The Beauty Of Holiness

"The Beauty of Holiness"

1 Pet. 3:1-7

1 Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, 2 when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. 3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. 4 Instead, it should be that of your inner self (KJV- let it be the hidden man of the heart), the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. 5 For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, 6 like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.

(v:3-4 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment,... Instead,... let it be the hidden man of the heart.)

1 Ch. 16:29

ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name. Bring an offering and come before him; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness ( in (the) beauty of holiness).

2 Ch. 20:21

After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the LORD and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: "Give thanks to the LORD, for his love endures forever."

Ps. 29:2

Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness (in the beauty of holiness).

Ps. 96:9

Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness (in the beauty of holiness); tremble before him, all the earth.

Ex. 28:36

Make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it as on a seal: HOLY (KJV- HOLINESS) TO THE LORD.

Intro:

My sermon tonight revolves around a phrase that is found several times in the Bible. It is the phrase, The Beauty of Holiness.

Holiness is a beautiful thing.

It is used to describe the holiness of God. It is usually used in some connection with the praise and worship of the Lord. And frequently it is used as part of an encouragement to draw near to God in worship and praise.

1 Ch. 16:29 When the ark came to Jerusalem with David

II Ch. 20:21 Jehosaphat’s singers

(Ps. 29:2, 96:9)

Ex. 15:11 Who among the gods is like you, O LORD? Who is like you-- majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders? NIV

...who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? KJV "Holiness unto the Lord" was engraved on the headband of the hat of the high priest worn before the Lord. Ex 28:36

Hymn #385

An Inward Adorning – 1 Pe. 3:1-7

When Jesus described Himself as The Good Shepherd He used an expression that can be taken to mean the beautiful shepherd. He had other words that would describe inner excellence (agathos), and moral excellence (dikaios). But He used one that refers to what is beautiful as well as what is good. The word for good is the Greek word kalos which gives us calligraphy, beautiful writing, and callisthenics which is strength and beauty. "There (is) something attractive about Jesus’ goodness..." (Leon Morris, Expository Reflections on the Gospel of John p.377)

Describe a typical morning’s preparation for church. Use _____ (someone’s name) as an illustration.

- shave - and look in the mirror,

- shower,

- fix your hair- and look in the mirror,

- you chose an outfit - tried it on in front of the mirror,

- stand before the mirror to get your tie right (if a woman, the belt of a dress.) – you had to try 2-3 times before you had it right.

Then you took one last glance in the mirror before leaving.

It’s all good ...

But think if we spent the same amount of effort and time adorning our inner man - "The hidden man of the heart." (1 Pe. 3:4)

Putting on the garment of praise (Is. 61:1-3)

Putting on the whole armor of God (Eph. 6:11)

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to

Put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to

Put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. 25 Therefore each of you must

Put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. (Eph. 4:22-25)