Personal Holiness Amidst Perverted Worldliness, Part 1b

You know, I think that a lot of times in the church, we think that holiness is an option. That somehow we can bypass it today and maybe tomorrow we'll be holy. But it's not an option. It's something that God has called us to do and therefore given us a command. Be holy. Let me say it to you this way.

Be set apart for some special and exclusive purpose. That's what it means to be holy, to be set apart, to be separate. Let me give you a modern illustration.

You're going to get married, right? And the Bible tells you that when you get married, you leave and you cleave. You leave your former life, you leave your former lovers, you leave the things you used to do and cleave to one person who now becomes one with you and the main part of your life and your lover. But let's say you were going to get married and your spouse came to you and said, you know, when we get married, this is what I like to do. I would like to have you as my wife. But you know, in days gone by, I had so many other lovers.

I would like to keep them as well. Is that okay with you? Of course it wouldn't be okay with you. If it is, you got some main problems. But that would not be okay. Why? Because when you get married, you leave and you cleave to that one individual. And the Bible says in Ephesians 5 that husbands are to love their wives and they are to sanctify their lives.

They are to set their wives apart. That is, they are to set them apart for some exclusive purpose and some special purpose. And that purpose is for them and for them to serve them and to honor them. Well, the same way is true in Christianity. You can't come to Christ and say, Lord, I'm so glad that you and I can be in this newfound relationship. But you know, before I became a Christian, I had all these other relationships I was a part of. All these other things that were big deals to me and I want to hold on to those big deals.

Is that okay? It's not okay. It's not. Because God sets you apart from those things for a very exclusive purpose. And that's what holiness is. Be holy. Be set apart. Be different. Because God has a purpose for your life. And God wants to use you in some exclusive way. Look it over in 1 Peter chapter 2, verse number 21. It says this, for you have been called for this purpose. Oh, okay. If I'm set apart for some exclusive purpose, what purpose have I been called to do? Here it is. Since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps.

Who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth. And while being reviled, He did not revile and return while suffering. He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously. Peter says, you have been set apart for a very exclusive purpose. And what is that purpose? That purpose is when you have been treated unjustly. When no one around you respects you, accepts you, or likes you. And you are treated in such a way that you are abused and used. There is to be no deceit found in your mouth.

There is to be no malicious behavior on your part. You are to commit yourself to the one who judges righteously. That's what it means to be holy. See that? Because that's the way Christ was. That's the way He acted. He was so different from creation, that when creation went after Him, He didn't retaliate. When those around Him abused Him, and He could have called legions of angels to destroy them, He didn't do so. But instead, He committed Himself to the one who judges righteously. And so Peter says, you have been called for this purpose, to follow that example.

That's your example right there. And that's what it means to be set apart. To be holy. You know, we are positionally set apart. Over in 1 Peter chapter 2, verse number 9, what does it say? But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a what? Holy nation. That's us. That's the believer. We're a royal priesthood. We are a holy nation. God set us apart. He set us apart for an exclusive purpose. That we would be a nation of God. That we would represent His kingdom accurately. He set us apart for that.

Same thing He did with Israel, way back in the book of Exodus. Exodus chapter 19, verse number 4. It says, you yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagle's wings and brought you to Myself. Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples of all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. God called Israel to Himself. He called them to be a holy nation.

He called them to be separate and distinct from the world. So the world would see a sovereign God through their lives. And understand the plan of God through their lives. That's the same thing that Christ has done with us, the church of Jesus Christ. He has set us apart. He has called us a royal priesthood. You see, the difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament is that Israel had a priesthood. In the New Testament, we are a priesthood. Think about that. They had priests, but we are a kingdom of priests according to Revelation chapter 1.

We have been liberated from our sin that we might be a kingdom of priests to our God. Revelation 1 verses 5 to 7 says. And so now we're able to understand God's plan more aptly upon our life as we examine what God says concerning being a holy nation.

God says, I delivered you. I bore you on wings like an eagle. And now that I delivered you, here is your duty. You are to be devoted to me because I have called you to be a holy nation. But Isaiah 1 verse number 4 says, A sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity was Israel. They weren't separate. They wanted to blend in. They wanted to be just like the world. They loved it so much, they just couldn't get rid of it. And so the Lord knows the lure of the world. And commands us to be a holy, holy people.

To separate ourselves from evil and dedicate ourselves to a life of righteousness. Listen to what Paul says over in 2 Corinthians. 2 Corinthians chapter 6. Paul says, as he quotes the Old Testament. I will dwell in them and walk among them and I will be their God and they shall be my people. Therefore come out from their midst and be separate, says the Lord. And do not touch what is unclean and I will welcome you. And I will be a father to you and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.

Chapter 7 verse number 1. Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit. Perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Therefore, because God has called us out, because God has indwelt our lives, we need to perfect holiness in the fear of God. Hebrews 12 verse 14 says, pursue peace with all men and holiness, holiness. Because without it, no one will see the Lord. Pursue peace, pursue holiness. The Bible says in Matthew 5 verse 48, Christ said, be perfect even as your Father in heaven is perfect.

He says the exact same thing, be just like me. That's the command. But notice what the command says. It says, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior. In all your behavior. You know, he had to add that. Because we would think that if we were holy in this avenue or this area of our life, we could sort of live unholy in this area of our lives and God would be satisfied. God would be happy with us. But Peter's big into conduct. Peter's big into behavior. Peter's big into how you live your life.

Listen to what he says over in chapter 2 verse number 12. He says this, keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may on account of your good deeds as they observe them glorify God in the day of visitation. He's big into behavior. Look what it says over in chapter 3 verse number 1. In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands, so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior.

So again, he's talking about the behavior. He says, be holy in all your behavior. All of it. Then over in chapter 3 verse number 16. He says this, and keep a good conscience, so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. You see, Peter wants you to understand something. Everybody's watching. Your children are watching. Your unbelieving spouse is watching. Your boss is watching. Your employees are watching. Your employer is watching.

Your coach is watching. Your teacher is watching. Everybody's watching what? They're watching your behavior. So therefore, you have to be holy in all of your behavior. In every aspect of your life. You've got to be holy in your speech. You've got to be holy in your mind. The little kids sang earlier tonight, be careful little eyes what you see. Be careful little mind what you think. Be careful little legs or feet where you go. Be careful little hands what you do. They're singing about being holy in all your behavior.

In all your conduct. Everything needs to be set apart. Everything needs to be distinct. Separate from creation and separate from corruption. Everything. Not just some things. There needs to be a holiness of spirit. So if I have bitterness in my spirit, then my spirit is not set apart for God's purposes. There needs to be a forgiving spirit. If I have a retaliatory spirit, that is, I love to retaliate, I love to get back at people, then I don't have a holy spirit. I've got the kind of spirit that wants to get back at people and exemplifies a worldly spirit.

So I have to be holy in all my behavior, not just some of my behavior. Because everybody is watching. Everybody sees. Everybody hears. And to people like Peter was addressing, they see and hear how you handle suffering and persecution. They're looking at your attitude and how you deal with it. In 1 Peter 3, when he talks about the wife who's married to an unbelieving husband, you're going to be able to win your husband with your chaste behavior, your respectful behavior. You don't even have to speak a word because it's your godly behavior, your holy behavior that speaks for you, that causes him to see you're different than other women.

You're different than the other wives, you see? Same true as you go to work and how you handle criticism from your boss and how you handle criticism from other employees. Everybody's watching. They're looking to see how it is you're going to handle it, what it is you're going to do. So Peter says, be holy in all your behavior. Remember I told you last week that God wanted to put Moses to death? You want to know why God wanted to put Moses to death? I mean, here was a man called by God to perform the greatest act a man would ever perform during the history of the world.

And God spent 40 years preparing this man in the desert and the wilderness, came to him in a burning bush in a miraculous way, spoke to him, Moses argued with him, and yet God was able to show him the mighty plan and power of who he is and what he wanted to do. And Moses accepts the position and Moses is about ready to go back. He goes back and gets the permission from Jethro, his father-in-law. He puts his wife on the donkey, puts his kids on the donkey, and off he goes, nothing ahead of him except sweet success.

He's got the rod of God, the power of God, the presence of God. He's got it with him. God already told him about the miracles that he was going to perform. It was going to be a great and awesome thing. And then all of a sudden the Bible says, and God wanted to put Moses to death.

Because the Bible says, you got to be holy in all your behavior, not just some of your behavior. You see, Moses had a responsibility that he neglected. It was a responsibility that he neglected and because he did, God said, listen, if you are going to lead my people, you have got to do everything that I say. Because if you're not willing to do everything that I say, you can't lead by example. And your leadership will be powerless. You have got to follow me in everything, Moses. And Moses forgot to do something.

He didn't forget. He neglected to do something. He neglected to circumcise his youngest son, Eliezer. And according to Genesis chapter 17, the Abrahamic covenant centered around circumcision and you had to circumcise your children. And if Moses was going to lead the covenant people of God, and was unwilling to fulfill the Abrahamic covenant, then he would be an impotent leader. And God says, and here's the ironic thing, he just told him what to say to Pharaoh, right?

Pharaoh, you let my people go, because if you don't let them go, your firstborn will die. There will be the judgment of God upon your life. And we want to sit back and say, boy, that is so good. God says you've got to do this, and Pharaoh, you don't.

Bam, God's going to just slam you. Forgetting what Peter says in 1 Peter 4, 17, which is this. He says, for it is time for judgment to begin in the household of God. In the household of God. And if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome of those who do not obey the gospel of God?

You see, God is really serious about following exactly what he says. You see, we want to go through life and say, you know what, I can do these big things over here, and it's okay if I don't do this thing over here. God taught Moses a very important lesson. He wanted him to know at the very outset, Moses, listen, you've got to do everything I say exactly as I say it, because if you don't do it exactly like I say it, there will be severe consequences. That's why Moses almost died. And by the way, what was it that kept Moses out of the promised land?

His disobedience to God. He struck the rock out of anger. And God says, no promised land. What? I've led these stiff-necked rebellious people for 40 years? I have come under the abuse for 40 years, and because I got angry and struck a rock, you said no to the promised land? What kind of God is that? That is a holy God. And if you want to lead in God's economy, you better lead God's way, or guess what? You'll suffer the consequences. That goes over to you as fathers in your homes. You've got to be holy in all your behavior.

You can't be holy on Sunday and unholy on Monday. You can't be dragging your family to church on Sunday and saying, here we are, we're the people of God, we're going to go worship God, and then go out of money and live any way you want to live. Or completely disobey what the Lord taught you on Sunday. Doesn't mean that God's going to want to kill you, but it does mean that you'll bear the consequences of your disobedience. Be not deceived, God is not mocked. Whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap.

It was Charles Spurgeon who said this about the seriousness of sin. You see, we tend to think that the little sins are okay. It's okay. I mean, I did the big thing, I went to church, I read my Bible, I share Christ with somebody. So if I do just a little sin, it's okay because the bigger holy things outweigh the little unholy things. That's the way we tend to think. It was Charles Spurgeon who said, you cannot, though you may think you can, preserve a moderation in sin. If you commit one sin, it is like the melting of the lower glacier upon the Alps.

The others must follow in time. He goes on to say, little sins are like little thieves. They open the door to big ones. And then he says, a loose stone here and a fallen tie there and a rotting timber in a third place will soon bring on a total ruin to a tenement.

But the hand of diligence maintains the fabric. Thus, we must watch our spiritual house lest we fall by little and little. One pampered sin will slay the soul as surely as one dose of poison will kill the body. Sin, one little sin, one little area. God told Moses, Moses, you can't lead my people unless you deal with this area. Charles Spurgeon would go on to say, if there is anything we are doing or leaving undone, any evil we are harboring or any grace we are neglecting, which may make us unfit to be used of God, let us pray the Lord to cleanse and mend and scour us till we are vessels fit for the master's use.

Let us not be content till we are useful, but make this the main design and ambition of our lives. Is there an area in your life that you're neglecting? Some secret sin that no one knows about? God knows. He sees. And could it be that God is holding back the outpouring of blessing in your life because there is that negligence in your life over things you need to get right and have not? There are things you need to confess that you hold on to, those secret sins that we love to do when no one else is looking, but yet God sees.

God knows. Be holy in all of your behavior. He doesn't say be holy in most of your behavior. Some of your behavior. 90% of your behavior. All of your behavior. Why? Because God is holy. And we're to be like God. And if we're going to represent God to our children, our spouses, those we work with, if we are not separate from creation and corruption, then they won't be able to see that uniqueness about our lives. And that's what God's call for you and for me is. Tonight, deal with those issues. Deal with them.

Deal with them in your family. Don't let them continue on. Make sure that all your behavior is set apart exclusively for the purposes of God. You say, well, how can that possibly be? I mean, how could I know every sin and deal with it? How could I know that I'm neglecting an area? Just ask the Lord to show you. Say, Lord, if I'm neglecting an area, if I'm holding back something, if I'm harboring some bitter spirit, if I'm harboring some resentful attitude, if I got in my life something that's keeping me from being what you want me to be, God, show it to me.

And guess what? God will show it to you. He'll make it so plain, so clear, crystal clear. You confess it before your God. You get it right before him and say, God, help me to be holy in all my behavior because you're holy, and you called me with a holy calling, and you've commended me to be a holy people because you've made me already a holy nation. You've already separated me from everybody else in the world. Therefore, Lord, help me live up to that. Help me to follow that, honor that, and glorify your gracious name.