WAC2BL:
Holiness Is Our Message, Our Goal, Our Calling
Scripture Text: 1 Peter 2.9-17 (9-12)
INTRODUCTION
Last week we discovered that mission and purpose are characteristics of God’s design for His Church. We are not an aimless ship, wandering the seas of history, …blown about by winds of change that may-or-may not be guided by the Spirit of God.
I believe that the Church of Jesus Christ is much-bigger-than any-single denomination. No denomination has a corner-on-the-market. But I-also-believe that each-denomination is a blessing to the Church-at-large. Each denomination contributes to the life of God’s Church; …each offers something important to the world, as it serves in Jesus’ name; …each denomination has something significant to give ~ (…because each denomination has been blessed with gifts and talents and opportunities that others do not have). In-other-words, …although I have a prejudice in-favor-of our denomination, …I have great admiration and respect for the denominational-families who serve the Kingdom of God under other names. As a matter of fact, there are times when denominations have-been-birthed because some important-teaching-of-Scripture has been neglected. Martin Luther’s emphasis on salvation by faith alone was something that the whole-of-Christendom needed to hear. When the Revival-movements of the 18th and 19th centuries gave birth to various charismatic-churches, …they were reminding the whole-of-Christianity that our faith must be alive-and-vibrant. Several of the monastic movements within the Roman Catholic church have reminded all-Christians-everywhere that the Christian life is not-to-be preoccupied with worldly pursuits-and-pleasures. And the holiness churches began when there was a general lack-of-emphasis by the churches-of-those-days, …a lack of emphasis on living a holy-life, …a transformed life, …a sanctified life. These holiness churches were born-out-of-a-desire to live holy-lives through whole-hearted commitment to God and compassionate-love toward neighbors.
As a member of a holiness denomination, …have the mission of advancing God’s kingdom by focusing attention on Scriptural holiness. It is our God-given duty, …our obligation, …our responsibility-and-calling to preach it, …to teach it, …to assist one-another in living holy-lives.
In Peter’s first letter, …a number of times, Peter talks about ‘holiness’. In the verses-that-we’re-focusing-on-today, …Scripture says that we are a “holy nation”. It is not referring to the United States of America. It is not referring the State of Israel. This passage of Scripture is not talking about any political-body; …but it is talking about the body-of-believers ~ …those who have heard the invitation-of-God to repent-of-their-sins, …and who-have turned to Him for mercy-and-forgiveness. Once you believe in the saving power of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, …then, you are grafted-in, …adopted-into, …incorporated into the group-of-people that Peter calls a “holy nation”.
A “holy” people… Is this intimidating, to you? “Holiness” is such a big-word, …such a big-idea, …such a big-thing! And-frankly, …there’s a lotta people who doubt that it’s possible. They think that it’s outta-reach, …that too-hard, …that it’s unrealistic ~ given the ugliness and the difficulties and the temptations that-we-face, in-this-world.
But… before you go down that road, …it’s important to begin with Scripture. What does it say about ‘holiness’? What does the Word-of-God say-about living holy-lives? What does Scripture teach us about God’s plan for us, in-terms-of-holiness?
Well… in Scripture we find amazing-statements like:
“I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy.” (Lev. 11.44)
“Just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do.” (1 Peter 1.15)
“It is God’s will that you should be sanctified.” (1 Thess 4.3)
And if there’s any-doubt, the kicker is Jesus’ prayer:
“Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” (John 17.17)
And-to-be-honest-with-you… this is really just-a-small-sampling of the Scriptural-admonitions, …letting us know that holiness-and-sanctification are God’s will for us. What’s a church to be like? ~ Well… holiness is one-of-the-key things that God desires for our fellowship to exhibit!
BODY
Now, whether you’re confused by what-holiness-is; …or whether you’ve struggled with this all-your-life; …or whether you saw-this-one-coming ~ The truth is that this is God’s plan for each-and-every church-body. It’s true of denominations, …and it’s true of local congregations. We are to be a holy-people. That is God’s will.
And-so, …rather-than being paralyzed-by-fear, …or defensive-in-spirit, …instead let’s screw-up our-courage, …and embolden-our-faith to embrace this calling. After-all, ...”He who began a good work in you is faithful to complete it!” So, …we don’t have to be fearful about the call to live holy lives. And we don’t have to confused over whether it’s possible in this crazy, mixed-up world. God says. We believe it. So, let’s get on with it!
It might help us, though, to unpack a-little-bit of what holiness is all about. If we are-to-be a holy-people, …what’s that look-like, …what’s-that mean?... Let’s begin with the Greek word for “church”…
I. Ekklesia
The church can be defined a number of ways. Think-for-a-minute about the different ways we use the word: “I’m going to church.” “We sure-had church today!” “When are you going to join the church?” Different ways we use the word…
Dictionary.com first defines ‘church’ as: “a building for public, especially Christian worship.” Dictionary.com’s second definition of the church is: “the company of all Christians; a specified Christian denomination; a congregation.” Dictionary.com’s third definition of the church is: “public divine worship… a religious service.”
So, in-English, “church” can mean anything from a building to an action, to a group of people! That’s a-pretty-wide span-of-meaning. But in Greek, the word ekklesia literally-means: “the called out ones”.
“Called out”; …”called out of what?” Called out of the world. Called out of worldly-ways. Called out of worldly life-styles. Called-out, …different, …distinct. The church will-not-look-like other groups or institutions or collections-of-people! We are called out ~ …called-out because we have been redeemed; …we’ve been rescued from a life-of-sin; …we’ve been delivered from the bondage that afflicts so-many in our world. Called-out!
You’ve heard the saying: We are in the world, but not of the world. That’s-another-way of saying that we’ve been called-out. A few weeks-ago, we heard Peter urging us to live like strangers-and-aliens here in-this-world. He was not telling us to move to Roswell, New Mexico and wait for some-kind-of alien-abduction. But-rather, he was telling us that as citizens of the kingdom-of-heaven, …this world ain’t-our-home!
And-today, different-passage, …but the same advice:
“I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world…”
Peter uses this provocative-word-picture to help us get-our-brains wrapped-around the fact that we have been “called-out” and “set-apart” through the redemptive work of Christ Jesus. When we placed our faith in Him, …it restored our relationship with our Heavenly Father; …and since-our-relationship with Him is healed, …now we are citizens of a heavenly-kingdom, …an eternal-kingdom.
You don’t belong to this world; …you don’t belong to the prince-of-this-world. You’ve been called out of-it, …called-out to live differently, …called-out to seek-and-pursue different goals. A person-of-faith, …and a person-of-the-world will-be different. We are different in the things that we value; …different in the things we pursue and the things we celebrate and the things we dream-about. A person-of-faith, …and a person-of-the-world will have dramatic differences in their attitudes toward life-and-living, …as-well-as toward the things the world-has-to-offer. What’s a church to be like?... Different… Different because we have been called-out of the world and worldly-ways.
If you have a chance to watch children’s-cartoons, …you’ll find a-lot-of-them communicate that it’s o.k. to be different. “You’re unique and special. “Just be you!” But, while-it’s-good to emphasize that each person is unique and special ~ …it’s not simply because there’s no one else like you. What-makes-us-unique-and-special is the fact that God has made us like-this. And, …what makes Christians unique-and-special is not that we’re a bunch of odd-balls; …but it’s because God has called us out of a life of sin and given us the huge-privilege of serving as His partners in spreading the kingdom around the world! We have a purpose. We have a mission ~ …and it’s not of-this-world. It is God-given. H. Ray Dunning defines the church as:
“that community of people called into being by God for the purpose of carrying out His redemptive mission in the world.” (Grace, Faith & Holiness, 516)
I think that you can see that the church is filled with purpose-and-mission – given-by-God; …and that this sets-us-apart – or calls-us-out in distinction - from the world-and-it’s-ways. But Peter wants us to see that there’s another dimension to holiness. We are holy not-just because God has given us a unique mission, as His partners in Kingdom-work; ...but holiness also-means that there’s-something definitely-different about-our-lives in-terms-of what-we-avoid, …what we stay-away-from, …what we abstain-from.
II. Abstain
Peter says,
“I urge you… to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.” (2.11)
Part of what it means to be a holy people, …part of what it means to be the church-of-God is that we separate ourselves from those desires and impulses that are not of-God.
This is not to say that all desires are sinful. As-a-matter-of-fact, …it-can-be-argued that every evil-desire is a God-given-desire gone-wrong. Gluttony is an example of desire gone-bad. We-have-within-us a desire for food-and-drink. God gave us the common-sense to know that we need to consume the physical-food that will fuel our bodies. But, when we crave food in-such-a-way that it becomes an idol, …or an end-in-itself, …or that-thing that gives us comfort, when we should-instead look to God for comfort ~ …that’s-when the desire-for-food is twisted into something ugly and harmful and sinful.
Another-example of desire-gone-wrong is greed. God blesses us with many fine things. He takes care of us by providing material-blessings. As-a-matter-of-fact, there is a healthy-brand-of-desire for material-things that God has placed within us. It’s part of what motivates us to work and to earn-a-living and-to provide for our families. However, when we’re not satisfied with what God has given us, …and we thirst for more-and-more, …when we’re not happy with the material blessings that God has entrusted to our care, …and-instead, we want what our neighbor has, …and we build bigger-barns to store things that we’ll never use, …and we hold-on-tightly to the thing-in-our-possession ~ ...that’s-when the desire for material-things crosses-the-line and becomes something sinful and selfish and hurtful.
There’s other examples of desire-gone-wrong, …but …part of what it means to be a holy-people is that we separate ourselves from those-desires that are not God-honoring, …and the impulses that pull-us-away from enjoying-Him and celebrating the life to-which He has called us.
As Peter has said,
“I urge you… to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.” (2.11)
I don’t know why we think that we can be-good-with-God, …and at-the-same-time, …dabble in the things-of-the-world! Do you know why!?!
I don’t get-it; …but I know that this is a common-affliction for Christians. We’re in the world, …and we pretty-much look-like the world, too! It’s tragic! And it’s to our detriment. And it does nothing, but injure the call-of-God, to-the-Church, …to be separate-from the world. How can light have any part with darkness? How can fresh-water mingle with salt-water? How can we deceive ourselves and allow things into our hearts-and-minds that masquerade as “entertainment” or “just-a-little-fun” or “I have a right to hold-onto-this grudge” ~ …how can we deceive ourselves to allow worldly attitudes, …worldly interests, …worldly ways into our hearts-and-minds?
These things do nothing to make-life-better, …or richer, …or more-rewarding. In-fact, they do nothing but tear-us-down, …hinder-and-hamper the love that God is stirring within our souls, …they simply wage war against you. Worldly-ways are your enemy! You have been called-out of the world for a reason ~ …it’s to make your heart more healthy, …and your ways God-honoring. I urge you to avoid, …abstain, …get-away-from those impulses and desires that are not-of-God. I urge you to pray the psalmist’s prayer:
“May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer!” Ps. 19.14
III. Good
Part of what it means to be a holy people, …is that we separate-ourselves from those desires that are not of-God. But there’s a more-positive-side to being God’s holy people: …do good!
Verse 12 of Peter’s passage says,
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God”. (1 Pe. 2.12)
Although our denomination has long-lifted the banner of holiness, …there have been long-stretches of her history, during-which the way that the Church talked-about holiness, …and the things that we taught-about holiness, …well, …we gave the impression that holiness was all-about rule-keeping. As though holiness was all-about “Don’t, …don’t, …don’t! “Don’t do this; …don’t do that!”
Certainly… there are things that we should-not do; …that’s why Scripture urges us to “abstain from sinful desires”. But-ya-know… the bigger-part of holiness is what we do! Of course we don’t lie, cheat, steal, murder ~ …and the list of don’ts is longer than that!
But, holy-lives are much-more about doing good! Live in-such-a-way that unbelievers are impressed! Live a life-of-love, …let your lives be great-examples of compassion. Worship God in the spirit of holiness, …serve the kingdom of God – in faith, and with all your heart. Help with VBS. Teach a SS class. Volunteer for children’s church. Help your neighbor when a limb falls on their garage. Serve at the food bank. Take dinner over to your neighbor who’s just-returned home from the hospital. Go on a short-term mission trip. Be a cheerful giver.
The list could go on-and-on! But, in order to live holy lives, …in order to be a holy-people, …we must creatively and purposefully put love into action. Holiness is not-just about the things we don’t do; …It’s also about the things that we do, do!
TRANSITION
Of all the characteristics of the church, ..holiness may be the one that is most most-neglected, …most mis-understood. We get so disenchanted with our lives, …and we get frustrated with our choices, …and we get so confused because our world is such a messed-up mess, …we end-up thinking that holiness is just-not-possible, …that it’s outta-reach, …that it’s something we can look-forward-to, …once we get to Heaven. But, instead of being disillusioned by all the troubles, trials, and temptations, …let’s instead look-for the opportunities! Opportunities to serve, …opportunities to make-a-difference, …opportunities to share God’s love.
Live such good lives among the pagans that though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God (1 Pe. 2.12)
CONCLUSION
The message for us, today, is: …You are a holy people! Let’s live like it! Let’s get our eyes off-the-world. Let’s give all our attention-and-energy to living for the Kingdom of God. That-means that we’ll need to avoid-and-abstain from certain things: …after-all, that-stuff is not God-honoring. But, it also-means that we need to live-on-purpose: …lifting up the Kingdom, …sharing with others what we have received from God, …being loving-and-compassionate, …having the heart of Jesus, beating in our chests.
