Holiness - The Benefits of Holiness
Please stand with me as we go over our current memory Scripture:
Matthew 5:3-5
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
And our memory Scripture “refresher” verse is:
2 Timothy 3:16-17
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
Today we will be reading from Hebrews 12:14-29
Over the past two weeks we have taken a look at Christian Holiness.
The first week we looked at two competing doctrines. The first being “the carnal Christian” and the second being Christian Holiness.
The doctrine of “carnal Christianity” is defined as a case where a person places his faith and trust in Jesus for salvation and yet there is no change in his behavior. He continues to live in the grip sin just as he did before and yet it is believed that he is still saved.
I must state once again that no one in true Christianity believes that a born again person should live that way; they only believe that it is possible.
The competing doctrine we looked at is what we would refer to as Christian holiness. This would be the case when a person places his faith and trust in Jesus for salvation and he becomes a “new creation” in Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
This person who is a new creation becomes more and more transformed into the image of Christ and no longer lives in slavery to sin. (Romans 6:22 - Now that you have been set free from …)
From that study we found from God’s Holy Word that His desire for those who are true believers is that they live in holiness. So, last Sunday we took another look at the Bible to see if it is indeed possible for a truly born again Christian to be set free from slavery to sin and to live a holy life.
From that study we found that while a Christian will never achieve sinless perfection in this life they can find a perfect love for God and His will which will lead to a life that is continually growing in holiness and Christ-likeness.
This week we will be examining what benefits come along with living a life of holiness that is empowered by the active presence of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life.
Let’s see what the Word of God has to say in … Hebrews 12:14-29
(Prayer for help)
So, what, if any, are the benefits of living a holy life?
But before we get into that I want to confess that I do not profess to be the great example of holiness. There are times when I am still tempted with desires and attitudes that are not pleasing to God. And, as long as we live on this earth the temptations will continue but with the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit we can have victory over those sinful desires and temptations.
Well, the very first thing we see in this Scripture is a command to be holy and a warning of the consequences if we FAIL to live a holy life.
There are two parts to the command found in Hebrews 12:14.
The first part is this; “Make every effort to live in peace with all men”.
Yes, we are called to be peace makers by Jesus Himself. This is recorded in Matthew 5:9 where Jesus says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”
Being a peacemaker is a facet of living a holy life but it is not the completeness of living a holy part, it is only one facet of living a holy life.
Then, after the writer of Hebrews calls us to be peacemakers he call us to full holiness when he writes, “Make every effort … to be holy ….”
This isn’t just talking about “try” or “try harder”. When it says, “Make every effort” it means that we should make EVERY effort.
Other translations say that we should “continually pursue … holiness, and that we should “strive for … holiness”. (Hebrews 12:14 AMP, RSV)
Continually pursue holiness. Strive for holiness. Make every effort to be holy. Why? What benefit could possibly come from living a holy life?
Well, first and most obvious benefit is mentioned in this very verse, we will “see the Lord”. When it says, “without holiness no one will see the Lord” it is a double negative that is perhaps more easily understood when phrased as “only those who are holy will see the Lord”.
So, is seeing the Lord a benefit? Does it mean here in the present age or only in eternity?
Certainly we can see the Lord at work in some individuals and we can see Him in the Scriptures, and, we can, in a sense, see Him at work in our own lives if we are pursuing Him.
There is a whole flood of benefits that result from having a life that is free from slavery to sin; a whole flood of benefits for those who live holy, righteous lives by the empowerment of God’s grace.
What are some of those benefits?
2 Chronicles 16:9a NIV
“The eyes of Yahweh range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.”
Those whose hearts are fully committed to Him are those who are pursuing righteousness and holiness.
He wants to strengthen us. Does He want to strengthen us so we can win weight lifting contests? No. This is talking about spiritual strengthening in times of trial!
King Asa needed help in a war against an overwhelming enemy and instead of depending on Yahweh he chose to depend on a foreign army. That was a bad choice …
In 2 Chronicles 16:7-9 it says,
“At that time Hanani the (prophet) came to Asa king of Judah and said to him: ‘Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on (Yahweh) the LORD your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand. Were not the Cushites and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen? Yet when you relied on (Yahweh) the LORD, He delivered them into your hand. For the eyes of (Yahweh) the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing (King Asa), and from now on you will be at war.”
What other benefit can there be to a life of holiness?
Proverbs 21:21 NASB
“He who pursues righteousness and loyalty finds life, righteousness and honor.”
Whoever pursues righteousness and loyalty finds life instead of death, righteousness instead of sinfulness and honor instead of disgrace. Pretty good benefits, huh? What else?
Psalm 11:5 NIV
“Yahweh examines (watches over) the righteous, but the wicked, those who love violence, He hates with a passion.”
God watches over us! Does that mean that bad things never happen to a righteous person? No, it does not. People who pursue righteousness with all their heart are abused, murdered, laid off, ripped off, given no hope by doctors every day.
Yes, bad and evil things happen to those who are righteous and those who are wicked. The difference is that the Lord is with the righteous through all of these events. Wouldn’t you rather go through trials WITH the Lord than without Him? That’s a benefit!
1 Peter 3:12 NIV
“The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
This verse is very similar to the last one with a little different twist. The ears of the Lord are attentive to the prayers of the righteous.
When you pray, and the righteous will always pray, don’t you want the Lord to be attentive to your prayer?
When I have a bad attitude about something or when I entertain at thought that I should not be entertaining at all, I know the Lord is waiting for a prayer and the prayer He wants to hear is a prayer of confession and repentance.
Then, if the prayer was sincere, then I can go on and pray about something else. And, that prayer of repentance is not just something that God demands but it is something that the heart of the truly righteous person should be eager to pray. Reconciliation with God and harmony with Him is the highest desire of the righteous person.
And finally, the eternal benefit.
Here Jesus is speaking of the judgment of the sheep (the righteous believers) and the goats (the wicked unbelievers) and He is defining what their eternal destiny will be.
Matthew 25:46 AMP
“Then these [unbelieving people] will go away into eternal (unending) punishment, but those who are righteous and in right standing with God [will go, by His remarkable grace] into eternal (unending) life.”
At the end of the message tomorrow we will be singing the hymn, “Glorious Freedom”. That hymn lists many of the benefits of living a life of holiness through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Once I was bound by sin's galling fetters
Chained like a slave I struggled in vain
But I received a glorious freedom
When Jesus broke my fetters in twain
Freedom from all the carnal affections
Freedom from envy hatred and strife
Freedom from vain and worldly ambitions
Freedom from all that saddened my life
Freedom from pride and all sinful follies
Freedom from love and glitter of gold
Freedom from evil temper and anger
Glorious freedom rapture untold
Freedom from fear with all of its torments
Freedom from care with all of its pain
Freedom in Christ my blessed Redeemer
He who has rent my fetters in twain
Glorious freedom wonderful freedom
No more in chains of sin I repine
Jesus the glorious emancipator
Now and forever He shall be mine
Communion
Final thoughts and prayer
