God is infinitely perfect

James 1:17 "Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow."

Introduction:

Today's post will attempt to sketch out an answer to the following question: How is God infinitely perfect?

To begin, when we talk about God in regards to His perfection – we can speak of His perfection in two ways – which then lead to the necessary conclusion that He is infinite. 

First – God is essentially perfect. God is His own reality, complete in an of Himself – i.e what theologians term “Aseity” (Isaiah 43:10-11; 44:6; Romans 11:36). Perfection in the Bible refers to completeness, soundness, fullness and without dependence on another. The Biblical doctrine of the Trinity is important due to its insistence upon God existing as three persons who are dependant upon one another but not on anything outside of themselves. 

Writers of times past have shown for example that God is love – with the Father loving, the Son receiving such love and the Holy Spirit being the Personal expression of such love between the Father and the Son. Undoubtedly all of God's attributes or characteristics could be expressed in this similar fashion. 

God is therefore necessarily the explanation for His own reason for being. All other things – the universe, people, planets, angels and so on do not possess this quality of aseity or essential completeness. God would be God with or without the created order – and chose to create out of sheer pleasure and desire to overflow His unending glory (Habakkuk 2:14; Romans 8:22-25). Hence God is essentially perfect (Psalm 89:14; James 1:17).

The second way God is perfect is in regards to His moral perfection. God is fundamentally good through and through. Whenever Moses requested God to reveal His glory – God, Yahweh, responded by putting on display His “Goodness” (Exodus 33:17-18). All other moral perfections with holiness leading the list (Isaiah 6:3) include God’s mercy, grace, justice, wrath, benevolence and love for His people (Exodus 34:6; Jeremiah 10:23-24; Habakkuk 1:13; Jude 1:24-25). Such a being as God must by necessity be infinite and hence infinitely perfect. God’s moral perfection asserts He is the Absolute standard by which all morality is measured. Hence, “goodness” and “badness” do not become such when God declares them to be so. Rather, God being His own standard of goodness, holiness, love and so on is the final Determiner of what is good.

In order for God to function as essential and moral perfection – He must by necessity be infinite. By essence (i.e Being) He is unchanging or immutable (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8); not fully comprehended by any lesser mind (Romans 11:33-35); having no boundaries to mark His presence or immensity (1 Kings 8:27); without beginning nor end with regards to His duration (Psalm 90:1-2; Hebrews 1:5-14) and the Creator of all things (Genesis 1:1; 1 Corinthians 8:6). Moreover, Scripture reveals that such a God must then be all knowing or omniscient (Psalm 147:5; 1 John 3:20); all powerful or omnipotent (Psalm 139:13-16; Matthew 28:18); everywhere present or omnipresent (1 Kings 8; Psalm 139:7-12; Colossians 1:16-18); all wise (Psalm 139:22-24; Jude 1:24-25) and as already mentioned – all good (Psalm 139:17-22; Matthew 19:17).

Closing Thoughts
Therefore in conclusion, we can note that: 1). God is both essentially and morally perfect. 2). God by necessity is infinite. 3). God is therefore infinitely perfect and by converse, perfectly infinite.

The call to be Spirit-filled in sanctification (i.e practical holiness) - Ephesians 5:1-14

Ephesians 5:1 "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children"

Ephesians 5:18 "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit"

Ephesians 6:18 "With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with allperseverance and petition for all the saints"

Introduction:

Yesterday we concluded a two part post series on what occurs at the beginning of salvation and what ought to follow one's conversion to Christ in saving faith. We closed out yesterday's post by looking at Ephesians 5:1-6:20. I felt it necessary to take that block of scripture and unpack what the Holy Ghost is saying to us through it. The heart of Ephesians 5-6 centers around the heart of post-conversion sanctification - the Spirit-filled life. Such a life is available and expected of every Christian. Sadly, there are more Christians who regularly operate by the desires of self and the flesh than by the indwelling Holy Spirit. The aim of today's post is to grasp what Paul is communicating through this key section in God's Word on the Spirit-filled life. We will first offer a brief outline of the passage and then offer a few comments on each point. First, the outline...

Spirit-filled living - Ephesians 5:1-6:18. Notice....

1. The call to be Spirit-filled in our sanctification (i.e practical holiness). Ephesians 5:1-14

2. The command(s) to be Spirit-filled Ephesians 5:15-18 

3. The consequences of the Spirit-filled life. Ephesians 5:19-6:18.

These truths mark out what ought to occur after salvation as begun in regeneration/conversion. Considered all together, we can truly see how great our salvation is in both it's beginning and progression through this life! To be filled with the Spirit means to be under the control, influence and leading of Him. Is this type of life only available to a select few Christians? Is the Spirit-filled life optional? What does such a life look-like in the practical areas of everyday life such as marriage, parenting, employment and one's prayer time? Let us now consider each heading in brief.

1. The call to be Spirit-filled in our sanctification (i.e practical holiness). Ephesians 5:1-14
We saw yesterday that sanctification is the progressive work of the Holy Spirit, following from and beginning from the moment of conversion. In sanctification, the Christian is cooperating with God by becoming in experience who they are declared by God to be in position. Central to the Christian's progress in sanctification or post-conversion Christian growth is the repeated experience of the Spirit-filled life. What do we learn about this experience? How is it entered into by the Christian? We learn here in Ephesians 5:1-14 that the Spirit-filled life is a call from God to a deeper walk with Him. 

Ephesians 5:1-2 headlines the theme of the call to the Spirit-filled life - holiness: "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children;2 and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as afragrant aroma." The commentator R.C.H Lenski notes about these verses: "The sins against which he warns are seen in their true light when they are viewed as Paul views them, against the whole background of our holy life in God and in Christ." 

As we are called to holiness in the Spirit-filled life, such holiness expresses itself positively in relationship to God and negatively in its rejection of sin. Lenski notes concerning our imitation of God as dearly beloved children: "To be sure, our Father loves us; but 'beloved' makes evident our normal relation. Some ordinary children are unnatural; they act in such a manner that one would scarcely believe that they belong to their parents. Not so 'children beloved.' This word 'beloved' strikes the note of this paragraph: our love is to imitate God's love." Like a small child who desires to bring pleasure to the parent that they love and are loved by, a Christian ought to be so inclined to imitate God in their attitudes and actions. Little children become greatly saddened when even the thought of doing something contrary to their parents wishes crosses their minds. Such a reverence or healthy "fear" of bringing displeasure to the parent corresponds to what the scripture calls "the fear of God" (see Proverbs 8:13).

Holiness then is first and foremost a positive effort in being like the Lord Jesus Christ. By themselves, Christians cannot ever hope to attain to such a high-calling. The Spirit-filled life is what supplies the Christian the power to heed the call given here in Ephesians 5:1-2. 

As we already noted, the holiness of conduct and life headlining the call of the Spirit-filled life expresses itself positively in desiring to imitate God and walk in love in Jesus Christ. Such a positive, Spirit-filled desire should naturally correspond to the negative expression of avoiding and combatting sin. If we as Christians think of practical holiness as having to do with imitating God and Christ in the power of the Spirit - the hatred for sin will be a supernatural by-product of such love.

Negative commands in the scripture can sometimes be better understood when we re-state them postively in our application of them. In brief, notice the key commands to hate sin in Ephesians 5:3-14:

Ephesians 5:3 "But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints." When we restate this text positively for our application, it can look like the following, namely that Godly morality and generosity out to be named among you, as this is proper among the saints. Or consider Ephesians 5:6-7 "Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not be partakers with them." When restated positively for our application, such a command to holy living in the call to the Spirit-filled life could look-like this: Be influenced only by full words of truth from God's word and share in the partaking of such words with others. 

One more example should suffice to show how holiness is the headline theme in the call to the Spirit-filled life. Consequently, this final example will also validate our method of taking a negatively stated command (a "do not" command) and restating it positively for application and understanding. Consider Ephesians 5:11-12 "Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; 12 for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret." The Holy Spirit Himself inspired Paul to take this thought and re-express it positively in Ephesians 5:14 "For this reason it says, “Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

When we try to heed this call of holiness in the Spirit-filled life in our own strength or flesh, we fail. Such a call exceeds natural ability. Only the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit, influencing and controlling the Christian from the inside/out can attain to and achieve such a call. 

More tomorrow.............

Angels in the Book of Revelation

Revelation 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John

Today's post features the angels we find throughout the book of Revelation.  In past posts we have looked at angels and have looked at the Book of Revelation.  In other posts we have occasionally focused on a subject where angels were part of the discussion.  In today's post we want to specifically consider the main reasons why God included angels in the Apocalypse of John.  In the nearly 300 places we find angels in God's Word, nearly 25% of those appearances occur in the final book of the Bible.  To discern the significance of angels in the Book of Revelation, we will note by their function such purposes by considering the three following activities which we see them performing:

1. Royal Court of Heaven

2. Render Judgment

3. Reinforce God's People

Royal Court of Heaven

There is no doubt how often the Bible ascribes to God the title of Kingship. (Isaiah 6; Psalm 99)  As the Son shares in the same nature as the Father, He too is deemed King of Kings and Lord of Lords. (Revelation 19:11-21)  Then of course with the Father and Son we see the Holy Spirit proceeding forth from the throne in thunders and lightenings in Revelation 4:5.  With such royal imagery used to describe the Triune God, it is only fitting for Him to have a royal court.  The angels function in this capacity in the Book of Revelation.  In Revelation 3:5 we read of Jesus confessing the names of His people before His Father and the angels. In Revelation 5:11 we see multiplied millions upon millions of angels singing and exalting God and the Lamb around the throne.  The Royal court of heaven idea is found elsewhere in Revelation in places such as Revelation 7:11; 12:9-10 and 14:10.  Far from being a static group of beings, we see Michael the Archangel and his hosts expelling Satan and his hosts permanently from heaven during the Great Triublation period in Revelation 12:9-10.  So undoubtedly we find the angels in Revelation functioning as a Royal Court, but notice also...

Render Judgment

In Revelation 7:2 we read "And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God; and he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea."  It is in the context of executing God's judgment here on earth in the future tribulation period where we see the power of the angelic realm.  Some will have the ability to harm large portions of the earth and sea. (Revelation 8:8) Four angels alone will have the capability of wiping out 1/3 of mankind in Revelation 9:15. Another particular type of angel will be so bright as to illuminate the entire earth in Revelation 10.  Still another angel will have so much power that at the beginning of Christ's Millennial reign Satan himself will be bound and cast into the abyss by such a being. (Revelation 20:1-2) God's angels represent his holy and righteous character and stand to oppose any and all who cross purposes with God's Divine Will. As one proceeds further and further into Revelation, the boundary separating the realms of men and angels becomes blurred, and before it is all said and done, angels will become more evident than human beings in the final days before the Lord's return.  

And so angels function in the Book of Revelation as the royal court of heaven and render judgment but notice their third and final capacity...

Reinforce God's People

I can recall as a child growing up how my father worked as a carpenter.  He was all the time working on framing up various walls or pieces of furniture.  One of the areas my dad was especially good at was reinforcing whatever he made.  I always would ask him why he spent so much time in the detail work of reinforcement, being that no one would see the reinforcements he put in place.  He told me he believed in quality work both inside and out, and that the finished product needed to include excellent reinforcement.

When I think of the ministry of angels to believers, one of those ministries has to do with reinforcement.  The focus is not on the reinforcement in as much as the finished product.  In the latter part of God's book we find angels guiding the Apostle John and aiding him in understanding the visions he is both seeing and recording by Divine inspiration.  Revelation 21:9 states - "Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” Think of John the Revelator, in his mid-90's, already having written what he did.  The Holy Spirit was guiding the entire process as he wrote.  God knew that John's frame of mind required an attendant from on high to ensure that John would be able to peer into the vision.  Hebrews 1:14 tells us explicitly that angels are ministering spirits sent to those who are about to inherit eternal life.  In other passages in Revelation 21:12,17 and 22:6,8 and 16 we see angels aiding, assisting, supplementing and encouraging John and us the reader in apprehending the truth of what is being depicted.  The Spirit superintends over how His Word is produced and includes the necessary means in ensuring its composition and accuracy.  No doubt about it, the angelic realm in Revelation serves to reinforce God's people by pointing them to Jesus and the scriptures. 

Defining The wrath of God

Romans 1:18-19  "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them."

Introduction - the Gospel cannot be understood nor appreciated without noting the wrath of God:

Perhaps one of the most misunderstood and least mentioned doctrines in both the Christian world and world at large is the subject of God's wrath. Virtually nothing is taught nor preached on it in today's pulpits. Just about everyone speaks about the love of God, however to even broach the subject of God's wrath spawns wrath of a different sort - the wrath of those offended by such a notion.  In Paul's most thorough treatment of the Gospel, the Book of Romans, the subject of God's wrath is among the first mentioned subjects.  After introducing his letter and stating the chief intent of the epistle in Romans 1:16-17 (the power of the Gospel), the reader expects Paul to then launch into an immediate unfolding of why the Gospel is so powerful.  

Yet before arriving at the cardinal doctrines that under gird the Gospel (justification in ch 4, reconciliation in ch 5, sanctification in chs 6-7, election and assurance of salvation in chs 8-9 and the destiny of the Jewish nation and the remaining nations in God's plan in chs 10-11), we arrive at this first mile-marker of God's wrath. Why does Paul do this? The answer is found in the fact that the Holy Spirit through Paul is echoing a Biblical pattern of presenting the Gospel by first considering the wrath of God.

A good definition of God's wrath
So the question is: what is God's wrath? A.W Tozer perhaps offers one of the best definitions of wrath by first of all stating what it is for: "wrath is God's relentless affirmation of His dominion". Tozer then describes wrath by what it is against: "God's wrath is His utter intolerance of whatever degrades and destroys". Definitions such as these are useful in correcting what is often a very negative or hostile view of wrath - namely that God is throwing some type of cosmic temper-tantrum, or that God is on some type of out of control rampage against an innocent, unsuspecting people. The words that God used in the Bible to describe His wrath against sin confirm what Godly men like Tozer have communicated about this vital subject. 

Key words that are associated with "wrath" in the Bible
Whenever one looks through a concordance of virtually any English translation, the word "wrath" shows up in almost 200 passages of scripture. When considered with other related subjects such as God's Jealousy, Holiness, Justice, Retribution and yes - even God's Love, the Bible makes it crystal clear that God is a God of wrath.  
The most important Old Testament words translated "wrath"
Nearly six different Hebrew roots and three major Greek roots are used to translate the word "wrath" in the Bible's original languages. For brevity's sake we will only cover two of the main words for wrath in each of the Testaments, with some observations at the end.  In both the Hebrew and Aramaic of the Old Testament we find two of the most common words for wrath that each aid the reader in understanding the concept of wrath. 

The first main word (qa-tef) refers to the provoking of a person to anger. In human beings such wrath occurs when a person is compelled to respond in an angry manner against a perceived wrong or possible damage to one's reputation. (Esther 1:18) 

For God, this word is used to describe how the sins of His people are the object of His displeasure. In Numbers 16:46 this word is used to describe the provoking of God to wrath by Israel following their rebellion against Moses and Aaron at the entryway to the Tent of Meeting.  Whenever we see this word (qat-ef), it always is in reference to a provoked wrath or an anger that arises only after an outright act of disobedience or blatant disregard for God's Holy character.

The second Hebrew word (cha-ma) is used the most times (122) to describe wrath in the Hebrew Bible.1  Whenever the word (cha-ma) appears, the type of wrath being expressed refers to an anger that arises at the end of a process of long standing sin. This word is used to describe the type of wrath God displayed when a nation or people reaches the final stages of sin and rebellion and is used most often in prophetic texts to describe God's wrath against sinful man at the end of history in final judgment. (compare Deuteronomy 29:28; Micah 5:15) 

Top New Testament words translated "wrath"
In regards to the New Testament words translated for wrath, two of the most common used Greek words describe the similar type of meanings that we find in the Old Testament. The most frequently used Greek word (or-gei) refers to an anger that is a fixed, controlled and passionate feeling against sin.  Found some 36 times in the New Testament, (orgei) decribes for example the wrath God is revealing against all of sinful man right now in the general revelation of creation. (Romans 1:18-20)  On eleven other occasions the Apostle Paul uses this word (or-gei) and the Apostle John in Revelation uses this same word five times to describe God's persistent, fixed and regulated anger against sin.  Somewhat like the Hebrew word (qa-tef), the Greek word (or-gei) is God's wrath provoked by mankind's repeated suppression of His truth and persistent disregard for His Holiness in favor of their sin.  

The second Greek word translated wrath in the New Testament is the word (thu-mos) which is very similar to the Hebrew word (cha-ma)in regards to referring to an anger that is heated and passionate for what is right, Holy, pure and hateful of what is sinful.  When God displays (thumos), it refers to an anger that has risen gradually overtime and settles into a fixed pattern against sin. Both of these words are expressed most frequently in the books of Romans and Revelation. In Romans we find the word (thumos) mentioned once in Romans 2:8 conjuction with the other word (orgei) to describe the destiny of unbelievers. In Revelation we find this word (thumos) used 10 times in Revelation 14-19, indicating wrath at the end of the matured form of mankind's and Satan's rebellion.

What we learn from the above word studies on the word "wrath" in the Bible
1. The wrath of God in the Bible is revealed when sin is done by people who refuse to repent within a given time frame.  God's wrath never arises out of a vacuum but derives from concern over His absolute Holy character and the wrong done against it.

2. The people to whom God directs His wrath are not innocent, but knowingly, willingly and with a high-hand persist in ignoring His repeated warnings to forsake their sin. 

3. Wrath is a necessary component in communicating the Gospel and warning sinners of His wrath that will be executed in the judgment He will bring upon this world at Christ's second coming.

4. God's wrath is not an out-of-control anger or a sinful anger like it often can be in human beings.  Wrath in God describes what He hates - namely sin and unrighteousness.  

5. If God were not the God of wrath, He could not be the God of love. Why? Because if God loved everything, He could not be the God of love, since the love of God cannot love righteousness and unrighteousness, what is holy and profane or love what is opposite of His character and yet be zealous for His name at the same time.  Bible Scholar Wayne Grudem affirms this point: Yet it is helpful for us to ask what God would be like if He were a God that did not hate sin. He would be a God who either delighted in sin or at least was not troubled by it. Such a God would not be worthy of our worship, for sin is hateful and is worthy of being hated. Later Grudem adds: "...and we rightly imitate this attribute of God when we feel hatred against great evil, injustice and sin."2

Closing thoughts about the wrath of God
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia describes the wrath of God in the Bible: "The divine wrath is to be regarded as the natural expression of the divine nature, which is absolute holiness, manifesting itself against the willful, high-handed, deliberate, inexcusable sin and iniquity of mankind. God's wrath is always regarded in the Scripture as the just, proper, and natural expression of His holiness and righteousness which must always, under all circumstances, and at all costs be maintained. It is therefore a righteous indignation and compatible with the holy and righteous nature of God."3

Endnotes:
1. http://biblehub.com/hebrew/2534.htm
2. Wayne Grudem. Systematic Theology. Zondervan. 1994. page 206 
3. http://biblehub.com/topical/w/wrath.htm

P1 Guard Yourself from Idols

1 John 5:21 "Little children, guard yourselves from idols."

What is idolatry? Why is it so bad? What is the number one way to combat it?  These three questions can aid us in walking our way through the final little section of John's first epistle: 1 John 5:16-21.  In 1 John 5:21 we see in six words a simple command: Little children, guard yourselves from idols.  In today's post we will aim to answer that first question: what is idolatry?

The practice of idolatry, what most people think of when understanding idolatry
I am sure when you think of idols, you may envision someone carving out a block of wood or stone and bowing down to it.  Isaiah 44:12-18 describes the insane nature of such a practice: The ironsmith takes a cutting tool and works it over the coals. He fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint. 13The carpenter stretches a line; he marks it out with a pencil. He shapes it with planes and marks it with a compass. He shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house. 14He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. 15Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. 16Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!” 17And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!” (ESV)

Throughout the Old Testament God warned the people not to make any images or idols of created things. Exodus 20:4 states - “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth."  We could look at other passages that deal with the practice of idolatry, however the warped sinful human heart will say: "that may had been idolatry in biblical times, or idolatry practiced by primitive cultures, but this is 21st century, and I don't see such practices being done today."  The practice of idolatry is where we can begin the discussion, however the practice derives from the heart, which is the true source of idolatry. 

What is idolatry?
What is idolatry?  Jared Wilson, writing in the June 2012 issue of Table Talk magazine, writes this penetrating insight: "All sin is idolatry because every sin is an exercise in trust of something or someone other than the one true God to satisfy, fulfill, or bless. It is not difficult to see how violations of commandments two through ten are automatic violations of commandment one. This truth reveals that the hottest “worship war” going is the one taking place daily in the sanctuary of our own hearts. But we must wage this war because none of us is a bystander to idol worship."

Ouch!  We can be those who may not bow down before blocks of wood or stone, however we can still be guilty of committing idolatry.  The Apostle John still had the physical idolatries going on around him when he wrote 1 John, however he was striking at something far deeper.  Below are three texts that can aid us in getting to the definition of idolatry, and why it was John issued such a prohibition against it to end his letter:

1. Exalting yourself
1 Samuel 15:23 says - For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.”  King Saul had once again disobeyed God by subsituting his way of doing things with what God had spoken to Him through Samuel.  Samuel's judgment on Saul served to expose the idolatrous nature of his heart - arrogance, pride and self-sufficiency.  The scary thing about Saul's episode is that in form, he was offering sacrifices to the God of Israel at a publically organized event!  To the unsuspecting and unknowing observer, Saul's actions would had been deemed by many people to be commendable.   However Saul had disregarded Samuel's instructions and God's Word in favor of his own perferences and opinion - which is why he was reprimanded by the prophet.  Idolatry's issue is not only to do with the form of what we do, but moreso with the heart.  Dr. Adrian Rogers once noted that if the Devil can get you to do good things in the flesh: whether it be preaching, serving God or doing good things, then his diabolical sheme has been served.  For once I am doing good things in the flesh, the only thing left to do are the bad the things.  Doing anything in the flesh means I am choosing to exalt my own self-interest above God.  In short, Saul chose to exalt himself above God.
 

 

2. Exchanging God

A second text, Romans 1:22-23 states - "Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things."  There we see the second idea associated with a heart of idolatry - replacing or exchanging God.  The arrogant human heart believes it is more beneficial to replace God with a lesser, created thing than to bring glory to God by enjoying Him forever.  The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, the same exact way, but expecting different results.  The heart of idolatry is insane (both physically as illustrated in Isaiah 44 above and spiritually), because it believes it can gain infinite joy from finite or created things.  Whenever you exchange God, you end up with nothing.

 

3. Enthronement of comfort

Then a third verse, Colossians 3:5, gives us the clearest definition of all -  "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry." God gave people drives to carry out His original design of them as individuals, human interractions and ultimately for His glory. Thus the drive for physical intimacy is perfectly normal and acceptable, providing it is expressed within the confines of marriage.  Eating food is a normal drive and quite acceptable, however left unchecked, can lead to gluttony and health issues.  The joy of financial compensation gained from wise investing or hard work is an understandable drive.  However what happens when the so-called "almighty dollar" truly becomes "the almighty dollar"?  All of our drives, when placed ahead of God and enthroned to serve our comforts, is the third component in defining idolatry. The great late Christian Scholar Dr. Francis Shaeffer once quipped that if we are not careful, we will fall victim to our own relentless pursuit of our own comfort and personal affluency.  In other words, in trying to keep up with the Jones', we can end up no being able to keep up - period. 

 

Conclusion

In today's post we defined idolatry by three terms drawn from the scriptures: Exalting oneself, Exchanging God and Enthonement of comfort.  My prayer is that you and I will take heed to John's command to guard ourselves from idols.  In tomorrow's post we will consider the second of our three questions asked at the beginning of this post: Why is idolatry so bad? That may seem obvious, however idolatry is so powerful that if not rooted out and replaced by a complete focus on Jesus Christ, can dull our senses to its danger.

 

 

 

Why a Holy Church is effective in spreading the Gospel

Matthew 5:16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."

As we have looked at why it is that holiness is desirable, we have noted the following:
1. Holiness focuses on desiring God
2. Holiness fortifies marriage
3. Holiness is fundamental to Christian love
4. Holiness frees you from unnecessary sorrow

Today we want to consider the fifth and final reason as to why holiness is desirable: Holiness furthers the gospel (or furthers your testimony)

What does it mean to "profane" and why does holiness alone promote furtherance of the Gospel?
The word "profane" comes from two Latin words: "pro" meaning "from or before" and "fannus" meaning temple.  So to be profane or to act profane is to be so outside God's presence and activity.  We would say in popular terms: To operate outside the known will of God.

To answer the second part of our question, holiness promotes our testimony or furtherance of the Gospel due to demonstrating with our actions what we say about Christ with our lips.  Letting our light so shine means our walk matching with our talk.  When we make "walking in the light as He is in the Light" (1 John 1:6-7) the priority of our fellowship with God, people will know that following Jesus Christ has real-world implications. 

Holiness is central to Jesus' evangelism strategy for His church
Just consider for the moment Jesus' three greatest commands: The Great Command (Mark 12:30-31); The Great Concern for Holiness (Matthew 18) and the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20).  of those three, holiness in the church was the first thing Christ commanded.  Christ new that only a holy church can be effective in spreading the Gospel.  When we desire holiness, we will desire to love as He loved, and thus desire to spread that love to those in need of it.  

To desire holiness will lead to a passion to see His glory cover the earth and for all tribes, nations and tongues hear the Gospel.  Psalm 67:1-2 reminds us - God be gracious to us and bless us, And cause His face to shine upon us - selah. 2That Your way may be known on the earth, Your salvation among all nations.

May we desire holiness - for in doing so we will desire Him. 

Holiness is essential to Christian love

Mark 12:30-31 AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.’ 31“The second is this, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Why is holiness so desirable?  In today's blog we will show yet another reason in addition to the previous three reasons we've noted over the past several blogs: namely holiness is essential to Christian love.

When Jesus was asked what He regarded to be the most important commandments, His answer summed up the entirety of the Law of God revealed in Exodus to Deuteronomy.  The Jews had divided up God's law in to 613 commands, and yet Jesus summed up these commands into two succinct statements:
1. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength
2. Love your neighbor as yourself

This two-fold answer is what is called: "The Great Command".  What makes Jesus' answer of interest to us is that in the second part of that answer, He evoked Leviticus 19:18, which states - You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD.

Leviticus 19:18, which lies at the heart of the larger context of Leviticus 18-22, tells us to love our neighbor amidst our pursuit of holiness.  In fact, this truth is so central to what it means to love with Godly love that it is quoted elsewhere in the New Testament: Mattehw 5:43; Matthew 19:19; Luke 1:27; Matthew 22:37-39; Romans 13:9; Galatians 5:14 and James 2:8.

To not include holiness as your desire means you will not be able to excercise Christian love.  Why? Because the type of love being demanded by God for Christians requires Him as their chief concern.  Love without holiness will never accomplish transformation of the one giving love nor the one receiving it. 

Truly this reason for desiring holiness goes back to the first reason we gave several days ago: Holiness focuses us on desiring God. 

Freedom from Unnecessary Sorrow

2 Peter 1:4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

These past several days we have been exploring why it is that holiness is desirable.  So far we have considered that holiness is desirable due to:
1. It focusing us on desiring God
2. How it fortifies marriage

Today we want to consider another reason for desiring holiness - i.e something of which we can avoid in our pursuit of holiness, namely Freedom from unnecessary sorrow.  In Leviticus 18-22 we see warnings issued by the LORD pertaining to the consequences of unholy decisions and behavior. 

Desiring holiness does not mean immunity from trouble, however....
Now the reason I chose this title: "freedom from unnecessary sorrow" is because desiring holiness does not mean immunity from troubles.  For example, 2 Timothy 3:12 reminds us:  "Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted".  If anything, pursuing Godliness can lead to greater persecution. (Matthew 10:22; Mark 13:13; Luke 6:22)

Desiring holiness can avoid unnessary trouble
However there are consequences that take place that follow from poor decisions and unholy practices.  In Leviticus 18-22 we see four such cosequences or sorrows that result from unholiness.  By noting these sorrows, we can understand how desiring holiness can prevent us from experiencing unnecessary sorrow.

1. Defilement of the land. (Leviticus 18:24-31; 19:29; 20:1-8, 22)
Did you know that the cummulative immorality of a culture can literally "defile the land"?  Several times we see reference to this throughout the Bible.  Throughout Genesis to Deuteronomy and the Old Testament we see instances of nations or Israel itself defiling the land.  When a land has been defiled, famine, disease or lack of fruitfulness can result. 

Spiritual famine can occur, yielding the lack of revival or a difficult time of sharing God's Word. (compare Amos 8).  The only remedy is found in passages such as 2 Chronicles 7:14 "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from Heaven, then will I forgive their sins, then I will heal their land."

2. Injustice. (Leviticus 19:14-17)
Unholiness produces another unnecessary sorrow: injustice.  Cummulative cultural disregard for the holiness of God lies at the doorstep of the church, which has prized everything else but holiness.  Micah 6:8 reminds us - "He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?"  When Christians aim for justice, they are doing so with the character of God being at stake.  James 1:27 states - Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. When the church desires God and His holiness, injustice will be hated, and justice prized.

3. Broken Marriages. (Leviticus 18 and 20) 
Throughout Leviticus 18, 19 and 20 we see another unnessary sorrow, broken marriages.  Marital infidelity leads to unspeakable sorrow that ripples throughout families and culture.  Who can forget David's act of immorality against Bathsheba.  It unleashed a violent cycle of judgment that led to the death of a child, his own personal spiritual drout, the death of Bathsheba's husband, further actions by his sons, exile from his throne, grief and anguish, shame on the nation and untold tears. 

Holiness must be central to our marriages.  God does not prescribe holiness to kill or curb our joy, rather holiness is for the preservation of our joy. 

4. Loss of God's blessing and power. (Leviticus 22:17-33)
God gave instructions to the priests.  We as Christians are described as a Kingdom of priests in passages such as 1 Peter 2:9-12.  What happens when the New Testament Church neglects holiness?  What occurs when flippancy rather than faithfulness characterizes our fellowships.  Unnecessary sorrow results.  1 Corinthians 11:30 records that people in the church at Corinth were dying as a result of a flippant disregard for God's people and the Lord's table. 

We as human beings tend to diminish what God prizes and to prize what God disdains.  Our churches in America are very busy, very friendly and very relevant.  However how few of our churches are atmospheres wherein you feel like you have stepped out of this world and have gotten a taste of Heaven?  How many are saturated with the words of scripture on the minds of the saints, and the desire for God's glory on their hearts? 

May we desire holiness. 

Holiness is desirable because it fortifies marriage

Leviticus 18:3-4  3‘You shall not do what is done in the land of Egypt where you lived, nor are you to do what is done in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you; you shall not walk in their statutes. 4‘You are to perform My judgments and keep My statutes, to live in accord with them; I am the LORD your God.

Notice in the text above the emphasis God places on the desire for holiness: that they are not to do the things that had been done in Egypt, nor are they to do the things they will encounter in the promised land to where they're heading. 

In our world today, we are increasingly forgetting from whence we came and thus we don't know what direction morally we are heading.  The approach God is taking here in Leviticus 18-20 is to expose the pagan practices of the surrounding nations, revealing their detrimental effects, their destructive tendencies, and most importantly: why He deems them to be unholy.

God is listing things he does not approve nor sanction to show His people the one things He has sanctioned: marriage.  Now even though he lists the following unholy practices: incest, adultery and beastiality in Leviticus 18 and 20, the goal is to get the people to see those things as non-optional. Why? Because in desiring what is holy, we are expressing our desire to desire God.

Holiness is desirable because it fortifies marriage
When we desire holiness in our families, we are saying Yes to marriage, and "no" to all other physical unions devised by men.  Hebrews 13:4 clearly tells us - "Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge."  No other physical intimate union: including fornication (physical intimacy between unmarried men and women); adultery; homosexuality or any other practice can yield desire for God.  All other practices, outside of marriage, are rooted in man-centeredness, and cannot promote God-centeredness.

Furthermore, Marriage alone properly pictures God's relationship between Christ and His people.  Paul writes in Ephesians 5:25 - "Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her".  Other texts in the Bible use marriage as the picture of God's covenant commitment to His people, and His people's fidelity to Him. (Hosea 2) 

When we purse holiness in our marriages, it only serves to fortify them. By focusing on what doesn't work in Leviticus, God has left us with the only arrangement that does work: marriage. 

This reminds us that Holiness is not just some abstract theological principle, it is intensely practical.  Without holiness, marriages die, culture crumbles and the church is divested of her power. 

Why Holiness is desirable

Leviticus 18:1-5 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘I am the LORD your God.

Why Holiness is desirable
We have explored in past blogs the necessity for holiness, as well as defining the nature of holiness itself.  However I have not blogged particularly on why holiness is desirable.  Leviticus 18-22, as well as other passages, bear out why holiness must be desired, and why it is desirable.  The following five reasons will be given for demonstrating why it is that holiness is desirable:

1. Holiness focuses on desiring God
2. Holiness fortifies marriages
3. Holiness frees us from unnecessary sorrow
4. Holiness is fundamental to Christian love
5. Holiness furthers the Gospel

With these five reasons, we want to explore the first, since desiring God is the most important reason for desiring holiness.

Holiness is desirable because it focuses us on desiring God
As Moses begins this section of Leviticus 18-22, he is told in Leviticus 18:2 - "speaks to the sons of Israel saying: I am the LORD your God."  In fact, by the time we get to the end of Leviticus 22, the phrase "I am the LORD" is mentioned some 40 times!  As much as this section is about avoiding sexual immorality, not defiling the land, loving one's neighbor and covenant faithfulness, the chief concern to to proclaim the message: "I AM the LORD".

Why does the Lord do this?  Why does He interject on some 40 occassions in five chapters the constant reminder that He is The LORD?  Because unless you and I desire to know Him, we will never desire holiness.

When we desire God in His Holiness, we are desiring what is most beautiful
David writes in Psalm 27:4 - "One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD and to meditate in His temple."  1 Chronicles 16:29 in the KJV states:  "Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness."   

Think about why people love diamonds, or trips to the Grand Canyon, or big pieces of chocolate cake, or big bouquets of Roses.  Why do people expend large amounts of money for such things?  Because of that elusive quality we call beauty.  Beauty and Holiness are intertwined in the Bible because beauty is closely related to the purest quality of goodness, soundness, symmetry, proportion.  A beautiful object or person causes us to forget ourselves and direct our attention towards that thing or person. 

God is of course the source of all beauty.  His Holiness places Him in an unique category all His own. 

We need to be Marys in a Martha World
In Luke 10:39-42 we read the account of Jesus coming to visit a family of two sisters: Martha and Mary.  These two had a famous brother whom Jesus would raise from the dead in John 11.  Now the one interesting feature of Martha was that she was always busy - the practical realist of the family.  Meanwhile her sister Mary was very contemplative - the dreamer of the family.

In the account of Luke, Martha is busy trying to prepare the meal and the house for Jesus.  While Jesus is at the house, Mary is sitting at His feet, listening to Him expound the scriptures.  Martha suddenly blurts out in Luke 10:40b "“Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.” Jesus responds in Luke 10:41-42  "But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; 42but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”"

Quite literally, Mary had chosen that which held "greater appeal, attractiveness, more benefit" - i.e "the better".  Mary was transfixed on the beauty of the holiness of Christ.  Because she desired the holiness of God and His Word, desiring holiness for herself was not an obligation - but the desire of her soul. 

Martha of course would learn this - since it was she who later on was taught by Jesus about He being "The Resurrection and the Life". (John 11:25).  To desire holiness is to desire God.  This first and chief reason is why we conclude: Holiness is desirable

The inerrant Bible is the Holy Bible

Romans 1:1-3Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh,

Yesterday we considered why the Holy Bible is the Holy Bible.  We looked at its characteristics in light of what we have studied in the realm of holiness.  Having seen that the Bible alone can be considered "Holy" or "Sacred" in the authoritative sense, today we want to elaborate on the one trait that demonstrates the Bible to be "The Holy Bible" - inerrancy. 

The scripture is pure and undefiled, qualifying it to predict events accurately.
Holiness or sacredness includes purity. Theologians refer to the scriptures as being inerrant and infallible - that is, without error and incapable of error. Five phrases above lead us to the thought of how crucial inerrancy is to the Holy character of scripture:
1. "the Gospel of God" or the Message of the inerrant scripture

2. "promised before hand" (i.e predictive prophecy) or the Method of inerrant scripture

3. "through his servants the prophets" or the Means by which came inerrant scripture

4. "in the Holy Scriptures" or the Manufacturing of inerrant scripture

5. "concerning His Son" or the Majesty of Christ, the focus of inerrant scripture

In order for the Bible to predict events accurately, it had to be without error. Now lets break these series of phrases down to explain further why biblical inerrancy is necessary in order the Holy Bible to be the Holy Bible:

a. The Message of Inerrant Scripture - "The Gospel of God." This is the "Good News" of God's Mission to rescue sinful man from the death of sin. It was first proclaimed in Genesis 3:15 and throughout the 10 generations from Adam to Noah in Genesis 5-6. Abraham heard it in Genesis 12,15,17. Isaac and jacob and the Patriarchs were repeated the "promise" of the Gospel throughout the rest of Genesis.

b. The Method of Inerrant Scripture - "Promised before hand".
Moses later on spoke of this promise of the Gospel and predicted a Prophet to come in Deuteronomy 18. David was promised the coming of a King from his blood line in 2 Samuel 7:13-16. By the time we reach the New Testament, we discover that in all, 332 prophecies were made about Jesus Christ, the subject of all prophecy. If one of those predictions had been wrong, the whole fabric of scripture would had unraveled.

c. The Means by which came inerrant scripture - "Through His Servants the prophets".
If the Gospel was the message, and the predictions and promises were the method, then the prophets themselves were the means through which God revealed the Holy Scriptures. These men wrote as they were "carried along" by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:21). Those  men were at times sinful, yet the Spirit of God gave the Grace of inspiration in order to preserve what they wrote from error. No other book had this Divine protection accompanying its composition like the Bible - thus making it Holy.

d.The Manufacture of inerrant scripture -  "In the Holy Scriptures"
With the Holy message, method and means we now come to the Holy manufacturing of the scriptures themselves. They are termed "Holy Scriptures". In order to be Holy, they were not merely "deemed Holy", they were Holy. The level of holiness invested in the sacred text of scripture is such that they are without error.

e. The Majesty of Christ, the focus of inerrant scripture - "Concerning His Son"
The Majesty of the Son is the focal point of all scripture. What would happpen if the message would had been inaccurate? Or how about the method - predictive prophecy? What if the Holy Spirit had not preserved the means of communication - the prophets words? Or how about the manufacturing of the scriptures in their original form? If any part of that process would had been unholy - we would not know the Holy Majesty of Christ.

As you can see, if the Bible had even one error, it would not be pure and thus it would be incapable of accurately communicating the Majesty of Jesus Christ.  For these reasons the inerrancy of scripture is why we can see that the Holy Bible is the Holy Bible.

Why the Holy Bible is the Holy Bible

Romans 1:1-3 Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh,

Why is the Bible called "The Holy Bible"?
In the past few days we have been exploring the subject of holiness.  In some translations we see the Bible or the scriptures referred to as being "sacred" - i.e the sacred scriptures. (2 Timothy 3:15)  If we review for just a moment what we've learned about holiness or "sacred", we can better understand what is meant by the phrase "holy" or "sacred" scriptures:

1. The scripture is a unique piece of literature, in a class by itself.  It is separate.  No other book in the world, religious or otherwise, has the quality of being Divine revelation.  All other would-be contenders are the responses of men to their thoughts about God.  Only the Bible is the thoughts and words of God about Himself revealed to men.  Only the scripture can convert the hearts of people in the presence of its hearing and reading. (Psalm 19:7; James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23) 

No other body of literature has been attacked and withstood each of its opponents like the Bible.  A prime example of this is from the words of the Atheistic French Philosopher Voltaire who stated that within 100 years after his death, his words would live on and the Bible would no longer be around.  Yet 100 years after his death, his very home became a small publishing house wherein copies of the Bible were produced. 

2. The scripture is holy due to both its authorship and its subject matter.  It is a dual authorship.  That is, there are 40 human authors on three continents over 1500 years - i.e human authorship.  Then there is the "Author" behind the "authors" - The God of all Eternity.  Anytime we see an intersection between the human and Divine, that is what we call sacred.  Furthermore, Romans 1:3 tells us what the chief concern is of the scriptures - "His Son", the Lord Jesus Christ, God in human Flesh. 

3. The scripture is pure and undefiled, qualifying it to predict events accurately.  Holy or sacredness also includes purity.  Theologians refer to the scriptures as being inerrant and infallible - that is, without error and incapable of error.  It says in the verses above that "the Gospel of God" was "promised before hand" through his servants "the prophets" "in the Holy Scriptures" "concerning His Son."  In order for the Bible to predict events accurately, it had to be without error.  Tomorrow we will elaborate on why inerrancy is necessary in order to demonstrate the Bible as "The Holy Bible". 

The First Command Jesus gave to His church

Matthew 18:15-18 15“If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. 16“But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY FACT MAY BE CONFIRMED. 17“If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. 18“Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.

Holiness matters because it points to Jesus Christ
Yesterday we considered the first reason why holiness matters to the Christian - because by it we can prioritize life around God.  However if we stop there, we fall short, since holiness is not only just God centered, but God in Christ centered.  The passage above is the first command Jesus ever gave to His church. 

Jesus' Great Concern for His Church was her holiness
Many Christians may be surprised to find out that Jesus spoke on His concern about the church's holiness before He ever gave the two other "greats" that most Christians know.  Most will be familiar with the "Great Commission" of Matthew 28:18-20 to go into all the world and make disciples.  Furthermore some Christians may be familiar with what's termed "The Great Commandment" -  to love God with all our heart and love our neighbor as ourselves. (Matthew 22:37-39 and Mark 13:34-35)

However very few Christians will know what I term the "Great Concern" - namely holiness in His church in both the personal, interpersonal and corporate church body levels.  Christ's aim is to prepare a church, a bride for Himself, that will be holy and blameless at His coming. (Ephesians 5:25-27).  Frankly without fulfilling this first of the "Great commandments", the church will not be effective in fulfilling the Great Commandment nor the Great Commission.  A flippancy towards holiness will yield a church that is short-sighted in both its internal love for fellow Christians and evangelism of the lost. (please compare 2 Peter 1-3-11)

Holiness points to Christ since it is Christ who points us to holiness
Christ Himself is called "Holy". (Hebrews 7:25-26)  When He prayed to His Father in His High Priestly prayer in John 17, He as the Holy, Faithful High Priest prayed that His church would be "Holy". (John 17:17,19)  Christ is the beginning and goal of the Christian's holiness, since it is Christ's Holiness that provides the basis for the Christian's holiness. 

Holiness leads us to enjoyment of God, since Christ Himself is pleased to dwell, speak and even sing for joy in the midst of the very ones He is aiming to make Holy. (Hebrews 2).  Holiness matters because it points to Christ.  Only when we point to Christ can we desire to build a life around God, that is, our Great God and Savior Jesus Christ. (Titus 2:13)   

Why does Holiness matter?

1 Peter 1:15-16 but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; 16because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.”

We have spent the past several days defining and discussing holiness.  Today we want to probe further and ask this simple question: Why does holiness matter?  As we consider the answer to this question in light of the above verse, we will propose that the first reason holiness matters is because it Prioritizes Life around God. 

Exposing a commonly believed myth
The Old Testament is not the only part of the Bible that teaches about Holiness.  Many people mistakingly assume that the Old Testament teaches about Holiness and the New Testament switches to focusing only on the love of God.  If anything, the New Testament's emphasis on love derives from Old Testament passages that emphasize the importance of loving the Lord and one's neighbor. (Deuteronomy 6:4-5 and Leviticus 19:18).  Likewise the New Testament adds even more emphasis to the priority of holiness in the believer's life, as we will see in the passages below. 

Holiness is important because it prioritizes Life around God in the following "realms" of one's life:

1. Prioritizing Church life around God
Romans 14:19-20 states - "So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. 20Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense." This chapter emphasizes much the same themes as Leviticus 11-12, the emphasis on what is "clean" in the context of how one eats.  The point being that a church that prioritizes life around God will cherish holiness, since concern will be for others above oneself.

2. Prioritizing Business life around God
2 Corinthians 6:14-16 states - "Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? 16Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said,“I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM; AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE." We need to discern whom we make covenants with whether it be business, marriage or any type of covenant arrangement.  Whenever we make covenant with one another, my friends become your friends and my enemies become your enemies and vice versa. 

3. Prioritizing Family Life around God
Does Holiness matter in the realm of family life in the New Testament? Consider these words in Ephesians 5:25-27 "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless."

4. Prioritizing your thought life around God
All Christian growth has its genesis in the realm of the mind.  1 Thessalonians 4:2-4 shows how holiness is the will of God in the realm of the mind - "For you know what commandments we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. 3For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor"  Notice there in verse 2 "by the authority of the Lord Jesus". Truly if the holiness of our thought lives is important to Jesus, it ought to be our priority too. 

As we have noted in past blogs, to speak of "The Holy" is tantamount to speaking about God Himself. (compare Isaiah 6:3).  We are not building our lives merely around an abstract concept of holiness, but around God Himself.  This is the first reason why holiness is important.  Tomorrow we will consider the second reason: namely holiness points to Jesus Christ. 

The Significance of being a sanctuary

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

The significance of being a sanctuary
The underlined word above, "temple", is used to describe the Christian.  Over time the place where God met with His people came to be termed a "sanctuary".  Wherever humanity and Deity would intersect one another, that "place" or "time" was considered "sacred".  That word sanctuary comes from a Latin term for Holy, sanctus.  In fact in Isaiah 6:3, where we see the Angels crying out "Holy, Holy, Holy", it would appear in the Latin "sanctus, sanctus, sanctus". 

Remarkably Christian people are termed the "sanctuary of God".  Wherever God's Eternal presence intersects the human timelines of God's people, and actually "meets with them", that time and place is termed "a sanctuary" or "sacred".  Thus a Christian is a living, walking sanctuary, since God Himself has seen fit to dwell inside the believer.

Other words we use in everyday life that come from this word "Sanctus"
As we already saw, a "sanctuary" is a place where God and His people meet.  When we are sanctifying something, we are making it ready for fit use - cleansing it and purifying it.  The act of "washing dishes" means "sanctifying them", getting rid of the dirt and preparing them for the next meal. 

As we've seen in the past couple of blogs, we cannot escape the concept of "the holy" or "sanctus".  We value clothes because the cover up those areas that are holy, special.  We wash or "sanctify our clothes", since wearing dirty clothes is unacceptable.  We wash or "sanctify our hands" before we eat.  It is impossible to escape the Holy. 

Another term we commonly use that incorporates this root word "sanctus" is the term "consecrate".  To "consecrate" means literally to "separate oneself or unite oneself with another" (con = with and sacra = to make holy, separate unto).  Consecration refers to surrender oneself to the ownership of another.  Thus when a Christian consecrates themselves to the Lord, they are acknowledging what is already fact, namely Christ's Lordship and ownership over their lives.  1 Corinthians 6:19-20 conveys this truth of Christ's ownership of us as being the reason for wanting to live a holy life in consecration to Him. 

A fourth and final word that we derive from this word "sanctus" is the word which we mentioned at the beginning of today's blog, the word "sacred".  When Jacob was encountered by the Lord in Genesis 28:10-22, he called the place "Bethel", since the Divine Eternal God met and intersected with the human timeline of Jacob.  That place became a "Bethel", a "House of God", a "sacred place" or a "sanctuary". 

I always pray everyday that Christ would be through me everything a given situation requires in order that I may be in Him all He desires. May we as Christians live as those who are the sanctuary of God, wherein and whereby He gladly lives, meets and expresses Himself. 

Transformed by Holiness

1 Timothy 6:16 “Who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.”



Holiness is the sum of all of who God is in the brightness of His glory and Goodness

We began looking yesterday at the concept of “holiness” or “The Holy”.  To be holy is to be in a unique class, special, separate, owned or pure in relationship to oneself or other things.  In looking at the origin of Holiness, the God of the Bible, holiness is the sum of all God's infinite goodness concentrated in infinite brightness. It’s like taking a magnifying glass and concentrating all of the sun's light into a specific point. Holiness is the very essence of who God is.



Holiness deals in the realm of God's relationship to people or things, and their relationship to Him

As we noted earlier, God is in a unique class by Himself. This is, in my mind, the closest we can come to identifying the nature of "The Holy". God is sufficient in and of Himself, not in need of anything. All other things derive their life and existence from God. However God alone has existed before all creation.



Although God is uniquely Holy, something interesting takes place when the presence of God enters a place or comes in contact with somebody. That object or person is deemed Holy. Exodus 29:37 tells us - "For seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and consecrate it; then the altar shall be most holy, and whatever touches the altar shall be holy." Jesus Himself taught this principle in the form of a question in Matthew 23:17 “You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold?"



Thus when the Holy Spirit enters into a person at saving faith, that person is deemed a "saint" or a "holy one". (1 Corinthians 1:1-2; 6:19-20) Anything outside of the immediate vicinity of the area touched by God is considered "common" or "unclean" or "profane". When Moses was met by God in the burning bush in Exodus 3, God told him to take off his sandals, since the ground he was standing on was "holy ground". In other words, the ground in the immediate vicinity of the burning bush was "separated" or "made unique", cut off from the space around that area because the Lord Himself touched it and deemed it Holy, since He Himself is Holy.