Committed To Be Holy

5-4-08 message by Pastor Rich Doebler

Today we're continuing a series of messages which explore our spiritual roots as a church. Most of you here were raised in a different kind of church—or no church at all.

• Some of you came because you married someone with a different religious upbringing than yours, and you needed to find a compromise. "I'm not going to my mother-in-law's church!"
• Others came because you were still looking for a decent husband or wife. Nothing wrong with that!
• Still others came because you were seeking more of God than you experienced in your past.

Whatever it was that brought us here, we all brought something with us when we came. Our backgrounds, our upbringing, our spiritual roots contribute to what we are today—and when we learn from our backgrounds, they can help us go forward. God does not waste our experiences. Good or bad, God wants to build on our past experiences so we can grow closer to him and gain spiritual strength.

Last week we looked at what you raised Lutheran bring to the table. We looked at the remarkable legacy of Martin Luther—the positive things he gave to the church: Emphasis on the Word of God; courage to stand for your beliefs; the just shall live by faith.

The week before we looked at what you raised Catholic contribute to our spiritual growth: reverence and respect for God's house, the sanctuary; an awe for the presence of God.

This week we're looking at another branch of our spiritual roots—the Methodist background. Not as many here were raised in a Methodist tradition as were Lutherans or Catholics (only about 4 to 5%), but many more of us have been influenced by the teachings of John Wesley, who pioneered what became the Methodist Church, even though he was a life-long Anglican.

All of us are on a spiritual journey. We are all still "in process" of becoming fully what God wants us to be. None of us are perfect.

One man called the church. "I'm looking for the perfect church," he said to the pastor. "Is yours the perfect church?" The pastor said, "If it were the perfect church, it wouldn't be once you arrived."

All of us are on a spiritual journey, but none of us have arrived yet. When you finally do arrive at the end of your journey, when you finally reach your spiritual destination, when you finally achieve perfection, you're no longer here. You're in heaven. Do you know what we do with people who finally achieve perfection? We bury them!

I've never met anybody who was perfect and who was still walking around here on earth. As long as we live in this body of flesh, as long as we carry all the weaknesses, emotions, and flaws of our human nature, we have room for improvement. As long as we're alive, we have areas in which we need to grow.

Some are further along their spiritual journey than others. Some have fewer flaws than others.

Like the new father who nervously brought his wife and baby home from the hospital. Soon it was time to change the baby. His wife said, "Why don't you try changing the diaper." He said, "I'm kinda busy right now. I'll try the next one." So she changed the baby's diaper. A couple hours later she said, "The baby needs changing again. You said you'd do the next one." And the husband said, "I meant the next baby." He has room for improvement!

Everybody needs improvement—some more than others. Nobody on earth has arrived at perfection yet. However, everyone who names Jesus Christ as his or her Lord and Savior should earnestly and diligently aim at becoming more like Christ. Paul, the apostle, wrote in a letter to the church in Philippi:

Phil 3:12-14 (NLT) ¹² I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection! But I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be. ¹³ No...I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven.

Phil 3:12 (NASB) Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect... John Wesley used this verse as his text to preach about Christian perfection—about our need to strive for personal holiness.

"Christian perfection...[Wesley said] is only another term for holiness. They are two names for the same thing. Thus every one that is perfect is holy... [Yet he recognized that we are all always in process of becoming what we were meant to be.] There is no perfection...which does not admit of [allow need for] a continual increase. So that how much soever any man hath attained... [no matter how perfect] he hath still need to ‘grow in grace,'" [2 Pet. 3:18]... [Sermon 40, 1872 edition].

John Wesley was born in 1703, nearly 200 years after Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the church door. The son of an Anglican minister, he was sent away to school at age 10. Later in college he was driven to pursue spiritual disciplines. He believed salvation required his good works (he didn't think he was as bad as others) and on his religious activities (he enjoyed them). He diligently read his Bible, attended church, and said prayers. He studied hard, became a minister, and did even more good works (visiting prisoners, helping the poor, comforting the sick). He lived a frugal, even austere life, depriving himself of any non-essentials. He fasted twice a week. He did all he could to avoid sin.

Then in his early 30s, Wesley left for America to serve as a missionary in Georgia. While sailing across the Atlantic, the ship was nearly shattered in a violent storm. The main mast broke and water poured into the holds. They felt sure the ship was going down! Most on board were terrified, but Wesley was amazed to see how calm some Moravian missionaries were. They were singing hymns of praise even at the height of the storm. He wondered how they could have such spiritual peace, such quiet confidence.

Wesley was determined to convert the Indians, but he didn't do well and soon returned to England feeling like a failure. There he searched for what the Moravians had—and began to understand that faith is a free gift of God given to all who earnestly desired it—if they stop depending on their own works of righteousness.

About that time he went to a small gathering on Aldersgate Street in London and heard someone reading Martin Luther's preface to the Epistle to the Romans. Wesley describes what happened: "...while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ; Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me, that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death." [Christian History, II:1:32]

This experience transformed John Wesley. He became passionate for the gospel—and dedicated his life to seeing that others discovered the joy of salvation through grace as he had. But the more passionate and enthusiastic he became, the less welcome he was in the pulpits of the Anglican church. Consequently, he did much of his preaching in the open fields, reaching the common people of England.

In his ministry, John Wesley rode over 250,000 miles on horseback. He preached over 40,000 sermons—often three a day, sometimes to audiences outdoors estimated in the tens of thousands. He wrote over 5,000 books, tracts, and pamphlets—often on horseback.

One topic for which he is especially remembered is the importance of living a holy life. Wesley's teachings served as a basis for the Holiness movement, from which came a number of groups: the Methodists, the Wesleyan Church, the Church of the Nazarene, Christian and Missionary Alliance, Pentecostalism, and parts of the Charismatic movement. Wesley's call to personal holiness continues to challenge and inspire many believers.

In the time we have left, I want to explore this spiritual root—the root of holiness—in our church.

Holiness or being holy comes from a Greek word which meant "dedicated or separated for a special or unique purpose." The ancient Greeks used the word to speak of something dedicated to the Greek gods. Early Christians, however, used the word to describe being separated from sin so they could be consecrated to God.

In the OT, the Jews understood the idea of things being "sanctified" or set apart and dedicated in service to God. The Tabernacle was holy. The basin was holy. The candlesticks and the instruments were holy. The altar was holy. You sacrificed offerings to God on the altar; you never used the altar for a BBQ picnic! You never used holy things for common, ordinary activities. Holy things were dedicated for God alone!

The prophet Ezekiel told the OT priests that they were to "teach My people the difference between the holy and the profane [NIV: common], and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean" (44:23, NASB).

To be holy, then, means to be set apart, cleansed and dedicated for God's use.

Example of two dishes: A fancy drink glass and a dog dish—both have a function, but they are definitely intended for different purposes. We cannot change a dog dish into a fancy drink glass—only God can do that kind of a miracle. But when God forgives us and changes us, we are to set ourselves apart for his purposes. When God changes us, we should stop serving the dog out of the fancy drink glass. When we keep on serving our sinful nature, it's like putting fine crystal down on the floor to feed the dog.

2 Tim 2:20-21 (NLT) 20 In a wealthy home some utensils are made of gold and silver, and some are made of wood and clay. The expensive utensils are used for special occasions, and the cheap ones are for everyday use. 21 If you keep yourself pure, you will be a utensil God can use for his purpose. Your life will be clean [NIV: made holy], and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work.

So...how holy do we need to be?

The Bible says, "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matt 5:48). Does God expect sinless perfection out of us? We've already said no one can be perfect. No one has arrived yet. If perfection is what the Bible teaches, then there's a lot of you who are in trouble. The truth is, all of us will have problems living up to that kind of a standard!

The Bible says, "Be perfect," but it also says, "All our righteous acts are like filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6). In other words, the very best we can do is dirty and disgusting! Our attempts to be holy will always fall short.

Imagine telling a pig to clean up his pig pen. No matter how good a job that pig does, in his heart of hearts, he's still a pig. He's still going to wallow in the mud. He can't help himself! He's a pig!

We can't help ourselves either. The Bible says, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). The Bible says, "There is no one righteous, not even one" (Romans 3:10).

The thing about holiness is that it is God's work—not ours. But God invites us to work with him. He wants us to partner with him in doing the very thing we cannot do on our own.

He provides the cleaning supplies; but we offer the thing to be cleaned. To live holy lives, dedicated to God, growing closer to him, we need to remember (and live) four things:

1. Holiness is God's work first.

Phil 1:6 "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion [NASB: will perfect it] until the day of Christ Jesus." God began it, and he'll finish it.

2 Pet 1:3-4 "³ His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness... ⁴ Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires."

Ro 15:16 "...sanctified by the Holy Spirit."

Eph 5:25-27 "²⁵...[Christ] loved the church and gave himself up for her ²⁶to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, ²⁷and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless."

Heb 10:10 "...we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."

Heb 13:12 "[Jesus suffered] ...to make the people holy through his own blood."

One of the most common terms used in the NT to describe believers in Christ is the word, "saint." It literally means "holy ones"—those whom God has chosen and set aside for his purposes! This is God's work—a work of grace—but that's not the end of the story...

2. God calls us to participate in his work. We cannot become holy on our own or by trying harder. But because of God's grace and because he provides what we need, we can respond to him. In fact, we must respond.

He will not force us against our will to give up sins, attitudes, and habits that contaminate our relationship with him. But he wants us to feel the pain and the shame of living substandard lives. He wants us to repent of sin—and turn away from it. He wants us to choose his way over our way. He wants us walk in his grace and be filled with his Holy Spirit, so he can empower us to live victoriously in righteousness and holiness.

Phil 2:12-13 "¹²Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose."

Earlier we read the verses John Wesley used in his preaching about Christian perfection:

¹² Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³ Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Phil 3:12-14)

What do you "press on" for? What do you "strain toward"? God calls you to run a race and win the prize!

2Co 13:11 "Finally, brothers, good-by. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you." [NCV: Try to be complete; NLT: Change your ways; LB: Grow in Christ.]

Heb 12:14 "Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord." [NCV: Try to; MSG: Work at.]

2Pe 3:14 "So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him." [MSG: do your very best; LB: try hard to live without sinning.]

3. We are declared holy in an instant. It is the gift of God, the result of grace. Because Jesus paid the price for our sins on the cross, God doesn't see any sin when he looks at us. He sees us holy and pure in Christ.

1 Cor 1:2 (NASB) "To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified [NCV: have been made holy] in Christ Jesus, saints by calling..." This is past tense—something that has already happened: you "have been sanctified."

1 Cor 1:30 (NCV) "Because of God you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God. In Christ we are put right with God, and have been made holy, and have been set free from sin."

1 Cor 6:11 (NCV) "In the past, some of you were like that, but you were washed clean. You were made holy, and you were made right with God in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God."

Heb 10:10 (NCV) "And because of this, we are made holy through the sacrifice Christ made in his body once and for all time."

4. Holiness is a lifetime process. Though it's already happened because of Christ's work on the cross, though God already sees us as justified and forgiven, we're not finished till we cross the finish line. Paul wrote to the Christians in Thessalonica and said:

"May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1Th 5:23).

Heb 10:14 "...by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy [NASB: those who are (footnote: being) sanctified]."

Made perfect according to God's judgment; being made holy according to actual condition. God invites us to become fully involved in this process!

2Co 7:1 "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."

Ro 6:22 "But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness [NASB: sanctification], and the result is eternal life."

It's spring. Some of you are itching to get out in your gardens and plant your vegetables or flowers. But reaping a harvest requires that the seed go through a process. If you plant your garden this afternoon, you can't go out tomorrow expecting to find beans and peas. If you go out tomorrow and there's nothing, don't dig up the seeds to see what's wrong. It's a process. It's just the beginning. You can't hurry the process along by grabbing the little seedlings and tugging on them, stretching them to make them grow faster. It's a process—just like holiness is a process.

How are you doing? Are you growing closer to God? Have you been setting yourself apart for his purposes? Have you been choosing his ways over your ways? Have you been separating yourself from sinful behavior and sinful attitudes?