Sermon Central
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Holiness – Part 1 – God Is Holy Series
Contributed by John Bright on Jun 22, 2023 (message contributor)
Summary: In the Wesleyan tradition, we rely on a clear understanding of holiness. This series clears ups some modern-day misunderstandings. No teaching sheet.
"Holiness – Part 1 – God is Holy"
Pastor John Bright
1 Peter 1 “… 15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
17 And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; 18 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”
Pause right there. Those words I just read; they were “Breathed by God”! God wants you to hear His Word right now! So, what is your response? Do you want to transformed by that Word or do you want to be informed about the words? You must choose.
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What do you tell your kids to do – over and over?
What did your parents tell you to do – over and over? With my Dad it was “TURN OFF THE LIGHTS WHEN YOU LEAVE A ROOM!” It did not matter that you were going right back in there. If he saw a light on and nobody in the room – he was going to say it… again - “TURN OFF THE LIGHTS WHEN YOU LEAVE A ROOM!” My Dad was not some kind of ahead of the curve climate change activist – nope. When he saw a light on, he saw the electric bill going up for no good reason. btw – he felt the same about a door being open during the winter – “HEY – YOU’RE LETTING ALL MY HEAT OUT!”
If you want to make sure you are getting your point across to someone, it is often necessary to say it more than once. In the Old Testament book of the Law, Leviticus, there is a phrase that gets repeated –
Leviticus 20 “7 Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God. 8 And you shall keep My statutes, and perform them: I am the Lord who sanctifies you.”
1 Peter draws from the book of Leviticus - 15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
Let me paraphrase that for you – “You be holy – in the same way I am holy.” That’s a big ask! As Wesleyan Believers, we have lost an understanding of holiness and the Wesleyan doctrine of Christian Perfection. John Wesley called it “being made perfect in love” and looked to Jesus’ words – Mark 12 “30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Wesley urged folks to practice “holiness of heart and life” and they did – it was one of the “Marks of a Methodist.”
That brings us to “Be holy, for I am holy.” There are two parts of that command – God and us. I’m going to start this week with God – easy, huh? 😊
THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD
If we were in a small group and we were covering this topic, I would ask you to make a couple of lists:
God’s Attributes & God’s Titles. We all have some description or image of God in our brains. Back when I was a candidate for ministry, I remember one interview when they asked me to “describe the God to whom you pray.” Could you do that?
There are many ways to describe God – like Heavenly Father – and there are folks all over the world who think of God in ways that make sense in their culture, but we must have some basics we agree upon. When we look to God’s Word, we find an understanding of the Attributes of God. Here are a few:
Omnipotence of God - God can do all things that are consistent with His character. God is all powerful.
Omnipresence of God - God is present everywhere at all times.
Omniscience of God - God is all knowing.
Sovereignty of God - God created everything and therefore all things are under His sovereign control.
Immutability of God – God does not change. That means He cannot change in His nature, character, or dependability.
Holiness of God - God is set apart from His creation. (“Set apart” is the simple definition of “holy”)
