LIVING A HOLY LIFE
The Call to Be Holy
1. One of the most significant callings that God puts on the hearts of Christians is the call to be Holy.
2. 1 Peter, specifically 1 Peter 1:15-16 (NIV), says:
15But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."
3. Today I want to talk to you about the importance of being holy.
4. The Title of this message is “Living a Holy Life”, and it is based primarily from God’s Words to us in 1 Peter.
5. The word holy, Hagios in Greek, is used seven times in Peter’s first letter with regard to conduct or behavior. In addition, the word holy is used more than 500 times throughout the Bible.
6. So then, what is Holiness and what does it mean to be Holy?
7. The word Holy implies sacredness, being consecrated to God, or being worthy of God.
8. To be holy is to be free from anything that would offend a perfect God.
9. A portion of the entry under Holy in the Nelson Bible Dictionary reads as follows:
10. HOLY – moral and ethical wholeness or perfection; freedom from moral evil. Holiness is one of the essential elements of God’s nature required of His people.
11. We, as Christians, must live in this world, but we have been called out of the world (set apart) to live lives that are in conflict with what the world believes to be good and/or acceptable. This is quite often talked about as Christians being in the world, but not being of the world.
12. 1 Peter 1:17 (New International Version) says:
17Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.
13. Beyond that, however, we must exhibit such exemplary conduct that it is recognized by people of the world.
14. 1 Peter 2:12 (New International Version) says:
12Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
15. As Christians, we are not to value the things that the world values. We’re not supposed to accept the sinful evil ways of the world, to embrace them or to allow them to become part of our lives.
16. In addition, and perhaps more importantly, it means that whatever sinful evil ways of the world we did follow, prior to becoming a Christian, must now be stopped.
Done with Sin
17. 1 Peter 1:14 (New International Version) says:
14As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.
18. So many times when we consider Christ’s work on the cross, we focus so much on the forgiveness of sins that we may miss another very important work He has done for us.
19. 1 Peter 4:1-3 (New International Version) says:
1Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. 2As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. 3For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.
20. Christ suffered in his body so that we, his followers, his disciples would be done with sin. This does not mean that we would never sin again. It means that we would cease to live for the satisfaction of our sinful human desires, and that we would eagerly live to carry-out the will of God for the remainder of our earthly lives.
21. Colossians 3:5 (New International Version) adds to this, and it says:
5Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
22. Plain and simple, we are to stop. It doesn’t mean to slow down or decrease. It means to stop. In other words, God has issued us a cease and desist order for any sinful worldly behavior.
23. The world consistently and constantly screams things at us like you’ve earned it; you deserve it, go for the gusto, you’re worth it, get it while you can, the world is your playground, etc.
24. Christians, however, should be looking to receive everything from the Father, and nothing from the world.
25. 1 John 2:16 (New International Version) says:
16For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world.
Lust
26. There is a particular word in these last passages that deserves additional attention, and that word is LUST.
27. Lust can be defined as a strong craving for something or someone that we desire to satisfy, against the will of God.
28. One more time: Lust can be defined as a strong craving for something or someone that we desire to satisfy, against the will of God.
29. It is important for us to realize and understand some of the Characteristics of lust:
30. Lust is universal, and everyone experiences it.
Ephesians 2:1-3 (New International Version) says:
1As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.
31. Lust is usually at the root of temptation. Lust begins with desire and becomes a craving if it is not dealt with in a godly manner.
James 1:13-15 (New International Version) says:
13When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
We need to understand that Lust is destructive and possesses the following characteristics:
a. Lust is of the World.
b. Lust makes us want it now.
c. Lust is Selfish.
d. Lust Says Take It.
e. Lust is Sinful.
f. Lust is Immoral.
g. Lust is Anxious.
32. And the number one thing to remember is that Lust cannot be satisfied. When you begin to feed it, it develops a greater and more ferocious appetite. LUST, therefore, is insatiable.
33. Ultimately, Lust leads to:
a. Disappointment.
b. Hurt and Pain.
c. Regret.
d. Destruction.
e. And Loss
Happiness vs. Holiness
34. The world, and Satan, says that people have the right to be happy, and that achieving happiness should be of paramount importance.
35. Just think about the times that you have had discussions with people in which they rationalize a person’s behavior by saying something like, “Well if they’re happy that’s all that matters.”
36. Unfortunately, however, for people of the world the happiness that they gain by what they do or obtain is short lived.
37. More often, these accomplishments or acquisitions never bring the amount of happiness that was expected. They are, in deed, left feeling hollow, and subsequently they move on to the next conquest.
38. People of the world, and even some Christians, are trying to pack into their lives things or accomplishments that they believe will bring fulfillment.
39. This is because there is a place in every person that only Jesus Christ can fill and satisfy. Until each person invites Christ into their life, they continue to search for something to fill that empty place.
40. Then again, it’s more than that. Until Christ really dwells within a person, and that person in Christ, they will continue to feel empty, and unfulfilled.
41. John 15:5 (New International Version) says:
5"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
42. These people believe that their happiness is the most important thing that they can achieve; so they lust after people, career paths, money, and things to attain their happiness.
43. They are trying to gain unconditional love, acceptance and satisfaction from many places and things, because they haven’t yet realized that complete and permanent fulfillment is only available through and in Jesus Christ.
44. 1 Peter 1:18-19 (New International Version) says:
18For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, 19but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
45. While people of the world strive to be happy, Christians are called to be Holy.
46. The Bible is clear that God is continuously working for the good of his children.
47. Romans 8:28 tells us:
28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,[a] who[b] have been called according to his purpose.
48. God’s desire is that our happiness be achieved as an outcome of all that he has done for us in freeing us from the cares and worries of this world, and that we are now reconciled to him.
49. Our happiness as Christians is never acceptable if we are thinking or acting outside of God’s will, in order to accomplish what we believe will make us happy.
50. Simply put; if we strive to be Holy before our God we will most likely be happy. If, however, we strive to create our own happiness neglecting God’s call to be holy, then we will most likely end up unhappy.
51. Regardless, however, of our state of happiness there should always be a sense of joy within us knowing that we belong to God, and that we are right with him through our relationship with Christ. We also need to recognize that there is a big difference between this type of joy and situational happiness.
Holiness Isn’t
52. Sometimes in trying to understand what something is, it is helpful to identify what it is not. Here are three (3) key issues, ideas or concepts of what holiness isn’t.
a. First, we acknowledge that holiness is not some type of weird withdrawing from people, or a reclusive act in which we separate ourselves from the rest of humanity.
To do so would negate one of the most important reasons that God has called us out of the world.
On the contrary, we are called to engage people of the world, and to share with them the good news of Jesus Christ.
We need to be mindful of the fact that before we became Christians we were all once in darkness.
1 Peter 2:9 (New International Version) says:
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.
b. Second, know that a holy life is not an “As good as I can be life.”
This type of statement should be the clearest indication that you are relying on your own strengths and abilities. If you are trusting in yourself, then you are definitely not trusting in God.
c. Third, we realize that a holy life is not a sinless life.
God knows that we are human and that sin is part of the human condition. We all make mistakes, errors of judgment, and bad choices. Anyone who says that he does not sin is fooling only himself.
53. 1 John 1:8 (New International Version) tells us that:
8If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
How Then Can I Live a Holy Life?
54. Now, with all that said you may be asking, “How can we as humans achieve a state of holiness that is acceptable to God?”
55. How can we live up to the command to be holy in all we do?
56. What does it mean then to live a Holy life?
57. The opening versus of 1 Peter provides us with information on this very issue.
58. 1 Peter 1:1-2 (New International Version) says:
1Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood:
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
59. The key words in this passage directly applicable to our ability to be holy are, “through the sanctifying work of the Spirit.”
60. A portion of the entry in the Nelson Bible Dictionary under Sanctification reads as follows:
61. Sanctification – The process of God’s grace by which the believer is separated from sin and becomes dedicated to God’s righteousness. Accomplished by the Word of God and the Holy Spirit, sanctification results in holiness or purification from the guilt and power of sin. (REPEAT This definition)
62. Romans 8:3-4 (New International Version) says:
3For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature,[a] God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering.[b] And so he condemned sin in sinful man,[c] 4in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
63. Therefore, sanctification is the process by which we are made holy, and it is achieved by the Holy Spirit working in us.
64. The Holy Spirit of God who indwells us is able to transform us. By the power of the Spirit we find the ability to “abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul.”
65. 1 Peter 2:11 (New International Version) says:
11Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.
66. In addition, Galatians 5:16-17 (New International Version) says:
16So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.
67. To live a Holy life we need to understand that the holiness or lack thereof that we exemplify is a direct reflection of our state of mind and the condition of our hearts.
68. To live a Holy life means that we have to want to change.
69. We have to decide to let our lives be led by the Holy Spirit each and every day.
70. We have to be converted from a “I have too” mentality to a “I want too” state of mind and heart in being obedient to the Holy Spirit that lives within us.
71. We have to open ourselves up completely to the living and enduring Word of God, and to the Holy Spirit of God and allow Him to access the deepest and darkest areas of our hearts.
72. 1 Peter 1:23 (New International Version) says:
23For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
73. 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 (New International Version) says:
6Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough? 7Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.
74. In this passage Paul is addressing immoral behavior, and he does so reflecting back to the Passover Feast.
75. On the eve of the first day of the Feast, the Jew was required to remove all leaven from his house.
76. Then, he would go to the kneading trough and scrape it clean.
77. Then, he would go to the place that the leaven was stored and scrub there until not a trace remained.
78. Then, he searched his entire house with a lamp to make sure that none had been overlooked.
79. Finally, after all that, he lifted up his hands to God and said:
80. “Oh God, I have cast out all the leaven from my house, and if there is any leaven left that I do not know of, with all of my heart I cast that out as well.”
81. This pictures the kind of separation from evil to which the Christian is called.
82. This is the kind of attitude and approach we should take in cleaning out our minds and hearts, in order to be a Holy People before our Holy God.
83. To live a Holy life means that we must prepare our minds to think Godly thoughts, and to take Godly actions.
84. 1 Peter 1:13-14 (New International Version) says:
13Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.
85. Also, Romans 12:2 (New International Version) tells us:
2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
86. In addition, 2 Corinthians 10:5 (New International Version) says:
5We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
87. This is critical because our thinking shapes our behavior. We act on the things we think about.
88. If we think Godly thoughts, then we will act in a Godly manner. If we think worldly thoughts, then we will act in a worldly manner.
89. To live a Holy life would be so much easier if God were to take away all of our natural and/or sinful desires when we are baptized into the body of Christ; but He doesn’t do that.
90. Consequently, here we are with free will, and we still have the capacity to sin against God any time we choose to do so. The emphasis here is on the words, “any time we choose.”
91. The fact is that while each of us is in our fleshly body, we will not and do not outgrow our natural and fleshly carnality.
92. The choice to “Walk in the Spirit” or to “Walk in the Flesh” is ours.
93. To live a Holy life is to progress in the desire to yield and become obedient to the Holy Spirit that dwells within you. Not because you have to, but because you want to. You desire nothing less!
94. But wait, there’s more!
95. To live a Holy life is also to live in a way that would prevent the appearance of being anything but Holy.
96. Ephesians 5:3 (New International Version) says:
3But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.
97. Even when we believe in our hearts that we are being holy, we need to consider how things appear to other members of the body of Christ; and to people of the world.
98. Sometimes our pride gets in the way, and we can let the appearance about a behavior we have destroy our witness for Christ.
99. Living a Holy Life is important not merely because God commands it, but also because it benefits our true identity of whom we are in Christ.
100. 1 Peter 2:10 (New International Version) says:
10Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God.
101. If you are part of the body of Christ, then you are no longer citizens of a sinful world.
102. If you’re in Christ, then you are a child of the one, the only, Holy God.
103. As Christians, this world is not our home. We are but strangers in a foreign land, working our way back to heaven which is our true home.
104. In the case of the skit tonight, the answer is clear. Lying, deceiving or falsifying records to appear better than we are in order to obtain some worldly goal or objective, driven by greed, is definitely not being Holy.
105. Throughout our lives there are so many issues, so many decisions and so many choices. Sometimes, the answer isn’t so clear. Then again maybe it is, and we simply don’t like the answer the Holy Spirit has already given to us.
106. I can’t tell you how you should respond to this message.
107. I can, however, tell you that privacy will not help.
108. If you’re living in an un-Holy manner thinking you can work it out on your own, just between you and God, I’m encouraging you to think again.
109. Consider confessing this sin to someone else. Someone that you trust and someone that you feel comfortable with. Don’t be deceived into thinking you should keep it private. That is exactly what the enemy would like to see you do.
110. The longer that you keep it private, the longer you are likely to keep choosing to sin in that particular behavior.
111. Confessing our sins and casting them into the light is part of how we live a Holy life.
112. 1 John 1:9 (New International Version) tells us:
9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
113. So, if there is anything that we can do for you today; if you desire to be baptized into Christ, or if you need to share something that’s on your heart please come forward as we stand and sing.
