6 May 2018
I. Introduction
-- turn
in Bibles to Hebrews 12:14
Make every effort to live in peace with
everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.
--
several years ago, a family from the country decided to go to the big city for
a vacation -- they had never been off the farm before, and they were just
amazed at all the sights and all the technologies of the city
-- when
the father and the son went into the hotel to get a room, they saw the metal
doors of the elevator and just couldn’t figure out what its purpose was --
while they were standing there talking about it, an elderly lady came up and
pushed the button -- the doors opened -- and they watched as she hobbled inside
-- a few minutes later, the doors opened again and a beautiful young woman came
walking out
-- the
father looked at the woman and looked at the elevator and told his son, “Quick!
Go get your mother!”
-- this
morning, we’re going to talk about transformation -- about transforming from
who we are into the beautiful new creations that God wants us to become
-- of
course, we can’t do that by using an elevator -- but we can do that through the
power of the Holy Spirit working in our lives -- what I’m referring to is the
process of sanctification -- of becoming holy as God is holy
-- as
this verse in Hebrews tells us, holiness is something we should be making every
effort to obtain in our lives -- I really like the way some other translations
render this verse -- they say we should be striving for holiness in our lives
-- the word “striving” implies doing everything we can to meet a goal --
fighting the good fight -- giving it all our strength -- making holiness our
priority above all else
II. What is Holiness?
-- now,
if we’re going to talk about holiness and about becoming holy, the first thing
we need to do is define our terms -- what do we mean by the word “holy?” --
what does the Bible mean when it talks about becoming holy as God is holy?
--
holiness is one of those words that is easy to recognize, but hard to define --
if I ask you to define, “holiness,” you’d probably have a hard time coming up
with a concise definition
-- more
than likely, you’d probably respond by describing what holiness looks like in a
person -- by describing the way a person acts that sets them apart from those
around them -- or maybe even referring to people like Billy Graham or Mother
Teresa
-- you’d
probably say that someone who was holy was good or did good things or loved
everybody -- but, that’s more a description of the effects of holiness than an
actual definition of what holiness is
--
holiness becomes ever harder to define if you try to come up with a definition for
the holiness of God, because the holiness of God is transcendent -- it’s above
human understanding -- it’s so much more than we can envision -- it’s so much
higher than we can actually define or measure -- the holiness of God is not
just what He does, but who He is -- all of His attributes are part of His holy
being and character
-- if we
turn to the Bible, we see that the root meaning of the Hebrew and Greek terms
that we translate as holy is “set apart” or “separated” -- so, to be holy is to
be set apart or separated from the world or from the flesh and to be dedicated
for service or for the use of God
-- let
me give you an example of what I’m talking about -- I have been reading through
the Bible this year, so I’ve spent a lot of time reading through the first five
books of the Bible, where God gave the ten commandments and all of the social
and cultural laws for the nation of Israel -- what we generally call the Mosaic
Law -- the Law that God gave to Moses for the nation of Israel
-- these
laws were very specific -- God told the Israelites they could eat only certain
foods -- they were to worship and offer sacrifices only on a certain day of the
week -- He told them they had to observe specific feast days, each with
different types of sacrifices that had to be made
-- God even
specified what kind of clothes the Israelites could wear -- for instance, their
clothes had to be made of one type of -- they couldn't blend two types of
material together to make a shirt.
-- so, why
did God give them all these specific rules? -- Why did He make them follow all
these strange customs when all of the other nations didn’t have to? -- because
God had chosen the nation of Israel as His people -- He had called them out of
the world -- He had set them apart and separated them from all the other people
in the world
-- and to
help them see that they were different and set apart for Him, He gave them
these societal and cultural rules to set them apart from those around them
-- by
setting them apart from the world in this way, the Bible tells us He was making
them into a holy nation
-- let me
give you another example -- we’re having holy communion this morning -- you see
before you on the altar a loaf of bread and a glass of grape juice -- we
recognize these as the elements of a holy sacrament -- a sacred moment with God
-- but,
yesterday, that loaf of bread and that grape juice were on a shelf at the
grocery store in town -- they were just ordinary, normal items that anyone
might have just picked up and carried home for supper -- but they are there
before us as holy elements -- why?
-- because
they were taken out of the world and set apart before God for His use -- they
were separated from the world and dedicated to God
-- in the
same way, when we are made holy as He is holy, the process is for us to be
taken out of the world and set apart for Him -- to be separated from the world
and dedicated to God -- being in that state is what we call “holy” and living
in that state is what we call “holiness”
III. The Two Types of Holiness
-- in the
Bible, we see two separate forms of holiness related to people -- the first
holiness is the holiness of the cross -- the holiness of justifying grace --
the holiness that is conferred on us through the atoning death of Jesus in our
place
-- when we
believe in Jesus and trust in Him for salvation -- the holiness and
righteousness of Jesus is given, or imputed, to us -- this holiness separates
us out of the world and sets us apart for God
-- we may still
live in the world physically, but we are not part of the world spiritually any
longer -- we now belong to God and live in His Kingdom
-- that’s
why some people call this type of holiness, “positional holiness” -- because
our position -- our standing -- in the eyes of God has changed -- when God
looks at us, He doesn’t see us as part of the world any longer -- He sees the
holiness and righteousness of Christ on us and recognizes us as part of His
kingdom
-- so, the
first type of holiness is who we are in Christ
-- the
second type of holiness is what we typically think of when we hear the word,
“holy” -- this is the holiness of sanctification -- the holiness in how we act
because of Christ -- a change in our behavior as a result of God’s sanctifying
grace in our lives
-- through
justifying grace we are made holy in the eyes of God -- through sanctifying
grace we are made holy in our lives -- in other words, sanctification is the
process of becoming more like Jesus in who we are and how we act every day
-- this is
the holiness that Hebrews 12:14 is referring to when it tells us to make every
effort to be holy -- to strive after holiness
-- Peter
said something similar in 1 Peter 1:15 -- he commanded us there to “be holy in
all you do”
-- this
holiness requires effort on our part in cooperation with the power of the
indwelling Holy Spirit
-- if you
would, turn over to Colossians 3 and we’ll finish up there in a passage where
the Apostle Paul gives us guidelines on how we are to do this -- how we are to
strive after holiness and live holy lives in our world today
--
Colossians 3:1-4
“Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the
things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind
on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and
your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is
revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”
-- the path
of holy living begins after you have been saved -- in order to be sanctified
and made holy in your behavior, you must first be made holy in your position
and standing before God -- that’s why Paul begins this chapter by saying,
“since you have been raised with Christ” -- “since you have been made holy
through Christ’s death on the cross” -- now, this is what you should do
-- first,
set your mind on things above, not on earthly things -- you are no longer part
of this world -- you have been separated and set apart into God’s kingdom, so
live with a kingdom mindset -- so, set your minds on heavenly things -- set
your minds on holy things -- and your actions will follow
-- this is
why we talk about becoming holy from the inside out -- as we are changed by God
-- as our minds and hearts are changed by God -- our behaviors start to mirror
who we have become -- when we are saved, we are made into a new creation -- and
when we are sanctified, we start acting like we are a new creation -- and the
longer you walk with God, the more holy and righteous your actions will become
-- so, what
does this look like?
-- verse 5-11
“Therefore consider the members
of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and
greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is because of these things that the
wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience, and in them you also once
walked, when you were living in them.
“But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander,
and abusive speech from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you laid
aside the old self with its evil practices, 10and have put on the new self who
is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who
created him— renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew,
circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but
Christ is all, and in all.”
-- to strive for holiness -- to
make every effort to be holy in our lives means that we consciously make the
decision to put aside all the things of the earth -- all the things that God
calls sinful
-- things
like sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, greed, idolatry -- Paul
says this is the way you used to live -- this is how you used to act when you
were part of the world -- so, get rid
of anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language -- don’t lie to one
another -- don’t discriminate against each other
-- now that
you are separated and set apart from the world and put into God’s kingdom, you
need to quit acting like the rest of the world and start acting like you are a
member of His kingdom
-- Paul
says that you have taken off your old self with its practices -- that is who
you were when you were part of the world -- now you have put on a new self
through justifying grace -- and this new self is being renewed and changed and
transformed into the image of God through sanctifying grace -- this new self should
be striving to become holy as He is holy
-- verse 12-17
“So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a
heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with
one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone;
just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.
“Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of
unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were
called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within
you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever
you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks
through Him to God the Father.”
-- so, once
we have begun putting to death all of our behaviors and actions that were part
of who we were in the world, Paul says that we have to take up a new way of
living -- we have to replace the old, sinful acts with new, holy acts
-- he tells
us to clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and
patience -- to bear with each other -- to forgive one another for all
grievances -- to be at peace with one another and strive to live a life of love
-- as Jesus
put it, “to love our neighbor as ourselves” -- and, if we do that, then the
word of Christ is truly dwelling within us -- we are becoming holy in our
actions as well as in our being
-- that is
what the writer of Hebrews was counseling us to do when he encouraged us to
strive after holiness -- to live out our Christian faith everyday -- to be set
apart from this world -- not just positionally, but in our behaviors and our
actions
-- one
thing to keep in mind is that sanctification is a process -- becoming holy as
God is holy -- becoming more like Jesus in our daily lives -- is not going to
happen overnight -- it’s going to take time and effort -- that’s why we
sometimes call the process of sanctification, “Progressive Holiness”
-- as you
strive for holiness in your life -- as you do the things that Paul encourages
us to do in this passage -- putting to death our sinful actions and behaviors
and taking up new, godly behaviors -- you should see progress -- you should be
able to look back at how you acted a year or 10 years ago and say, “I’m doing
better than I did then” -- you may not be where you want to be, but you should
at least be able to see some progress in your behaviors and action
-- also,
keep in mind that we don’t have to strive for holiness on our own -- we have
the Holy Spirit inside of us, who works in us and through us to transform us
into who God wants us to be
-- where
you used to be powerless against sin, now you have power because of the Holy
Spirit within you -- where you used to be able to do nothing about anger and
rage and malice and all those other sins Paul lists here -- now, you can choose
to turn away from those sins because you are empowered by the Holy Spirit
-- He helps
you become holy in your life -- He is the agent of change in progressive
holiness and sanctifying grace
IV. Closing
-- I want
to close this by sharing with you a story about a friend of mine -- he is a
Godly man and was instrumental in leading me to faith -- well, he works at the
University of Georgia and week he and a group of other Christians gather for
lunch to study the Bible and to share their lives with each other -- they talk
about where they have done well for God that week, and where they have failed
-- they
didn’t advertise this to anyone -- they would just get together and do this as
a means to be accountable -- as a way to strive together for holiness in their
lives
-- my
friend said that one day, they were in the room having lunch when someone
knocked on the door and came in -- he said, “I don’t know what you are doing in
here -- and I don’t know what’s going on with you -- but, there’s something
different about you, and I want it”
-- that’s
what we’re talking about -- this guy was not a believer -- he belonged to this
world -- but, he recognized that these men who were meeting for lunch were
living lives differently than all those around them -- he recognized they were
separated from the other people in that work place -- not physically -- but
spiritually, as evidenced through their actions
-- that’s
what we should be striving for -- we should be striving to be different than
those around us -- to be holy as God is holy -- to live such good and holy
lives that those around us can see a difference in who we are and how we act
-- so, make
every effort you can to be holy -- strive for holiness in your life -- put off
the ways of this world -- put off the sin that so easily hinders and entangles
-- and take up a new life and a new way of living through the power of the Holy
Spirit
-- let us
pray
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