The new birth experience is just the beginning of a persons walk with God. There is much that comes after. The Bible teaches that we must grow into perfection. The journey has just begun. There are some basic precepts we must now understand and follow.
In the chapter on grace, faith, and works, the first of the two extremes in denominational Christianity were discussed. To the right or conservative side of the road is extreme holiness. Extreme holiness is believing one is saved by the obeying laws or traditions of the church. In other words because I am born into a particular sect who practices holiness I will be saved. This is appealing to people who just want a set of rules to follow. They may become like the Pharisees that Jesus rebuked in the Bible, because they are constantly trying to figure out ways to circumvent the rules in order to cope with modern life. Many of these people may not even know why they are doing what they do. They are simply following a set of rules laid down by their predecessors or the church fathers.
Mt 23:23-24 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
The rules of some of these holiness sects have actually made their lives more difficult. They have such strict standards and rules for shunning those who do not conform, they find it extremely difficult to evangelize. They do not have a great deal of tolerance for outsiders who do not practice their form of holiness. These folk often strain at the letter of the law when it comes to outward appearance, yet reject the basic precepts of salvation that purify the inner man.
Act 15:20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
There is a distinct difference in true holiness and church standards. It is interesting that in the first century church, the gentiles were only forbidden four things. From a historic point of view, these four issues dealt with the traditions of the pagan religions of the day and their religious practices before idols. Pastors today have the right and obligation to set some standards of behavior and outward appearance, for those who represent the church in ministry. It should be universally agreed upon, that these standards be along the lines of Biblical holiness, on the other hand, there needs to be a balance. Church standards need to take into account that not every one in an assembly is at the same level of spiritual maturity. While people are maturing, they need time and freedom to develop. If standards are too restrictive, there is a danger that people will be discouraged and feel oppressed by church government. On the other hand there are some obvious things that need to be corrected before someone can represent the church. Ministry standards need to present a uniform image to the public. This uniform image is not all there is to holiness. True holiness goes much deeper than that.
Heb 11:16 But without faith it is impossible to please him: . . .
By virtue of the fact that someone has obeyed the gospel of Jesus Christ and experienced the spiritual rebirth, we have evidence of their beginning faith in God. We must continue in faith, learning to believe and trust God for all of our needs, both Spiritual and physical. Jesus told us not to worry about our physical needs because he knows what we need. We must love God first and then everything else would be added to our lives.
Eph 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
This verse is probably one of the most misused verses in the entire Bible when it comes to salvation. People try to use this verse to justify their not having to do anything beyond believing in God. Their stance is, anything beyond faith is works and works are prohibited. Actually what the verse means is, it is vain for man to believe he can save himself by the things he does. We are all sinners and there is no salvation outside of the grace and mercy of God. We can not even come to God unless He draws us.
II Pet 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
The Lord is a perfect gentleman, not forcing himself on anyone. The Lord patiently waits on people to turn to him, as he does not desire that anyone in his creation should parish. He also will patiently wait for people to change and improve their walk with Him. He is like a loving father who will in due time teach a person how he must live his new life.
Jn 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, . . .
It is vanity for a person to think that he must have somehow chosen to serve God first. God is calling everyone in his creation and has been since the beginning of man in Genesis. So if a person answers the call, then he is only responding in the affirmative to what the Lord’s has already called him to. Therefore, even though a man choose to obey God, he must always remember that the Lord chose the man first and not the other way around.
Mt 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.
Unfortunately, very few of those who are called, will answer the call of God. The majority will choose to serve the lust of the eyes, the lust of their flesh and the pride of life over serving God. They will choose to live a life of self indulgence and pleasure as opposed to making the sacrifices necessary to serve the living God.
Lev 11:45 For I am the Lord that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.
God brought each person to a place of repentance, gave him the revelation of His name, granted him repentance, allowed him to be baptized in His name and filled him with His Spirit. God symbolically brought every saint out of Egypt, which is a type of sin, by the new birth experience. In other words He delivered every believer from their sinful lives. He turned each person away from the “god of this world,” so He could become their God. He then proclaims each person must be holy, because He is holy. Holiness means separation. In other words the born again Christian must begin to separate himself from the evils of the world he left through repentance. He must be wholly and completely devoted to Jesus and His purpose.
Heb 12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
The Bible again is very clear, without holiness, or separation no man will see God. That is because God is holy. The Spirit of God will not stand in the presence of sin. Man has to get all of the sin out of his life. Hence the spiritual connotation of many of the Old Testament stories where the nation of Israel obliterated it’s enemies. The stories illustrate how we must rid our lives of every evil influence that displeases God. This is inward holiness or washing the inside of the cup.
Heb 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, . . .
As born again believers we are to separate ourselves from the world spiritually. We live in the world but we are not of the world. In other words we are not part of the worldly system. The main forum that the Lord gave us to help us with our separation is the assembling together of the believers. Today this is called the church. In reading the book of Acts, it is apparent that the believers often gathered together for fellowship. This offered time of sharing food, testimony, corporate praise and worship of God. The church leaders would teach the doctrines of holiness to keep people on the right track. Much of the content of the epistles is directed at this kind of teaching. These are people who have been born again into the Kingdom of God and are on their spiritual journey, growing into perfection.
Mt 21:13 . . . My house shall be called the house of prayer . . .
Prayer is an essential part of worship and fellowship with God. We must pray daily. The disciple of the Lord must have daily devotion time set aside to fellowship with God. The book Genesis tells us how God walked with Adam in the cool of the day, He had fellowship with Adam. Adam was originally created as a perfect being, being made to walk uprightly before the Lord, he was without sin. Therefor, God could walk in the presence of man, because of man’s holiness.
The Bible tells us we were created for God’s pleasure. God created man because He desires to have a relationship with His creation. We can not do this if we do not have time to talk with Him and listen to Him. Some people are very fearful of saying that God spoke to them. How can we have a one sided relationship, if we do not hear from God. While God rarely speak to men in a audible fashion, He does impress His thoughts upon the inner man.
Mt 7:212-23 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Jesus spoke of the time when many will come before him, bragging of the great things they had done in the Kingdom of God. These are religious folk, who thought they had salvation, however something was missing from their lives. Jesus tells them to leave, he kicks them out of the assembly. Why? Because Jesus never knew them. They spent their lives talking about Jesus, using his name, allowing Him to work through them, but there was no relationship. They just used the Lord, but never took time to get to know him.
What would happen if we went about talking about the President of the United States, using his name and authority, yet we never met him or spoke with him. One day the President tells his chief of staff, please invite all of those who say they are my friends to my wedding feast. We get invited because, everyone thinks we know him. Imagine what the President would say, when it is our turn to stand before the President in the reception line and the Chief of Staff introduces us. Who is this guy, I don’t know him. Throw him out, he is an imposter.
Phl 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
We need to depend on the Lord. If we really depend on him, then it requires us to lay our needs at his feet. We need to let him know our requests. Just like a good father, he is not going to give us everything we ask for. Not every thing is good for us. God has granted some of my more harmless requests to train me. Later I learned I would have been better off if I had not gotten what I requested from God. The Bible tells us every good thing comes from God. He does provide us the good things in life. He promises to provide all our needs. If we truly know Him, it is no problem to lay our needs and wants before him.
Eph 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
We also need to pray for each other. Our prayers put a hedge around those whom we pray for. If we pray for a lost person, our prayers can provide a window of opportunity for them to receive the gospel. It can open doors to witness, teach Bible studies, and build relationships. It provides protection for our pastors, brothers, and sisters in the Lord.
II Tim 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
We must read the word of God, the Bible. We need to study it to gain understanding and insights into God’s nature. If I want to get to know a famous person better. The best thing I can do is go to the Library and get that persons biography. The Bible is Jesus’ autobiography. It is the storey of who He is and the men who served Him. It tells us about His personality, nature, the things He likes, the things He hates, what He has done, what He is doing now and what He will do in the future. It is an open invitation to humanity to become His friend. If we want to be His friend, it tells us what we need to do to please Him. People get excited about some famous person, so, they will go to any lengths sometime just to get a look at them, yet they will not take time to read the Bible, so they can know about the One who created them. Yet, the Bible gives us a clear picture of who God is. It is the greatest storey ever told about the greatest person that ever lived.
I Cor 7:5 . . . that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not . . .
Along with prayer, we need to fast. Many people do not understand why a Christian should fast. Is it God’s way of punishing us? Is it like penance, a way to flog ourselves, so we can somehow pay a price for our sin. No, the purpose of fasting is to strengthen the spiritual man. What ever we feed becomes strong. When we feed the flesh, our fleshly sinful desires become strong. When we deny the flesh and feed the spirit with prayer and Bible study, we strengthen the inner spiritual man. This strengthening process helps us to battle temptation.
I Pet 15-16 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
The whole purpose of the new birth process is to give us the spiritual power through the Holy Ghost to change our lives. This change leads us to Holiness. Holiness is separation, separation from the things of the world. Voluntarily not being involved in the sinful activities of the world around us. Holiness is a condition of the heart. It is a desire that comes with the Holy Ghost. The desire to not do those things that are appealing to our carnal desires. It is the desire to do those things that please God. Our, holiness comes from the Holy Ghost. When we have a thought, the Holy Ghost checks us and says “that is wrong,” we respond and turn away. We begin to battle those desires of the flesh that lead to sin.
Eph 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
The gift God gave us is his Spirit. God is Spirit and on the day of Pentecost, He made His Spirit available to all men. The gift of God’s Spirit, by nature is holy. Hence it is the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost. The result of this Holy Spirit working in man is Holiness. It is God’s righteousness working within the human vessel. God made the Holy Ghost available to all men, but by faith, we must believe and receive the Spirit in order to benefit from the affects of the Spirit.
II Cor 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
When we receive the Holy Ghost, we no longer are the person we used to be. We are on the road to a changed life. We have faith that the Spirit operating in us is leading us to do that which is right. When the Spirit checks our activities, we turn away by faith. It is only by God’s grace and his mercy, that he makes his Spirit available to us. That mercy is what saves us from a sinful life. It is not our vain attempt to follow the law, but rather our obedience to the Spirit we have put our faith and trust in. Our righteousness or attempts at righteousness are vain. It is only through his Spirit, or his righteousness that we do what is right. Therefore it is not our works, but his work in us that saves us. This is the circumcision of the heart that God desired in us from the beginning. It is not about following a bunch of rules that God laid out. It is about submission to his Spirit in love.
I Cor 7:1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
We must turn away from the filthiness of this world. We do this by the power of the Holy Ghost. Repentance, is to turn in the opposite direction. In the Bible the direction, east, represents sin. At different times, the garden, the tabernacle, and the temple all represented the presence of God. The entrance to the garden, the tabernacle and the temple all faced the east. If I travel east, I was traveling away from the presence of God. I must turn around and head west to go back into the presence of God. This act of turning the opposite direction is symbolic of repentance. During our daily time of prayer, we must adopt a posture of repentance. This is a desire to turn away from sin and move toward the presence of God. This daily act of repentance and subsequent submission to God, is what leads to holiness or separation from the world.
Heb 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
Once we repent are baptized and filled with the Spirit, we leave behind this doctrine. It has been demonstrated in our lives through our experience with God. We felt the cleansing power of the water baptism in Jesus name. We felt the presence of God as he came in and spoke through us with other tongues. We should not have to be convinced that this new birth experience is real. We need to move on to holiness which will lead us into perfection. Some evil is self evident.
Rm 1:29-31 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
These are things that should be obvious to the average man. It does not mean that we will not have our struggles with our own personal issues. But we begin our journey in holiness with conquering these Giants first. I suspect that everyone who is born again and is coming out of the world has to fight several of these issues. However as we progress on our journey to holiness, there are other less obvious battles that we will have to fight.
Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Things that in and of themselves are not evil, have taken on an evil nature. Music, television, radio, movies, dancing, games, sports activities, etc, have become the devil’s playground. He is the prince and power of the air. Those things that travel through the air, sound and light are his domain. He has a heavy influence on the media, and we need to recognize that. I am not saying that all of these things are evil. I am saying we need to recognize his influence and avoid those things which can have a negative impact on our walk with God. God gave us his Spirit and one of the gifts of the Spirit is spiritual discernment. We need to use that discernment to help us avoid the lies and deceit of the enemy.
Rm 14:20-21 For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence. It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.
Holiness is relative to the individual. There are some things that may not be bad for me, because I am not influenced by them. Yet I may have a brother who is negatively affected by a particular activity. As an example, I may not be tempted by the lure of alcohol, but I may have a brother who is. My brother may avoid eating in restaurants where they serve alcohol because he recognizes his weakness. I need to be sensitive to the spiritual condition of my brother in the Lord and not insist on eating in restaurants where alcohol is served. In some cases, I may want to avoid those places all together, because if my weaker brother sees me going there, he may consider going in also. I need to recognize that I have a responsibility to help keep my brother from doing something that will lead him back to a sinful life style.
I The 5:22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.
The whole world is watching us. Our lives are a testimony to the power of the gospel. We need to avoid even the appearance of evil. Satan is the accuser of the brethren. He and his force of angels are looking for every opportunity to accuse us. He will not only accuse us before God, but before men. He wants to whisper in our neighbor’s ear, look, “See what John is doing.” “John is not a Christian, he is just another hypocrite.” Satan wants to destroy our testimony, because he knows holiness is his enemy. When other people see the power of God working and changing our lives for the better, it puts a hunger in them to have what we have.
Jn 15:19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
Jesus prophesied that the world, the worldly system and people who are ingrained in that system would hate us. Jesus taught us to love them and pray for them. It is our love and prayers for them that has power to change them.
Mt 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
This is one of the most difficult things for many of us to do. When the world that hates us comes against us, we must pray for them. We must love our enemies. We must forgive them for what they do to us. We must ask the Lord to forgive them, change them and save them.
Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
People are not our enemy. We are not to fight against them. We are to battle the spiritual forces that influence them to do evil. Our battle ground is against Satan and his forces. He is the real source of evil in the world. We can only do this through prayer. We must love all men and recognize that the Lord desires that no person perish. This is very hard for most people to do, but all things are possible through Jesus Christ who strengthens us.
Rm 13:1-4 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.
Tit 3:1 Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work,
Finally, there is the issue of human government. God has ordained all forms of human government. God’s plan was from the beginning to have a theocracy, with him as King. His desire is for man to recognize him as the supreme authority. When we come into the Kingdom of God or the church, God is our King. We should renounce all forms of human authority over our lives. We no longer need to feel as though we are subject to that authority, because we are now subject to the highest authority. We will find ourselves by nature, obeying most of man’s laws, because God’s law is higher. That is one aspect of what Paul was talking about. On those issues where man’s law does not conflict with God’s law, we need to be obedient. We need to recognize that God allowed human government and human law to exist for the purpose of maintaining order among the unrighteous. Therefore we need to respect that law as being ordained of him. The flip side of this is, there may come a time like in the case of Daniel, the three Hebrew Children, Peter and John, when man’s rule of law conflicts with God’s law. In that case we must be ready and willing to take a stand for holiness and say it is better I obey God than man.
Act 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
We must be a witness to the lost world of the saving power of the gospel. This is the reason we are to be a living sacrifice. We have sacrificed our wants, desires, priorities, identity, sometimes homes, careers and family for the sake of the gospel. It is all about reaching out to those who do not have the experience we have. It is all about seeking and saving the lost. We are the light of the world. We are the ones who are tasked as the body of Christ to continue the work the Messiah started. It is so wonderful to me when I think back to how Satan only had one human to deal with in the Messiah. He thought that in destroying the “Son of God,” he could ruin God’s plan and all his problems would be solved. Jesus even warned him when he said “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” Look what the devil did. Instead, he now has to deal with millions of “sons of God,” who make up a new bigger “body of Christ.” He is so stupid, no wonder he is a defeated foe.
Mk 16:17-18 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
The lord said that certain signs would follow those that believed. One of those is the sign of divine healing. Those of us who have chosen King Jesus, recognize that he is the great physician. There is not healing outside of God. We are not disavowing doctors. We recognize that God uses doctors to treat illness, but only God can heal the sick. Only God can miraculously restore that which has been destroyed by injury and illness. When practicable, we must always go to God first and petition him for healing and restoration. Then and only when, if necessary we can go to the physician for treatment.
Mt 4:23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
The Bible tells us that he healed every kind of illness. In other words there is nothing that exists in our world that God can not heal. This includes every manner of physical, mental or spiritual illness.
Mt 9:35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
God healed every where. There was not any physical location where God could not heal. He is all powerful and is not limited by physical conditions.
Mt 8:16 When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick:
The Bible tells us that God healed all that were sick. Everyone who was brought to him in faith was healed.
Mt 13:58 And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
We need to balance our faith with the understanding that Jesus did not do any great works when the people did not believe. Only God can heal. We are not directly responsible for our acts of faith, if we have done our part. While God is not limited by any of the physical things of this world, he is self limiting. In other words, God is sovereign. God on his own volition, will only operate when all of the conditions of scripture are met.
He 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
God is consistent. He will not violate his own word. Everything he did 6000 years ago, he is still doing today. Everything the Messiah did 2000 years ago, he is still doing today. We can trust him, because he will not change the rules. His word is forever settled in heaven.
