... enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has ..

1
How Do You View Your Life?

• Romans 121 (NKJV) 1I beseech
  you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God,
  that you present your bodies a living sacrifice,
  holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable
  service.

2
What Does it Mean to be a Christian?

• 1 Peter 24 through 1 Peter 25 (NKJV) 4Coming to
  Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men,
  but chosen by God and precious, 5you also, as
  living stones, are being built up a spiritual
  house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual
  sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus
  Christ.

3
Gods Standard is Holiness

• We are to be holy because God is holy. (1 Pt
  114-16)

4
Gods Standard is Holiness

• 1 Peter 114-16 - as obedient children, not
  conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in
  your ignorance 15 but as He who called you is
  holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16
  because it is written, Be holy, for I am holy.

5
Gods Standard is Holiness

• The root idea of holy is to be set apart with
  the idea of perfection and purity.

6
Gods Standard is Holiness

• God is the standard of holiness.

7
Gods Standard is Holiness

• Holy is the way God is. To be holy he does not
  conform to a standard. He is that standard. He is
  absolutely holy with an infinite,
  incomprehensible fullness of purity that is
  incapable of being other than it is. Because he
  is holy, all his attributes are holy that is,
  whatever we think of as belonging to God must be
  thought of as holy. - A. W. Tozer

8
Gods Standard is Holiness

• The only issue at judgment day is the issue of
  holiness. (Heb 1214)

9
Gods Standard is Holiness

• Hebrews 1214 (NKJV) 14Pursue peace with all
  people, and holiness, without which no one will
  see the Lord

10
Gods Standard is Holiness

• Why did Paul write what he did to Christians?
  (Eph 527 Col 121-23)

11
Gods Standard is Holiness

• Ephesians 527 - that He might present her to
  Himself a glorious church, not having spot or
  wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be
  holy and without blemish.

12
Gods Standard is Holiness

• Colossians 121-23 - And you, who once were
  alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked
  works, yet now He has reconciled 22 in the body
  of His flesh through death, to present you holy,
  and blameless, and above reproach in His sight

13
Gods Standard is Holiness

• 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded
  and steadfast, and are not moved away from the
  hope of the gospel which you heard, which was
  preached to every creature under heaven, of which
  I, Paul, became a minister.

14
Gods Standard is Holiness

• There is a widely accepted form of religion that
  laughs off any standards as legalistic while
  claiming to serve God. What does God accept?

15
Gods Standard is Holiness

• Our ability to deal with false doctrine and their
  movements should be evidence of a
  desire for holiness. (2 Cor 112-4)

16
Gods Standard is Holiness

• 2 Corinthians 112-4 - For I am jealous for you
  with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to
  one husband, that I may present you as a chaste
  virgin to Christ. 3 But I fear, lest somehow, as
  the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so
  your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity
  that is in Christ.

17
Gods Standard is Holiness

• 4 For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom
  we have not preached, or if you receive a
  different spirit which you have not received, or
  a different gospel which you have not
  acceptedyou may well put up with it!

18
Gods Standard is Holiness

• The true Christian ideal is not to be happy but
  to be holy.

19
Gods Standard is Holiness

• We are made holy and then are to live an holy
  life.

20
Gods Standard is Holiness

• We are made holy and then are to live an holy
  life.
• In our conversion we are made holy by
  forgiveness. To be a saint is to be holy!
  (1 Cor 12 1 Pt 12)

21
Gods Standard is Holiness

• 1 Corinthians 12 - To the church of God which is
  at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ
  Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every
  place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord,
  both theirs and ours

22
Gods Standard is Holiness

• 1 Peter 12 - elect according to the
  foreknowledge of God the Father, in
  sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and
  sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ Grace to
  you and peace be multiplied.

23
Gods Standard is Holiness

• We are to pursue forgiveness daily as we also
  walk in the light! (1 Jn 15-9)

24
Gods Standard is Holiness

• 1 John 15-9 -This is the message which we have
  heard from Him and declare to you, that God is
  light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6If we
  say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in
  darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

25
Gods Standard is Holiness

• 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the
  light, we have fellowship with one another, and
  the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us
  from all sin.8 If we say that we have no sin, we
  deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9
  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just
  to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
  unrighteousness.

26
Holiness begins in the Heart

• It is easy to substitute that which man sees for
  that which God sees. (2 Cor 1012,18)

27
Holiness begins in the Heart

• 2 Corinthians 1012 - For we dare not class
  ourselves or compare ourselves with those who
  commend themselves. But they, measuring
  themselves by themselves, and comparing
  themselves among themselves, are not wise.

28
Holiness begins in the Heart

• 2 Corinthians 1018 - For not he who commends
  himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends.

29
Holiness begins in the Heart

• Why did the Pharisees act as they did? (Mt
  158-9)

30
Holiness begins in the Heart

• Matthew 158-9 - These people draw near to Me
  with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips,
  But their heart is far from Me. 9 And in vain
  they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the
  commandments of men.

31
Holiness begins in the Heart

• In the Old Testament we find men who tried to
  substitute worship for holiness.
  (Prov 212-3 Jer 620-21 Mal 18-10,13)

32
Holiness begins in the Heart

• Proverbs 212-3 - Every way of a man is right in
  his own eyes, But the LORD weighs the hearts. 3
  To do righteousness and justice Is more
  acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.

33
Holiness begins in the Heart

• Jeremiah 620-21 - For what purpose to Me Comes
  frankincense from Sheba, And sweet cane from a
  far country? Your burnt offerings are not
  acceptable, Nor your sacrifices sweet to Me. 21
  Therefore thus says the LORD Behold, I will lay
  stumbling blocks before this people, And the
  fathers and the sons together shall fall on them.
  The neighbor and his friend shall perish.

34
Holiness begins in the Heart

• Malachi 18-10 - And when you offer the blind as
  a sacrifice, Is it not evil? And when you offer
  the lame and sick, Is it not evil? Offer it then
  to your governor! Would he be pleased with you?
  Would he accept you favorably? Says the LORD of
  hosts.

35
Holiness begins in the Heart

• 9 But now entreat Gods favor, That He may be
  gracious to us. While this is being done by your
  hands, Will He accept you favorably? Says the
  LORD of hosts. 10 Who is there even among you
  who would shut the doors, So that you would not
  kindle fire on My altar in vain? I have no
  pleasure in you, Says the LORD of hosts, Nor
  will I accept an offering from your hands.

36
Holiness begins in the Heart

• Malachi 113 - You also say, Oh, what a
  weariness! And you sneer at it, Says the LORD
  of hosts. And you bring the stolen, the lame,
  and the sick Thus you bring an offering! Should
  I accept this from your hand? Says the LORD.

37
Holiness begins in the Heart

• These are the carnal men in the church who view
  worship as entertainment. They will have many
  false standards but have no control of their
  hearts.

38
Holiness begins in the Heart

• The battle for holiness can only be fought
  without watering down the standard.

39
Holiness begins in the Heart

• The battle for holiness can only be fought
  without watering down the standard.
• The Pharisees even mocked Gods standard. (Lk
  1613-14)

40
Holiness begins in the Heart

• Luke 1613-14 - No servant can serve two
  masters for either he will hate the one and love
  the other, or else he will be loyal to the one
  and despise the other. You cannot serve God and
  mammon. 14 Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of
  money, also heard all these things, and they
  derided Him.

41
Holiness begins in the Heart

• It takes great humility to seek Gods will
  without change! Only with this attitude can He
  bring change to our hearts. (Prov 162 Mt
  1518-19)

42
Holiness begins in the Heart

• Proverbs 162 - All the ways of a man are pure in
  his own eyes, But the LORD weighs the spirits.

43
Holiness begins in the Heart

• Matthew 1518-19 - But those things which proceed
  out of the mouth come from the heart, and they
  defile a man. 19 For out of the heart proceed
  evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications,
  thefts, false witness, blasphemies.

44
Holiness begins in the Heart

• A holy life will be willing to make great
  sacrifices. (Mat 528-30 2Cor 617-71)

45
Holiness begins in the Heart

• Matthew 528-30 - But I say to you that whoever
  looks at a woman to lust for her has already
  committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If
  your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out
  and cast it from you for it is more profitable
  for you that one of your members perish, than for
  your whole body to be cast into hell.

46
Holiness begins in the Heart

• 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut
  it off and cast it from you for it is more
  profitable for you that one of your members
  perish, than for your whole body to be cast into
  hell.

47
Holiness begins in the Heart

• 2 Corinthians 617-71 Therefore Come out from
  among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not
  touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.
  18 I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My
  sons and daughters, Says the Lord Almighty. 1
  Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us
  cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the
  flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear
  of God.

48
Holiness begins in the Heart

• It is not difficult in our world to get a person
  interested in the message of the Gospel it is
  terrifically difficult to sustain the interest.
  Millions of people in our culture make decisions
  for Christ, but there is a dreadful attrition
  rate. Many claim to have been born again, but the
  evidence for mature Christian discipleship is
  slim.

49
Holiness begins in the Heart

• In our kind of culture anything, even news about
  God, can be sold if it is packaged freshly but
  when it loses its novelty, it goes on the garbage
  heap. There is a great market for religious
  experience in our world there is little
  enthusiasm for the patient acquisition of virtue,
  little inclination to sign up for a long
  apprenticeship in what earlier generations of
  Christians called holiness.

50
Holiness begins in the Heart

• We find strength in the example of Christ. (Heb
  122-4)

51
Holiness begins in the Heart

• Hebrews 122-4 - looking unto Jesus, the author
  and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that
  was set before Him endured the cross, despising
  the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of
  the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who endured
  such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest
  you become weary and discouraged in your souls. 4
  You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving
  against sin.

52
We Need Wisdom to Stay Holy

• It takes time to be holy. (Eph 515-17)

53
We Need Wisdom to Stay Holy

• Ephesians 515-17 - See then that you walk
  circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16
  redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17
  Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what
  the will of the Lord is.

54
We Need Wisdom to Stay Holy

• Although we become Christians instantaneously by
  faith in Christ, knowing God and developing faith
  is a gradual process. There are no shortcuts to
  maturity. It takes time to be holy. - Erwin W.
  Lutzer

55
We Need Wisdom to Stay Holy

• The battle to grow in love and to hate sin takes
  time! Impatience has caused many to quit. (Heb
  1036-37)

56
We Need Wisdom to Stay Holy

• Hebrews 1036-37 (NKJV) - For you have need of
  endurance, so that after you have done the will
  of God, you may receive the promise 37 For yet
  a little while, And He who is coming will come
  and will not tarry.

57
We Need Wisdom to Stay Holy

• There is also an improper understanding of
  forgiveness that causes some to be overwhelmed
  and quit. (2 Cor 27,10-11)

58
We Need Wisdom to Stay Holy

• 2 Corinthians 27 - so that, on the contrary, you
  ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest
  perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much
  sorrow.

59
We Need Wisdom to Stay Holy

• 2 Corinthians 210-11 - Now whom you forgive
  anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have
  forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for
  your sakes in the presence of Christ, 11 lest
  Satan should take advantage of us for we are not
  ignorant of his devices.

60
We Need Wisdom to Stay Holy

• If we are overconfident we will find ourselves
  confronted with new temptations
  unprepared!

61
We Need Wisdom to Stay Holy

• A willingness to study and be corrected. (1 John
  31-3)

62
We Need Wisdom to Stay Holy

• 1 John 31-3 - Behold what manner of love the
  Father has bestowed on us, that we should be
  called children of God! Therefore the world does
  not know us, because it did not know Him. 2
  Beloved, now we are children of God and it has
  not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we
  know that when He is revealed, we shall be like
  Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

63
We Need Wisdom to Stay Holy

• 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies
  himself, just as He is pure.

64
We Need Wisdom to Stay Holy

• Many Christians have given in to the positive
  Christianity philosophy.

65
We Need Wisdom to Stay Holy

• Many Christians have given in to the positive
  Christianity philosophy.
• When open study is feared and a proper rebuke
  despised, we no longer have a desire to be
  holy.

66
We Need Wisdom to Stay Holy

• Before we can be filled with the Spirit, the
  desire to be filled must be all-consuming. It
  must be for the time the biggest thing in the
  life, so acute, so intrusive as to crowd out
  everything else. The degree of fullness in any
  life accords perfectly with the intensity of true
  desire. We have as much of God as we actually
  want. - A. W. Tozer

67
We Need Wisdom to Stay Holy

• A hatred of sin. (Heb 1026-31)

68
We Need Wisdom to Stay Holy

• Hebrews 1026-31 - For if we sin willfully after
  we have received the knowledge of the truth,
  there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27
  but a certain fearful expectation of judgment,
  and fiery indignation which will devour the
  adversaries. 28 Anyone who has rejected Moses
  law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or
  three witnesses.

69
We Need Wisdom to Stay Holy

• 29 Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose,
  will he be thought worthy who has trampled the
  Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the
  covenant by which he was sanctified a common
  thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For
  we know Him who said, Vengeance is Mine, I will
  repay, says the Lord. And again, The Lord will
  judge His people.

70
We Need Wisdom to Stay Holy

• 31It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of
  the living God.

71
We Need Wisdom to Stay Holy

• Our society has developed a hatred for standards.
  How can we be entertained by much
  of what is shown on television?

72
We Need Wisdom to Stay Holy

• Separate yourself from fellowship with the
  world, or the world will separate you from
  fellowship with God.

73
We Need Wisdom to Stay Holy

• The world wants good mixers God wants good
  separators.

74
We Need Wisdom to Stay Holy

• "When we date, we start giving gifts, like
  flowers or candy. When a couple becomes engaged,
  they give special things -- a diamond and very
  personal things. The most personal gift that I
  can ever give is myself. I have nothing more
  precious to give. When I marry, I want to give my
  husband the best that I have -- my whole self as
  completely as I can.

75
We Need Wisdom to Stay Holy

• We will use our tongues in a way to show
  holiness. (Prov 1030-31)

76
We Need Wisdom to Stay Holy

• Proverbs 1030-31 - The righteous will never be
  removed, But the wicked will not inhabit the
  earth. 31 The mouth of the righteous brings
  forth wisdom, But the perverse tongue will be
  cut out.

77
We Need Wisdom to Stay Holy

• A deep respect for the choices of God. (Col
  218-19)

78
We Need Wisdom to Stay Holy

• Colossians 218-19 - Let no one cheat you of your
  reward, taking delight in false humility and
  worship of angels, intruding into those things
  which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his
  fleshly mind, 19 and not holding fast to the
  Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit
  together by joints and ligaments, grows with the
  increase that is from God.

79
We Need Wisdom to Stay Holy

• Why have many churches neglected to teach on
  Bible authority?

80
We Need Wisdom to Stay Holy

• Why have many churches neglected to teach on
  Bible authority?
• Why are many Christians offended at Bible
  teaching on modest dress and modern dancing? Are
  we the people of God?

81
We Need Wisdom to Stay Holy

• Why have many churches neglected to teach on
  Bible authority?
• Why are many Christians offended at Bible
  teaching on modest dress and modern dancing? Are
  we the people of God?
• We are seeking to live in the way revealed by
  God! What do brethren mean when they ask Is the
  church building holy?

82
We Need Wisdom to Stay Holy

• A strong purpose in living. (1 Pet 115-16)

83
We Need Wisdom to Stay Holy

• 1 Peter 115-16 - but as He who called you is
  holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16
  because it is written, Be holy, for I am holy.

84
We Need Wisdom to Stay Holy

• A love to worship a holy God.

85
We Need Wisdom to Stay Holy

• A love to worship a holy God.
• In worship we see God in a way to transform us.
  (Ps 1913-14)

86
We Need Wisdom to Stay Holy

• Psalm 1913-14 - Keep back Your servant also from
  presumptuous sins Let them not have dominion
  over me. Then I shall be blameless, And I shall
  be innocent of great transgression. 14 Let the
  words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
  Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength
  and my Redeemer.

87
We Need Wisdom to Stay Holy

• Do you take delight in worship? (Psa 11-3
  1221)

88
We Need Wisdom to Stay Holy

• Psalm 11-3 - Blessed is the man Who walks not in
  the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the
  path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the
  scornful 2 But his delight is in the law of the
  LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.
  3 He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers
  of water, That brings forth its fruit in its
  season, Whose leaf also shall not wither And
  whatever he does shall prosper.

89
We Need Wisdom to Stay Holy

• Psalm 1221 - I was glad when they said to me,
  Let us go into the house of the LORD.

90
Will You Be Acceptable to God?

• 2 Corinthians 510 (NKJV) 10For
  we must all appear before the judgment seat of
  Christ, that each one may receive the things done
  in the body, according to what he has done,
  whether good or bad.