THE PRIVILEGE OF LIVING A HOLY LIFE DT 7
When you’re in your 90s and looking back, it’s not going to be how much money you made or
how many awards you’ve won. It’s really "What did you stand for? Did you make a positive
difference for people?" -- Elizabeth Dole, Politician
"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself." -- Count Leo
Tolstoy
"Your heart is the power core of all your success . . . no matter what you are desiring, if your
heart isn’t in it . . . then you will be without it." -- Doug Firebaugh
"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and
convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." -- Martin Luther
King, Jr.
1. THE PRIVILEGES OF GOD’S PEOPLE. We see in this chapter they are:
A. DISTINGUISHED. 7:6 DT 14:2for you are a people holy to the LORD your God. Out of all the
peoples on the face of the earth, the LORD has chosen you to be his treasured possession. .
26:18And the LORD has declared this day that you are his people, his treasured possession as he
promised. Mal 3:17"They will be mine," says the LORD Almighty, "in the day when I make up my
treasured possession. 1 PT 2:9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a
people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness
into his wonderful light. Eph. 1:4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy
and blameless in his sight.
B. THEY ARE REDEEMED. 7:8 “he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the
land of slavery.” The "covenant of love" stems from God’s love for his people, based on his
character and embodied in his covenant; it does not stem from the numerical greatness of the
people or any virtue of theirs. His love must be returned by his people. 7:9 In the Bible, to redeem
means to free someone from something bad by paying a penalty, or a ransom. Likewise, in the
Greek world slaves could be redeemed by the payment of a price, either by someone else or by the
slave himself. Similarly, Jesus redeems believers from the "curse of the law" and "all wickedness".
The ransom price is not silver or gold, but Christ’s blood, his death or Christ himself (Gal 3:13). The
result is the "forgiveness of sins" and "justification Son of God, and that by believing you may have
life in his name.” This whole Gospel is written to show the truth of Jesus’ Messiahship and to present
him as the Son of God, so that the readers may believe in him. The writer’s purpose was to draw
them to belief in Christ he uses the verb "believe" 98 times.
D. THEY ARE HIGHLY PREFERRED. Deut. 7:14 28:1-14 When all the plagues were in Egypt
they were protected from them all. God was always working for their good.
E. THEY ARE SHIELDED. VS 15 EX 15:26 I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on
the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you." God had brought the plagues in Egypt because
they would not let the people go. None of those things would come on God’s chosen people. He
does send discipline to help correct us to do good.
F. THEY ARE ESTEEMED. VS 21- As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them,
and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” Christ dwell in your heart by faith. That faith
brings you into favor with God.
G. THEY ARE MIGHTY VS24. In the N. T. we have a man named Stephen who fell before his
accusers but saw Jesus standing to receive him.
II. WHAT WE NEED TO DO AS RESPONSIBLE PEOPLE THAT ARE HOLY BEFORE GOD.
A. WE CAN NOT COMPROMISE WITH THE ENEMY. VS 2,3 have no association--political,
social or religious--with the idol worshipers. Sin is still sin no matter how it appears to be just a
custom that all are doing. I have seen in my life time the standard for holy living watered down that
people who say they are Christians do wicked things and have no guilt about them. I wonder why it
was wrong when I came into the kingdom of God to go to movies? Play cards? Gamble? Dance?
Now I have been told it OK in the right context. I wonder what happened to the definition of sin. Any
thing that goes against being holy before God. I am amazed at what people do today and show up
on Sunday to worship as they are pure and holy saints. I am not being a judge here but just
reminding myself I want to be as holy as I can all the time for I do not know when I will stand before
God as the judge of my heart.
B. WE ARE NOT TO PARTICIPATE IN FALSE WORSHIP. VS 5 EX 34:14 Do not worship any
other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” Would you want to stand before
God knowing you have left worshiping Him for something of this world? I have read this book He
sent and found that when His people left off worshiping Him there were mighty terrible things that He
sent their way.
C. WE ARE NO TO DEPART FROM HIS DIVINE COMMANDS. VS 11,12 JN 14:21Whoever has
my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my
Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him." 24He who does not love me will not obey my
teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. , 31but the
world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me. 15:
10If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s
commands and remain in his love. 11I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your
joy may be complete. 17This is my command: Love each other.”
D. We are not to fear Men. VS 18 Acts 4:13When they saw the courage of Peter and John and
realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that
these men had been with Jesus. 14But since they could see the man who had been healed standing
there with them, there was nothing they could say. 15So they ordered them to withdraw from the
Sanhedrin and then conferred together. 16"What are we going to do with these men?" they asked.
"Everybody living in Jerusalem knows they have done an outstanding miracle, and we cannot deny
it. 17But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn these men to
speak no longer to anyone in this name."
18Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of
Jesus. 19But Peter and John replied, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey
you rather than God. 20For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard." 21After
further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people
were praising God for what had happened.
E. WE ARE NOT TO GO AFTER THE RICHES OF THIS WORLD. VS 25,26 Most of us have
heard the story of Achan and how he stopped the progress of a whole nation. The love of money has
ruined many people.
