Title: The Dance of Holiness
Scripture: Matthew 22:36-40; 2 Peter 3:18; Proverbs 4:18
Theme: Walking in Holiness
INTRO:
Grace and peace from God the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit!
I want to talk to you today about holiness. In particular, I want to talk to you today about living the life of holiness in our everyday lives.
“Living a life of holiness” – five little simple words that can change your life!
Just hearing those words can challenge you, inspire you or perhaps exhaust you or even cause a bit of confusion.
After all, what does it mean to live a life of holiness?
+Too often when people hear the idea about “holiness” or “holiness living” the thought of “holier than thou” comes to their minds.
+The thoughts of someone being “holy” might bring up images of being super moralistic or being excessively preoccupied with a set of strict rules and regulations that one must adhere to or else they will find themselves in danger of everlasting Hell fire.
Far too often, good people mistakenly go to the extremes when they talk about living a holy life. Often people have made the mistake of doing more than just focusing on their personal walk of holiness. They have instead found themselves becoming a type of “moral” or “holy” judge to those who live around them. This in turn ends up with them living a life where they are constantly judging people against a man made list of moral directives that they believe to be everlastingly true.
When that happens, what starts off being a positive life goal (holiness) ends tragically. The person ends up in the same camp that we see many of the Pharisees in the New Testament. If you remember, many of the Pharisees thought that their number one job was to tell others where they were missing the mark. That is the not the goal of living a life of holiness.
The Bible is clear, however, that we are all called to live a life of holiness. Over and over we read such passages as
- “Be holy, for I am holy” – Leviticus 11:44
- “Be perfect, therefore, as your Heavenly Father is perfect” – Matthew 5:48
- “Since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” – 1 Peter 1:16
- “Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.” – 2 Corinthians 7:1
Living a life of holiness is not something that is just designed for a particular segment of people in the Church. Living a life of holiness is a call to all of us that have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and LORD.
The real question is what does a life of holiness look like?
How does one know if we are in fact living a life of holiness?
Before we get into what does a life of holiness look like it might be good for us to see what a life of holiness does not look like.
+It does not look like a life of virtual or absolute perfection – this was the mistake the Pharisees made in the time of Jesus. They were more worried about outward moral perfection than they were of possessing holiness of heart, mind and spirit.
+It does not look like legalism. Holy living is not a life that is rules based but it is a life that is relationship based. That is to say it is based on the relationship that one has with God, with themselves, with others and with creation.
So, what does a life of holiness look like?
I. It looks like a life that is centered on the Heart of God
Holiness begins and ends with our relationship with God.
Holiness begins and ends with us reflecting God’s image, character and glory.
Therefore, holiness begins with us doing our best to be a living example of God’s Image. And one of the best ways to do that is to be a living example of God’s two great commandments:
“Jesus replied, ‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.’” – Matthew 22:37-40
These two commandments have been with us since the beginning of time. This is how God wanted all humans to live. We need to understand that the Lord God Almighty, Creator of the Universe has desired for us to love Him supremely and then to love others as much as we love ourselves.
The first commandment is a part of the Shema. The Shema is the centerpiece of a Jewish prayer every faithful Jew was to say every morning and evening.
“Hear O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.” – Deuteronomy 6:4-5
There were no words more important to the Jews than the Shema. The Shema defines who the Jewish people are as a people and who they are as an individual. Each Jew was encouraged to have their final words in this life be the Shema; to let everyone know that above anything else their love for the LORD was ultimate. Parents were to teach the Shema to their children so that they could say it before they went to sleep.
Where many of us were taught the little prayer – Now I Lay Me down to sleep
Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my Soul to keep[;]
If I should die before I 'wake,
I pray the Lord my Soul to take.
(From an English Primer around 1737)
Jewish children have been taught the Shema since the time of Moses.
One of the interesting side lights to the First commandment is the Hebrew word – “Me’odekah (MAY-o-de-kah). In most translations the word Me’ odekah is translated as might or strength. What is rather interesting is the actual word means “with all your very” or “muchness”. It’s a word that means with everything that you have, you can muster up or you can do in your own ability.
You see, first and foremost when we think of the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY we are to think of Relationship. The LORD GOD ALMIGHTY created all of us in His Image and for us to be in a very deep loving relationship with Him. And just as the LORD loves us with all His “very muchness” we are called to do the same.
We are called to love the LORD more than anything else. And as we love Him we find that we become the very people who can then love others and ourselves. We can’t truly love ourselves or others until we love the LORD with everything; with all our very muchness.
And loving God, loving ourselves and loving others is the first step in living a Life of Holiness.
If we want to put a rule out there then it is this – The Rule of Love – Loving God, loving oneself and loving others. It all starts and stops with Love – true agape love. It all starts with love that is pure and holy. Love that reflects God’s glory and honor. It is a Love that seeks the best in others and enables us to be the best for others.
Before we go to our next point I think it is important for us to understand that our love for God is but a reflection of His love for us. God is not some being who desires us to just love Him while He in return does not love us.
The exact opposite is true. God’s love for us is so much deeper and richer and higher than our love for Him.
After all, God so loved us that He created us.
He so loved us that He gave Himself for us so that we could be rescued and redeemed.
Listen to a couple of passages of scripture that speak of God’s amazing love:
“Your unfailing love, O LORD, is as vast as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, Your justice like the ocean depths. You care for people and animals alike, O LORD. How precious is Your unfailing love, O God! All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of Your wings.” (Psalm 36:5-7)
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.” – John 3:16-17
II. Secondly, a Holy Life looks like a Life that is Growing in Grace
One of the beautiful things about holiness is that it is open ended. There is no end to holiness. There is no end to loving God, oneself, others or creation.
This is one of the Apostle Paul’s favorite subjects. He knew all about holiness and he lived a life dedicated to holiness. He knew that once a person began a relationship with the Lord that relationship was boundless. A person could continually grow more and more in their relationship with God, with themselves, with others and with all of creation.
I think this is one of the things that the Apostle Paul loved about sharing the message of Jesus.
He would go to a town and begin to preach the message of Jesus. He would explain to everyone that Jesus was the Messiah and Savior of the World. He would share how Jesus had died for our sins on the cross and was raised again on the third day. He would explain how that in Jesus one could be forgiven of all their sins and be constantly infilled with God’s Holy Spirit.
The life that Paul shared with his listeners was a life of holiness. It was a life that was constantly understanding what it meant to be rehumanized. It was a life that was constantly understanding what it meant to be restored into the image of God.
Many of Paul’s listeners were like the people that lived in the city of Philippi. The majority of them had never heard the message of Jesus. All they knew was to try their best to appease this local god or goddess and at the same time understand that the Roman leader at the time (Caesar) had declared that he was the ‘son of god’ and that he wanted to be worshipped and adored. With many of them being ex-military they understood the importance of worshipping Caesar.
The Apostle Paul came into Philippi and shared the message about Jesus. He shared that Jesus had died for them. He shared that Jesus had been raised from the dead. He shared that Jesus was the true King of the world. He shared that Jesus was God. The gods and goddesses they had been serving were false gods. Caesar was just a human being like them.
All of this was quite radical to say the least. It was highly counter-cultural and as Dr. Tom Wright points out over and over again (see Paul for Everyone – The Prison Letters) it was deeply subversive. Paul was declaring that all other contenders for deity and worship were in effect mere shadows. Only the Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit were real. Only Jesus was the Savior and Lord of Lords and King of Kings.
Recently, I watched a rather lengthy advertisement about a book called Everything Sad Is Untrue: (a true story) by Daniel Nayeri. The book is written as a novel but behind the novel is the true story of Daniel’s family. One of the hero’s of Daniel’s life is his mother; a woman who came to Christ and had to suffer under tremendous pressure and persecution in Iran for a period of time.
Part of the advertisement was hearing his mother’s story of coming to Jesus. She had not been raised as a Christian. She had been raised following the faith of her people. But one day she found herself in a Christian church and began to pray to Jesus. Immediately, she felt a peace and a joy she had never experienced before and as a result began to follow Jesus.
What happened to Daniel’s mother and billions just like her is what makes the difference between the men who wanted people to see them as gods – Adam, Alexander the Great, Caesar Augustus and hundreds more and Jesus. Where others do not have the power to bring everlasting peace and joy Jesus can. Where others cannot take away our sins Jesus can and does. Where others cannot fill our lives with the power and presence of the Holy Spirit Jesus can and does.
When a person accepts Jesus as Savior and LORD there is a fundament change in that person. That change is more than just words, it is action; it is redemption, it is regeneration and it is sanctification. It is in essence holiness.
When we confess Jesus Christ as Savior and LORD something happens to the very core of our being. We are immediately freed from the penalty of sin and the power of sin. We are free from the bondage of sin.
We become a new creation as Paul tells us:
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here! – 2 Corinthians 5:17
“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in the newness of life.” – Romans 6:1-4
Now, what does all of this mean?
It means when you come to Christ you become different – you are no longer the same person.
It means that you are transformed from being a sinner; from a person alienated and at odds with God to being a child of God.
It means that you begin a walk with Christ that leads you to the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit.
It means that you are now invited to experience a life that is infilled, guided and comforted by the Holy Spirit.
It means that you are now a part of a rehumanized family; a family that is being restored into the image of Christ. That family of course is what we call today – THE CHURCH.
This is the beauty of holiness.
A life of holiness is an amazing and wonderful life long journey of understanding and being transformed into the person that God created us to become. It is in short, being rehumanized to be the people that God wants us to be here on His Good Earth.
The Bible tells us that in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve fell into sin and as a result all of mankind fell into sin.
The Bible also tells us that every one of us has fallen short and have sinned. (Romans 3:23).
“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.”
In Christ those sin are forgiven.
“Yet God, in His grace, freely makes us right in His sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed His life, shedding His blood.” – Romans 3:24-25a
In Christ we are then infilled with His Holy Spirit.
“Peter replied, ‘Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away – all who have been called by the Lord our God.” – Acts 2:38-39
God’s Holy Spirit, if we allow Him, will help us become the person the LORD wanted us to be when He formed us in our mother’s womb.
When the Philippians of old came to faith they realized that they were no longer the same people. They realized that they had come out of the darkness of sin and into the light of Jesus Christ. They no longer wanted to serve either the false gods or goddesses and they no longer wanted to declare that Caesar was Lord of Lords and King of Kings. Jesus Christ was their Messiah, their Savior and the true King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
They also realized that with Christ their minds, their hearts and their souls were no longer tied to things of this earth; greed, hostility, pride etc… but were now endeared to things of the LORD; peace, joy, hospitality, faithfulness, agape love etc. Going on, Paul wanted them to understand that the transformations that God had started in them, He was going to perfect. That is what the Apostle tells them in chapter one verse six:
“And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” – Philippians 1:6
As you read all of Paul’s letters you see this thought happening over and over again. Time and time again the Apostle takes great pains in challenging all of his readers to allow the Holy Spirit to transform their minds, hearts and souls. Time and time again the Apostle take great pains in challenging his readers to allow the Holy Spirit to rehumanize them.
It all goes back to a simple thing that Jesus told his first disciples at the beginning of His ministry. The Apostle John shares this with us in John chapter one:
“Come and you will see”
“Follow Me”
That in essence is what it means to be sanctified; to live a holy life. It means to follow Jesus. It means to allow His Holy Spirit to speak to us through the Word, through our minds, through the Church and through our own experience with Him. It means to converse with God daily (prayer) and allow our times of conversation to deepen our love for God and be a channel for our rehumanization. It means to learn how to live in community with others in harmony and peace to the best of our abilities.
It means that we are called to grow in grace.
And that can be rubbing.
It is one thing to recite a pray and quite another to pick up your cross and follow Jesus.
As you read the Gospels you begin to understand clearly that when Jesus called people to follow Him that was exactly what He meant – He meant for them to become transformed people; rehumanized human beings that will now reflect God’s glory and honor. He was not calling people to merely escape Hell or to feel better about themselves.
Perhaps as we close one of the best ways to view this life of holiness is through the lens of dance – the Life with God, the Holiness Life, the Rehumanized Human life could be compared to not just a walk with God but a dance with God. It is what Richard Foster calls a “pas de Dieu” – referring to the step of two in a dance. At times that dance is much like what we see in ballet where two people seem to be one. At other times that dance is more like the tango alive with passion and activity. Still at other times that dance is more like a slow dance where the two not only move to the music but are allowed a time to talk and share not only the dance but conversation and life as well.
But in everything the life of holiness is always going somewhere. It is calling us to be God’s human beings; alive, holy, full of His Holy Spirit, growing in grace, in knowledge, wisdom, faithfulness, joy and peace. It is calling us to live out a life in which we love God supremely and love others as we love ourselves.
It is an ongoing, ever transforming and relational adventure with the One who is the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY, the Messiah and the Holy Spirit.
This morning, all that I have shared is a little glimpse of what the life of holiness is in this life. A little glimpse because human words fail to capture its depth, its love and its wonder. It is a life that has to be lived. It is a life that has to be experienced.
This morning, let me challenge you to live a life of holiness – of allowing God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit to rescue you, redeem you and infill you with His Holy Spirit. Let me challenge you to take up Jesus’ invitation and follow Him. Let me challenge you to live a life guided and directed by God’s Holy Spirit. Let me challenge you to go out and live what can only be called the Abundant Life.
Invitation/Open Altar/Prayer/Blessing
