Our Life is but a vapor!

There is a time to be born and a time to die a time to plant and a time to uproot. “For what is your Life?  It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes anyway.  Instead, you ought to say, If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that” James 4:14-15.

 Some of us remember the famous song, “Turn, Turn, Turn (to everything there is a season) by the Byrds…”

To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time for every purpose under heaven
A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep
To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time for every purpose under heaven
A time to build up, a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones
A time to gather stones together
To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time for every purpose under heaven
A time of war, a time of peace
A time of love, a time of hate
A time you may embrace
A time to refrain from embracing
To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time for every purpose under heaven
A time to gain, a time to lose
A time to rend, a time to sew
A time to love, a time to hate
A time of peace, I swear it's not too late!

 “For what is your Life?  It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes anyway.  Instead, you ought to say, If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that” James 4:14-15.

 Sin of presumption – There never was a saint yet that grew proud of his fine feathers, but what the Lord plucked them out by and by; there never yet was an angel that had pride in his heart, but he lost his wings, and fell into Gehenna, as Satan and those fallen angels did; and there. shall never be a saint who indulges self-conceit and pride and self-confidence, but the Lord will spoil his glories, and trample his honors in the mire, and make him cry out yet again, "Lord, have mercy upon me," less than the least of all saints, and the" very chief-of-sinners."

 The story is told of a family that moved into a new community. Two elders and the pastor of a nearby church who cordially invited them to attend the services on the Lord’s Day promptly visited them. The man assured them that he would come just as soon as he was straightened out. Several months passed, and he still had not put in an appearance, so the minister called again and repeated his invitation. However, he received the same reply. The fellow had not yet gotten everything straightened out, but he'd be there just as soon as he did. A few weeks later he died, and his widow asked to have the funeral services in the church. The preacher graciously agreed. It was indeed a sad affair. Later when a member of the congregation asked the pastor if the man was a Christian, he answered, "He never attended services here, and no one can recall ever hearing him give a testimony of his faith in Christ, so I can't say. I only know he was a man of his word. He promised to come to church just as soon as he got straightened out -- and he did!"

 How to Be Perfectly Miserable. In addition, it goes on to list a few things you can do that will not only make you perfectly miserable but also keep you that way.  Think about yourself.  Talk about yourself. Use the personal pronoun "I" as often as possible in your conversation. Mirror yourself continually in the opinion of others. Listen greedily to what people say about you. Insist on consideration and respect.  Demand agreement with your own views on everything. Sulk if people are not grateful to you for favors shown them.  Never forget a service you may have rendered.  Expect to be appreciated.  Be suspicious. Be sensitive to slights.  Be jealous and envious.  Never forget a criticism. Trust nobody but yourself.

 Let us remember the ten Lepers in Luke 17 who were healed by the Lord but only one went back and thanked the Lord.   It thrust proud Nebuchadnezzar out of men's society, proud Saul out of his kingdom, proud Adam out of paradise, proud Haman out of court, proud Lucifer out of heaven.

 He brushed his teeth TWICE a day -- with nationally advertised toothpaste. The doctors examined him twice a year.  He slept with the windows open.  He stuck to a diet with plenty of fresh vegetables.   He relinquished his tonsils and traded in several worn-out glands. He golfed -- but never more than 18 holes at a time.   He got at least eight hours' sleep every night.   He never smoked, drank or lost his temper.  He did his "daily dozen" daily.  He was all set to live to be a hundred.    The funeral will be held Wednesday.  Eight specialists, three health institutions, two gymnasiums and numerous manufacturers of health foods and antiseptics survive him.  He forgot God.

 “For what is your Life, It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes anyway.  Instead, you ought to say, If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that” James 4:14-15

 “But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.”  James 4:16

 Sin of boasting – There is told an imaginary story about a man who had just arrived in heaven. Attracted by a large crowd, he inquired what was going on, "Oh, it's 'show and tell' time," came the answer. He was asked if he had anything he'd like to share. "Why sure," the new arrival quickly responded, "I'll tell about the big flood we had back in 1889 when I was a boy in Pennsylvania." "That will be fine," he was told, "but remember, Noah will be in the audience." "If you're successful, don't crow. If you fail, don't croak."

 A Rabbi and a New England minister were getting to know one another. Proudly, the minister exclaimed, "One of my ancestors signed the Declaration of Independence." "I understand your pride," responded the rabbi. "One of my ancestors signed the Ten Commandments."

 “Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do, and does not do it, to him it is sin.”  James 4:17

 Sin of omission – I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. What I can do, I ought to do. In addition, what I ought to do, By the grace of God I shall do!

 The Procrastinator's Poem: I've gone for a drink and sharpened my pencils, Searched through my desk for forgotten utensils. I reset my watch, I adjusted my chair, I've loosened my tie and straightened my hair. I filled my pen and tested the blotter, And gone for another drink of water, Adjusted the calendar, and I've raised the blind, And I've sorted erasers of all different kinds. Now down to work I can finally sit, Oops, too late, it's time to quit

Be like Christ... Philippians 2:1-7  "If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion then make my joy like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.  Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.  Each of you should look not only to your own interest but also to the interest of others.  Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant.”

 Serving the Lord is not a matter of doing what I can to work out a goal or purpose which I think the Lord wants but it doing what Colossians 3:17 says: "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to god the Father through him." Our standard is found in the word of God -- Matthew 25:31-46 (Hungry, Naked, Sick, Prison) what are we Sheep or Goats?  Is there a place of service in our world today?  You beat there is…

 Just look around, open your eyes and see as the Father sees, 460,000,000 people are permanently hungry, 1,000,000,000 suffer from malnourishment, 900,000,000 live on less then 200.00 dollars per year

There is a fable, which tells of three apprentice devils that were coming to this earth to finish their apprenticeship. They were talking to Satan, the chief of the devils, about their plans to tempt and ruin men. The first said, "I will tell them there is no God." Satan said, "That will not delude many, for they know that there is a God." The second said, "I will tell men there is no hell." Satan answered, "You will deceive no one that way; men know even now that there is a hell for sin." The third said, "I will tell men there is no hurry." "Go," said Satan, "and you will ruin them by the thousand." The most dangerous of all delusions is that there is plenty of time. The most dangerous day in a man's life is when he learns that there is such a word as tomorrow. There are things, which must not be put off, for no man knows if for him tomorrow will ever come. 

 "Be sure, Herbert," said Mr. Wise to his son, "not to go beyond your depth in the river: the surface looks very fair and sparkling, but there is an ugly eddy beneath, that may prove to strong for you" "How do you know, father?" asked Herbert. "I have tried it," was the reply. "It nearly overcame me; but I could swim, and so got beyond it. Remember what I tell you: beware of the undertow. "Herbert went in to bathe, and was very careful to keep near the shore every time. "It cannot be very dangerous here," he thought, and uttered it aloud to his companion. "It is as smooth as glass; and I can easily return if it is rough beneath, for I can swim now." "You had better not go," urged his friend: "my father knows this river well, and he says the, undertow is very dangerous. "I will go in a little ways," replied Herbert, "and, if I find it dangerous, come back." And he started vigorously for the middle of the river His companion, watching him, saw him throw up his arms wildly, and heard his shout for help; but, when help reached him, it was too late. The undertow had got him. He was drowned in the treacherous river!

 “For what is your Life?  It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes anyway.  Instead, you ought to say, If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that” James 4:14-15

 Blessings and peace,

“The Great Adventure”

Hebrews 11:1-39

A man fell off a cliff but managed to grab a small branch sticking out from the side of the cliff. He shouts, “Is anyone up there?” “I am here, I am the Lord. Do you believe in me?” came the reply. “Yes, Lord I believe. I really believe, but I can’t hold on much longer.” “Don’t worry, I will save you, just let go of the branch.” A pause, then the man shouts, “Is their anyone else up there?”

Hebrews chapter 11 is one of the classic passages of the New Testament.  The reason is not so much that its poetic language is equal to that of 1 Corinthians 13 or its impact as powerful as Romans 8, rather its sheer weight of witness and its dynamic and unforgettable definition of faith penetrate the very core of the Christians’ heart.

This chapter cannot be separated from the chapter before it; our faith is based upon the perfect and sufficient sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  It is that sacrifice, completed once for all time and for all people, “Jesus died for all of humanity, from the first to the last”,  which opens for us a way into the very presence of God in whose presence we can come with Holy Ghost boldness, free from all fear of our mortal condition for the blood covers all and our sins are cast as far as the East is from the West, we come utterly confident of the forgiveness of God to meet with our God in the Holy of Holies.  The same God of love who has made the sacrifice for us also disciplines and brings us into perfect maturity in Christ by His own design and grace.

As this great chapter closes, however, our author is talking about persecution as one of the outcomes of a life of faith.   Not all the examples he uses in the Great Hall of Faith (not fame, but Faith, Faith, Faith) are of victory and spiritual success.  True, some of those mentioned conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, quenched raging fires, stopped the mouths of lions, escaped the edge of the sword, and become valiant in battle.   Others had trails of mocking and scourging, chains and imprisonment, they were stoned, sawed in two, slain with the sword.  They were destitute, afflicted, tormented; they wandered over deserts and lived in caves and dens of earth.  Yet, because of their faith, they shine as those who have fought the good fight, finished the course and have kept the faith....  How did they do it?  BY FAITH, BY FAITH, BY FAITH.   

We here this echo throughout the halls of history as might men and women of faith have carried the torch of Faith and have driven their stakes into the promises that their God gave to them as their inheritance.   

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  For by it the elders obtained a good testimony” verse 1-2

estin de pistiV elpizomenwn upostasiV, pragmatwn elegcoV ou blepomenwn. en tauth gar emarturhqhsan oi presbuteroi

The Greek word here gives the sense of something foundational, basic, a concrete reality upon which others things are built.  The root of the word Faith means the place, setting, a standing pillar, that upon which other stones are placed.   The prefix found here means “under” or “below.” Together the result signifies something solidly foundational, concrete in reality, something assured.   Thus faith is defined by our author is not an imaginary product of the mind fabricated out of its own philosophical needs or rationalistic dreams, but that which if firm, solid, of real existence.   Faith is the solid certainty of that for which we hope, based upon reality and solid existence.  --- “Consequently, Faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”

This is illustrated in the life of the missionary Hudson Taylor. “When Hudson Taylor, the famous missionary, first went to China, it was in a sailing vessel. Very close to the shore of cannibal islands the ship was caught in a calm., and it was slowly drifting toward the shore …and the savages were eagerly anticipating a feast. The captain came to Mr. Taylor and sought him to pray for the help of God. ‘I will,’ said Taylor, ‘provided you set your sails to catch the breeze.’ The Captain declined to make himself a laughing stock by unfurling the sails in a dead calm. Taylor said, ‘I will not undertake to pray for the vessel unless you will prepare the sails.’ And it was done. While engaged in prayer, there was a knock at the door of his stateroom. “Who is there?” The captains voice responded, ‘Are your still praying for wind?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Well,’ said the captain ‘you better stop praying for we have more wind than we can manage.’”

The Greek phrase pragmatos elegchos is translated as: “evidence, conviction, assurance, confidence.”  What these two Greek words do here as they are combined is make a statement that Faith is based upon that which is tested and is crucial.  And what is it that is unseen but is yet tested and important, is it not the power of God working through His people in all the events of History, which from time to time experiences His mighty Acts...  This power may be unseen for awhile, perhaps, but we come to know it as ultimate and crucial, dependable, solid, foundational.  Our faith does not create reality but is based upon the Reality of God’s word and His personage.  It is by this faith, seen in history in the lives of the faithful prophets and believers that God has brought the miracles to bear upon nations and their history -- Let us look at those whose names are found in the Great Hall of Faith....  Let us look to those who planted their stakes and claimed the promises of God.

Another story of a captain of a ship illustrates this point. “The story is told by the captain of a ship on which George Mueller of Bristol was traveling. (Mueller was a man who had several children’s homes and depended on God alone to provide for them.) During his lifetime he received more than 1,000,000 pounds from the Lord without advertising – every penny came as an answer to prayer. We had George Mueller of Bristol aboard, said the captain. ‘I had been on the bridge for twenty-four hours and never left it and George Mueller came to me and said, ‘Captain, I have come to tell you that you must be in Quebec on Saturday afternoon.’ ‘It is impossible.’ I said. ‘Then very well, if your ship cannot take me, God will find some other way. I have never broken an engagement in fifty-seven years; let us go down into the chart room and pray.’ ‘I looked at that man of God and thought to myself. What lunatic asylum can that man have come from, for I never heard of such a thing as this?’ ‘Mr. Mueller,’ I said, ‘do you know how dense this fog is?’ No he replied, ‘my eye is not on the density of the fog, but on the living God who controls every circumstance of my life.’ He knelt down and he prayed one of the simplest prayers. When he had finished I was going to pray, but he put his hand on my shoulder and told me not to pray. ‘As you do not believe He will answer, and as I believe He has, there is no need whatever for you to pray about it.’ ‘I looked at him and George Mueller said, ‘Captain, I have known the Lord for fifty-seven years and there has never been a single day when I have failed to get an audience with the King. Get up, Captain and open the door and you will find the fog has gone.’ ‘I got up and the fog indeed was gone and on that Saturday afternoon George Mueller kept his promised engagement.”

Abel and Enoch - Faith Caused Abel to Worship God (v. 4) and Faith Caused Enoch to Walk with God (vv. 5-6) Abel and Enoch, pleased God by their Faithful relationship to their God.  Abel pleased God due to his faithfulness; it was the quality of the Heart that pants after his God.  Enoch - His “walk with God” must have been one of sensitivity to the mind of God.  As I have thought this I wondered if this comes have happen:  Enoch walked God one day and as the day came to an end and Enoch said, “My God I must go home for it going to be dark.”  And God responded, “Enoch come to my house and stay, for it is always daytime and I desire to fellowship with you.”  So Enoch went to the Lord’s house and continues to this day, for darkness never falls in the presence of our God.

Noah, Abraham and Sarah - three examples of obedience that rise out of faith.  Here again he shows the inseparability of faith and obedience.  In this he concurs with the other New Testament writers:  There is no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.    Noah, Abraham and Sarah all exhibited obedience as a result of their faith.  Moreover all were characterized by an obedience that went beyond common sense. 

Noah - Faith Caused Noah to Work for God (v. 7) in faith, received a divine revelation, heeded it, and built an ark, against all common sense and normal reason.  A large field behind your home, building an Ship that could not be transported to water due to its size.  When you did this, all your friends and neighbors begin to ridicule you, “Hey, what are you doing -- building a boat?  How are you going to get it in the water? -- But when the water came...

Abraham, too in faith, obeyed.  His motivation was simple, he believed God when He said, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.”  Abraham went, yet he did not have the slightest idea where he was going.  It was against all common sense to leave the place of familiarity, the land and people that he had known for all his life and go to a place that was unknown.  When he reached his destination, he lived as a wanderer, not an owner or possessor, in tents of temporary nature.  By faith he looked into the future toward a city whose building had foundations of stones, a symbol of the promise of God, in comparison to tents.  He foresaw the builder and maker of that city would be God.  He believed --- and so was counted as righteous.

Sarah -- received the message that she would going to have a child.  At first she laughed, “Imagine, I who am called barren,  I am going to have a baby!  I guess the messenger doesn’t know my female condition or doesn’t understand about having babies.  Oh, these men!”  However, the messengers persisted in their promises with and intensity and honesty that put aside all flippancy or doubt.  She yielded and a wave of belief swept over her whole being.  “I am going to have a baby!”  By that faith she received the power to conceive and she bore the promised child.  At her age, to have a child was against all common sense.  The promise came through obedient faith.

“Do not harden your hearts as your fathers disobeyed by lack of belief.”

Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and his parents, the followers of Joshua and Rehab, was all faithful to the promise.

All those who I just mentioned were people who were faithful even though they never saw the promise completed in their lifetimes; they placed their stake into the promise of God and kept on running... In each case they died without having received what had been promised to them, they saw it afar off, they died running and believing...  The Greek verb here carries the notion of not having the promise in one’s possession or pocket, as it were.  As people of faith, however, they could see this promise afar off and were assured of it, embracing the vision of faith to their hearts, realizing they were merely pilgrims and strangers in the here and now.    They were the heritage of the Church; they were the examples for the Church to see. 

Each of these mentioned looked into the future with eyes of faith and had some glimpse of the promise God had for them and for their children.  They were unwilling to satisfy themselves with the short-term advantages that would have denied the long-term fulfillment’s (sin).  They did not jeopardize a future generation’s promises by craving immediate satisfaction of their desires.  They left the promise intact for those who came after - they were a people of integrity and honor before their God.  They realized what would happen if they broke their integrity as so many others have... Remember Samson, Saul, David and Solomon.

Rehab - believed that God would spare her, became a part of the bloodline of Jesus.  “I know that the Lord has given you the land..... The Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath” -- Joshua 2:9, 11

WHAT MORE SHALL I SAY.....  Gideon, Barak, Samson, David, Samuel, Daniel, Elijah, Elisha, Peter, John, Paul, Marten Luther, John Calvin, John Wycliff, John Knox, Jonathan Edwards, George Whitfield, Charles Finney, Charles Sprugon, Billy Sunday, Dwight Moody, Lillian Trasher, Adonian Judson, Hudson Taylor, and the many more who live a  life of Faith.   

What about the early church who endured nine Imperial Persecutions.  These latter Christians died without having possessed the promise.  In spite of their empty-handiness, they persevered in faith, knowing that their reward was in heaven.  They are our heritage.

“The three year old felt secure in his father’s arms as dad stood in the middle of the pool. But dad, for fun, began walking slowly toward the deep end, gently chanting, ‘Deeper and deeper and deeper,’ as the water rose higher and higher on the child. The lad’s face registered increasing degrees of panic and held all the more tightly to his father, who of course, easily touched the bottom. Had the little boy been able to analyze his situation, he’d have realized there was no reason for increased anxiety. The water’s depth in any part of the pool was over his head. Even in the shallowest part, had he not been held up, he would have drowned. His safety anywhere in the pool depended on Dad.

At various points in our lives, all of us feel we are getting out of our depth – problems abound, a job lost, someone dies. Our temptation is to panic, for we fell – we’ve lost control. Yet, as with the child in the pool, the truth is we’ve never been in control over the most valuable things of life. We’ve always been held up by the grace of God, our Father, that does not change. God is never out of His depth and therefore we’re as safe when we’re ‘going deeper’ as we have ever been.”

Perhaps God wants to move you ‘deeper’ than ever before. It is faith that will give you confidence and conviction to worshiped God faithfully as Abel had, walked with God faithfully as Enoch and to work for God faithfully as Noah did.

Steven Curtis Chapman has a song called, “The Great Adventure”. The first line goes, “Saddle up your horses, we’ve got a trail to blaze; through the wild blue yonder of God’s amazing grace.”

LOVE you so MUCH!

pastor 

Be ye Holy for I am Holy

Exodus 15:11, 1 Peter 1:15-16

Exodus 15:11 "Who among the gods is like you, O Lord?  Who is like you- majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?  1 Peter 1:15 "But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do, for it is written: "Be holy, because I am Holy."

The verse from Exodus 15:11 is one of the loftiest descriptions of the majesty and Excellency of God in the whole Bible.  It is a part of Moses' triumphant song, after a great and awesome victory.  It is the first song upon holy record, and it consists of gratulatory and prophetic matter it casts a look backward to what God did for them in their deliverance from Egypt; and a look forward to what God shall do for the church in the future ages.  That deliverance was but a rough foretaste of something more excellent to be done towards the closing up of the world and the end of time, when his plagues shall be poured out upon the anti-christian powers, which should revive the same song of Moses in the church by us. 

It is observed that many words in this song are put in the future tense, noting a time to come, and the very first word , verse 1, "shall sing; implying, that it was composed and calculated for the celebrating of some greater action of God's, which was to be done in the world.  Upon this account, some of the Jewish rabbi's, asserted the doctrine of the resurrection to be meant in this way, "that Moses and those Israelites should rise again to sing the same song, for some greater miracles God should work, and greater triumphs he should bring forth, exceeding those wonders at their deliverance from Egypt.  Yet it seems that Moses in the midst of his historical narrative breaks out in ecstasy and gives one of the most loftiest description of God in the Bible.  "majestic in holiness"

Holiness is the blessedness and nobleness of his nature it renders him glorious in himself, and glorious to his creatures, that understand anything of this lovely perfection. Holiness is a glorious perfection belonging only to the nature of God. 

He is called light, because of His holy nature, as impurity is called darkness both in this sense are opposed to one another: He is pure and unmixed light, free from all blemishes, sin, imperfection within His essence, nature, and operations.

"If we conceive him destitute of this excellent perfection, and imagine him possessed with the least amount of evil, we make him but an infinite monster, and sully all those perfections we ascribed to him; before we rather own him a devil than a God."

"It is a less injury to him to deny his being, than to deny the purity of it; the one makes him no god, the other a deformed, unlovely, and  a detestable god."

"He that says; God is not holy speaks much worse than he that says, There is no God at all.

If any, this attribute is above all his other attributes. There are some attributes of God we prefer, because of our interest in them, and the relation they bear to us:  as we esteem his goodness before his power, and his mercy whereby he relieves us, before his justice whereby he punishes us, as there are some we more delight in, because of the goodness we receive by them; so there are some that God delights to honor, because of their excellency.

None is sounded out so loftily, with such solemnity, and so frequently by angels that stand before his throne, as this:  "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory" (Isa. 6:3)  "The four beasts rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God almighty" (Rev. 4:8)

Do you hear in any angelical song any other perfection of the Divine Nature thrice repeated?  Where do we read of the crying out Eternal, eternal, eternal; or Faithful, faithful, faithful, Lord God of Hosts?  He singles it out to swear by it.  "Once have I sworn by my holiness, that I will not lie unto David" (Psa 89:35) "The Lord will swear by his holiness" (Amos 4:2)

He lays here his holiness to pledge for the assurance of his promise as the attribute most dear to him most valued by him as though no other could give an assurance parallel to it in this concern of an everlasting redemption which is there spoken of:  He that swears, swears by a greater than himself; god having no greater than himself, swears by himself:  and swearing here by his holiness seems to equal that single one to all his other attributes as if he were more concerned in the honor of it than of al the rest.  It is a tacit imprecation of himself, If I lie unto David, let me never by counted holy, or thought righteous enough to be trusted by angles or men.

It is his glory and beauty.  Holiness is the honor of the creature; sanctification and honor are linked together (1 Thess. 4:4); much more it is the honor of God; it is the image of God in the creature (Eph. 4:24)

If we were to draw a picture of God...... Power is his hand and arm, omniscience, his eye; mercy his bowels; eternity, his duration; his holiness is his beauty.

Holiness was the beauty of the temple (Isa 46:11); holy and beautiful house are joined together; much more the beauty of God that dwelt in the sanctuary.  "The whole earth is full of thy glory; that is of his holiness in his laws. and in his judgement against sin, that being the attribute applauded by them before.

It is his very life, without it he would be a dead God.

Definition: The separation from Sin, and conformity to God's moral standards. This is a commandment, not a choice, but a you will do it.  Complete holiness is the desire and duty of every Christian.  It must for the extent of it, be universal.  We must be holy, and be so in all manner of conversation, towards all people, friends and enemies; in all our intercourse and business still we must be holy.  For the pattern of it we must be holy, as God is holy:  we must imitate him, though we can never equal him.  The consideration of the holiness of God should oblige us to the highest degree of holiness we can attain unto.

The English word holy can best be understood if the spelling is changed to wholly.  Holy means "Wholly given over to God." People are likely to think that the word Holy refers only to persons who are very good.  When we see someone who is spiritually faithful we will generally  reply that the person is holy, it may or may not be true.  Holiness in any man is to be seen in the completeness of his committal to God and the singleness of mind with which he is devoted to God.  "Be ye holy" is best understood as a call to being altogether committed to God in all areas of life.  One becomes holy when his greatest aim and purpose in life is to worship and serve God.  This is not a long drawn-out process that takes years but it is a daily commitment to Christ.

Many a person has thought that it would be necessary to get himself cleaned up and have everything right before he could begin to live a holy life.  If I were to wait until then, I would never get to live a holy life.  I must come to God first and let him take an active part in the cleaning-up within my heart and soul.  Holiness is related in the sense of the setting apart unto God.  The soul is the source of holiness within man and the mind is the roots in which the soul is fed..... Thus we must renew our minds daily...

The NT teaches that the believer is sanctified positional before god, with the holiness of Christ imputed to him, at the time of his conversion, by virtue of his being presented in Christ (1 Cor 1:2, 30).  He is being sanctified experiential as he keeps reckoning upon his position in Christ, refusing to yield the members of his body to sin, and presenting himself to God (Rom 6:11-13).  He must deliberately "follow peace with all men, and holiness without which no man shall see the Lord (Heb. 12:14). He will be ultimately sanctified in the sense of full conformity to Christ in glorification (Rom 8:30-31).

Our duty to God.  (Romans 12:1-2) We see what is godliness.... It is to surrender ourselves to God, and so to lay a good foundation for Christian service.  This is beginning of all duty and obedience to God.

Present our Bodies....  Living Sacrifice- A christian makes his body a sacrifice unto God.  A body sincerely devoted to god is a living sacrifice.  It is Christ living in the soul by faith that makes the body a living sacrifice.  Holy love kindles the sacrifices, puts life into the duties and everyday walk.  Alive, that is to God.  This sacrifice that we make is so different to the Old Testament in that the animal once placed on the alter was killed, thus becoming a dead sacrifice.  This sacrifice must be a total giving not partial.    Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's spirit lives in you.."

Sanctified Sacrifice-  When the Lord said "Sanctify yourselves..." (Lev 20:7)  He meant "Put away other things, leave off everything else, and commit yourself only to God.  When people are set apart for God, the basic principle is that of love.  They are committed entirely, permanently, to God in love. They are sanctified unto Him and away from the world they make a decision to serve God and not Mammon (Matt 6:24)  This person has realized that there are all kinds of things in the world but nothing that equals God.  This is the person that God is pleased with.  How important is this subject in Matthew 16:26 it says; "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul". 

Holy Sacrifice- From this sanctified life there comes a holy life.  There must be a real holiness which encompasses the Body, Soul and Spirit.  Our bodies must not be made the instruments of sin and uncleanness (Read Romans 6:1), but must be set apart for God and from the World, to be used for holy purposes.  God commands that we be holy (Lev 11:44  "I am the Lord your God; consecrate ourselves and be holy, because I am holy"  1 Peter 1:15-16 "But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written "Be holy, because I am Holy") Peter in the his second epistle writes in chapter 3:11 "Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be?  You ought to live holy and godly lives..."   God chooses us for the beginning of time, before the creation of the world to be holy according to Eph 1:4 "For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight..." 

Holiness, therefore, is the characteristic mark of a believer in both the OT and NT.  He that would stand in the holy place to worship God must have clean hands and a pure heart and not have sworn to a lie (Psa 24:3-4).  To dwell in God's holy mountain - in His presence - one must walk with integrity and do no wrong to his neighbor (Psa 15).   God chose us in Him (Christ) before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him (Eph 1:4).  Our holiness is god’s direct and perfect will for us (1 Thess 4:3). Thus, every activity of life becomes sacred, for the Christian.  For when a man's aim is that of conformity to the will of God, who executes moral righteousness for all, life cannot be divided between the secular and the sacred.

blessings,

pastor