Principles of Christian Living Lesson 12

Principles of Christian Living

Lesson 12

Lesson Text—II Corinthians 6: 13 II Corinthians 6: 1 -3 1 We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.

Lesson Text—II Corinthians 6: 13 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. ) 3 Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed: 2

Lesson Text—II Corinthians 6: 14 -16 II Corinthians 6: 14 -16 14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness?

Lesson Text—II Corinthians 6: 14 -16 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? 16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 15

Lesson Text—II Corinthians 6: 17 -18 II Corinthians 6: 17 -18 17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

Lesson Text—Hebrews 12: 14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.

Focus Verse—II Corinthians 6: 17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.

Focus Thought God commands us to live a separated life of holiness.

CULTURE CONNECTION I. Separation—Set Apart as a Holiness Defined Special People unto God Charlotte Ferrell Smith wrote about Jewish identity and traditions in her article “Passover Time to Reconnect with Roots, ” which appeared in the March 29, 2010, edition of the Charleston Daily Mail, Charleston, West Virginia.

She wrote, "’Passover is the holiday in the Jewish year that affirms freedom in I. Holiness Defined religious, all of its aspects—political, spiritual and personal, ’ said Rabbi James D. Cohn of Temple Israel on Kanawha Boulevard. ‘It focuses on the Passover story in the Book of Exodus but that is a metaphor for all human journeys from slavery to freedom. ’ “Rabbi Victor Urecki of B’nai Jacob Synagogue on Virginia Street agreed. ‘For us, it is the celebration of Jewish identity of our heritage and roots, ’ he added.

‘It is the way we reconnect with the I. Holiness Defined faith, people and history. ’ Passover is the love story to the Jews that Easter is to Christians, Urecki said. ” Identity is very important to adherents of Judaism. They sense their special position as a people whom God has set apart unto Himself. Their practiced traditions are important to maintaining their special identity.

Christian believers also enjoy a special identity through Jesus Christ. I. Holiness Defined us to be a The Lord Jesus has called separated people. In other words, we are set apart unto God as a special people for a special purpose. We seek to reflect the holiness of God in our lives because we are no ordinary people. He has set us apart and He has a special purpose for our lives. To live in separation unto God is a special calling, which we should respect and view as the special opportunity it is.

Contemplating the Topic I. Holiness Defined Since the world began, God has called His people to separate themselves from sin. Noah, Abraham, Moses, Israel, the apostles, and countless others have walked in separated paths. Since the sinful world has departed from God’s will, separation is essential in order to have a relationship with God.

Evidence of this distinctiveness of Christian living is borne out not only in I. Holiness Defined extrabiblical the Scriptures, but also in sources. One example appeared in a second-century apology for Christianity known as the Epistle to Diognetus: “They live in their own countries, but only as nonresidents; they participate in everything as citizens, and endure everything as foreigners. Every foreign country is their fatherland, and every fatherland is foreign.

They marry like. Definedelse, and I. Holiness everyone have children, but they do not expose their offspring. They share their food but not their wives. They are in the flesh, but they do not live according to the flesh. They live on earth, but their citizenship is in heaven. They obey the established laws; indeed in their private lives they transcend the laws. ”

Searching the Scriptures A. Holiness Is Characteristic of God Holiness Defined A. Holiness Is Characteristic of God We have no inherent holiness, so understanding God’s holiness is the starting point for understanding our own holiness. Holiness literally means separateness, uniqueness, “otherness. ” Holiness, therefore, refers to the otherness of God.

He is unique. There is nothing to which one can compare Him. “To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One” (Isaiah 40: 25; cf. 46: 5). We often think of God’s holiness in moral terms, but His holiness transcends morality. God is not holy because He does certain things and does not do certain things. He is holy because of His unique identity. Even before sin entered the created order of the spirit world at the fall of Lucifer, the holiness of God transcended that of the angels. I. Holiness Defined

Though angels are spirit beings, they are quantitatively and qualitatively I. Holiness Defined therefore, distinct from God. Holiness, is a way of expressing the sum of all God’s attributes. His glory, power, and knowledge are like none other. There is no other being like God. He is the Holy One, the Holy Spirit. God revealed His holiness to Moses at the burning bush. When Moses asked God for His name, God replied in a unique way: “I AM THAT I AM” (Exodus 3: 14). The New King James Version says, “I AM WHO I AM. ”

This form of address represented God’s self-existence. The Egyptians I. Holiness Defined their gods and Canaanites often named to commemorate a place, a thing, or an event, and shaped them to reflect that which they were fashioned after. God’s name as expressed to Moses sent a clear message to the prophet that His existence was not derived from human imagination to commemorate anything on earth: an animal, an event, or anything else. He is not the product of human conception, myth, or tradition; He Himself is the reason for His own existence.

This, in essence, strongly affirms God’s holiness. He separates Himself I. Holinessgods of this world. He is Defined from all other unique and would be identified as such. For this reason, God forbade Israel to fashion an image of Him. Any image they would make would have compromised God’s holiness, for it would have reduced God to the shape of the image. If the image were of wood, people would think of God as wooden. If the image had masculine traits, people would think of God as a man.

If an image were made to depict God, He would immediately be limited to the I. Holiness Definedis unlike form of the image, but He anything that could be fashioned into an image. (See Deuteronomy 4: 14 -19. ) Though not limited to morality, God’s holiness includes moral implications. Because He is who He is, He acts in certain ways. His actions are consistent with His nature. His morality is a consequence of His identity. Since sin is the opposite of His will, He does not have the capacity to sin, for it would be a self-contradiction.

After the rebellion of Lucifer and the subsequent fall of humanity, God’s I. Holiness Definedobvious holiness assumed a more moral disposition, for this was yet another way in which He is distinct from the created order. As creation drifted farther away from God, including His standard for morality, His holiness was more clearly seen in moral terms. Accordingly, it is now impossible to separate God’s moral qualities from His holiness. Even so, it is important to remember that His morality derives from His unique identity. He is who He is.

B. Humans Derive Their Holiness from God B. Holiness from God There is only one God, so one can easily conceptualize His holiness; He is separate from everything else. On the other hand, the billions of humans who have existed are alike in that they all have sinned. Therefore, determining ways in which humans can be separate or holy presents a challenge.

1. God’s election makes something holy. As He is the Creator and the only I. Holiness Defined is the one who is truly holy, God source of holiness. God called Israel to be a holy nation, not because of their inherent qualities, but because He chose them (Exodus 19: 6). God worked in other nations besides Israel. For example, Abraham obviously had a relationship with God prior to God calling him out of Ur. Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, had a relationship with God.

I. Holiness apart was What set Israel Definedthe fact that God called them to be a special people, a people through whom the Messiah would come. They were called out from all other nations to be a holy nation, a separate people through whom God could accomplish His purpose. In this regard it is important to remember that God’s election is rooted in His grace, not in human merit.

Moses reminded Israel, “The Lord did I. Holiness upon you, not set his love. Defined nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: but because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt” (Deuteronomy 7: 7 -8).

2. Holiness transcends morality. We distort holiness when we understand it I. Holiness Defined. This reduces only in terms of morality. holiness to human performance. Holiness certainly has a moral component, but holiness is much broader than morality. Part of the holiness code God prescribed for Israel cannot be explained in moral terms. For example, requirements for fabrics, farming practices, and diet had no obvious moral correlation. Through the Law, God intended to establish Israel as a separate people.

They were to live differently from all those around them. They were to be I. Holiness Defined holy. Many people throughout the world live moral lives. It could be argued that there are unbelievers whose morality supersedes some Christians in some regards. Adhering to a code of morality does not make one holy, that is, separate or set apart. Holiness is the quality of being separate, and it happens as a result of our identity and election in Christ.

The saving work of Calvary separates I. Holiness Defined us from the world and places us into the holy church of God. Holiness, like justification, reflects our legal standing and identity before God as a result of the finished work of Calvary. The Corinthian church is a great example of this truth. All sorts of sin and theological errors proliferated in this church.

Even so, Paul wrote, “Unto the church I. Holiness at Corinth, of God which is. Defined to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ” (I Corinthians 1: 2– 4).

The words “sanctified” and “holy” derive from the Greek word hagios, which means “consecrated, sacred, holy. ” The Corinthian church was holy by virtue of their election in Christ. Although they had compromised their holiness and had not lived up to the demands of their holy status, Paul still referred to them as holy. Holiness, then, speaks of our unique identity in Christ. It is a legal description of our state of being as born-again believers. Our state of being holy is a consequence of our election, which is an act of God’s grace. I. Holiness Defined

Walking in Holiness II. Walking in Holiness Is Is Necessary As we have seen, holiness comes from God’s gracious election. However, this is precisely why holiness places demands upon our lives. Since God has made us holy through His great sacrifice, our lives should be consistent with the holiness to which He has called us.

I. Holiness Defined Just as the holy things in the Old Testament were to be used exclusively for the holy service of God, so we must devote our lives to living in a way that is consistent with holiness. We should not engage in things that compromise our holiness.

A. The Call to Holiness Both testaments herald a call to holiness: “Be ye holy, for I am holy. ” (See Leviticus 19: 2; 20: 26; I Peter 1: 15 -16. ) The call to holiness is not merely a call to observe a list of rules; it is a call to exist in the new way of life made possible through Jesus Christ. God has called us to live up to the holiness He has already declared over us.

As citizens of another world, we should live according to the customs of that world. We have been called to live up to our new identity in Christ. As Paul admonished the Ephesians, “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called” (Ephesians 4: 1). Responding to the call to holiness does not mean we must earn our own holiness; rather, we should walk in a way that is consistent with the state of holiness God has pronounced upon us. I. Holiness Defined

I. Holiness Defined We should live in the identity that has been freely given to us. So we do not do moral things in hopes of becoming holy. Rather, we are holy; therefore we are compelled to do moral things. When we fail to engage in holy behavior, we abandon our holiness and defile what God has given us.

B. A Call to Relationship God’s call to holiness entails a call to relationship. He has made us holy through His sacrifice, but we have to determine to walk in holiness and to live a life that corresponds with holiness; otherwise, we forfeit our holiness. God imparted holiness to us for the sole reason that He wants to have a relationship with us. This pronouncement makes the relationship possible.

The call to holiness in the Old Testament was also a call to fellowship. I. Holiness Defined ye shall “For I am the Lord your God: therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping that creepeth upon the earth. For I am the Lord that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy” (Leviticus 11: 44 -45).

I. Living a life of holiness is not Holiness Defined drudgery or enslavement to a list of rules. To the contrary, it presents an opportunity to live the way God intends for us to live, and this opens up the most precious opportunity available to humanity: fellowship with the eternal God.

The Life of Separation III. The Life of Separation The fact that holiness is a result of God’s gracious election does not remove human responsibility. We still are charged with the duty of living out our holiness every day.

A. A. Holiness Demands Dedication to God Responding to the call to holiness means separating oneself from all else and devoting oneself to God. Many things in the Old Testament were set aside for God’s use: days, places, garments, crowns, and utensils. Such things were considered “holy unto the Lord” (Leviticus 27: 14 -32). These items could no longer be used for other purposes; their sole function was to be used in the service of God.

Though God elected that many things I. set apart for His service be Holiness Defined and were made holy by the act of God’s election, His people still bore the responsibility to ensure these items actually were used exclusively for God’s service. The same is true for New Testament believers. The blood of Christ has made us holy, and this fact places demands upon our lives. We are now called to live out the holy calling to which God has called us.

As Peter so eloquently wrote to I. Holiness Defined believers, “Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light” (I Peter 2: 9). Paul communicated the same concept to the Corinthians: “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (I Corinthians 6: 20).

I. Our calling requires us to dedicate Holiness Defined our lives to God. Like the utensils and furniture in the Tabernacle and Temple, we fulfill our purpose in the service of God. We can no longer yield ourselves to any use except that which is consonant with our holy calling. We must dedicate ourselves to God’s purpose.

B. B. Demands Holiness Separation from Sin from sin does not Living a life free make us holy; rather, being holy causes us to live a life free from sin. Some would say it is impossible to differentiate between living a sinless life and living a holy life. However, it is an important theological distinction we must remember. Otherwise, it would be easy to assume that our holiness is rooted in our actions rather than in God’s gracious election.

Being called and chosen by God to I. holy motivates us to live be Holiness Defined a sinless life. This identity demands that we separate ourselves from sin. It is not appropriate for a holy one to engage in unholy activities. So we choose to separate ourselves from sin and live in a way that is consistent with our condition of being accounted holy. If we do not pursue the way of holiness, we are using God’s holy property for unholy things.

For a Christian to live in sin is synonymous with an Old Testament I. Holiness Defined of the priest using the holy things Temple for secular purposes. Although the item had been consecrated to God and therefore was holy, using it in a way that was inconsistent with its holiness made it unholy. Though it was potentially holy at that point, it was not really holy, that is, it was not actually being used for its intended purpose. It then was defiled.

C. C. Separation Maintains Holiness Separation from sin and the world preserves our holiness. God has elected us to be holy, and we must protect that status by separating ourselves from anything that is unholy. When the holy touches the unholy, the holy is defiled by the unholy. This was illustrated by the prophet Haggai: “If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean?

And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean. Then answered I. Holiness Defined people, and Haggai, and said, So is this so is this nation before me, saith the Lord; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean” (Haggai 2: 13– 14). James wrote, “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world” (James 1: 27).

I. Holiness Defined Accordingly, we should strive to separate ourselves from anything that is sinful or that is inconsistent with the holiness to which God has called us.

D. Separation Is Not Isolation Separation not to be understood D. Separationis. Is Not Isolation as isolation from the world. Christians have also been called to love and witness in the world. The early church lived in a world in which the secular culture often was much more immoral than our present-day culture. Even so, these believers made no effort to cloister themselves. To do so would have made it impossible to fulfill their mission. And though they had a strong sense of Christian ethics, they still understood they were to function in society.

Paul reminded the Corinthians, “I I. Holiness in an epistle wrote unto you Defined not to company with fornicators: yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world” (I Corinthians 5: 9– 10; cf. 9: 19– 22). His pastoral advice to Titus was that we must live a holy life within the world, not that we should isolate ourselves from the world:

“Teaching us that, denying I. Holiness Defined ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world” (Titus 2: 12). Balancing the call to separation with the demands of Christian love and witness can be challenging, but this is precisely what God has called us to do.

E. Holy Worship E. psalmist Worship “Worship Holy admonished, The the Lord in the beauty of holiness” (I Chronicles 16: 29; Psalm 29: 2; 96: 9). We are to worship God with a separated life. Although He has called us to holiness, He wants us to manifest this holiness in observable ways. Living in ways that compromise our holiness renders our worship rituals as meaningless. Worship should flow out of a life committed to holiness, one that is separated from the world and separated unto God.

What we do in our daily lives has a I. Holiness Defined direct impact on the meaningfulness and effectiveness of our worship. God forbade Israel to offer sacrifices that were earned in immoral ways. (See Deuteronomy 23: 18. ) Jesus instructed that our worship should be preceded by reconciliation. (See Matthew 5: 2324. ) What we do in our private lives impacts our public worship.

Internalizing the Message I. Holiness Defined absolutely The life of separation is essential for the believer. It is our response to God’s gracious election. It is the only way we can maintain a healthy relationship with God. But it is more than a responsibility; it is a privilege. Living a life that is separated from sin and the world is to live a life the way God intended for us to live. It is the healthiest and most wholesome way to live. It is a life that is free from the guilt of sin and that is above reproach.

We should heed the admonition I. Holiness Defined from the writer of Hebrews: “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. . Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12: 1, 14).