Holy Before God Alone

 

Psalm 15:1-5  A Psalm of David.

1 LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?

2 He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.

3 He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.

4 In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.

5 He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.

Ladies and Gentlemen: We are all going to spend eternity somewhere.

·                    Either an exciting heavenly future with God and His creation, or

·                    An indescribable eternity filled with pain, anguish and torment.

·                    It will be so easy to end up in hell (thru disobedience or ignorance).

Matthew 3:7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

God’s wrath is coming, and it is something everyone should try to avoid.

2 Thessalonians 1:7-9

7 … the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,

8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:

9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;

The cares of this life are so deceiving (esp. in modern, evolutionistic world)

·                    We are often so busy we never have time to reflect (think of life).

·                    The media provide us a god-less reality (TV shows, feel-good shows).

·                    We are removed from nature, God’s natural revelation.

·                    Even Christians may have a hard time remembering God through the week, much less remember the weightier meanings of life.

 

We need to be “like God” to fit into God’s future plans: Holy.

·                    Christianity is more than pyramid marketing – it is like marriage.

·                    We need to have things in common with our mate to be compatible.

·                    We need to have desirable traits to be attractive in our lover’s eyes.

·                    God is holy and He tells us what He wants – Pure holiness.

1 Peter 1:15-16

15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;

16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

1 Peter 3:4-5

4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.

5 For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands:

Holiness seems like such a simple subject, why the sermon?

·                    Holiness does not feed the flesh, and the flesh is cunning to deceive.

·                    Every major religion has legalized holiness, bypassed spiritual purity, and has replaced it with an external fake.

·                    When we think of holiness, we should not think of things we wear, or deeds we do, but how we live our lives to please God.

How many sins did it take to get kicked out of the garden of Eden?

We need to realize the repugnance of sin in God’s eyes & stop sinning

·                    Sin is a flirtation with the devil, the Lord’s enemy (not His equal).

·                    Sin weakens us spiritually and slowly separates us from God.

·                    It is not because of pride, but because of love that God hates sin.

God hates sin – punished Achan so all Israel would fear & live holy.

Joshua 7:12, 20-26

12 Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you.

20 And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done:

21 When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.

22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent; and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it.

23 And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and unto all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the LORD.

24 And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor.

25 And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones.

26 And they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor, unto this day.

Witnessing was when I discovered the purpose of Christianity:

·                    We have sins that we need to deal with before we return to our Maker.

·                    Sincerely acknowledging them to God won’t do – we must conform.

Proverbs 28:13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

Emphasis not:  One unrepented sin will send us to hell forever.

·                    God is not that fickle, His love is deeper than to allow that to happen.

·                    Christianity should be more concerned with God than with hell.

Emphasis: Sins are more wretched in God’s eyes than we think:

·                    We should try to please God more than ourselves.

·                    Sin separates us from God and that should be the greatest concern in our lives.

Matthew 16:25-27

25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.

Closing:

·        Some of us need to get tough with our flesh – repentance once again.

·        Some of us have never known Jesus yet with a personal relationship.

·        You need to confess and forsake the sins you can recognize.

·        You must be baptized in Jesus’ name for the removal of sins.

·        You must receive the Holy Ghost for direction in holy living.