Called to Holiness

“The Lord spoke to me with His strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people. He said, “The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, He is the one you are to fear, He is the one you are to dread, and He will be a sanctuary” (Isaiah 8:11, 13-14)

The Lord commanded Isaiah – as He commands us – to reject the way of the people and to fear Him alone and to stand firm against ungodliness and unrighteousness. He called His people to stand courageously when all around them bowed to the gods of this world. That same command has run through the history of Christianity since the resurrection of Christ. It is the heartbeat of the saints through the ages, and even today, who faced – and still face – public ridicule, beatings, prison, exile, stoning, lions, burnings, beheadings, and all manner of persecution for their faith. It has been and continues to be the rallying cry of the people of God.

But for Isaiah and the martyrs of the faith – and for you and me – this word is not a call to arms, it is not a call to protest and public rebuttal. It is a call to personal holiness. Notice that the prophet says “The Lord spoke to ME, with His strong hand upon ME, warning ME . . . the Lord Almighty is the one YOU are to regard as holy . . . the one YOU are to fear . . . the one YOU are to dread . . . This is first and foremost a command for the individual to stand firm in the faith in the solitary moments of our lives when no one else sees or hears. The person we present to the world is rarely who we are in our private moments. Which should give us pause before we speak. Before I call out the sins of the world, before I confront the ungodliness around me, I must call out the sin in my own life and confront the ungodliness within me.

Beloved, we have a command to shine the light of Christ wherever there is darkness, but we must first let it shine in the darkness of our own hearts. The message we carry is too valuable and too important to bury it under our own sin.

The Lord spoke to ME . . .

The Way of Holiness

Hebrews 12:14 says “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness, no one will see the Lord.”  That’s a mighty strong statement – one that should give us pause. I don’t know about you but I want to see the Lord. That doesn’t just mean I want to lay eyes on Him. The word the writer used there means “to be admitted into intimate and blessed fellowship with God in his future kingdom,” (blueletterbible.org/lexicon). That’s what I want.

If holiness is the condition for seeing God, how do I get holy? I don’t. I have to be made holy.  The writer of Hebrews said that Jesus came to do the will of God (Heb 10:9). But what is the will of God? To make us holy (v. 10), that is, to make us into the very likeness of His Son (Rom 8:29). Paul said that God’s purpose is that we might “be holy and blameless in His sight” (Eph 1:4). That is what the cross is all about. Jesus nailed our sins to His cross (Col 2:13-14) and shed His blood to give us His holiness.

Surely, though, God has some expectations of me. Indeed, He does. He expects me to carry myself according to who I am in Christ. He expects me to choose holiness. Paul (again) said, “God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life (1 Thes 4:7). This agrees perfectly with Jesus’ teaching in the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Mat 5:8). It’s the exact same “see” as we find in the Hebrews passage. Purity of heart brings holiness.

What does that look like in real life? “The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, while we wait . . . for Jesus” (Titus 2:11-12). Saying “No” when the world and our flesh says “I want,” Looking for the way out of temptation (1 Cor 10:13). Submitting to the Holy Spirit (Rom 8:5-17). Turning away from every evil desire and pursuing “righteousness, faith, love, and peace along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” (2 Tim 2:22).

God has a highway, “called the Way of Holiness [and] it will only be for those who walk in that Way” (Is 35:8). No wonder Jesus said, “I am the Way . . .” (Jn 14:6). Beloved are you riding on the “Highway to Heaven?”

Who Will Be Your Master?

One of the great scourges in U.S. history is slavery. It was a common way of life (and not limited to the South) but often a horrific way of life. We don’t like to think about slavery, but it was a reality that cannot be erased or knocked down. It is also a teaching point as it gives us a true vision of how sin treats men and women.

Paul addressed slavery in the context of our spiritual lives in Romans 6. He said we are either slaves to sin or slaves to righteousness. Slaves had no say in how they lived. They went where they were told, did what they were told, and operated at the discretion of their master. In the context of this passage, Paul said the same thing applied to either sin or righteousness. The difference in the life of a slave was in the master. Sin is a tyrannical, wicked master bent on inflicting as much abuse as possible on the slave before finally paying them their full wages: death (6:23).

But those who are in Christ Jesus are slaves to righteousness. Yes, still slaves, but to a much different master. A master that treats the slave with grace and kindness and cares for and about them. While the wages of sin is death, the gift of God to the righteous slave is eternal life (still v. 23). That in itself is enough cause for Joy, but look what else our Master gives us: the resurrection from the dead (v. 5), grace (vs. 14-15), holiness (vs. 19, 22), and strangely. freedom (vs. 7, 18, 22).

In verse14 Paul wrote: “Sin shall not be your master . . .” I’ve always understood that as a command: “Sin must not be your master” but taken in the full context I believe it is a word of assurance that sin will not be our master. The KJV renders the verse “Sin will no longer be your master.” Twice Paul said “You have been set free from sin” (vs. 18, 22). That’s good news for those of us who bear the scars of our former master.

Paul frequently tells us that we are not who we once were because we belong to a new Master now. You need to remind yourself of that every time your old slave driver comes calling. Beloved, you belong to righteousness now. Sin has no claim on you.

Taking Back the Church

I have come to believe that it’s time for believers to fight for our faith. Not with pitchforks or guns or verbal attacks across the aisle. There’s a better way and it will do us well to learn it and live it. Join me in the book of Jude.

His opening words set the tone: “I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints” (v. 3). Jude wrote about the danger of “godless men” slipping into the church to “change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord” (v. 4). If ever a verse applied to the church, it is this. It is appalling and grievous to see the immoral condition of the Body of Christ. But it’s also apparent that this has been going on for a very long time.

Jude warned his readers that these wicked people have no regard for the things of God. Their motive is to cause disruption and discord – “these are the men who divide you (v. 19). They are: grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves, flatter others for their own advantage . . . follow mere natural instincts, and do not have the Spirit” (v. 16, 19). I know Jude was talking about his own day, but it’s almost as if he was peering into the future – to the twenty-first century.

So how do we fight? How do we take our church back from the vile hands of wicked people? Jude gave the battle plan: “But you, dear friends, built yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life” (vs. 20-21). That’s it? How is that “contending” for the faith? Where’s the fight? In the spiritual realm.  Paul said it best: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom 12:21). We chase away darkness by introducing light. We drive away wickedness by living in righteousness.

The truth is Beloved, you’re in this battle whether you wanted to be or not, so you’d better learn how to fight. Put down your pitchfork and pick up your Bible.  We’ll reclaim the church by being the holy people of God.

The Most Encouraging Word You’ll Ever Hear

When I sit down at my desk every morning to write I look at my Bible and wonder, “Where do I start?” Every word on every page is important and valuable. It’s hard to pluck a small bit of text out of this wonderful, blessed book. So I ask Him to speak through me because He knows you so well. He knows exactly what you need. He knows me too and He speaks to me as much as He speaks through me.

Today He sent me to 2 Peter 3 – a wonderful word of hope. No, it’s not an “everything’s gonna be all right, just you wait and see” kind of encouragement – it’s better. The context tells us that his readers are under much duress and persecution by “scoffers who come scoffing and following their own evil desires” (v. 3). They deny the existence of God and His work of creation. They “deliberately forget” that He has the authority to judge “ungodly men” (vs. 5-7). They rejected His Word and His people. Sound familiar? Some things never change.

Peter’s audience was growing weary of evil and persecution – just as we are. They wanted to know when God was going to keep His word and pronounce judgment. Then Peter says, “Do not forget this one thing, dear friends . . .” (v. 8). This is the message he knows will reach their minds and their hearts. “The Lord is not slow in keeping His promises . . .” “the day of the Lord will come” (v. 9-10). Make no mistake – God will punish evil. But in His grace, He is giving men time to repent. If you have lost loved ones, that is good news.

Then Peter brings it all back to the Christian – to you and me. In light of God’s faithfulness, “what kind of people ought you to be” (v. 11)? People who “live holy and godly lives” and “look forward to the day of God” (v. 11-12).

The greatest, most encouraging, and hopeful promise I can share is this: Jesus is coming again. No, I mean: JESUS IS COMING AGAIN! He will gather us together and take us home. He will judge all the wickedness and evil that grieves us so. He will make all things right. Just “wait a little longer” (Rev. 6:11), Beloved, and keep your eyes on the eastern sky.

Devoted

You and I are God’s people in the devil’s world. There is so much evil in all around us that we can’t avoid unless we crawl into a cave and never come out. As tempting as that is , but it’s not the way to fulfill our purpose to be “salt and light in the world” (Matt. 5:13-16).  We have to be “in the world, but not of the world” (paraphrased from John 17:14-16). It’s not a “balance” as I’ve heard some say. It comes down to an all-in choice for holiness and a determination to never compromise.

Holiness means to be “set apart” for a special purpose. The Bible tells us that God sets us His people apart for His divine purposes. It’s powerfully displayed in Isaiah’s commissioning as a prophet of God in Isaiah 6. God gave Isaiah a vision of Himself – and a call to repentance. Isaiah knew that he was not worthy – he said, “Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty” (6:5). Isaiah lived in the unclean world, and even before the Lord’s call he had preached the judgment of God to Judah. But the filth of the world still clung to him. You cannot walk down a dirt road without collecting some of its dust. God cleansed his unclean lips – then set him apart to declare His Word. All through the Bible God convicts, cleanses, and sets people apart when He is going to do something big.

I believe God is getting ready to do a great work in the world. But it will require people who are consecrated to Him, willing to set everything aside to join Him. That means whole-hearted devotion to Christ and an unwillingness to compromise with the world – even as we live in it. I also believe a great battle is coming in this nation; the lines have already been drawn in our culture and our courts. Unfortunately, it has also been drawn through the Church, and some have chosen to side with the world. Only a people with pure, consecrated hearts will be able to stand firm in the face of it.

The Lord posed a question in Jeremiah’s day that rings loud and clear in our own: “’Who is he who will devote himself to be close to me?’ declares the Lord” (Jer. 30:21). My hand is up.

How will you answer, Beloved?

You Can Say It Now, or Say It Later: Jesus Is Lord

“I know who you are – the Holy One of God!” Mark 1:24

Do you know (without looking it up) who spoke those words? No, it wasn’t Peter or John. Not the wise and righteous spiritual leaders of Israel. It wasn’t even one of the angels. Those words were spoken by a man possessed by an evil spirit, a demon of hell. Someone who certainly had no affection for Jesus, but recognized His divine nature as God in human flesh.

The world is filled with people who refuse to acknowledge Jesus for who He is. They may regard Him as nothing more than a great teacher or prophet. Many consider Him an extraordinary humanitarian. And more than a few claim He is a charlatan who has deceived people for more than two thousand years. Some dismiss Him altogether as a man-made hoax designed to ‘fleece the sheep.”

In my undergrad studies, I had to interview several non-believers and I asked them to just speak three words: “Jesus is Lord” and every one of them refused. One said he “couldn’t” say it, the words wouldn’t form in his mouth. How can two people know of Jesus and one believe and one not? Because “the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith” (Heb 4:2). Demons don’t have faith and neither do people who hear the gospel and walk away from it. But one day they will see what they refused to see in this life.

Paul declared in Philippians 2:10-11 that “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” The evil spirit in our key verse is proof of Paul’s words. The day will come – very soon I believe – when every human from Adam to the last man standing will kneel and profess Jesus as Lord – the Son of God – the Holy One. It will be an involuntary response to His holiness and majesty. Just as the demon declared it, the words will fall from every person’s lips as all of mankind acknowledges Him. For those who believe today, it will be a shout of celebration. But for those who spurned the Son of God during their lifetime, that confession will be made with deep anguish and terror as they realize that in rejecting Jesus Christ they rejected their only hope for salvation.

You and I have a choice to make today that will determine how we respond in that glorious moment. We can reject Jesus now and make that confession by force, or bow our knees and our hearts and acknowledge Jesus as Lord today, so that great confession will be spoken with Joy. Don’t wait to proclaim the Name of Jesus, Beloved – He is Lord!

Jesus is [not] my Homeboy

When I took an Apologetics course in my undergrad, I had to interview five non-Christians and ask them specific worldview questions. I also did a little experiment. I asked each one to repeat one simple, three-word phrase: “Jesus is Lord.” None of them would. In fact, one of them said, “I can’t. Those words just won’t come.”  

When we take a very nonchalant approach to Jesus, it shows in how we identify Him. Evangelist Greg Laurie said, “Sometimes I think people in the church are far too casual with God. They have a relationship with God, but they’ve forgotten the holiness of God. They say Jesus is their “homeboy,” but their so-called homeboy created the universe. Let’s show some respect. This is God Almighty we’re talking about.” I understand that we want to present Jesus as approachable and relevant. But if we fail to see and acknowledge Him as Lord, we have missed the point of who He is.

The writer of Hebrews got it. He said, “Let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire” (Heb 12:28b-29). That’s very different from the soft-hearted God that is preached from many pulpits today. Don’t get me wrong – our God is a God of love and mercy – two of His most enduring traits. God’s love is evident in His mercy. His mercy is driven by His love. But both His love and His mercy must acknowledge His holiness – and His wrath. Without it, His love is as mushy – and useless – as a Hallmark movie.  You and I need a love that is powerful enough to snatch us from the edge of hell.

While the culture today wants to worship only the God of love, love, love they have no real context. His love is His mercy. His love is the cross. They don’t understand that because they fail to see the danger they are in because of their sinfulness. And they fail to see the consuming fire of His holiness. Remember what the angels proclaimed in Isaiah’s vision: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty (Isa 6:3). His holiness is His glory – a brilliant radiance that consumes everything that is not as holy as He. Unless you have the protective covering of the blood of Jesus.

God’s mercy against the backdrop of man’s sin is like threads of gold and silver on black velvet. They just show up better. You were meant to carry the light of God to a dark world that longs for love but doesn’t understand it. Beloved, let Him set you ablaze with His glory.

Sin in the Camp

I don’t want to write this devotional. I’ve tried to talk God out of it, but He is persistent. This is His word to the Church – and the individual parts of it. Get your boots on and read Joshua 7.

Joshua and the army of Israel had just taken the city of Jericho. It was an extraordinary victory. Now they prepared to take Ai and the spies come back saying “Just send two or three thousand men to take it, for only a few men are there” (v. 3). But those three thousand were routed by the few men of Ai, and thirty-six were killed. The Israelites were in mourning – and in shock. Joshua went before the Lord and accused Him of bringing them out to destroy them (vv. 6-9). God corrected him saying, “Israel has sinned” (v. 11).

When the army went into Jericho they were commanded to not take any of the “devoted things” – the precious metals and other costly things – for themselves. All of those things were to be designated as “sacred to the Lord and put into His treasury”. Joshua said anyone who took them would bring about their own destruction and bring trouble on the whole camp of Israel (6:18-19). But somebody ignored that command. Through a process of elimination, Achan was found to be the guilty party. He saw a beautiful robe and silver and gold and he took them and hid them under his tent. He was the reason for Isreal’s defeat by a much smaller army. One man. One sin. But God regarded it as the whole nation’s sin. Achan and his entire family and even his animals were stoned to death and God’s curse was lifted from the nation.

Here’s what the Lord keeps speaking to me. The reason the Church today has so little power and has lost her godly influence in the world is because there is sin in the camp. The Church – the bride of Christ – has failed to keep herself pure and devoted only to Him. She has taken on lovers and allowed them to infiltrate His holy place. She has welcomed what God has called an abomination. She has championed perversion. She has fought for the slaughter of innocent babies. She has become like the world.

But here’s the other part of the problem. You and I are the church. You and I share the guilt because our personal, private lives affect the faithfulness of the camp, just as Achan’s did. You and I are joined to the whole body. We don’t live one life at church and a separate life outside of it. We cannot invite sin into our private lives and think it won’t matter. It all matters. To all of us.

So here is my pointed question – and believe me, I’m asking it of myself as well. What is buried under your tent Beloved? “You cannot stand until you remove it” (Joshua 7:13).

Hebrews: How to be a Christian Neighbor

The culture knows Scripture – at least a few verses that they are passionate about. “Judge not” (Matt. 7:1), “God is love” (1 John 4:16), and “Let him who is without sin . . . cast the first stone” (John 8:7). I found them a new one that I think they will really like: “Make every effort to live in peace with all men” (Heb 12:14). What’s interesting about these cultural favorites is that they are only partial verses or plucked out of their context so that their meaning is skewed. It is a favorite ploy of the devil, who knows more Scripture than most people in the pews. When he came to tempt Jesus in the wilderness, he quoted from Psalm 91:11-12, but he stopped just shy of his own demise in verse 13. (You should go look that up. In fact, I encourage you to look up all of these verses and read their surrounding context.)

Hebrews 12:14 has a second part that colors the whole verse differently. “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness, no one will see the Lord.” Oh. When you add verse 15, it becomes clearer: “See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.” Now, before I started digging deeper into this verse, I thought it meant something like “let no ill feelings take root” but I was wrong (that’s not easy to say!). First, the word “bitter” metaphorically means “extreme wickedness” and literally means “poison”. Poison kills.

This reaches directly back to Deuteronomy as Moses was reiterating the covenant they had made with the Lord God. He said, “Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the Lord our God to go and worship the gods of those [pagan] nations; make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison” (Deut 30:18).

I’ll be honest, I’ve wrestled with this all week. It’s not an easy passage. But I believe it means to live in peace with your neighbors, especially your unsaved neighbors, don’t condemn them or harasses them over their lifestyle. Don’t cause them to turn to wickedness because of your self-righteousness. But you – and remember, the writer is speaking to the community, not to individuals – live a holy life, set apart unto God. Because Jesus showed us that a truly holy life is attractive and winsome to a lost world. And so must we be.