“Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version
(ESV), copyright 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”
Contents
His Will
Defining Holiness
God
Sinners to Saints
Exhortations to Be Pure in Conduct
Whom
Do We Belong To?
Grieving
the Holy Spirit
Temple
of God
Becomingly
Not
of the World
Friends
with the World
Children
of Light
How to Live a Holy Life
Temptation
Law or Faith?
Time
with God
God’s Calling On Our Lives
Discipline
The Church of Laodicea
Coming Judgment
The
Ungodly
The
Godly
Rewards
Conclusion
His Will
Let me just say first of all, that I believe much of
the battle below can be avoided by simply accepting God’s will for one’s own
life. See the title “The Royal Road to Victory”, also on this blog site.
Defining Holiness
Let us begin this study by defining what “holy” means. Vine’s defines it
as “separation to God.” The second definition is, “the resultant state, the
conduct befitting those so separated.” Therefore we are called saints.
God
Let us begin with God. It is said of God in Revelation 4:8 that, “Holy,
holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come.” Further,
Hebrews 7:26 says, “For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest
[Jesus Christ], holy, innocent, unstained, separated
from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.”
Yes, God is holy and
“separated from sinners.” We know too, that we are born into this world as
“sinners.” We were born needing a Savior.
Let us then keep in
mind too, that it is said of God, “You who are of purer eyes than to see evil
and cannot look at wrong.” (Habakkuk 1:13)
It is also written in
Hebrews 12:28-29 that we should “…be grateful for receiving a kingdom that
cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with
reverence and awe, for our God is a
consuming fire.” This is an Old Testament reference from Numbers 11:1-3
where we read, “And the people complained in the hearing of the LORD about
their misfortunes, and when the LORD heard it, his anger was kindled, and the
fire of the LORD burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the
camp. Then the people cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the LORD, and the
fire died down. So the name of that place was called Taberah, because the fire
of the LORD burned among them.” Then we also read of God’s “fire” in 2 Thessalonians
1:5-8, “This is evidence of the righteous
judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God,
for which you are also suffering – since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you,
and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the
Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire,
inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey
the gospel of our Lord Jesus.”
What we can see from this
is that God is a just God. He cannot overlook sin. We know that sinners must be
punished.
On the other hand, we
have a God who is love. For we read, “He [Jesus Christ] is the propitiation for
our sins, and not for ours only but also for
the whole world.” (1 John 2:2) Jesus paid the penalty for everyone’s sin in
“the whole world”. Does this include you? It sure does! All you have to do is
believe it in order to be saved and have eternal life. Again we read, “For God so loved the world, that he gave
his only Son, that whoever believes
in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Therefore, “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already,
because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” (John 3:16, 18)
Here we see that God is
indeed a God of love. Are you a person of this world? Of course! Then Jesus
sent His Son to die in your place.
So we see a perfect
balance with God. He is a just God who cannot overlook sin. Yet in being a God
of love, He can’t ignore sin. Sin must be punished. Therefore He sent His Son
to take His just judgment instead of you. If that isn’t love, then there isn’t
even such a thing as love! What this means is that we’re saved from the penalty
of sin.
Sinner to Saint
Now we know that
everyone is born into this world as a sinner. For it is written, “Therefore,
just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so
death spread to all men because all sinned.” (Romans 5:12)
If then, indeed, we are
Christians, we will have come to the realization at some point prior to being
saved that we are, ourselves, a sinner. As such we will also have realized that
we were also helplessly lost, and therefore condemned to the Lake of Fire. In
this progression of thought, we will have come to see the truth of the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ that He alone can save us from sins consequences – the
second death.
At the very point in
time that we believed the true gospel we were sanctified “once for all.”
(Hebrews 10:10) That means we were separated unto the Lord, having been made
“clean” by His once for all sacrifice for our very own sin. By God’s grace we
were changed from sinners to saints! For again it is written, “And you, who
were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made
alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood
against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.”
Again, it is written, “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ
died for us.” (Col.2:13-14 & Rom.5:8)
The moment we were
saved we were justified. That means that in God’s sight we have a right
standing. We have been declared righteous, or in other words, innocent. God
will never condemn the saved to hell. You could rightly say “once a son, always
a son”. The relationship never changes.
What an awesome God we serve!
I think it is important
to take the time to look at what happened and what did not happen the moment we
got saved.
Firstly then, the
things that did happen. To start with, we were “reconciled” to God. For we
read, “And you, who once were alienated
and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death in order to present
you holy and blameless and above reproach before him.” (Colossians 1:21-22) We
see from this portion of Scripture that when we were unsaved we were
“alienated” from God, but that upon believing the gospel, we were “reconciled.”
Very simply put, we were God’s enemies, but now we are friends.
Note, too, that it was
not that God needed to be reconciled to us, but strictly speaking, us to Him.
Further, our masters
changed. We read in Colossians 1:13, “He has delivered us from the domain of
darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son.” We know that we
were under Satan’s thumb before we were saved, and his bidding we did – we were
his slaves. Yet now we have a new master – God’s “beloved Son”! In other words,
we could say we had been redeemed. Titus 2:14 says, “Who [Jesus Christ] gave
himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a
people for his own possession who are zealous of good works.” This verse states
what we were redeemed from and to, and by who, but not how. 1 Peter 1:18-19
says, “Knowing that you were ransomed…with the precious blood of Christ, like a
lamb without blemish or spot.” So we know then that we were redeemed by His
blood.
So we could conclude
that we have been delivered from the bondage of our past enslavement to Satan
and sin. We have been freed by Christ and His death so that we can now serve
Jesus Christ and righteousness. To this attests the Scriptures, “But thanks be
to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the
heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been
set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.” (Romans 6:17-18)
Now let us carry on to
what did not happen when we got saved.
Let me ask, have you as
a Christian ever committed a sin? To say, “no” would be a lie, and that would
be a sin! So, yes, of course Christians sin from time to time. Further, are our
bodies already glorified? No, that will happen at a later time. So we see then
that we have not yet been perfected. It stands then that we are sanctified once
for all, in that we have been set apart as wholly belonging to God. However, in
conduct, we are all still in a process of sanctification.
Looking at 1
Thessalonians 4:1-8 we see that there still remains a sanctification in
conduct. We read, “Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord
Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and please God, just
as you are doing, that you do so more and more. For you know what instructions
we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your
sanctification, that you abstain from sexual immorality, that each one of you
know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of
lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his
brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as
we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for
impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not
man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.” It is quite clear that God has
written this for Christians. He also warns them of the fact that “the Lord is
an avenger in all these things.” Don’t think that just because you’re a
Christian that you can get away with living in sin! It is still a Biblical
principal that you reap what you sow!
2 Corinthians 7:1 also
brings out quite clearly the need for an ongoing work of sanctification. We
read, “Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from
every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.” So then there is a need of
“bringing holiness to completion.”
Let us look at one more
example and that will suffice to seal this argument as true. 1 Peter 1:14-21
says, “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former
ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is
written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’ And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each
one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your
exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from our
fore fathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the
precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was
foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last
times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God, who raised him
from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.” Why,
I ask, the exhortation to be “holy” if we already are? Yet, as it says, “in
conduct.” So then, very clearly, there is a difference between the “once for
all” sanctification and the sanctification in “conduct”.
What we saw earlier is
that we were saved from the penalty of sin. What is happening in the Christian
is a gradual freedom from sin’s hold on our lives.
Exhortations to Be Pure in Conduct
Whom Do We Belong To?
Quite plainly, we
belong to the Lord. For 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, “…You are not your own, for
you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” We can see then
that we “are not” our “own.” In this age were we don’t understand slavery this
may be a hard concept to grasp, but when we are a slave we belong to whoever
our master is. In this case, as we before discussed, we now belong to our Lord.
He purchased us by His very own blood!
If then, our Master
asks something from us, don’t you think we ought to obey Him?! Yes, so we ought
to. “What then is He asking us to do?” you ask? Quite simply, He is asking us
to be holy. He says, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:16) Not
that this is the only thing He is expecting of us, but it is the subject at
hand, and is a most critical aspect of His will for our lives.
Grieving the Holy Spirit
When it comes to
grieving the Holy Spirit, it is plain that this is addressed to believers. For
we read, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for
the day of redemption.” (Ephesians 4:30) Quite obviously, only believers are
indwelt by the Holy Spirit!
Some false teachers today say that when we as Christians sin, that we
don’t need to deal with it. All we need to do is thank God that He’s already
forgiven us that sin and carry on as if nothing happened. I ask, if you’ve hurt
someone, do you think it would be O.K. to just carry on, or do you think it
would be a good idea to mend things? Why then do we think we can just carry on
as if nothing has happened when we’ve “hurt” the Holy Spirit who indwells us by
our sin against Him? It should pain our hearts that we have “hurt” the Holy
Spirit who indwells us – whose temple we are.
Therefore, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive
us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9) Keep in
mind, this is not in regards to our
relationship with God. For once a son, always a son. Rather, this has to do
with fellowship.
Temple of God
Now we read in
2Corinthians 6:16, “What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are
the temple of the living God…” and again, “Do you not know that you are God’s
temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple,
God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.” (1
Corinthians 3:16-17)
We see from the above
Scriptures that it is a very serious thing to live a holy life. To think that
God Himself lives in us! Everything we watch, listen to, and partake of, the
Holy Spirit is there with us! To think then that it is said of God, “You who
are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong…” (Habakkuk 1:13) And
further, “…let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for
our God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:28-29)
So just how seriously
does God take these things you ask? Looking over to Leviticus 10:1-2 we read,
“Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in
it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, which
he had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed
them, and they died before the LORD.” Then let us turn over to Acts 5:1-11.
Here we read, “…a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold…property, and
with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and
brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said,
‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep
back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land?” “Why is it that you have contrived
this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God. When Ananias
heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last…After…about three hours
his wife came in…Peter said to her, ‘Tell me whether you sold the land for so
much.’ And she said, ‘Yes, for so much.’ But Peter said to her, ‘How is it that
you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord?” “Immediately she fell
down at his feet and breathed her last.” “And great fear came upon the whole
church…”
We see then that at the
beginning of the Levitical system, with all its ceremonies, laws, and priestly
functions – that God wanted to make a point to all the Israelites – I AM A HOLY
GOD. This God did when He destroyed Nadab and Abihu. Then at the very beginning
of the church, we again have God make this same point to the whole church,
including those of the nations, that I AM A HOLY GOD. This time God makes the
point by destroying Ananias and Sapphira.
The question might be
asked, “Were Ananias and Sapphira actually Christians?” Yes, that is quite
apparent from the Scriptures we’re looking at. We also see that “great fear
came upon the whole church.” Why was there “fear” upon the church, if not for
the fact that if they sinned in a similar way the same judgment would come upon
them?
How then, I ask, are we
as believers to conduct ourselves?
Becomingly
Firstly, we read in
Philippians 1:27, “Only let your manner
of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see
you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit,
with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel.” Again, let us
read in Ephesians 5:3-4, “But sexual immorality and all impurity or
covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk
nor crude joking, which are out of place,
but instead let there be thanksgiving.”
You say, “Why should I
care whether my life is lived in a ‘worthy’ or ‘proper’ ‘manner’?” Well, I ask
you, would you like to stand before God come judgment day with the cookie
crumbs of sin around your mouth?
Again, do you not call
Christ Jesus, Lord? Yet then, He being your Master, why do you not do the
things He asks of you? Following the verses we just read in Ephesians, we read,
“Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath
of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partakers
with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the
Lord. Walk as children of light.”
(vs’s 6-8)
Not of the World
James says simply, “to
keep oneself unstained from the world.” (1:27) Then John writes, “Do not love
the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of
the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world – the desires of the
flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life – is not from the Father
but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires,
but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” (1 John 2:15-17) What does
John mean by all these kinds of “desires”? Well, I believe Peter answers these
things very well in 1 Peter 4:1-4, where it says, “Since therefore Christ
suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for
whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the
rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. For the time that
is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality,
passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. With
respect to this they are surprised when
you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you.”
Let us look at one more
portion of Scripture before we bring a conclusion to this particular segment.
Looking over then to Romans 6:20-23, we read, “For when you were slaves of sin,
you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at
that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things
is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves
of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ
Jesus our Lord.”
We see then quite
simply that a true believer does not continue to live a life of sin. In fact
the latter verses tell us that the believer is “ashamed” of their former
conduct. A question mark could be put over any professing believer who
continues in sinful habits, hordes wealth, does not love the fellowship of
believers, or brags about themselves and what they’ve accomplished.
Truly the believer has
no business being a part of the world. For if the world is hostile toward God,
why would we want any part in it? Keep in mind that it was the world that had
our Savior crucified! In fact, the world is going to be receiving the payment
of “death” for its wicked behavior! Therefore, “…test everything; hold fast
what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22)
Friends with the World (James 4:4)
Very closely tied to
the above, is the aspect of being friends with members of the world. We look to
2Corinthians 6:14-17 for the proof. There we read, “Do not be unequally yoked
with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or
what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or
what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the
temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God…Therefore go
out from their midst, and be separate
from them, says the Lord.” Plainer words could not be read, we should not
make friendships with people of the world. How can there be any common ground?
For they are haters of God, being opposed to Him. How can one hold hands with
the enemy? The words “unequally yoked” refers to either having two different
animals in one yolk, or even the crossbreeding of two different kinds of
animals. Clearly not seen as a good thing. So then you will essentially have
one animal pulling toward the world that leads down the path of destruction and
hell, and the other feebly pulling away toward the narrow path that leads to
eternal life. Quite clearly though, “…the way of the wicked leads them astray.”
(Proverbs 12:26b) Possibly in an even clearer way Paul writes, “Do not be
deceived: Bad company ruins good morals.” (1Cor.15:33) When one becomes a
friend with one from the enemy’s camp, one tends to withhold one’s testimony in
order to maintain the friendship – this is called hiding your light under the
lampstand, or being ashamed of our Lord Jesus Christ!
Let us look once more
at the words written in Ephesians 5:6-17. We read, “Let no one deceive you with
empty words, for because of these things
the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become
partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in
the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all
that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the
Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful
works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to
speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the
light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light.
Therefore it says, ‘Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will
shine on you.’ Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,
making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be
foolish…” I don’t think much more needs to be said! Let us simply heed these
words of our Lord.
Children of Light
We’ve already seen that
we ought to “walk as children of light.” We saw that we should refrain from
being friends or “partners” with those who are of the world. In fact we were
told to “expose them.”
On the other hand, we
are still to be “children of light.” So even if we are not friends with them,
it does not mean that we ignore the people of the world. Even if we “expose
them” for their wickedness, we are still to be “children of light” before them.
So how, is the question? Let us turn to Matthew 5:14-16 to get the ball rolling
on this one. We read, “‘You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill
cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on
a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your
light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory
to your Father who is in heaven.’” Therefore it stands that if we hide our
light from before people that they won’t “give glory to your Father who is in
heaven.” What a shame that would be! Then let us be as Paul the apostle, who
stated in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power
of God for salvation to everyone who believes…” So then let us not hide the
fact that we’re Christians. Let us not hide the fact that we love our Lord who
gave His life so that we could gain eternal life. Besides, how loving is it to not
warn the people of the consequences of sin? How much do we really care about
others if we don’t tell them of our Savior who alone can save them?
How to Live a Holy Life
Temptation
First off, let us look
at James 1:13-15. We read, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being
tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no
one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.
Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully
grown brings forth death.”
What we see then, is
that God does not tempt people to sin. In the garden that was in Eden, we saw
that it was Satan who tempted Adam and Eve. Satan’s advertisement appealed to
Adam and Eve and they consequently fell for the lie. It is no different today.
Now let us go to 1Corinthians
10:13, where it says, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to
man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability,
but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be
able to endure it.”
We see from this
passage that God will not leave us in a lurch. Rather, God in His kindness has
provided a “way of escape” in every situation. Again, in the garden, God had
provided a “way of escape” – “the tree of life”. Yet Adam and Eve chose not to
take that “way of escape”.
Let us now go over to
the book of Hebrews, starting with chapter two and verse eighteen. We read,
“For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who
are being tempted.” Looking ahead
then to chapter four, verses fifteen and sixteen, we read, “For we do not have
a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in
every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with
confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find
grace to help in time of need.”
This ought to give us a
lot of comfort. We know that our Lord Jesus Christ has been tempted too, and
yet never sinned. In fact, we read earlier that “God cannot be tempted with
evil.” (Jam.1:13) Yet, He still went through all those different temptations.
Therefore He knows the hardship of going through those things and we can
therefore count on Him to avert falling into these temptations when we cry out
to Him to deliver us. In fact, the Lord’s Prayer ends by saying, “And lead us
not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” (Matthew 6:13)
Law or Faith?
So just exactly how are
we to become holy in all conduct once we’ve become Christians? Are we perfected
by the Law, a form of will-power? Are we to just keep trying, trying, trying,
or is there a different way that God has in mind for us?
Let us look at
Galatians 3:1-6. There it is written, “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched
you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as
crucified. Let me ask you only this: did you receive the Spirit by works of the
law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?
Did you suffer so many things in vain – if indeed it was in vain? Does he who
supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the
law, or by hearing with faith – just as Abraham ‘believed God, and it was
counted to him as righteousness’?
So what can we take
from this? Well, it is quite plain that by attempting to perfect ourselves
after we’re saved by following some set of laws is no more beneficial than
trying to get saved through a system of rules! Clearly the Holy Spirit has a
role to play in seeing us being born on to perfection and maturity.
Further, let us look at
Titus 2:11-14. Here we read, “For the grace
of God has appeared, bringing
salvation for all people, training
us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled,
upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our
great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to
purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good
works.”
Let us also at this
time take a look at 1 John 3:1-3. Here we read, “See what kind of love the
Father has given to us that we should be called children of God; and so we are.
The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved,
we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we
know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he
is. And everyone who thus hopes in him
purifies himself as he is pure.”
What we see here so
significantly, is the “grace of God.” We can see that by God’s grace, He has
given all people the opportunity to be saved. We also know that we are saved by
His grace. For we read in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved
through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a
result of works, so that no one may boast.” So we see that God’s grace appeared
by the sending of His Son to be the payment for our sin, so that by believing this
to be true, we are saved.
We also see that Christ
“redeem[ed] us” from a life of bondage to sin. In fact Paul the apostle says,
“But by the grace of God I am what I am…” (1Corinthians 15:10)
So how did this come
about you ask? Well, if we turn over to Romans 5:21 and read on down to 6:14,
we will find the answer. I would suggest that you take your Bible and read this
portion in its entirety. However, to keep things to the point, I’ll only select
a part of this text. We read, “…as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign
through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
This simply means that a life of sin leads to the second death – the Lake of
Fire. On the other hand grace leads to “eternal life.” Continuing on to chapter
six, we read, “…How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know
that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his
death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that,
just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life…We
know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin
might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For
one who has died has been set free from sin…We know that Christ, being
raised from the dead, will never die again, death no longer has dominion over
him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives
he lives to God. So you also must
consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not
sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not
present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have
been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for
righteousness. For sin will have no
dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.”
What grace! Our old
identity is gone! Law and sin have been defeated by Christ Himself. We are now
free to serve God! So what are you waiting for?! We are told to “consider
yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
If, however, you think
that law and rules will keep you from sinning as a believer, Paul has these
words for you, “Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the
law, for ‘The righteous shall live by
faith’.” (Galatians 3:11)
Lastly, we saw that the
person who looks for the coming of Christ “purifies” themselves. When a person
is looking for, and yearning for, the coming of Christ, it has a purifying
effect on one’s life.
Time with God
So often we hear that
we should be reading the Bible and praying. Yet it often seems like nothing
more than a chore. Now it is true, that if we are not saved, that it will be
nothing more than a going through the motions of some empty religious rosary.
No, it is not just something we must do, and then collect our brownie points
when we’re done. Reading our Bible, in reality, is how we grow to maturity as
believers. In this way God can speak to us from His Word.
We need to be familiar
with God’s Word in order that we’re not led astray by the smooth speaking of false
teachers. For example, how do you know what is counterfeit money, if you don’t
even know what the genuine looks like? How important to really know God’s Word
with all the false teaching out there today! Therefore we read, “Now the Jews
were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all
eagerness, examining the Scriptures
daily to see if these things were so.” (Acts 17:11)
Let us look at 1 Peter
2:2. It reads, “As newborn babes desire the pure soul-nourishing milk, that you
may grow by it; if indeed you ‘tasted’ ‘that the Lord is kind’.” (KJ3) We see
here that a “newborn” Christian has “’tasted’ that the Lord is good.” Therefore
as a “newborn” they would naturally “desire” the “soul-nourishing milk” in
order that they “may grow by it” to maturity.
On the other hand, if a person doesn’t care to spend time in God’s Word,
it may well show that they’re not true Christians to begin with. For just as it
would be very unnatural for a newborn baby to not want milk, so it would be
just as unnatural for a Christian to not want “the pure soul-nourishing milk” –
God’s Word. Why would we want to remain baby Christians?
Ephesians 4:13 says we are to grow “to mature manhood.” This, “that we
no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by
every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who
is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by
every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly,
makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” (4:14-16)
Now as regards prayer, God makes a very straightforward statement. He
says, “Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) Prayer is an essential
part of the Christian life. Can you imagine a child in a home never asking for
anything at all?! Of course as parents we would love to give our children
things! So our Heavenly Father would also love to lavish us with His treasures!
Our God is not stingy as some would think, but is generous! However, keep in
mind the words of James, who writes, “You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight
and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not
receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous
people!” (James 4:2-4) So then, if we’re praying according to God’s will, the
answer to our prayers will always be yes.
Prayer is an essential
part of our Christian life. We must be able to communicate with God. We speak
to Him of our shortcomings. Of our need for Him to mold us according to His
will. For our hearts to express our thanksgiving toward our God. We are also exhorted
to pray for our enemies. We are to pray for many different peoples and
situations. In short, prayer is critical.
Finally, to neglect
reading God’s Word and prayer is to refuse to let God be at work in our lives.
It is telling God, “I’m not interested in You”. It is like saying, “Thanks for
saving me, God, but now I don’t want You to be part of my life. I’d just rather
go on living my life according to my own will and passions. So please butt out,
God!” This will leave us stunted as
believers. In this way we greatly grieve the Holy Spirit wherewith we are
sealed.
God’s Calling On Our Lives
Let us look at several
verses regarding God’s desire for our lives. The first we’ll look at is
Ephesians 1:3-4. Here we read, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the
heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and blameless
before him…” This then is God’s will for our lives, “that we should be holy
and blameless before him.”
Further to this, we
read in Hebrews 9:13-14, “For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the
sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the
purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through
the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our
conscience from dead works to serve the
living God.”
So then, not only are
we to “be holy and blameless”, we are also to “serve the living God.”
Romans 12:1-2 puts it this way,
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers by the mercies of God, to present your
bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your
spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the
renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God,
what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Let us examine verse
one first. We see the “appeal” is “by the mercies of God.” We must remember
that it is by God’s mercy that we have been forgiven and have received eternal
life. Therefore it is completely reasonable that we “present” our “bodies as a
living sacrifice”. The Greek sense is that it is a once for all act. So this is
something we should set out to do once and for all. We also need to believe
that God accepts us as a “living sacrifice.” This is a sacrificing of one’s
entire life to God. It is a life of service to Him.
Now verse two. The
world still holds a lure to us as Christians – we must resist that lure by
looking continually to God for deliverance. (Look at the section called
“Temptation.”) So then, rather than cave to the world, we are to have our minds
renewed. In my mind, this is accomplished by habitually reading God’s Word and
praying. Thus by putting into practice the things we read in the Bible, we will
by use, find out the value of what God has written for us. I fully believe that
we’ll find it priceless!
Discipline
So what then if a Christian chooses to disobey God? Does it matter if we
keep on sinning? It certainly does! Let us look to Hebrews 12:3-17. This is a
lengthy section of verses, but so very, very critical to understand. It reads,
“Consider him [Jesus Christ] who endured from sinners such hostility against
himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle
against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And
have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?
‘My son, do not regard lightly
the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him.
For the Lord disciplines the one
he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives.’
It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as
sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in
which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides
this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them.
Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they
disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may
share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than
pleasant, but later it yields the
peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and
make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of
joint but rather be healed. Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one
will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God;
that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become
defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his
birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to
inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though
he sought it with tears.”
What do we learn from
this passage? Well, we learn that Christ’s struggle against sin was so great
that His blood was shed. The point is, you have not yet struggled against sin
to the point where your blood has been shed.
Further, the fact that
God disciplines us proves that we are His legitimate children. For it says that
God does not discipline us if we are not His children. Not only that, it is
“for our good.” Of course the discipline is painful at the time, but it has its
reward – holiness. The Lord refers to it as a training course. To think that
the Lord Himself is training His children – us – to be holy! Wow, that is
simply amazing! This is God’s aim for your life – is it yours?
We started off this
article by seeing that God is perfectly holy. We followed that by showing how
sinful mankind is. Once we were saved God started the process of sanctification
in our lives in order to bring us to the point of absolute holiness so that we
could live forever in His very presence! So now when we think of God’s
discipline and our hardships, we can see that it is indeed for our good! For we
will, because of those things, be able to spend all of eternity with our Holy
God!
We are told that
“without holiness no one will see the Lord.” Sadly, Esau didn’t care about
being holy, he only wanted the blessings. So it is today, many want a free
ticket to Heaven, but don’t care about holiness. Thus they’re never saved in
the first place, but simply walk away from it all just like the rich young
ruler in Matthew 19:16-22.
The Church of Laodicea
This church thought they had it altogether. They thought themselves as
“rich”, as having “prospered”, and having “need” of “nothing”. (Revelation 3:17)
Yet, how very mistaken they were. Jesus said that in reality they were,
“wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.” A greater contrast there couldn’t
be!
This church fits the
time era we live in today, and sadly, this is the state of the church of today
– especially in the western hemisphere. This same attitude of pride is present
in our churches now. It is an attitude of, “What do you mean?! Don’t you know
that I’m a Christian?! I go to church, I pray, I read my Bible, I tithe, I’m
involved in this and this and this!” Yes, but Jesus Christ says this, “… not
realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.” Therefore
He continues, by saying, “I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so
that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and
the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so
that you may see. Those whom I love, I
reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the
door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to
him, and he with me. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on
my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. He
who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Revelation
3:17-22)
Even so it is now. We
live in a time when one can hardly tell the difference between the saved and
the unsaved in the church. Yes, that is how “lukewarm” we have become. We might
be very busy for the Lord, but are we genuinely serving the Lord according to
the truth of His Word? Do we really care about the things of the Lord, or are
we simply occupied with our own lives and how we can get ahead in this world?
Coming Judgment
The Ungodly
That Jesus Christ is
coming to judge the world, there is no question. Jude writes in verses 14b-15,
“’Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in
such an ungodly way, and of all the
harsh things that ungodly sinners
have spoken against him.’”
What then will be the
outcome of these ungodly ones? Well, 2 Thessalonians 1:7b-10a says this, “…when
the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do
not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They
will suffer the punishment of eternal
destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his
might, when he comes on that day…”
Here is a very clear
set of verses as to the final state of the ungodly, which is all who are not
true Christians. We read, “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was
seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found
for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and
books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And
the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they
had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the
second death, the lake of fire. And if
anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the
lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:11-12, 14-15)
What then will it be
like in this place? Matthew 13:47-50 describes it in like this, “…the kingdom
of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every
kind. When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good
into containers but threw away the bad. So it will be at the close of the age.
The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw
them into the fiery furnace. In that
place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And again, Luke 16:28
speaks of this place as a “place of
torment.” Revelation 21:8
describes some of the “torment” in this way, “’…their portion [the ungodly]
will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.’”
Cleary, this is no party place, but rather a place of continual agony.
The Godly
What, then, is in store
for the true Christian? This is the description we find in Revelation 21:1-8,
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first
earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new
Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for
her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the
dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be
his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away
every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be
mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed
away.’”
Wow! What an amazing
future for the believer! What a sharp contrast we have between the sinner’s and
the saint’s future. Romans 6:23 simply describes it like this, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free
gift of God is eternal life in
Christ Jesus our Lord.”
We could conclude then,
that when a sinner is saved, they are saved from the penalty of sin. Then as a
Christian they are being perfected – gradually being freed from sin in their
lives. Then when we finally enter God’s presence for eternity we are freed
entirely – even from the very presence of sin!
Rewards
Let us be clear right
from the outset that these rewards for the Christian have absolutely nothing
whatsoever to do with salvation. These rewards have strictly to do with our quality
of work as a believer.
Some Christians seem to
think that it doesn’t matter how we live our lives. They say, “We’re saved
anyway, so what will it matter? Aren’t we all going to heaven?”
Well, let everyone who
calls themselves by the name of “Christian” think on this, “So whether we are
at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of
Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” (2 Corinthians
5:9-10)
Prior, we learned about
the “great white throne judgment” for the unsaved. Now we learn about “the
judgment seat of Christ” for Christians. Here the quality of our work will be
put to the test, and each will be rewarded accordingly.
Let us begin with 1 Corinthians
3:5 and carry on down to verse fifteen. We read, “What then is Apollos? What is
Paul? Servants through whom you
believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God
gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the
growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor.
For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field. God’s building. According to the grace of God given to me,
like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building
upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a
foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone
builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw –
each one’s work will become manifest,
for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire
will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has
built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is
burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as
through fire.”
What a day of revelation
that will be! Some will certainly receive great reward, and others “will suffer
loss.” Therefore as the apostle writes, “Let each one take care how he builds
upon it.” Keep in mind, too, that we are referred to as “servants” and that we
aren’t “anything.” Rather it is God who is working in and through us to His
glory and honor! Indeed, all the glory goes to God!
This particular reward
has to do strictly with the church itself. It has reference to things like
evangelism, church planting, teaching, and shepherding. Indeed this is a
serious task not to be taken lightly. Hence the attached warning, “Do you not
know that you [plural] are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you
[plural]? If anyone destroys God’s temple [the church] God will destroy him.
For God’s temple is holy, and you [plural] are that temple.” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)
No doubt, God will “destroy” the wolf that seeks to “destroy” His church.
Further, Paul the
apostle writes in 1 Corinthians 4:5, when “the Lord comes, who will bring to
light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the
heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.”
Just think! God is
going to reveal all the motives of our hearts! Oh, no wonder the Psalmist
prayed, “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And
see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!”
(Psalm 139:23-24)
Let us now look at
these rewards that are given in the form of “crowns.”
The first crown we want
to look at is mentioned in 1 Corinthians 9:24-26 and is related to the sections
in 1 Corinthians we just finished looking at. We read, “Do you not know that in
a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you
may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it
to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable.
So I do not run aimlessly, I do not box as one beating the air. But I
discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I
myself should be disqualified.”
The disqualification is
in reference to receiving the “imperishable” crown, not salvation; rather, it
has to do with rewards. So then let us “not run aimlessly”, let us not be ones
“beating the air”. Let us rather, “…lay aside every weight, and sin which
clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before
us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith…” (Hebrews 12:1-2)
Let us carry on to the
second mention of crowns. We find it in 1 Thessalonians 2:19, where Paul writes
to the Thessalonicans, “For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before
our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy.”
Indeed, how very precious are loved ones! Whom would you rather have in heaven
with you in the presence of the Lord than your loved ones?! Indeed, what a
reward!
Continuing now to 2 Timothy
4:7-8, we have Paul speaking again. This time he writes, “I have fought the
good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there
is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous
judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who
have loved his appearing.”
Here we find Paul the
aged, near the end of his life (see verse 6). We find that he has indeed so run
in the race as to obtain the “imperishable” crown. He is victorious! Why? He
has “kept the faith”. Now, not only will this reward be given to him, but to
all who keep “the faith”. By God’s grace Paul the apostle was saved, and he
faithfully passed on the pure gospel message to all who would listen. In this
he was faithful, and hence he would receive his reward.
Moving then to James
1:12, we read, “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when
he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God promised to
those who love him.” This crown may simply refer to “eternal life”. Yet what an
amazing reward! Just think of it, eternally in the presence of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ together with all the holy ones!
On we go to 1Peter
5:1-4. We read, “So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a
witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is
going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising
oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not
domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And
when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.”
It is so important for
those who are shepherds of the flock to remember that we should lead by example. We should not drive the flock in a “domineering” way.
We need to remember that we, too, have a Shepherd over us, and we will have to
answer to Him on Judgment Day. Yet for those who are faithful in these things
there will be the reward of “the unfading crown of glory.”
Conclusion
What do we conclude from these things then? Well, we know that God is
perfectly holy. God has never sinned, and it is impossible for Him to sin. He
is blameless, spotless, perfect and therefore – holy.
Mankind on the other
hand, fell into sin from the outset and has been sinning ever since. The fact
being that we’re born sinners and of course sinners sin just as much as dogs
bark or bees visit flowers.
Therefore mankind is
under the judgment of God. However God in His loving mercy sent His only Son –
Jesus Christ, to be punished instead of us. If then we believe this, we are
pardoned. That is we will not perish by being cast into the “lake of fire” for
all eternity, but will rather gain “eternal life.” In this way we are freed
from the penalty of sin.
We also saw that, as
believers, we have not yet been made perfect, but that rather we still stumble
in many ways. Therefore we know that God is still in the process of perfecting
us. Therefore the call to be holy.
Finally,
we saw that there will be a judgment in the “last Day”. The wicked will be cast
into the “lake of fire” for their sins – for they refused to believe what God
did for them through the sacrifice of His Son for their sins. The righteous, on
the other hand, will go into the eternal dwellings that God Himself has
prepared for them. At that point we will be completely free from sin – even the
very presence of sin!
Victor Reimer
email me at focusingonjesus@gmail.com
