But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, be ye holy; for I am holy. 1Peter 1;15-16.
The text before us tonight gives us three vital information and understanding. 1. The nature of God [his holiness] 2. The purpose of our salvation by him [our holiness] 3. The demand of God to which extent, limit or measure of expectation of the holiness he expects to see in his redeemed children [holiness in all manner of conversation].
God is good, and I should be good as my Father in heaven is good. God is kind and I should be kind as my Father in heaven is kind. God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins if we confess them and I should be able to forgive even as God, for the sake of Christ, has forgiven me. God is merciful, and I should be merciful that I might obtain mercy. God is patient, and I should be patient towards all men. Be patient in tribulations and rejoice in hope. God is great, and I should ascribe greatness to my King. God is righteous, and I should be walking in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake and to practice righteousness at all times because I am born of him. God is holy, and I should be holy if I want to see him and be with him forever in heaven, because without holiness, no man shall see the Lord. Hebrews12:14. The expression and extension of God's love, goodness, kindness, compassion, mercy, patience, and other divine attributes without holiness in all forms of conversation in relationships with others and in your walk with God is useless and unprofitable for eternity. Those attributes should complement each other, not one without others - unto the pure, God will show himself pure. Psalms 18:25-26.
Holiness is the nature and beauty of God [Psalms 29;2] out of Zion the perfection of beauty, God shines forth. Psalms 50;2. This speaks of the perfection of the holiness of God who is glorious in holiness, having purer eyes than to behold sin in man or in any of his angels. Everything in God or about him depicts his holiness. Holy is his name. Luke 1;49. Psalms 119;19. God is holy in all his works. His word is holy. The incorruptible word of God. The words of his holiness. Jeremiah 23;9. The way of God is called the highway of holiness. Isaiah 35:8. God is holy in all his works. Psalms 145:17. Blessed are the pure in heart; they shall see God because he is pure and holy in his thoughts. Matthew 5;8. Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Job 14;4. God can, that he will grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hands of our enemies might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life. Luke 1; 74-75. Therefore, God is called, praised and worshiped in heaven as the king of the saints. Revelation 15;3. Each of the four living creatures having six wings and was covered with eyes all around and within, day and night never stopped acknowledging and celebrating his holiness, saying: holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come. Revelation 4:8-9. The holiness of God creates the dreadfulness of his presence. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Matthew 27;46. Note: those who are not serving God in reverence and godly fear are irresponsible of their call to holiness and uninformed of his terror. To avoid the vengeance of eternal suffering against the holiness of God, we must put the difference between the clean and unclean conversations in everything in our daily lifestyles before him - And there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defiles, neither whatsoever works abomination, or makes a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.21:27. In regeneration and conversion, a genuine spiritual encounter with God in Christ Jesus would produce the same effect as prophet's Isaiah's experience of a contrite heart of repentance in submission to the demands of his holy presence, declared, Woe is me! For I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: and he laid it upon my mouth, and said, lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Isaiah 6; 5-7. In the fall, Adam lost the divine nature, which is the holiness of God. He cannot continue to have fellowship with God nor dwell in his presence, having lost the holiness of God. Though we are born again, according as his divine power has given unto us all the things which pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue: that by these we might be partakers of the divine nature having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust without the consciousness of striving to increase in godliness which is profitable in all things, we are blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that we are already being purged from his old sins, washed, justified and sanctified. Note; those who live in godliness and follow after it in all things are those who serve God in spirit and in truth in a pure conscience void of offense toward God and man. Who shall ascend onto the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. Psalms 24; 3-5. Note: Adam abandoned steadfastness in godliness, the growth in the divine nature for the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. Godliness is the holiness of God. By increasing in godliness, we increasingly metamorphose in the holiness of God. Add to your patience godliness, which godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.1 Timothy 4:8.
In the book of Romans chapter 6, verses 15-19 of the mechanisms and principles of attaining to holiness and eternal life. He reiterates in assurance of the believer's victory over sin through mercy and grace made available to obtain from the throne of grace for help in times of need or temptation. Hebrews 4:16. This is the grace that empowers us by the quickening of the Spirit of God, enabling us to yield in obedience to the word of God instead of yielding or giving to the demands of the flesh. Before we accepted Jesus as Lord and personal Savior, we were weak and helpless with no choice than to yield to the demands of the works of the flesh, though we knew they were sinful and unpleasant to God. This is the law of sin and death which was at work in us activated by the first parents from the Garden in the fall. The yielding determines where we belong [darkness or light] just as Adam and Eve determined to whom they belong to [God or Satan] in the fall by hearkening to the voice of a stranger, the serpent. There's no believer who is consciously cultivating the fruit of the spirit in his conversations that will fall into sin. Galatians 5;16-24. As long as he is living and walking in the spirit, he is fulfilling the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus, which has set him free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8;1-2. In Christ Jesus, God expects us to yield unto him in obedience through the power of his spirit indwelling us: Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. Romans 8: 12-13. This is the reason he called us obedient children with the warning not to fashion or continue to live according to the former lusts in our ignorance when we used to fulfill the carnal desires of the mind and the lusts of the flesh, but as God who has called us is holy, so we should be holy in all manner of conversation. 1 Peter 14-15. You know that the flesh profits nothing but death. This is the reason you should listen to the voice of the spirit of God reminding you of the word of God, and by yielding to keep them, your ways and life are cleansed or made holy before the Lord. Holiness is linked with increasing obedience to the word of God. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way by taking heed thereto according to thy word? Psalms 119;9.
In Christ Jesus, sin is abolished in the flesh, so that the righteousness of the law can be fulfilled in those who are walking in the spirit and not in the flesh. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbids. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so, now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. Romans 6;15-19.
Increasing obedience to the word of God has become inextricably intertwined with holiness - for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so, now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. Romans 6;19. The word and the spirit of God are the sanctification agents as long as we are yielding obediently unto them. CLICK TO READ THE WEAKNESSES OF SAINTS
There is true false holiness and there is true holiness - and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4;24. This speaks of believers living a new life, not with the mentality of the past and the sinful ways of the corruptible old man, but embracing their new identity created in the image of God, according to the knowledge of truth characterized by righteousness and holiness. God is our sanctifier. And the very God of peace sanctifies you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5;23. True holiness is the unwritten but visible emblem of the express image of God inscribe all over the personality [the unique pattern of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that distinguish one person from another. It encompasses an individual's characteristic way of thinking, feeling, and interacting with the world] of a believer who is steadily growing in his progressive transformation, seen and known by his manners and ways of bearing and outshining the beauty of the holiness of God in Christ Jesus - And she said unto her husband, behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which pass by us continually. 2 Kings 4;9.
What is false holiness? First, it is the false claim that everybody is holy. And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, you take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord? Numbers 16;2-3. Holiness is not a pre-existing state. It requires striving and working out personal salvation in all godliness and holy conversation. 2 Peter 3;11. Consider the rhetorical expression of the Lord's warning prior to his imminent coming for judgments, retributions and rewards of an individual's lifestyle - he that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he who is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Revelation 22;11-13. We are living in a generation who are clean in their own eyes but are not washed of their filth. Proverbs 30;12. Though they are in Christ Jesus, they know not either walk in the highway of holiness, but they falsely hope to get to heaven- And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called the way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up there on, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: and the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Isaiah 35;8-10. Though they are in Christ, they feed upon their unrighteous thoughts and ways, walking and living after the imaginations of their vain thoughts. To the pure, all things are pure; but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure. Indeed, both their minds and their consciences are defiled. Titus 1;15. Christ explains the perfect example of false holiness in his denunciations and curses railed over the Pharisees for their deceptive outward appearance of pious and religious hypocrisy - Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye are like unto white sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Matthew 23;27-28. The Bible's command is to love God in a pure, not impure conscience, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned. 1 Timothy 1;5. Keep your heart with all diligence. Out of it are the issues of life. Proverbs 4;23. Holiness is a state of a circumcised heart in Christ Jesus guarded and kept closed from the things which defile man to make him unfit for heaven - for from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murder, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: all these evil things come from within, and defile the man. Mark 7;21-23.
Holiness is an inward work of grace which manifests itself outside. Everything inside, good or bad, holy or unclean, is reflected outside - Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Matthew 23;25-26. A sanctified heart will always release sweet, not bitter water at all times. James 3; 10-12. How can you, being evil, say good things? The sanctified eyes lusted not after the opposite sex. The sanctify legs walks not in the ways of sinners or be found in an ungodly place where the Lord cannot not be found. Have you ever asked yourself the reason why you are given and baptized in the Holy Spirit? As his name implies, it is to enable you to live a holy life before God. It is called the spirit of holiness. Romans 1;4. It is also known as the spirit of sanctification. 1 Peter 1; 2a.
Believers ought to walk and live according to the function of their office in the Lord - But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 1 Peter 2;9. Believers were once sinners but are now saved by grace and called to forget the past life to live as a saint should. Speak as it is expected of a holy person in the Lord; but fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things comes the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them. Ephesians 5;3-7. Do business with others as a holy person. The brothers in the church should treat the younger sisters in the church with all purity as they would treat their own sibling. The purpose of God is to make you holy, so be ye holy. You should live according to the purpose of your calling and salvation to become saints - Among whom are ye also the call of Jesus Christ. To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints. Romans 1;7-8.
God delves into different methods of disciplinary actions of inconvenient ways to remove every particle of uncleanness and ungodliness from you to bring you into partaking of his holiness. If you willingly submit to the voice of his word and spirit and are sensitive to his chastening to correct the errors of your ways away from the world and false lifestyles, you shall profit by participating in his holiness, in preparation and admittance to heaven. You have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speak unto you as unto children, my son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: for whom the Lord loves he chastens, and scourges every son whom he receives. If ye endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chastens not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Hebrews 12:4-12.