8:29. This
is the purpose of our salvation. We need something a little motre concrete.
Ephesians 4:22 - 24 a description
of holiness. Read this. Taught to put off old self, to be made new in attitude
of mind, put on new self created to be like God in true righteousness and
holiness. . Exchange of character traits. We are corupted by the spirit of the
age- put off these characteristics- patterns, habits, actions. - the process is
of brreaking old habits and replacing them with new, holy habits.
v.
24- here we find it involves not only putting off, but a putting on. Col
3:5-10 we put the old to
death. The new self looks like
this- Galatans 5:22-23- fruit of the spirit. 9 characteristics. I Cor 13
denotes Love as having all these qualities. Col 3:12-15 parallel passage.
Clothe yourself 14 character traits in the two lists. We tend to focus on the
putting off. We think in limited terms of
purification, not putting on
Christlike character. When you use a pair of scissors, there is two handle-
blades and a pivot screw. Changing the attitude of our mind holds together and
makes the putting off result in working function it was created for.
Where do we begin- how do we
proceed? - Romans 11:1-2
4 things we see- first tho the
motive Paul sets before us to do
this- in view of God's mercy- this is our motive and motivation- similar words- ,there is a distinction - motive
is reason why- inner heart. Motivation is inner desire to do it. We need
motivation. Grace is the motive that is acceptable to God. Enduring
motivation is that which keeps the
fire burning. Romans 11:32 says we are bound over to disobedience so he may
have mercy on us all. In view of the first 14 chapters of Romans we do the
last two- the focus of the book (this is a novel idea). Motive can be gratitude or fear and
hope of getting something. If we are afraid NOT to obey- that is an
unacceptable motive to God. We all entertain thoughts along these lines. The
fear of the Lord is living in the light of who he is and the love we have for
him not a sense of begrudging
dutifulness that is legalism.
Guilt cuts the motivation to
pursue holiness. We begin to see how sinful we really are. A dimmer in a dirty
room will make it look better. Turn up the lights or throw open the shades and
things are seen in a different light. The Holy Spirit does this as we pursue
holiness. The pole is raised to
give us a clearer view of holiness as we accoplish plateaus of holiness. We stand with perfect righteousness
credited to us already. But we have to preach the gospel to ourselves everyday.
2. Our view of God's mercy
must lead to a total commitment to
holiness. We give ourselves to God. It must be an unblemished sacrifice. Here
the motive is the key. Sincere desire and earnest effort. Offer here means to convey the full force of
"put at the disposal of" - give it over to God as he sees fit. We are
not to put our selves at the disposal of sin. Not the fact that you are not
perfect. Phil. 3:12. The Bible was given to us not only to increase our knowledge,
but to guide our conduct. Commitment leads to practice such as an athlete does.
The White moment is a time when an athlete or performer feels all of his
energies concentrated and he becomes oblivious of all else but the almost
perfect functioning of his skills and energies. This can only happen with the
investment of developing thiose skills. I think of the bullmoose syndrome. Youy
have seen these Nature shows where tyhe bullmooses compete for supremacy in the
herd by slamming their racks of horns into each othe at full speed. The animal
with the strongest horns ultimately becomes the leader. But these horns were
not built in the heat of battle. they were grown by feeding in the spring beside still waters. They were buit by
a srteady diet of nourishing foods. then when the battle came , their weapons
were strong. We need to have a commitment, not to compete or be the best, but
to be HOLY because God is holy.
3. Parallel passage- similar
to Eph 4:22-24. Be transformed by the renewing of your minds- developing bible based convictions. You
can have the conviction that it is ok if you do not get caught. But it is not
that we are to have bible taught convictions. they must be bible based but
Spirit taught. What is the difference? Many people know the words of scripture.
The spirit teaches us. there are many unspiritual and unholy specialists in the
facts of the Bible. Is the spped limita manmade rule? Romans 13 says the
government has authority to impose that rule and these kinds of things can
become little foxes that spoil the vineyard. We need to develop biblical
convictions in every area of our life or we have chinks in our armor.
Strange grammar here- be
transformed- passive verb. Hit the basll is active form to have something done
TO the ball is the passive form. Imperative mood is an exhortation. An order to
hit the ball. We do not say, ball, be hit! But Paul says this here. We cannot
do it ourselves. When we are dirty we take a shower. We don't think of it, but
we are also saying I will go be made clean. We bring ourselves under the action
of the cleansing agent. We cannot clean ourselves. We need external action of
the soap and water. The spirit will cleanse us from inside out.
You cannot develop convictions
or holy habits with an hour of church on Sunday alone.
History of the world from
God's perspective gives us a view we will refer to again and again in this
lesson.
2 Timothy 1:18-we fight a
noble warfare. A long term continual campaign. Timothy is in a spiritual
battle- the enemy had encroached upon the Ephesian Church. Timopthy is on the
front lines so to speak. We are all in the same campaign. What are the elements
of the war? Luke 14:31 Jesus laid down a principle- know what is at stake, and
knw thy enemy.
In eternity past, there was no
battle. there was no reaction to Good's sovereign rule. His will was done in
peace and harmony- then ther came a disasterous eveent that set God andf Satan
against each other for all eternity. Ezekiel 28:
let us set a framework to
understanf the warfare. Ezekiel prophecies against Tyre. Son of man is Ezekiel-
sealest up the sum= things are sealed when thy are completed and consummated,
like a letter. A perfectly created being, the work is finished- full of wisdom
and perfect in beauty.this is no human being- we are none of us like this- Thou
hast been in Eden the Garden of God- who else was there besides Adam and Eve?
This is the adversary, the enemy. v. 13-9 precious stones- a magnificent being
whose creation was marked with praise and celebration. He was the most glorious
of the angelic creatures. v. 14 calls him the annointed cherub that covers- on
top of the mercy seat protectors of the holiness of God. In the minds of the
Jew these were the highest angelic creatures caring for the glory and holiness
of God. I have set thee so. Angels wrr created in a hierarchy. Strata in God's
design related to function. He was supremely set. the holy mountain and the
stones would be the verty dwelling place of God in heaven. That is where this
angel dwelt. Perfect in thy ways- then the disaster- til iniquity was found in
thee- the beginning of Spiritual warfare at the cosmic level. v. 16he was casr
as profane out of the mountain of God and destroy hiom- thine heart was lifted
up because of thy beauty, corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness.He
was so glorious and beautiful and entrusted with such responsibility that he
became corrupt- apparently something that was passible since he was mutable- it
did come from within- how it happened we do not know. He apparently became
enamored of himself. He responded in pride. So God Threw him out of Heaven.
In
Isaiah 14:12 - in this prophecy an
indication of a behind the scenes power.
The prophecy is to Babylon and beyond it to its source of power.
Lucifer- daystar, son of the
morning- reminiscent of Luke 10 :18 where Jesus says he beheld Satan fall like
lightning from heaven- we'll refer to this passage later. The sin that rose up
from within- I will, I will, I will- he was so close to God that he became
jealous of being God- he wanted to be equal to God. He invents his sin, so to
speak. He was not stimulated by God. He wanted to cease to be an angel among
angels-stars refer to angels. The mount of the congregation isd where God sits
to meet with his people-v. 14 Out of this comes the battle- God's response- you
will be brought down to the pit. Notice Revelation 12:3 great red dragon anti
god world government- this is where the battle takes place in the heavens and
earth. His tail took on=e third of the angelic hosts. Angels were created to
live forever. Hell is eternal and was created for the devil and his angels.
They do not procreate- there are the same number of them eternally. So satan is
not alone in his warfare. He is very powerful but does not share in omnisciece
or have omnipresence. Apparently son of the fallen angels are already in the
pit. Bound in everlasting chains- Jude. Some are temporarily in the pit to be
released as in Revelation 9.
What
is the target of the demons as they are now known? Rev. 12 woman is Israel, the
child is the Christ. What is worked out in heaven sometimes has parallels on
earth. I believe this is more often than we know. that's the way the warfare
goes. He fights the church, at Christ's return , and until He is ultimately
destroyed. There is war in heaven right now- God and his angels versus Satan
and his angels- Michael is in contention with the devil over the body of Moses
in Jude 9. The battle eventually filters down to us. The dragon went to make
war with the remnants of her seed.Rev. 12. All who belong to Christ, the
redeemed. So to say I want to be sexual on Satan's side and godly on some other
is ludicrous. There is no
neutral ground. It is spirituasl treason to not draw the lines very clearly.
In
history on earth God's plan hads unfolded something like this:
After the earth was created,
man was tempted by Satan into not believing God. This fall made possible true
holiness. I believe since man was changeable it was for a reason more than
giving him will and responmsibility but also the possibility of the choice of
holiness. God 's plan moved forward in Genesis 3 with the promise of a
redeemer, and a covering accomplished by the sghedding of blood. All through
history we see the battle- in the flood which destroyed the giant mutant
race created when fallen angels
cohabited with women, and later when man tried to accomplish mush the same
thing at Babel that Lucifer had
set his sights on in heaven. By covenanting with a people, one of the major
themes of the Bible comes into play-
God's choosing of a holy people to interact with and to dwell among. The
battles they wages were against foerces that were a front for the battle in the
heavenlies. All the prophecies to prepare a way, and all the pictures or
foreshadowing that god graced us with show evidences of the battle. It was
imperative to God to communicate thru the law, the prophets and in the types
revealed in history the nature of His Holiness. The root of Jesse and the
generational charts show God's hand in space and time, anf the climax of
history came with Emmanuel- God with us, who died as a propitiation to The
wrath a holy God naturally must
exhibit toward iniquity. Satan was ever present in the wilderness, in Judas, in
Gethsemane and at the crucifixion. Not being omniscient, God's ways were far
beyoun what Satan coulf comprehend and on the third day the one who died with
the sin of the world placed upon him rose again to sound the death knell to
Satan's schemes outside of time and space.
So
we in space and time are to abide in the meantime until Christ returns in the
Living Vine- The root of Jesse now fiull grown. This is the only way we can
have assurance of what side we are on in the battle- we are easily deceived and
desperately wicked, Jeremiah says.
Seven principles of Holiness
revealed in the idea of the Living Vine
1. nature/purpose
2. context/ground
3. root/source
4. agent/sap
5. rule/trainer
6. heart/light
7. experience/garden
A. The purpose of our being grafted into the vine is transformation
through consecration. When a cutting
is grafted into a plant, the cutting is transformed from what it was to take on
the NATURE of the host plant. That
is seen by the new nature of the new fruit it is capable of bearing. Even its
appearance is transformed.
B. The ground the Vine springs from is saturated with the blood of
Christ. The work of Christ accomplished our justification through His
obedience, making possible our
ingrafting into the vine. The purpose of Christ's work was to save us from God,
(The ramifications of God's Holiness toward the unholy) not sin. This is the context
which must exist for our holiness to
be possible.
C. The root of the vine is Christ's identification with us in co-crucifixion
and co-resurrection. The root is our source of life in
Christ. This goes beyond the idea of purification alone. Therefore we are
buried with Him by baptism in death that like as Christ was raised up from the
dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of
life. Romans 6:4 . Being grafted into
the vine means we have a share in the history of its growth process, which
includes planting, germination and
bursting to life. At the same time , the Kingdon is entered by the denial of
one's own will and the confirmation of God's will Gethsemane was as much a
cross as Golgotha was. This stands central to understanding the kingdom.
D. The sap of the vine is the Holy Spirit. The lifegiving, quickening, transforming agent of
Holiness is the Holy Spirit. He flows
throug the vine and into the new branches transforming their character after
nourishing and cleansing them. By the Holy Spirit the old is put off and the
new is put on. He is the agent of fruit production. He makes us more Godlike
and holy in the process so we can
dwell with the vinedresser forever. In this we see the progressive side of
sanctification which is necessary in a branch growing in time and space.
E. The rule by which the vinedresser determines whether the branch
is healthy, growing and conforming the the likeness of the vine is the law. The law is what the vinedresser uses to train the branches in the way they should grow. John 14:15-23. The law is the
revelation of God's character to men in a specific culture. The moral
principles behind that law are valid for the believer in that in their
essential elements, they show us what God's nature is like. The law is a
picture of holiness.God's holiness does not change- beware of thinking ,
however that keeping the law will enable us to gain fo=vor with God. The only
reason we even have the law is that God's favor was already bestowed upon us by
grace. This is to be distinguished
by the fruit of the spirit which is the inevitable produce of that healthy
branch.The scriptures are full oof references that we are to grow in holiness
after we are made holy, and this has as much more to do with our desire, motives and purposes in keeping the
law than it does performance and deeds. James 3:7, 2
Peter 1:4-7, 2 Peter 3:14-18, 1 Peter 2:13, Romans 15:13-19, I Cor. 2:10-12
F. The light in which the vine grows is Love. This is the heart of Holiness. The light of God's love motivates and
draws us ever to him. The light of his love causes a reaction within our
members. The vine does not grow well in winter or darkness. Isaiah 27:3. Romans
13:12, 12:21
While love is one of the
fruits of the spirit, it is also the essence of the law, as well as the
motivating force for us to grow in holiness .
G. The garden the vine grows in is conflict. This is our Experience of Holiness. Ephesians 6:12, Romans 8:37, Psalm 44:3
The outer flesh of the branch is ravaged by the elements ofg the world the
flesh annd the devil. When we were grafted into the vine we also gained a share
in this cosmic conflict. We grow beside tares and are affected by the bombardment
the world offers. At our glorification, the branches original substance will be
completely purged and regenerated, but until that time, we are mutable and
therfor, we can still sin. We will one day be perfected in holiness never to
change. This is something that sets us apart from Adam in the garden and in my
mind is an important motivation for God's plan of the ages. We are not some plan B God put into effect as a
backup after things did not work out and God was thwarted in the beginning. The
race of obedience is run on a battlefield. When we enter the kingdom of light
we have immediate enemies.
So we have answered the
question of what holiness is, and what it looks like. The world's picture of
holiness is legalism. We ought to be aware that Christians are in part
responsible for this. We must demand that any effort in His name be accompanied
by a total commitment to a holy life. We must manifest the integrity of His
nature. So let us ask- are you a Holy person? Do you consider yourself holy? Do
we share in the world's caracature of holiness? Is a holy person someone who
does't know the score of the Cowboys game and doesn't care?
We
have talked about what holiness is- now in practical terms- how do you come by
it? Is there any such thing as a key to holiness? I have read about 6 author's
views on this in the past week and have read 6 different approaches to that
question. Then I realized I hadn't searched the scriptures. I want you to turn
with me to one of the many passages I found that seem to me to say
approximately the same thing, and it is something I did not see mentionedy by
any of the writers I read. I
Thessalonians 3:11-13.
This
book begins and ends with prayer and has prayer all through it. This comes at
the end of the first major section of the epistle and begins what tends to
dominate the rest of the letter. Paul is expressing a wish here "may it be
so" . He first prays to see them so as to minister to them, then may God
cause you to increase and abound in love for one another and for all men...so
he may establish your hearts, unblameable and holy before our God and Father at
the coming of Jesus Christ with all his saints...
The focus of the thessalonian
epistles is the parousia- the second coming of Christ.
When
I was first learning to draw, I remember discovering the benefit of one of the
tricks of the trade- perspective. If you draw a on the horizon as
areference point, you can draw all the lines on your drawings of houses and such going back to that
point. You can erase the parts you
don't need, and suddenly all your distorted images come into perspective. The
of perspective for all of life for the Christian is the second coming of the
Lord Jesus Christ. We have seen Paul focus on this repeatedly- This is that for
which you live, this is that which in the light of you must live, This is opur
reference . (It is interesting that that is sometimes called the
vanishing point!) This is exactly what Paul is portraying for us. We are to
align everything in our lives with this reference point. When we do not, our
lives become confused, out of perspective and poorly drawn. In other word's a
mess. Many christian work so hard, yet they are like a man in a rowboat who
loses sight of the lighthouse- he can easily get off course or row in circles.
Paul
sets a goal before us to stand before Christ blameless in holiness on that day.
By increasing in love, we will be established in holiness. Titus 2
"...Looking for the
Blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and savior Jesus
Christ who gave himself in order that he might redeem us from every lawless
deed and purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for
good deeds. I John 3- we shakll be like him.
When I think of this I am
reminded that at the culmination of history, we will be presented to Christ as
his bride- our eternal union with him wilkll be one born of love. we will be
made pure anfd holy and clothed in white.
Do you have this confidence?
If not , you have the promise that your heart can be established. so that you will have an unshakeably
clear conscience.
How? This is no
oversimplification- Increase in love...everybody talks about this from the
preacher to the pornographer...Here again the world has a warped, distorted
view of Love. Agape love is a kind of selfless, godly love that is
unconditional. Selflessness
produces holiness. Paul seems to say that if you love more you can be
established in holiness. How does this work? I meditated on this and searched
the themes through scripture- and all kinds of things came to light. The Bible
seems to indicate that if you could keep all the demands of the law you would
bv3e magnificently Holy. When Jesus summarized the law- he basically said the
essence of the law which was designed to show us holiness is love. Over and
over again we have read in scripture where this is true.
You
cannot go around trying to be Holy. give it up- begin being selfless in your
love for God, for others- even your enemies. JUST DO IT.
self absorbtion, howerver religious is the opposite of Godiness. 2 Cor
7:1 This is where power comes
from. Not warm fuzzies, but a love of commitment and loyalty based on a
foundation of faithfulness which, while not divorced from feelings is not
contingent on feelings. We have difficulty in this because you cannot command
feelings, only behavior. - We often do not pay attention to what God is doing
in one anotheer's lives. In 1941 in Oxford C. S. Lewis preached on this term
from 2 Corinthians- The Weight Of Glory.The of the sermon was- if we
could see each other in the light of what we will one day be, and therefore
what God is doing in our lives, we would be tempted to fall downon our
knees and worship because of the
glorious creature you are in the process of becoming. We should love and treat
each other in the light of what we will be at the end of our history.
To live abocve with saints we
love will be the height of glory, but to live below with the saints we know,
well that's another story...
Francis Schaefffer called this
the Mark of a Christian- our testimony to all the world that we are Christ's-
but more - it is a testimony to us , each to the other as well.
plus a few questions to ponder.
Lastly, how does this relate
to Power in our lives?
Luke
1) :25 is said in the context of Luke 10:19.
Psalm 92:12, Romans 13:12,
12:21
Obedience.We should
concentrate on this means instead of the en of victory. Faith is hearing from God, Trusting God
and then obeying God.
Churches too often look first
at dynamism and skills in their leaders, not sanctitiy and devotion.
1 Cor 15:54
1 Kings 20:1-4
conqueror/victory
Romans 16 as the of the
book
2 Tim 2:21 precondition for
usefulness
power as power over sin/
satan's schemes
power versus authorityBishop
Ryle said Holiness is the practivce of being of one mind with God. The more you
agree with God the holier you are in practice. A. W. Tozer said that thinking
is a kind of living. Feats of thinking create reputation, habits of thinking
create character. . God will that we think his thoughts after Him- the
experienced Christian will not think directly. Thoughts will go first to God,
and then out to creation. . God must have all our thoughts if we woulfd
experience sanctity of mind.
Hebrews 12:14
Eph 3:16-19 power is derived
from love. read through 4:6 unity.
2 Cor. 5:15
Ezekiel 36z:26
Romans 8:13
Eph. 4:22-24
Hannnah Whitall Smith Aug
12,1988 CT
Recommendations for Spiritual
discipline- HW Smith quote.
objective and subjective
graces objective =
cleanse your mind with the
word Ps. 119:11. Read great passages on holiness. Job 38-42.
Psalm99, Isaiah 40-46,
Revelation 4-5.
pray without ceasing. 1 Thess
5:17
read of other saint's
perspectives on holiness
Stephen Charnock- Existance
and attributes of God.
R. C. Sproul- the Holiness
of God.
A. W. Tozer- the Knowledge
of the Holy and The Pursuit of God
Jerry Bridges- Pursuit of
Holiness- this has a new sequel just out.
The Valley of Vision - a
collection of Puritan Prayers
Holiness- Bishop J. C. Ryle
anything by J. I. Packer.
Confession- The greatest
saints have been the most aware of their potential for collapse from sin.-
Nehemiah 1:6, Ezra 9:6, Daniel 9:5 each confessed their sins in the fear of the
Lord who in turn readied them for the tasks ahead.
There is a great difference in
power and authority. Christ told Pilate :"You have the power to execute me
, but you do not have the authority. We must be sure that any power we weild is
accompanied by an authorization to use that power. This is the difference in
good and evil at its basis. Luke
10 :18-19 shows the basis of our
power. Power is perfected in
weakness- submission to authority- obedience. Obedience cannot be understood in a vacuum- not to a vision
- obedience to God's revelation- Tis is no fable it is God speaking to you.
Jesus almost always appealed to the authority of scripture when he faced
temptation. So the emophasis on power is real and strong in scripture but it is
not power for power's sake- it is the fact that evangelicals today too often
see power as some commodity to be used like a switch toi turn on and off
whenever it seems good to us.