Sermon Central
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Holiness For The Child Of God
Contributed by Richard Cook on Aug 25, 2009 (message contributor)
Summary: Understanding the need for Holiness is often difficult for ministers to get across to their flocks; this sermon teaches the need to seperate ourselves from the world, and worldliness.
Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
Some will argue that Holiness is not important, but I submit that if it is in the Bible it is important.
Holiness in the life of a child of God is not optional but is a command; we can see that from our scripture reading.
Holiness it to the Child of God what the born again experience is to the sinner.
The Bible also tells us this:
1Pe 1:15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
(ASV) but like as he who called you is holy, be ye yourselves also holy in all manner of living;
2Pe 3:11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
(ASV) Seeing that these things are thus all to be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy living and godliness,
Heb 12:14 Follow after peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no man will see the Lord,
(CEV) Try to live at peace with everyone! Live a clean life. If you don’t, you will never see the Lord.
(NIV) Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.
This is what holiness means: holiness means to imitate Christ, to be Christ like.
The holy person will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature, but he will put on the personality and mind of Christ and will let Christ be formed in him.
Romans 13:14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
Galatians 4:19 My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,
It means thinking as God thinks, loving what He loves, hating what He hates, and acting as Christ would act.
It means having the mind of Christ
1 Corinthians 2:16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
Philippians 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Specifically, holiness consists of two components:
(1) separation from sin and worldliness and
(2) dedication to God and His will.
TO DO RIGHT (keep God’s commandments) and
TO BE MADE RIGHT (be justified of one’s sins).
In simple, plain terms, righteousness means from these words, to do what is right, lawful--obeying God’s commandments and their statutes, and to be made right.
The words righteous and righteousness have been inspired to be written into God’s Word over 500 times!
Do you think God would aspire to repeat Himself so many times if he didn’t expect us to get it?
Why should we live holy?
The first reason for holiness is to please God.
We belong to God in a double sense: by creation and by redemption.
Therefore, we have no right to live contrary to God’s will.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? (20) For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
Jesus Christ paid for us, he redeemed us, as we would redeem a coupon, He owns us, we are not our own to do with as we see fit, but we belong to Him for Him to do with us as he chooses.
Our responsibility is to yield ourselves to him.
The second reason for holiness is to communicate Christ to others.
People will be attracted to Christ only to the extent that they see Christ in us.
They will believe our proclamation that Jesus saves from sin, only if they can see the saving power of the gospel operative in our lives.
We must be an example of God’s awesome love, His saving power, His life changing power, His overcoming power, that power and love that only a born again believer can know through our faith in Jesus Christ.
People who are dissatisfied with their worldly life and who seek salvation will only be attracted to a church that is clearly different from the world.
The third reason for holiness is to benefit ourselves, both now and for eternity.
From the spiritual point of view, living for God is the logical, reasonable, and expected thing to do.
Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
