Being Holy: Biblical Perspective, Part 5

Reason number two, because God hates sin. Why you should pursue holiness? Because God hates sin. Sin is an affront to God’s holiness. God hates sin. Sin is an insult to God. Sin demeans God’s holiness and His authority. How much does He hate it? Listen to what God says of his anointed cherub, an angelic being in Ezekiel 28: 11-17, ‘Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering: the sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created. “You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you. “By the abundance of your trading you became filled with violence within, and you sinned; therefore I cast you as a profane thing out of the mountain of God; and I destroyed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the fiery stones. “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground…”

This is the origin of Satan. He was perfect in all sense: being, wisdom and beauty. He was in the Garden of Eden, he walked on the holy mountain of God, he had many responsibilities, he was the anointed one, yet the moment he sinned, God threw him out of heaven. God hates sin in its entirety. As far as east is from the west, so far away is our God from sin. Sin has no place in heaven and no one who is tainted with sin can or will ever be able to make his/her way to heaven. God is serious about sin and does not push it under the carpet.

Being Holy: Biblical Perspective, Part 4

We will begin our discussion with the question on, 'why holiness is important'? Why holiness is an absolute must? Then, we will seek to find as to how to be holy. Let’s begin our study with the question, why holiness…why holiness?

Reason number one, because He is holy. Holiness is one of the central themes of the Bible. It is the thread which runs through the fabric of the Bible. You cannot separate God of the Bible from holiness. He is holy and demands that they who approach Him, approach Him in holiness. He is so holy that even the Seraphims, the angelic beings referred to in Isaiah 6:2,3 cover their faces with two of their wings, feet with another two of their wings and with another two they flew saying one to another, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory. In I Timothy 6:16 Paul says, ‘ Who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.’ His dwelling place is unapproachable light, which speaks of symbolically of His absolute holiness. http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/commentaries/IVP-NT/1Tim/Timothy-Man-God.

Look at Exodus chapter 19 and starting from verse 11, ‘And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. Verse 12, ‘You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, ‘take heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death.’ In I Jn 1:5, Apostle John says, ‘…that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.’ Darkness refers to sin. God is holy and He does not want anyone to undermine His holiness.

This is the reason He demands holiness from His people. If we have to approach this God, we will have to do it by conforming to His standard. You think that ‘now that I am saved, it doesn’t matter how I live, I will anyways end up in heaven’, listen to what God says in Hebrews 12: 14, ‘Pursue peace with all people and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.’ If you have an unholy lifestyle and still consider yourself as saved, you need to reconsider your standing. If there is an unbroken pattern of sin in your life, that is an alarm screaming at you about your unredeemed status. A holy life is a proof of your redeemed status. In Matt 5:48, Jesus said, ‘Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father who is in heaven is perfect.’ (KJV) in I Peter 1:15, Peter says, ‘But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct.’ This is not some kind of suggestion. It is a command. God wants you to be holy. Period.

Being Holy: Biblical Perspective, Part 3

Part 2 deleted, accidentally. My apology.

you choose to continue to sin, will it be easy to bring you back, listen to what God says through the author of Hebrews in chapter 6 and verses 4-6, ‘For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.’

Has He not called us by grace. Yes, indeed He called us by grace but to what? Let’s read I Thess 4:7, where Paul says, ‘For God did not call us to uncleanness but to holiness.’ Verse 8, ‘Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit.’ This is not teaching of a man but is from God. You reject God when you choose to live an unholy, sinful life.

This call to holiness is obvious when you become a Christian or when you gave your life to Jesus, repenting of all your sins. It is obvious for a Christian to be holy. We came to Jesus because we wanted freedom from the bondage of our sins. Did we not? Sin held a sway over our lives. Did it not? Far from overcoming it, we were not even able to deal with it in an effective manner. Then, we heard the good news of Jesus Christ and his wondrous work on the cross, shattering the power of sin and delivering us from our sins. God gave us the same power through which He raised Jesus from the dead. Now having received the forgiveness of their sins and power over sin, these disobedient believers have turned back to fulfill their own lustful passions and fleshly desires. Did not Peter refer to these believers as dogs and pigs in II Peter 2: 22? II Peter 2:22, 'But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: "A dog returns to his own vomit," and, "a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire." Revealing that these people were never saved in the first place? 

Does Bible brand dogs and pigs as unclean animals? No, not at all. Listen to what Paul says in I Tim 4:4, 'For every creature of good, and nothing is to be refused...' Dogs and pigs have an inherent quality. That is, a dog will vomit and eat the same and a pig, though it has been washed and cleaned will return to filth. Unless that inherent quality, attribute is changed, dogs and pigs will continue to revel in that kind of behavior. Salvation or born again means that you have been transformed completely. The inherent nature to wallow in sins has been removed. Listen to what God says in Ezekiel 36 and verse 26 and 27, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them." II Cor 5: 17, 'Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.'

Were we saved to fulfill our own lusts and sinful passions? Paul in I Thess 1:9 says, ‘….you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God…’ We have turned from idols, from sin, to God, to serve Him, to obey Him, if indeed we have turned.

Others argue that the call to holiness is just a talk and there aren't any examples of Christians in the real world who live or have lived a holy life. Let's confront this argument by referring to Hebrews 12:1,2, 'Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith...' The word, therefore, is used to make a conclusion on the basis of what has been said earlier. In chapter 11, the author refers to a great list of stalwarts of faith. In verse 2, he asks us to look to Jesus, stay focussed on Jesus cos He is the author of our salvation, He is the one who will complete our salvation. So, rather than demanding an example to follow, the author asks us to look to Jesus.

Being Holy: Biblical Perspective, Part 1

We once again open our Bibles to see God’s perspective in the matter of holiness in the lives of Christians. Holiness and the lack of it, has always been and continues to be a matter of grave concern to me as well as to our Lord. My heart aches when I see and hear God’s people indulging in sin and being open about it. It saddens me when the church condones these acts and behavior. It is a continuing sorrow to me to see the lack or absence of reactive and proactive measures taken by the church in confronting, reprimanding, correcting, and ultimately banning the erring believer from being a part of the church. Because the church does not want to deal with these issues head-on, for whatever reasons, young men and women in faith continue to indulge, wallow and take pleasure in sin, lacking an understanding of God’s Word and God’s take in the matter of holiness. These believers continue to pander to their fleshly desires, impulses and emotions by distorting God’s Word and by taking refuge in Romans 7. These believers refuse to study God’s Word. Without having a full understanding of God’s Word, to their own hurt and destruction, they continue to indulge in sin and despise holiness in their personal lives. These unholy, sinful, disobedient believers, both young and old, then get involved in the activities of the church, are given prominent positions, duties, and recognition to the utter disregard of God’s call to holiness. These believers then exercise their influence over other immature believers and believers who are new to the faith, thereby dragging them too in their net. To address these issues, we’ll open our Bibles to see God’s perspective in this matter of Holiness in our lives.

Let me clarify at the very beginning that this call to holiness is only for the saved, redeemed. Only a saved, regenerated, transformed person has the source and the capability to be holy. Only a person who is saved, redeemed, regenerated, transformed by the blood of Jesus Christ will have a desire, longing to live a holy life, pleasing to God. It is due to the indwelling Holy Spirit that God is able to initiate the desire in the saved person to be holy. It is God who initiates a desire in us to shun evil, to pursue holiness. In Phil 2: 12-13, Paul commands the believers at Philippi, 'to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.' Paul in this verse is not saying that we need to do ‘works’ to achieve salvation. How do I know? In Phil 1:1, Paul refers the letter to 'all the saints in Christ Jesus.' You do not become a saint unless you are a saved, right? So, what does fear and trembling means? I looked up few commentaries to understand what Paul meant when he used the words, fear and tremble. Pastor John MacArthur says, 'it is to live a life in full surrender and dependence of the Holy Spirit as Christ lived and live daily, moment by moment yield to the control of the Spirit, a process which we must carry out the remainder of our life on earth.'

The question Christians ask is how to live a holy life? That is a wrong question. That is a self-centric question. That question seeks personal achievement. The question should be how should I live a life that pleases God? That is a God-centric question, which focuses attention on God rather than us. We need to get our priorities right. It is to please God that we lead a holy life. An unsaved person may have a longing to do good works, would do good works also, take part in good works also, but in the words of Pastor John MacArthur, ‘His tongue is deceitful, his lips are poisonous. His throat is an open grave; his eyes are full of adultery. His ears are deaf to God's voice and truth. His hands do evil. His feet run to shed blood. His mind is depraved and reprobate. His heart is desperately wicked. His will is hard and unrepentant. He resists God. He refuses life. His conscience is evil. In and out he is polluted.’

For part 2 in the series, please click, 

Being Childless: Bible's Perspective, Part 5

For part 4 in the series, please click, Being Childless, Part 4

Does it mean that all the other barren women in history are sinful? Of course not. Does it mean that all the other barren women in history failed to have the divine intervention in their life? We do not know. God while executing his wonderful plan of bringing glory to His name in the lives of these five barren women, He also revealed that a barren woman is not cursed. I talk to the believing women and not to the unbelievers. If you have not repented of your sins and have not given your life to Jesus Christ, God’s wrath is on you. You are cursed, whether you have a child or you do not have a child. Will you be able to bear a child, once you repent? I do not have the authority to say that. You may, you may not. You don’t come to Christ because your needs are met, you come to Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.

God’s redemptive work is complete. Through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross and His resurrection on the third day, God has completed the redemptive work. God’s Word is complete. We cannot add to it, neither can we subtract from it. All the examples of the Old Testament are for our exhortation and not to increase our suffering. That is why He commanded in Matt 28: 19, ‘to go and make disciples.’ You do not make disciples by continuing to wait for the Lord to help you conceive. You do not fulfill the command by wasting the best years of life wallowing in self-pity, medication, suffering, humiliation, loneliness and pain.

Were we not saved by grace? Are we not adopted ones? After the redemptive work was complete, only then did He adopt us to His family. Right? Originally, we are not a part of his family but because of the work on the cross, we can call Him, ‘Abba’, ‘Father’. Don’t we? Then, how is it that you refuse to adopt a child into your family and provide a child with parents? How is it that you do not want to give a child the opportunity to call you ‘Dad’, ‘Mom’? Do you want to start in grace and finish with the work of the flesh? Is the work of Christ in vain? Did you not receive grace that you refuse to be gracious? Have you not receive mercy that you refuse to be merciful?

We spend our whole lives preaching and proclaiming the gospel of Christ. And after all the effort, the soul of an unrepentant sinner is not in our hands. God gives repentance. He opens the heart of individuals to repent and turn away from their sins and come to the saving knowledge of Christ. I am yet to claim even one individual as my child in Christ as a result of my preaching.

Is it not wonderful, that God has made you barren and given an opportunity to save an orphan from this wicked world, rescue him from hell, provide him/her with godly parents, raise him/her in the fear of the Lord? Are you so ignorant that you do not know, understand the purposes of God? You who have children, are not excused, refuse to adopt children, when you have sufficient resources to provide and care for the child. I talk to Indian Christian parents.

You decide. Is it not easy for a child to be rescued from hell than a man with all the knowledge, sinful experiences and influences that pull and drive him? Will not the child spend the first eighteen years of life under your care and influence? Will you not be able to impact his/her life through your prayer, study of the Word and love?

We live in a period of grace. Miracles were designed to happen along with the preaching of the gospel, to enable the world to see the hand of God behind the preaching of the Word. God is not in the business of opening wombs but in the redeeming of sinners from hell. He is not in the business of performing physical miracles but spiritual miracles. He died and rose again to change people’s heart.

God wants you to be happy. He wants you to be satisfied. His command is that you be content. You have a choice to be on His side or your own. You are not ‘incidentally childless, you are not ‘unfortunately childless’. God designed your family life that way. He is in control. He has occasioned that you be happy and content by adopting in your family a child and bring glory to his name by helping the child to see, know and experience God’s love, redemptive power, and grace. At the same time, fill your life with joy, thrill, excitement, energy, love and desire for each other.

My joy is complete when I know that you obey God’s Word. Continue in grace.

Abusive Marriage: Biblical Perspective, Part 1

I am constrained to talk on this issue of abusive marriage because someone close to me is trapped in an abusive marriage. And that reminds me (though it is hard to forget) of my growing years.

I grew up in a family where my father abused my mom physically, mentally and emotionally. The physical and mental assault had a lasting impact on her. She became a picture of disaster. For as long as I had seen her, she lived an isolated life, cut-off from the society. Years of brutal and consistent assault left her with a low self-esteem and inferiority complex. The assault ceased after number of years only to return as she became more sick and became bedridden during the past one year (2011-April, 2012). In 2011, I even sought help and reported his criminal acts to the police, who like others, refused to intervene and help.

As her children began to fly away from the nest leaving her lonely, she was left to face my dad all by herself. It was only during a year before her death, as she lay in the hospital, I prodded her to share her agony and travails. She died on May 03, 2012. These are just few bits of information I am sharing for the benefit of my readers.

I never saw my mom and dad talk eye to eye. Any conversation, barely initiated, would result in my dad shrugging her off with his insensitive remark or a statement. He just did not respect her. I suppose, over the years, she realized there was no sense in having a conversation with him.

She confessed if she had the money, she would have quit her marriage. She was trapped as she had no financial back-up nor was she in a position to work, having been drained of her physical strength. She bore five children in a span of seven years. By the time the assault started, she was thirty one plus and a mother of five growing children.

She did not receive any support from the church or believers, some of who knew her ordeals. The church, the pastors, the believers all failed in their duties towards a fellow sister in Christ who was left to fight it out a lone battle. In the thirty five years that I’ve been in the church, I’ve never heard a message on the issue of abusive marriage.

Let’s begin our discussion with few questions.

What do you do when you are trapped in an abusive marriage? What do you do when you are being abused physically or mentally or both? What do you do when you are being picked on, ill-treated, humiliated, harassed, assaulted and consciously neglected by your spouse?

Confusion

These and many other questions disturb and perturb Christians in their married life. Christians are confused over this and the church has nothing to offer in these practical areas of life, having turned a blind eye to these real-life issues. The pastors and Bible teachers have failed to teach the full counsel of God to their church members. May God judge these pastors and teachers!

What is the Biblical perspective on such a sensitive and serious issue? What does Bible has to say about a marriage-gone-horribly-wrong? How should a Christian react and respond in these situations? What is the course of action available for the victim in such a marriage?

For part 2 in the series, please click, Abusive Marriage, Part 2