Don't Quit- Be Holy Series

Series: Action [#112]

DON’T QUIT- BE HOLY

2 Corinthians 7:1-16

Introduction:

There is a word that we hear often- Holy. We hear this word often as Christians and as people who are a part of Churches. You can also hear this word used with profanity. So, what does it mean to be holy? It means to be set apart, to be different. God tells His people more than once to be holy. (This is both in the New Testament and the Old Testament.)

Leviticus 11:45

What the World needs is people who are set apart for God. Christians must be different than the World. So, we are told to be holy; but how do you do that? Our text gives us practical ways to be holy.

2 Corinthians 7:1

To be holy…

1. Make yourself pure.

To be holy like God means that you must be pure- There cannot be any sin in your life. You are purified spiritually through the blood of Jesus; but it does not take away your responsibility in how you live. You are to be pure from anything that contaminates your body or your soul- Sin.

What is the motive to be pure? Why would I ask that question? As Christians, we talk a lot about going to Heaven regardless of how we live. Many people who call themselves Christians, are “as by fire” Christians. They play Russian Roulette with their eternity. Our text gives us the motive for living a pure life- Your reverence for God.

2 Corinthians 7:2-4

To be holy…

2. Open your heart.

Christians, we are supposed to open our hearts to others regardless of how they treat us. Paul and the others who had ministered to the Corinthians had not done anything wrong to them- In fact, Paul said that he loved them regardless and that he was very proud of them. Paul was going through very difficult times and yet he was encouraged by this Church.

Who is it that you refuse to open your heart for? Why will you not open your heart for them? What did they do to you to make you close your heart to them? Never mind, that should not make a difference. You should open your heart to them anyways.

[Write down the name and what they did.]

2 Corinthians 7:5-12

To be holy…

3. Decide to change.

God encouraged Paul and the others with him by sending Titus to them. Things were tough and it was nice for them to see a fellow brother in Christ. Things even got better once Titus told them about the Corinthians. The Corinthians told Titus how much they missed Paul and how thankful they were for Titus.

Paul had written to them in 1 Corinthians telling them to deal with the evil going on in their Church. Most likely, this was about the man who was sleeping with his stepmother and the Church was doing nothing about it. Paul told them to remove him from the Church and allow the devil to deal with him. The Church did what Paul told them to do, and then in 2 Corinthians Paul told them to bring the repentant man back into the Church.

Paul knew that the letter hurt them; but he didn’t care because he needed them to get it right. They humbled themselves before God and they repented of what they were doing.

2 Corinthians 7:9-12 (Message)

They changed. Whoever you wrote on your piece of paper and whatever they did to hurt you cannot continue to hold you back. The world would tell you to hold on to this hurt and get even; but that is not what God tells us to do. You need to decide to change. Will you change?

2 Corinthians 7:13-16

To be holy…

4. Bring encouragement to others.

Because of their repentance, Paul was encouraged. Even better, Titus was very happy and refreshed. Think about how many people that you know need to be refreshed. Paul bragged about the Church and how well they were doing. He was not afraid to admit that he knew them. He had confidence in them.

Do you encourage others? They were an encouragement because they were living for Jesus. Bel Aire, you are a huge encouragement to me. I watch you and listen to you; and I brag about you often. Why? You encourage me. I can also say that I have complete confidence in you.

Conclusion:

After the week that I have had, this sermon is tough. I have several names to put on my list; and I have several reasons for each. I have done opposite of each point I just preached about it. I have not had pure thoughts and it has caused me to close my heart. I didn’t want to change, and I sure did not want to encourage them. In fact, I kept hoping they would get into trouble and be punished for what they were doing.