PART 2"There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, yet is not washed from its filthiness." Proverbs 30:12
.
While pastoring in Texas, a woman from the congregation came to our home to talk with Melanie and I. She had been having marital problems due to her husbands drinking and drug use. "I'm going to divorce Richard! I am just not happy anymore and God wants me to be happy!"
.
She was hoping that her sob story would motivate me to agree with the sadness of her plight-- to the degree where I would say to her, "You are right. Divorce Richard. God wants you to be happy."
.
But she was stupefied when I told her, "That is the problem sister. People have the strange idea that God wants them to be happy. He didn't come so that we can be happy, He came so that we can be Holy."
.
I am not sure what translation people are reading out of nowadays, but somewhere along the line they mistakenly thought that 1 Peter 1:16 declared, "It is written, Be ye happy, for I am happy."
.
Happiness is a condition determined by your situation, wherein Holiness is a condition determined through your sanctification.
.
"For this is the will of God, even your sanctification…" 1 Thes 4:3
.
The word sanctification is the Greek word hagiasmos which is also translated as holiness! Do you want the will of God realized in your life? Do you want the Lord Jesus to say to you on that day, "Well done my good and faithful servant?" If you do, it will never happen apart from walking in the holiness of God.
.
Part of the problem with this generation is the whole issue that I introduced last month; "Adjusting to the Darkness" or as 1 John 1:6 puts is (pp)
.
"If we say that we have an intimate relationship with Him (Jesus) yet we continue to walk in darkness (compromise and a lack of holiness) —then we are liars."
.
When a person professes to be a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ (a Christian) yet they do not follow His example of holiness—then are they really following Him?
.
When our purity or holiness becomes a case of self-determination, rather than being based upon the standard established in the Word of God—then there is no cleansing from the death knell of sin.
.
I hear people say all the time, "That us just YOUR interpretation. God is a God of love and He will accept anyone." While God is undeniably a "God of Love", what He loves is holiness and what He detests is sin.
.
When we are instructed to "BE holy as He s holy", it is a call to demonstrate the quality and character of the Lord Jesus Christ in not just what we do, but also in who we are.
.
This is very interesting and very empowering to me personally because it is more than just a series of things that I do in order to gain His favor—–it is something that I become as a result of His favor!
.
He is not only instructing us to DO SOMETHING as a means of operation, but to BE SOMETHING as a result of our transformation! I live HOLY because (by faith in the finished work of the Cross) I am HOLY!
.
Our call to Biblical Holiness was the understood result of the New Birth in the 1st Century Church. Holiness was not the cry of the far-right, extremist Christian fanatic; it was the normal understood condition of anyone who would dare yield their old nature to the regeneration of the Holy Spirit through faith.
.
2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
.
When we become indwelt of the HOLY Spirit at the time of our conversion (John 14:17), it is the HOLY Spirit that comes to dwell inside of us! We are given a new nature— His Nature—which enables us to walk in His character.
.
Paul the Apostle told the Church at Corinth in 1 Corinthians 6:9,11 "Don't' you know that the wicked will not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven...that is what some of you were, but you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.."
.
Those that are "wicked" or unholy will not have an inheritance in the Kingdom of God. Another way to put it is, "If you are not HOLY, then you are going to HELL."
.
Friends, if we lay claim to genuine Christianity then what we are identifying ourselves with is the Christ of the Christian Faith who has commanded us to "Be Holy as He is Holy."
.
This is not something that is far-fetched or impossible to walk in. If you have truly accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior then you have been washed (cleansed from all sins), sanctified (set apart for Jesus), and justified (been declared as righteous and holy). He has made us HOLY so that He can call us HOLY with the expectation that we should walk as HOLY!
.
If the Body of Christ would simply endeavor to TRUST IN THE LIGHT more than they ADJUST TO THE DARKNESS then we would see the Church in the condition that the Lord Jesus intended it to be.
.
"...Christ...loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be Holy and without blemish." Eph 5:25-27
.
Until the Church heeds the call to holiness and repents for allowing herself to adjust to the darkness by being a "friend of the world" (James 4:4) then we will never see the genuine power of God move in our midst and will never see TRUE REVIVAL come upon our churches, cities and nations.
.
How do I do it? How can I finally stop giving into the arm of my flesh and walk in the Spirit as God has called me to do? I am glad that you asked! It is by and through His Grace!
.
The Grace of God by definition is "God's divine influence upon the heart and its reflection in your life." God's Grace comes as the spiritual agent which empowers every believer to walk in the genuine Holiness of God! When we trust in Him and yield our hearts and lives completely over to the Lord Jesus Christ—then every area of our life will be reflective of Him: Holiness.
.
It is time to STOP adjusting and to START trusting. The Word of God says, "Pursue peace with all people and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord." Heb 12:14
.
This is God's call to step out of the darkness and into His glorious light!
While pastoring in Texas, a woman from the congregation came to our home to talk with Melanie and I. She had been having marital problems due to her husbands drinking and drug use. "I'm going to divorce Richard! I am just not happy anymore and God wants me to be happy!"
.
She was hoping that her sob story would motivate me to agree with the sadness of her plight-- to the degree where I would say to her, "You are right. Divorce Richard. God wants you to be happy."
.
But she was stupefied when I told her, "That is the problem sister. People have the strange idea that God wants them to be happy. He didn't come so that we can be happy, He came so that we can be Holy."
.
I am not sure what translation people are reading out of nowadays, but somewhere along the line they mistakenly thought that 1 Peter 1:16 declared, "It is written, Be ye happy, for I am happy."
.
Happiness is a condition determined by your situation, wherein Holiness is a condition determined through your sanctification.
.
"For this is the will of God, even your sanctification…" 1 Thes 4:3
.
The word sanctification is the Greek word hagiasmos which is also translated as holiness! Do you want the will of God realized in your life? Do you want the Lord Jesus to say to you on that day, "Well done my good and faithful servant?" If you do, it will never happen apart from walking in the holiness of God.
.
Part of the problem with this generation is the whole issue that I introduced last month; "Adjusting to the Darkness" or as 1 John 1:6 puts is (pp)
.
"If we say that we have an intimate relationship with Him (Jesus) yet we continue to walk in darkness (compromise and a lack of holiness) —then we are liars."
.
When a person professes to be a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ (a Christian) yet they do not follow His example of holiness—then are they really following Him?
.
When our purity or holiness becomes a case of self-determination, rather than being based upon the standard established in the Word of God—then there is no cleansing from the death knell of sin.
.
I hear people say all the time, "That us just YOUR interpretation. God is a God of love and He will accept anyone." While God is undeniably a "God of Love", what He loves is holiness and what He detests is sin.
.
When we are instructed to "BE holy as He s holy", it is a call to demonstrate the quality and character of the Lord Jesus Christ in not just what we do, but also in who we are.
.
This is very interesting and very empowering to me personally because it is more than just a series of things that I do in order to gain His favor—–it is something that I become as a result of His favor!
.
He is not only instructing us to DO SOMETHING as a means of operation, but to BE SOMETHING as a result of our transformation! I live HOLY because (by faith in the finished work of the Cross) I am HOLY!
.
Our call to Biblical Holiness was the understood result of the New Birth in the 1st Century Church. Holiness was not the cry of the far-right, extremist Christian fanatic; it was the normal understood condition of anyone who would dare yield their old nature to the regeneration of the Holy Spirit through faith.
.
2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
.
When we become indwelt of the HOLY Spirit at the time of our conversion (John 14:17), it is the HOLY Spirit that comes to dwell inside of us! We are given a new nature— His Nature—which enables us to walk in His character.
.
Paul the Apostle told the Church at Corinth in 1 Corinthians 6:9,11 "Don't' you know that the wicked will not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven...that is what some of you were, but you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.."
.
Those that are "wicked" or unholy will not have an inheritance in the Kingdom of God. Another way to put it is, "If you are not HOLY, then you are going to HELL."
.
Friends, if we lay claim to genuine Christianity then what we are identifying ourselves with is the Christ of the Christian Faith who has commanded us to "Be Holy as He is Holy."
.
This is not something that is far-fetched or impossible to walk in. If you have truly accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior then you have been washed (cleansed from all sins), sanctified (set apart for Jesus), and justified (been declared as righteous and holy). He has made us HOLY so that He can call us HOLY with the expectation that we should walk as HOLY!
.
If the Body of Christ would simply endeavor to TRUST IN THE LIGHT more than they ADJUST TO THE DARKNESS then we would see the Church in the condition that the Lord Jesus intended it to be.
.
"...Christ...loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be Holy and without blemish." Eph 5:25-27
.
Until the Church heeds the call to holiness and repents for allowing herself to adjust to the darkness by being a "friend of the world" (James 4:4) then we will never see the genuine power of God move in our midst and will never see TRUE REVIVAL come upon our churches, cities and nations.
.
How do I do it? How can I finally stop giving into the arm of my flesh and walk in the Spirit as God has called me to do? I am glad that you asked! It is by and through His Grace!
.
The Grace of God by definition is "God's divine influence upon the heart and its reflection in your life." God's Grace comes as the spiritual agent which empowers every believer to walk in the genuine Holiness of God! When we trust in Him and yield our hearts and lives completely over to the Lord Jesus Christ—then every area of our life will be reflective of Him: Holiness.
.
It is time to STOP adjusting and to START trusting. The Word of God says, "Pursue peace with all people and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord." Heb 12:14
.
This is God's call to step out of the darkness and into His glorious light!
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