Title: Pursue Holiness

Holy is a word that can only be ascribed to God. He is the standard of Holiness, He defines Holiness.

Some statements declaring God's holiness

1. Exodus 15:11 "Who Is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness,
2. 1 Samuel 2:2 "There Is none holy like the Lord: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.
3. Isalah 6:1-3 + In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. "And one called to another and said:
   "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!"
4. Ezekiel 38:23 So I will show my greatness and my holiness and make myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

In this passage we see the Lord's desire to make His holiness known to many nations. In doing so He intends to bring us to a place in which we come to know Him as Lord.

Holiness. It starts with God being holy. There is no sin in Him. He is perfect in all His ways He is flawless.

When meditating on the holiness of God one could not help but acknowledge his/her faults and failures and how far we come from perfection.

Yet we are given scriptures like 1 Peter 1:16 "You shall be holy, for I am holy."

This could be overwhelming If our holiness is to match the holiness of God based on our own righteousness, if this was the intention of the text then we are doomed.

But notice what the scriptures say. You shall be. You're not there yet but you shall be. You're still being perfected. Can anyone agree with me this morning and say, "I'm not perfect, yet." But I am saved.

(KJV) Be Ye (ginomai) to become; to be changed into something, come to be, issue in, something

We are becoming more and more Christ like each day.

Hebrews 10:14

For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

His sacrifice is perfect and sufficient for our sins and we are being sanctified,

Being Holy is believing in Christ Jesus that He is the perfect sacrifice for our sins and thus through His sacrifice His righteousness has become our righteousness. Yet Holiness also implies yielding to the continual work of the Holy Spirit in our lives being that we still live in the flesh.

Perhaps you have heard of the three tenses of salvation.

1. You have been saved - Perhaps you remember the moment when Christ washed you and cleansed you of your sins. It happened in the past. Paul tells the church of Corinth.

1 Corinthians 6:11

And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

2. You are Being Saved

2 Corinthians 2:15

15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing,

Clearly Paul indicates that the salvation has not only happened in the past but it is a process in which is currently happening. We are being saved. Perhaps one more verse would help.

Philippians 2:12-13

12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

This verse also indicates that there is a work or a process that is currently going on in our lives to bring about complete holiness.

3. We will be saved

Several scriptures talk about a time and a place in which we will be free from this flesh which is prone to sin and we will be forever with the Lord. But to hear it from the mouth of our Lord:

Matthew 25:46

And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

With that understanding lets read 1 Peter again.

1 Peter 1:16 "You shall be holy, for I am holy."

Let's make another observation, He is already Holy. There is no process of perfecting Him as He remains to be Holy. There is nothing to add to Him nor is there anything to take away from Him to make Him more perfect. He is Holy, He has always been Holy, and He will continue to be Holy forever and ever. In fact, He is the standard of holiness.

John Piper - God's Godness is his standard of holiness. That is, since holiness means separated from what is common, God is infinitely separated in being in class by himself, infinitely above and distinct from all else. He is transcendent. (There is nothing to compare Him to, He is the standard)

..To complete the definition of God's holiness we add that it consists finally that all his emotions, thoughts, and actions accord with his infinite worth and beauty. What He feels, what He thinks, and what He does flow from a right valuing of His infinite worth and beauty. This is what we mean by saying His Godness, is the standard of his holiness. God's holiness is his infinite transcendence, his infinite worth, and his flawless feeling, thinking and acting in accord with His worth.

But to put both ideas together, you're not completely Holy (as you still live in the flesh which is opposed to God), but you shall be Holy, because God is Holy and He is committed to making you completely holy.

We know that we will reach this perfection as the scriptures say:

Ephesians 5:26-27

26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

The church that Jesus will present to himself is one without spot or wrinkle and is called "holy."

The same attribute ascribe to our Lord will be declared over us. It will happen at the end of the age when the Lord returns.

Again, we see the 3 tenses of salvation just written differently.

Cleansed - Past tense

Sanctifv - Present tense

Present - Future tense

One more verse to prove we will obtain complete Holiness:

Revelation 21:3

3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.

He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their

God

How does this come about?

What has separated mankind from God? So what must be completely done away with for this verse to take place? If man is to spend an eternity with God, then there must be the total removal of any sin including the desires of our sinful nature.

Which we inherited because of sin.

Thus we see this future salvation which will bring about a perfect holiness in our lives so that we can live forever with God.

Romans 8:23-25

23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this

hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? " But

If we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

What are we to do till then? We are to pursue Holiness

Philippians 2:12

work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you,

Work out - (katergazomai) to continually work to bring something to completion or fruition."

The scriptures say to work out but then it tells us that it is God the one doing the work.

God is the one working on you. God is the one bringing you to completion.

What does it mean to Pursue Holiness?

H - Hear the voice of the Lord.

Let the light of Christ bune in the dark places of your heart. When He Reveals your sin, Ask for forgiveness and for His strength for that to be removed in your life Holiness (hold loosely the things of this world)

O - Obey that which He has called you to do

L - Live to please Him

Ephesians 4:22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,

Stop pursuing the world as your source of hope, put your hope in Christ.

Ephesians 4:24

put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Y - Yield to the infilling power of the Holy Spirit to fill that void in your life.

If you are living a life of devotion to God He will show you by His Holy Spirit and through His word, what lines up and what does not line up with His character.

John Piper - Therefore we share God's holiness when we feel and think and act in accord with the supreme value of all that God is for us in Christ (his holiness. Our holiness is our treasuring God in Christ above all, so that all our emotions and thoughts and deeds reflect his supreme beauty and value.

Does your attitude reflect His supreme beauty and value?

What about your thoughts and actions?

As you wait in hope for the redemption of your body, pursue holiness.