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Monday, June 18, 2012

Strive for Holiness

(The following blog is based on the sermon on Mark 9:42-50 I preached yesterday at Geist Community Church.)

At the end of Mark chapter nine Jesus clearly teaches about two dangers we face on a daily basis; two dangers that if unchecked in our lives will have dire consequences both now and for eternity.

The first danger is found in Mark 9:42:  The danger of causing other believers to sin.

Jesus warned anyone who would deliberately hinder someone from abiding in Him.  The damage to the work of God's Kingdom program is immeasurable because causing another believer to fall into sin effectively neutralizes their work for God.  1 Corinthians 8:12 explains that sinning against your brother in Christ and wounding their conscience when it is weak actually results in you sinning against Jesus!

The second danger is in Mark 9:43-50: The danger of our own sin.

Sin is a hideous, sly monster that seeks to devour us.  As a believer in Christ there is now no condemnation before God because of our sin (Romans 8:1).  However, sin is still incredibly dangerous because it can render us ineffective for the work God has prepared in advance for us to do.  Avoiding sin and living a holy life is hard.  It requires drastic measures, but it is the way that leads to life.  As a surgeon does not hesitate to cut off a gangrenous limb to save a life, so sin must be radically severed to save the soul.

That's the truth.  It's hard to be much more clear than Mark 9:42-50.  The question is: how do we put it into action in our lives?  How do we respond to this truth?

As Prof (aka Howard Hendricks) always used to say in my Bible Study Methods class at Dallas Theological Seminary: "to know and not to do, is not to know at all."  Thus, we must DO to show that we truly believe the truth of Scripture.

One of the clearest passages in the Bible that shows us what we must do is found in Hebrews 12:1-4; 12-14.  Specifically, the command given in 12:14 is "strive for holiness."

We must: Strive for Holiness

3 Reasons Why:
(1) it is a command of God - 1 Peter 1:15-16
(2) it is the only appropriate response to God's grace in our lives - 1 Corinthians 15:9-10
(3) without holiness "no one will see the Lord"  - Hebrews 12:14, Matthew 5:8

3 Ways How:
(1) Strive for holiness by dwelling on the Gospel
  • Titus 2:11-15
  • When we dwell on the truth of the Gospel it should drive us to live holy lives out of gratitude for God's gracious act of saving us.
  • We should be driven to live holy lives when we dwell on the fact that we were dead in our trespasses and sin, unable to love God, unable to do anything good to try and earn a good standing before God until God intervened through His mercy and made us alive in Christ Jesus.
  • When we dwell on the power of Gospel we will WANT to present our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God as our spiritual act of worship (Romans 12:1).
(2) Strive for holiness by radically repenting of sin
  • John Owen said it this way: "be killing sin or it will be killing you."
  • We must get radical!  It is exactly what Jesus taught.
  • Does your computer cause you to sin?  Get rid of it!  If your job requires you to use computers, get a new job!
  • Does your television cause you to sin?  Throw it out!
  • Does hanging around with your "friends" tempt you to sin?  Get new friends, for they are no friend.
  • We must radically repent of sin if we are to strive for holiness.
  • In Philippians 3:12-16 the apostle Paul likens perfection/holiness to a prize or a trophy.  He acknowledges God has given us the trophy.  It can never be taken away from us.  It is our free gift.  However, we must hold tightly to that trophy as if it depended on us, even though it does not.
(3) Strive for holiness by living under the Spirit's power
  •  The Holy Spirit is power! (Acts 1:8)
  • We are to live by the Spirit. (Romans 8)
When we strive for holiness by dwelling on the Gospel, radically repenting of sin, and living under the Spirit's power we will ultimately elevate and focus on the glory of God, the Holy One of Israel. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says, "we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another."  In other words, we become what we behold.  If you truly behold "the Holy One of Israel" you will "be holy, as He is Holy."



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