- Seek and Save Ministries
- P. O. Box 544, Thurmont, Md. 21788
- 100% of all gifts and donations are used to reach those that are lost.
Why die in the darkness, when you can live in the light?
|
Holiness
What does it mean to be
Holy? 1. Specially belonging to
or devoted to God We may conclude that
God’s holy people are distinctively and identifiably different from the
world’s crowd. What is the basic Bible
position on Holiness? From the beginning, Adam and Eve were required to distance themselves from a forbidden fruit. That was an elementary example of holiness. Abstaining from things that God forbids is an act of holiness. "Abstain from all appearance of evil." "Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing." "Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." These are basic premises of holiness. How do I know if I am
holy? We must judge ourselves. I
John Unfortunately, many do not
judge righteous judgment. In other words, it is not good enough to feel clean,
if one is ignorant of the wrong he or she is doing. It is possible to be guilty
without feeling guilty, simply because you do not believe you are doing wrong. That is why it is necessary to "study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth." What things are holy
and what things are unholy? A list could take all day!
Some holiness people have a check-list of things that are unholy. I certainly
have one of my own - at least a mental check-list. The problem with
check-lists however is that it is easy to sign off too early on conscious
convictions and not go by what the Scriptures say. Isn’t holiness in
your heart, not something outward? Holiness must surely be in
your heart. Everyone has seen people who were outwardly
"holy-looking," but had terrible reputations for bad attitudes, pride,
etc. So in that regard, outward holiness is no substitute for inward holiness. Make no mistake about it
-- God requires both! Both the Old Testament and the New Testament are filled
with instructions regarding outward things: clothes, ornaments, hair, social and
public behavior, friendships and relationships, money, and many other OUTWARD
things. Holy people are
clean inwardly and outwardly. It is unreasonable
to think one can be holy INWARDLY, and unholy OUTWARDLY. God’s Word teaches
better than that. Who would drink out of cup that was clean INWARDLY but still
dirty OUTWARDLY?? In much the same way that the holy vessels of the ancient
temple were consecrated to the Lord, we who ARE the vessels of the Lord should
also be consecrated -- made holy. Consecration is not uncommon. Why not for God? Consecration is not a foreign concept to the secular mind. We see it exemplified in the Copyright, the Patent, and the Trademark. Each of these speaks of PRIVATE OWNERSHIP, RIGHTS OF CONTROL, and SPECIAL PRIVILEGE. McDonalds has a right to virtually every word, picture, character and concept they use. NO ONE but McDonalds may make use of their property. It is sanctified to the corporation. The golden arches, the clown, the cartoon characters, everything is holy to them. They must always look a certain way, dress a certain way, act a certain way. In the same way, it is forbidden to associate any of the McDonalds products with anybody else's. You won't see a Burger King Whopper served in a McDonalds restaurant. It is a place APART from Burger King. Sanctified and holy to the company. The world condemns the church for things they do not otherwise object to. Society in our day gives
more sanctity to a hamburger factory than to the But in the final analysis, Christian standards of dress and behavior are every bit as legitimate (and more so) than McDonalds. God’s ways are higher than men’s ways. For His reasons, we observe Deuteronomy 22:5, which says that a woman should not wear that which pertaineth to a man, nor a man that which pertains to a woman. Gender distinction has always been a priority with God. For that reason, Christians are recognized by their dress code. Men dress like men, and ladies like ladies. God, through the Apostle Paul set forth instructions pertaining to hair, in 1 Corinthians 11, specifying that a woman’s uncut hair was a glory to her, a symbolic spiritual covering (representing the doctrine of Jesus Christ as a covering for the church) and a man’s short hair symbolize his role as head of the marriage and typologically as Christ. Women with shorn (cut) hair and men with long hair were both shamed by the Apostle. So we observe these teachings, and the world takes note, often critically. All the same, they are universal principles, good not only in matters of hair, but in every area of our lives - secular and spiritual. The need for separation from the world is not difficult to explain or practice if you truly want to be holy unto the Lord.
|
Why die in the darkness, when you can live in the light? |