Some things you can work out yourself and others take an act of God.”
–Cliff Hudgins (Viejo and the Outlaw)
“Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.”
–Colossians 3:2 (NASB)
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How to Live in a Pagan, Apostate, and Foolish World
Key Verse: “We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” –1 John 5:19 (NASB)
The three disciples who were the closest to Jesus saw a marvelous, unexplainable to the natural, sight on the Mount. Jesus began to glow, they heard the voice of the Father–they were given a glimpse of glory. They had come up from the plains, from the valley into the mountain. While there, they forgot all the misery and unhappiness down below, in fact, Peter wanted to pitch a tent there, but the Lord reminded them that they were to live on the plain. The work to be done was in the valley. In other words, plainly put, we are meant to live in this world.
“And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”
–1 John 3:3 (NASB)
“But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.”
–James 1:22(NASB)
Notice the words: “purifies himself,” and “prove yourselves.” We must purify ourselves; we must prove ourselves. First notice, it is not ought to, but does. Then notice who does it.
“You and I, having a vision of glory, have to come down and translate it into practice and put it into daily operation, and if it does not lead to that, then we are abusing the Scripture.”
–D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
God sometimes gives us a tremendous blessing. It may be in a church service; it may come from reading the Bible; it may come as we are walking through His wonderful creation. We have those special times, those special moments, but we must use them to become a better person and to put it to work in our normal, daily, routine lives.
Peter proclaims that we are to be holy as God is holy (1 Peter 1:15-16). We try so hard (at times) but we fail. Why is that? It is that we do not recognize that we are a child of God. It is not a gift; it is not a fruit, yet it is some for which we are to strive.
I am going to go back to some of our earlier studies. We fail because our belief is defective! We are not in the Word; we do not know or adhere to the doctrines. In fact, we do not like to study the doctrines, and ministers do not like to proclaim and teach the doctrines, yet it is one of the very reasons that we fail in our attempt of holiness. The great need is to understand who we are so that the practice of holiness is inevitable. Lloyd-Jones says, “Holiness is something that follows and is an inevitable deduction from doctrine, from an understanding of our position as Christian people.”
It is something we practice. Something we do and it takes time and effort. Every day, every hour we should be practicing holy living. I have often said that a warrior is someone who lives his training all the time. The same is true of a Christian in regard to holiness.
“I must therefore never talk about this idea of living the holy life because it is a good life in and of itself. Rather, my only reason for being holy is that I am a child of God and that I am destined for glory, and if I do not practice holiness in those terms I will sooner or later inevitably go astray.”
–D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
We often look at holiness in the wrong way. Holiness is not something we are called upon to do in order that we may become something; it is something we are to do because of what we already are. We live a holy life because we are children of God. We live a holy life because we are Christians (Christ-like). Since we are to meet God we need to prepare to meet Him.
Beware–never conceive of holiness as a kind of higher or happier or holier life; it must be regarded as a life to which all Christians are called. It should be routine; it should the norm of the Christian life. Never get to the place where you say to someone, “I am holier that you,” for if you do, that destroys your work. The person who truly practices holiness does not draw attention to it because it is part of his life. I like what Lloyd-Jones says, “It [holiness] is not something in a separate category and department; it is something that flows out of the life that is in them; it is an inevitable expression of what they have received.”
Holiness is not a gift–it is something which we work out. Paul writes in Philippians, “…work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:12-13, NASB). I have wondered many times what this means, for salvation comes by grace through faith, but in the development of holiness, practicing the life of Christ in ourselves, it is us reacting and practicing what God is doing inside us.
“Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.”
–Colossians 3:2 (NASB)
———————————————–
How to Live in a Pagan, Apostate, and Foolish World
Key Verse: “We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” –1 John 5:19 (NASB)
The three disciples who were the closest to Jesus saw a marvelous, unexplainable to the natural, sight on the Mount. Jesus began to glow, they heard the voice of the Father–they were given a glimpse of glory. They had come up from the plains, from the valley into the mountain. While there, they forgot all the misery and unhappiness down below, in fact, Peter wanted to pitch a tent there, but the Lord reminded them that they were to live on the plain. The work to be done was in the valley. In other words, plainly put, we are meant to live in this world.
“And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”
–1 John 3:3 (NASB)
“But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.”
–James 1:22(NASB)
Notice the words: “purifies himself,” and “prove yourselves.” We must purify ourselves; we must prove ourselves. First notice, it is not ought to, but does. Then notice who does it.
“You and I, having a vision of glory, have to come down and translate it into practice and put it into daily operation, and if it does not lead to that, then we are abusing the Scripture.”
–D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
God sometimes gives us a tremendous blessing. It may be in a church service; it may come from reading the Bible; it may come as we are walking through His wonderful creation. We have those special times, those special moments, but we must use them to become a better person and to put it to work in our normal, daily, routine lives.
Peter proclaims that we are to be holy as God is holy (1 Peter 1:15-16). We try so hard (at times) but we fail. Why is that? It is that we do not recognize that we are a child of God. It is not a gift; it is not a fruit, yet it is some for which we are to strive.
I am going to go back to some of our earlier studies. We fail because our belief is defective! We are not in the Word; we do not know or adhere to the doctrines. In fact, we do not like to study the doctrines, and ministers do not like to proclaim and teach the doctrines, yet it is one of the very reasons that we fail in our attempt of holiness. The great need is to understand who we are so that the practice of holiness is inevitable. Lloyd-Jones says, “Holiness is something that follows and is an inevitable deduction from doctrine, from an understanding of our position as Christian people.”
It is something we practice. Something we do and it takes time and effort. Every day, every hour we should be practicing holy living. I have often said that a warrior is someone who lives his training all the time. The same is true of a Christian in regard to holiness.
“I must therefore never talk about this idea of living the holy life because it is a good life in and of itself. Rather, my only reason for being holy is that I am a child of God and that I am destined for glory, and if I do not practice holiness in those terms I will sooner or later inevitably go astray.”
–D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
We often look at holiness in the wrong way. Holiness is not something we are called upon to do in order that we may become something; it is something we are to do because of what we already are. We live a holy life because we are children of God. We live a holy life because we are Christians (Christ-like). Since we are to meet God we need to prepare to meet Him.
Beware–never conceive of holiness as a kind of higher or happier or holier life; it must be regarded as a life to which all Christians are called. It should be routine; it should the norm of the Christian life. Never get to the place where you say to someone, “I am holier that you,” for if you do, that destroys your work. The person who truly practices holiness does not draw attention to it because it is part of his life. I like what Lloyd-Jones says, “It [holiness] is not something in a separate category and department; it is something that flows out of the life that is in them; it is an inevitable expression of what they have received.”
Holiness is not a gift–it is something which we work out. Paul writes in Philippians, “…work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:12-13, NASB). I have wondered many times what this means, for salvation comes by grace through faith, but in the development of holiness, practicing the life of Christ in ourselves, it is us reacting and practicing what God is doing inside us.