Holiness...The Privilege of All Believers - Captain Erika Hernandez
The Salvation Army Doctrine 10
Ephesians 5:1-7
http://pomonacorps.blogspot.com/2009/10/holiness-privilege-of-all-believers-tsa.html
Last month Captain talked about Salvation in our 9th Doctrine of The Salvation Army today we are looking at the 10th Doctrine which deals with Holiness which can simply mean the next stage in our life after salvation.
The doctrine goes as followed:
We believe that it is the privilege of all believers to be wholly sanctified, and that their whole spirit and soul and body may be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Let’s first look at the question What is Holiness?
There a few ways to describe what Holiness is in other phrases or words like:
Set apart
Perfect love
Sanctification
Deeper life
Transformations
(my favorite) Christ-likeness
’Holiness or Sanctification’ is to have our sinful ways cleansed, and our heart filled with love to God and humanity.
2 Peter 1:3-4, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
Through these he has given us his every great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”
Samuel Brengle, a Salvation Army Officer wrote an amazing book on Holiness called “The Way to Holiness” which helps me explain how we can become holy. He says, “A spark from the fire is like the fire.
The tiniest twig on the giant oak, or the smallest branch of the vine, has the nature of the oak or the vine, and is in that respect like the oak or the vine.
A drop of water on the end of your finger from the ocean is like the ocean: not in its size, of course, for the big ships cannot float upon it nor the big fish that swim in it: but it is like the ocean in its essence, in its character, in its nature.
Just so, a holy person is like God. Not that they are infinite as God is; he does not know everything; he has not all power and wisdom as God has; but they are like God in His nature.
They are good and pure and loving and just, in the same way that God is.
Holiness then is conformity to the nature of God. But many say that this is impossible, since we are sinful creatures, how could we be like Jesus (God in the Flesh).
Think of it like this, when a child is born the parents are very happy and excited to see this new creation; just like our Heavenly Father is joyful to see our spiritual birth (salvation).
Now that baby isn’t done in growing right, they were born into this world now they have to learn how to live, they need help and guidance, food, and love in order to grow up and become adults like their parents.
We are the same, we are God’s newborn child when we accept Christ as our Savior. But we are not done, there is some much more than just being saved!
I don’t believe God just want us to be born but we wants to see us grow into our full maturity in our spiritual lives which is holiness. This requires food (scripture), teaching and guidance (prayer), encouragement (Holy Spirit) and we need to have the desire to grow up.
It’s important to go the the Bible and see what it says about the matter before we are able to understand and further seek holiness.
There is a chorus in the back of our Song Book # 107 which speaks to what we are talking about.
To be like Jesus, this hope possesses me in every thought and deed, this is my aim my creed. To be like Jesus this hope possesses me, His spirit helping me. Like Him I’ll be.
This Hope Possesses Me in Thought & Deed The Hope of becoming Holy, should possess us – to have a strong influence on us, our mind, to
take hold of or occupy that understanding of knowing that we can become holy. Possesses me can also mean to enjoy, to delight on the thought and the hope of wanting to be Holy as God is Holy.
You know how sometimes we hear something or meet someone and you just can’t get it or them out of your head. It’s like that, knowing that God has this hope for each one of us to take the next challenge in become more and more like Him.
Knowing this new truth gets us thinking and wondering and hoping to be like Him.
It is so powerful and influential that we keep seeking guidance and encouragement on how we can achieve this amazing thing in our lives.
To be like Jesus is to be separated from the world. Jesus was in the world but He was not of the world. John 17: 16-19 “they are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your world is truth.
As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified”.
Having this possession of hope to be like Jesus in our thoughts and actions, we take it to the next level and make it our goal a reality in our lives.
This is my Aim my Creed
We all have many goals, aims even a declaration of belief (which is a creed). We are announcing to our Heavenly Father that it is our goal our aim to strive for holiness, purity, perfect love, Christ-likeness.
Whatever you want to call it. Once we have that hope, nothing is impossible.
Remember one of the other ways of describing Holiness is Perfect Love. In Matthew 5:48 we read, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect”.
We must desire God’s will so much that we seek to please Him in every areas of our lives that is holiness.
Jesus says that God’s law was never about mere rules; instead, God desires a complete righteousness of the heart, a total devotion to God’s purposes in this world.
That God becomes the standard of comparison suggests that Jesus’ instruction here in setting a goal, not assuming a state to which we have already obtained! Meaning that we should all be working toward holiness and not assuming that we already met it.
All of us can learn to better reflect God’s character; at the same time, God promises us power to overcome any given temptation; and if we can overcome any temptation, we should choose to say no to every temptation.
And as long as God represents the moral standard, none of us has room to boast. For we are all seeking God’s kingdom and righteousness with all of our hearts.
When it comes to this perfect love, we need to think about the greatest commandment that Jesus give us in John 13:34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another”.
And how should we love one another???? According to what standard, again the standard that God has given us.
We are, To BE Like Jesus in love to God and to all human kind, even to our enemies, but especially to our brothers and sisters in the Lord.
In verses 1 -2 from our passage today it says to Be imitators of God and walk in love.
1 John 3:1-3 “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known.
But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.”
Holy living is Sacrificial living! Pointing back to what Jesus did, sacrificing His life for us. Look at the perfect example in the life of Jesus, we see that Jesus led a life of purity.
He allowed no unclean habits, he indulged in no impure thoughts or desires.
He used no unkind words. He kept Himself pure in all things. So we are to be pure in heart and in life as He was, when he was man on this earth.
Wow, you may think! How in the world can I live up to that standard????? Well you see, God doesn’t expect us to do it on our own, He gladly gives us His Holy Spirit to guide and lead us, encouraging us each and every day.
His Spirit Helping Me
Is it possible to be Holy as God is Holy??? YES because Jesus says, “Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves” John 14:11, then continues on to say that we will have a helper to come and help us which is the Holy Spirit and in verse 20. “At that day you will know that I am in My Father and you in Me and I in you.”
We can deceive ourselves and think that we have no hope or that there is no way that we could be like God.
Why would God ask the impossible if it is not possible. He knows that if we try and use the resources He gives us, we can be Holy.
To be holy and useful is possible for each one of us, but we must work together with God.
So long as there are any roots of sin in our heart, the Holy Spirit cannot have ALL His way in us, and our usefulness is hindered. But when our hearts are clean the Holy Spirit dwells within, and then we have power for service.
We are to be like Jesus by having God dwelling in us. We are to be like Jesus by being separated in the world, in purity, in love, and in the fullness of the Spirit. This is Holiness.
The last verse of the chorus that I mentioned says, Like Him I’ll Be!
Now Holiness doesn’t just happen over night, how we all would like it. But it takes time, just like a newborn does not become an adult instantly, it takes time and training, discipline and learning to reach their full maturity into adulthood.
This work started in us when we were first saved! we gave up our sins, we were in some measure separated from the world, the love of God was in some degree shed abroad in our heart, and we felt that God was with us.
Yet even in our salvation there can still be hints of bitterness like quick of temper, pride, blame and shame, worldly-mindedness and these things need to fall away before our heart can be made clean, having that perfect love to God and humanity, and the Holy Spirit having all His
way in You.
A thing may be holy because of its relation to God like the holy place, the holy of holies. A thing may be holy because of actual association with Him or divine purpose like a holy nation, or holy brethren.
Those who would live unto God and in fellowship with Him are reserved to be holy in life. We have that opportunity and it is a privilege for us all as believers.
We can’t think that it is out of our reach when God gives us His word to teach us, His Son to gives us the example and His Holy Spirit to nudge us along through out life.
Reminding us that from the beginning He intended for each one of us to not only be saved but to be holy.
As Captain comes up and plays that chorus To Be Like Jesus, and you need a moment with Your heavenly Father, you may pray up here.
Maybe it’s to simply thank Him for such a wonderful gift that he wants to give you. Take some time right now to seek what God has in stored for you.
To give you understanding on His plans to prosper you and not to harm you!
Let’s sing in a prayerful spirit
To be like Jesus, this hope possesses in every thought and deed, this is my aim my creed. To be like Jesus His this hope possesses me His Spirit helping me like Him I’ll be. Lets pray.
