Faithful Steward Ministries and FSM Women's Outreach

COMMENT

As I glanced over the Beautiful Christian Life January monthly newsletter (attached), I tried to remember the last time I seriously thought about Holiness. I often think of it in the context of God’s sovereignty, but rarely the Holiness of God as its own doctrine or how it applies to you and me. Oh, I know the usual scriptures: Leviticus 19:2 and 1 Peter 1:15-16. Yet the idea of God’s infinite perfection, His Holiness, is far too hard for my finite mind to comprehend. Then to even consider that He would, for any reason, see a sinner such as I, Holy, is brain overload. In Leviticus 11:44, God calls us to be Holy because He is Holy. Man’s nature at birth is that of a sinner, but God says, I am calling you to be Holy. Only the Triune God of the universe could make such a call and promise. Those who are not called will never understand, only the chosen priesthood and we will question it until Glory.

For the study leading up to the sermon, I have chosen three (3) theological terms to concentrate on today:

• Separation – We must separate ourselves from worldly influences that would otherwise hinder our spiritual growth. Romans 12:2, James 4:4
• Consecration – Devoting or giving ourselves wholly to God. Revelation 3:15-16, 1 Peter 2:9-10
• Sanctification – Seeking daily to nurture spiritual growth through the Holy Spirit, Matthew 6:33, Mark 8:36

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DEFINITIONS

What defines being holy? – Bible Hub

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SEPERATION (ˌsɛpǝˈreɪʃǝn) n 1 the act of separating or state of being separated 2 the place or line where a separation is made 3 a gap that separates 4 family law the cessation of cohabitation between a man and wife, either by mutual agreement or under a decree of a court. See judicial separation. Compare divorce 5 a the act of jettisoning a burnt…

Collins English Dictionary—8th Edition, LOGOS Software, AI Generaated Summary

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CONSECRATION—the devoting or setting apart of anything to the worship or service of God. The race of Abraham and the tribe of Levi were thus consecrated (Ex. 13:2, 12, 15; Num. 3:12). The Hebrews devoted their fields and cattle, and sometimes the spoils of war, to the Lord (Lev. 27:28, 29). According to the Mosaic law the first-born both of man and beast were consecrated to God.
In the New Testament, Christians are regarded as consecrated to the Lord (1 Pet. 2:9).

M. G. Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary and Treasury of Biblical History, Biography, Geography, Doctrine, and Literature (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1893), 158.

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SANCTIFICATION. An area of *soteriology describing the *holiness of the church and the individual believer as a gift of God’s *grace and *election. In Reformed *orthodoxy, sanctification is rooted in *justification by faith and elaborates the work of the Holy Spirit through the *mortification of sin and the renewal of life to active fellowship with God *sola gratia. On account of the priority of justification by faith in the gospel, the Reformers rejected the Roman Catholic teaching of infused *righteousness, whereby the individual maintains a property of *holiness through *good works. Instead, they taught that holiness is gained solely by the *imputation of Jesus Christ’s righteousness. The church and individuals are holy by the gift of *union with Christ. *Lutheranism and *Calvinism differ, however, regarding the extent to which the life of *sola fide may be understood as a progressive work of *grace. Martin *Luther, on account of his strong rejection of any personal *merit of *righteousness apart from *grace, emphasized that sanctification was definitive with God’s declaration of the sinner’s justification in Jesus Christ. In other words, for Luther the justified sinner is sanctified by definition. While agreeing with this definitive aspect of sanctification, John *Calvin emphasized the importance of God’s progressive work of conforming believers into the likeness of Christ. Consequently, the Reformed tradition has generally given a greater role to the positive use of the *law in the Christian life than Luther’s dichotomy of *law and gospel. Calvin emphasized that the *perseverance of the saints involves not merely the passive reception of eternal life but the active fellowship with and service to God and neighbor. While different Reformed theologians have highlighted particular aspects of sanctification, most draw attention to both the definitive and the progressive reality of sanctification as described in Scripture.

Kelly M. Kapic and Wesley Vander Lugt, Pocket Dictionary of the Reformed Tradition, The IVP Pocket Reference Series (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2013), 104–105.

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REALTED RESOURCES

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How should we live in light of God saying, “Be holy for I …

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The Holiness of God

A.W.Pink

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The Incomparable Excellency and Holiness of God

Jeremiah Burrough

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SERMON

A Call to Holy Living

C.H. Spurgeon, A Sermon (No. 1029) Delivered on Lord’s Day Morning, January 14th, 1872, At the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington