Take Time To Be Holy – Part 2

2023.08.06. SERMON NOTES_TAKE TIME TO BE HOLY – PART 2

William Akehurst, HSWC

BIG IDEA: Be Holy, for I AM HOLY. How can we, who are of a sinful nature, be holy? GOD calls you to grow in Holiness and equips you to do so through HIS SPIRIT in every believer.

Scriptures: Colossians 3:1-17, Titus 3:5-7, Romans 12:1-2, Leviticus 11:44-45, 1 Peter 1:15–16

Titus 3:5-7

5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

WHAT IS THE HOLINESS OF GOD?

Throughout the Bible we are confronted with GOD’s incomparable Holiness — HIS moral perfection, absolute purity, and impeccable righteousness.

ALMIGHTY GOD IS HOLY—set apart, different, and distinct from everyone and everything else…

1 Samuel 2:2 “No one is holy like the LORD, For there is none besides You,

Nor is there any rock like our God.

BECOMING HOLY LIKE GOD (intends for us to be)

The Book of Leviticus teaches us about holiness, and it’s there that we see GOD’s command to “be holy; for I AM holy”

Leviticus 11:44-45 (NKJV)

44 For I am the LORD your God. You shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy. Neither shall you defile yourselves with any creeping thing that creeps on the earth. 45 For I am the LORD who brings you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.

But this is not a one-time command. It’s emphasized again in Leviticus (11:45; 19:2; 20:7, 26) and also in 1 Peter 1:15–16.

1 Peter 1:15-16 15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

Since GOD is HOLY, it is impossible to be accepted by HIM on the basis of what we do to attain holiness; why? Because we all fall short.

Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

It’s impossible for fallen man to produce absolute righteousness because we are like an unclean thing, and our attempts of righteousness is like a filthy rag.

Isaiah 64:6 But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.

The best that sinful man can produce is still defiled.

Absolute Purity and Holiness is beyond our capabilities…

So, what can we do to stack up?

That’s the wrong question…

It’s not about you or me…

Titus 3:5-7

5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

GOD SAVED US BECAUSE HE IS MERCIFUL.

MANKIND CAN ONLY BE MADE HOLY IN GOD’S SIGHT THROUGH THE HOLINESS OF JESUS CHRIST.

THE REPENTANT (CHANGING) SINNER WHO PUTS THEIR TRUST IN JESUS’ ATONING DEATH ON THE CROSS IS MADE RIGHT WITH GOD.

IT IS ONLY THROUGH THIS JUSTIFICATION, (BEING MADE RIGHT), THAT THE BELIEVER RECEIVES THE HOLINESS OF JESUS CHRIST, BY THE POWER AND PRESENCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, AND CAN APPROACH A HOLY GOD IN A LOVING, FATHER-AND-CHILD RELATIONSHIP.

A corrupt tree cannot bear good fruit, and GOD cannot go against Himself when it comes to Holiness. One speck is all it takes to tarnish the whole lot.

But that which HIS Holiness demands, “be Holy for I AM Holy”, HIS Grace has provided in JESUS CHRIST our LORD.

And to the praise, honor and glory of HIS Grace, every sinner who trusts in CHRIST, is made acceptable in the “Beloved”, because of CHRIST JESUS. And it’s in CHRIST, that we have that forgiveness and redemption which comes by HIS Blood.

Ephesians 1:3-7

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.