October 22, 2013 CLEANSING OURSELVES
2 Corinthians 6:17-7:1 “Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate, says the Lord. And do not touch what is unclean; and I will welcome you.
And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me, says the Lord Almighty. Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”
These verses do not make the headlines in our culture; and sad to say, they are not often talked about in Christian circles. They are contrary to our culture that denounces moral absolutes and promotes the idea that each individual decides what is right in his own eyes. Our culture cast off restraints and encourages every one to express themselves in any way they choose. However, the culture can do whatever it wants to do, but God has His own ‘culture’ and it has always existed and will always exist. In His kingdom (culture) there are absolutes that cannot be broken without suffering the consequences-and that is what the culture of the world despises and denies. God is sovereign whether one believes it or not. As alluded to above, many professing believers have knowingly or unknowingly bought into the worlds culture; many find it difficult saying that certain things are sin-they do not want ‘judge’ anyone. Don’t misunderstand, we are not called to judge, but we are called to recognize sin and abstain from it, and as God leads, exhort and admonish others to stop sinning. (See 1 Corinthians 15:34.) God is holy; He has no sin; He is pure; AND He has called us to be holy in conduct. If we say we love God but continue in sin, we are desperately deceived and we lie. Loving God demands our holiness. Holiness is not a matter of being better than someone else, and it’s not a matter of keeping a list of all the good things we may do. We are holy because Holy God lives in us and He has set us apart; we are the temple of the Holy Spirit—how shall we continue in sin? So, for us-let us not participate in anything that is unpleasing to God; if we find ourselves in a compromising situation or we are being caught up in some sin, let us be quick to come out or leave whatever sin we are committing. For sure, we will have contact and dealings with those who do not know God and we are not to shun them, but we are to be a light that points them to God who forgives and who loves. The main point for us is not to be participants in what is ungodly. We have a great promise; when we come out of what is sin, God will welcome us and He will be our Father. Because of who God is, let us ‘cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. This is a healthy fear. Let us be bold and put away anything that is not pleasing to the Lord.
Romans 6:12-13 “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey its lust, and do not go on presenting your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.”
Blessings, Buddy
2 Corinthians 6:17-7:1 “Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate, says the Lord. And do not touch what is unclean; and I will welcome you.
And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me, says the Lord Almighty. Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”
These verses do not make the headlines in our culture; and sad to say, they are not often talked about in Christian circles. They are contrary to our culture that denounces moral absolutes and promotes the idea that each individual decides what is right in his own eyes. Our culture cast off restraints and encourages every one to express themselves in any way they choose. However, the culture can do whatever it wants to do, but God has His own ‘culture’ and it has always existed and will always exist. In His kingdom (culture) there are absolutes that cannot be broken without suffering the consequences-and that is what the culture of the world despises and denies. God is sovereign whether one believes it or not. As alluded to above, many professing believers have knowingly or unknowingly bought into the worlds culture; many find it difficult saying that certain things are sin-they do not want ‘judge’ anyone. Don’t misunderstand, we are not called to judge, but we are called to recognize sin and abstain from it, and as God leads, exhort and admonish others to stop sinning. (See 1 Corinthians 15:34.) God is holy; He has no sin; He is pure; AND He has called us to be holy in conduct. If we say we love God but continue in sin, we are desperately deceived and we lie. Loving God demands our holiness. Holiness is not a matter of being better than someone else, and it’s not a matter of keeping a list of all the good things we may do. We are holy because Holy God lives in us and He has set us apart; we are the temple of the Holy Spirit—how shall we continue in sin? So, for us-let us not participate in anything that is unpleasing to God; if we find ourselves in a compromising situation or we are being caught up in some sin, let us be quick to come out or leave whatever sin we are committing. For sure, we will have contact and dealings with those who do not know God and we are not to shun them, but we are to be a light that points them to God who forgives and who loves. The main point for us is not to be participants in what is ungodly. We have a great promise; when we come out of what is sin, God will welcome us and He will be our Father. Because of who God is, let us ‘cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. This is a healthy fear. Let us be bold and put away anything that is not pleasing to the Lord.
Romans 6:12-13 “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey its lust, and do not go on presenting your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.”
Blessings, Buddy
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