“Bible Separation Is Consecration To God,” on sermonaudio.com (120714)(Click here for Youtube of this sermon.)
“Church – Called Out Separate Assembly,” on sermonaudio.com (120714)(Click here for Youtube of this sermon.)

N1 to Nu. 15.37-41 p188. The ribband of blue, the heavenly color—reminder of a separated walk. Numbers 15:37-41  “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue: And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring: That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God. I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the LORD your God.” “The ribband of blue. Blue, the heavenly colour, used upon the borders of the priests’ garments signified that the servants of God were to be heavenly in obedience and character, and separate from earthly ambitions and desires.”

N1 p6 to Gen. 2.3 “And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” (In the O.T. the same Hebrew word (qodesh) is translated sanctify, consecrate, dedicate, and holy. It means, set apart for the service of God. See refs. following “Sanctify,” Cmt. on Ge 2:3.)

Leviticus 11.44, 19.2, 20.26, 21.8; 1 Sam. 2.2; Psm. 26; Isa. 52.11; John 15.19; 1 Cor. 6.9-20; thru 7.40; 1 Cor. 9.16-22; 1 Co. 10.16-22. Fellowship at the Lord’s table demands separation;

Gal. 1.4 “Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:”

Ep. 5.1-17 “1 Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; 2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. 3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; 4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. 5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. 7 Be not ye therefore partakers with them. 8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: 9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) 10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. 12 For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. 13 But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. 14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. 15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, 16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.”

Philippians 2.12-16

Philippians 4

Col. 2.8, 3.1-25; 1 Thes. 4.4, 7 & whole chap.; 5.22 ; 2 Thes. 3.6, 14; 1 Tim. 1.9; 2.8-15; 6.5-12; 2 Tim. 1.9, 2.19-26; Titus 2.1-15; Heb. 12.10-17; James 1.13-16, 4.4-8; 1 Pet. 1.13-16, 2.1, 11-12; 2 Pet. 1.3-9, 3.11; 1 John 2.15-17, 3-10.

See Philip Hamburger, Separation of Church and State (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2002), pp. 25-32 concerning various prior applications of the principle of biblical separation.

N2 p106 to Exodus 28.2 3 “2 And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty. 3 And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office.” “Heb. qodesh= ‘set apart’ for God. Trans. ‘holy,’ v.2; ‘consecrate,’ v.3. Often trans. ‘sanctify.’ See summary, Cmt. on Zec 8:3. This is always the fundamental idea of a holy, consecrated, separated, or sanctified person or thing–something set apart for God. Infinite confusion would have been spared the reader if qodesh had been uniformly trans. ‘set apart.’”

N2 p1332 to Revelation 2 “14  But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.” “The doctrine of Balaam (CF) Cmt. on 2Pe 2:15 Cmt. on Jude 1:11 was his teaching Balak to corrupt the people who could not be cursed. Nu 31:15; 22:5; 23:8 by tempting them to marry women of Moab, defile their separation, and abandon their pilgrim character. It is that union with the world and the church which is spiritual unchastity. Jas 4:4. Pergamos had lost the pilgrim character and was “dwelling” Re 2:13 “where Satan’s throne is,” in the world. Joh 12:31; 14:30; 16:11.”

From Backus, Volume 2, p. 367-8. See also, p. 377. “When God took the nation of Israel to be his church, he was an husband unto them. Jer. xxxi. 32.  And Moses said unto him, If thy presence go not with us, carry us not up hence. For wherein shall it be known here, that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight?  is it not in that thou goest with us? So shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth. Exod. xxxiii. 15, 16. But Balaam, for an earthly reward, taught Balak how to destroy that separation.  And it was done by the Midianites, among whom Balaam dwelt, who enticed Israel into adultery and idolatry; and those Midianites were of the posterity of Abraham. Numb. xxv; 6; xxxi. 8, 16; Gen. xxv. 4. And how many children of believers are now guilty of this iniquity! for covetousness is idolatry. Col. iii. 5. And many make a god of their belly. Phil. iii. 19. And idolatry is also adultery in the sight of God, who said of the church of Israel, Their mother hath played the harlot; she that conceived them hath done shamefully; for she said, I will go after my lovers, that give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, mine oil and my drink. Hosea ii. 5. All lawful things, but they were sought in an unlawful way. So one apostle says of many teachers and professors, An heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children; who have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; but was rebuked for his iniquity; the dumb ass, speaking with man’s voice, forbade the madness of the prophet. II Peter ii. 14, 15, 16. Another says, Woe unto them; for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsayhing of Core. Jude 11. And Christ says by a third, I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. Rev. ii. 14. Now, since covetousness and luxury are idolatry in the sight of God, and idolatry is also adultery, how many are there in the world who entice Christians into these evils, in order to grasp the honors and profits of religion to themselves! Yea, and who go out from the ways of God to gratify their love of the world! I John ii. 15, 19. These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit. Jude 19. Mystery Babylon is the mother of harlots, and abominations of the earth. Rev. xvii. 5. And it is generally held that these things were spoken against heathen idolatry, and against the abominations  of the church of Rome. But have ministers in our land come out of those abominations? For we have before proved that Dr. Stiles and Dr. Lathrop hold to a successive power of office through the church of Rome, and Dr. Hopkins does the same, notwithstanding his great difference from many about the doctrines of grace, and power of godliness. For he says:

“A visible church may be corrupt, and yet be a visible church of Christ, and the public administrations and acts of the officers of it, authentic and valid. And who can prove, that the pope, and his adherents, were visibly antichrist, and that the church of Rome was visibly not the church of Christ, but a false church, and was really and properly renounced and excommunicated, by the true church of Christ, before the time of the reformation from popery?” ….

From Scofield Bible: The ribband of blue, the heavenly color—reminder of a separated walk. Num. 15.37-41: “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue: And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring: That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God. I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the LORD your God.”

N1 p 80 to Exo. 8:25-29 (The compromises proposed by Pharaoh are those urged upon Christians today.  The first says in effect: “Be a Christian if you will, but not a ‘narrow’one—stay in Egypt.” Invariably it ends in world-conformity, world-pleasing, and seeking the world’s money for God (Psa. 50.9-17). Cf. 2 Cor. 6.14-18; Gal. 1.4.)

N2 to Ex. 28.2, p106 “Exodus 28:2  And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty.” (Heb. qodesh= “set apart” for God. Trans. “holy,” v.2; “consecrate,” v.3. Often trans. “sanctify.” See summary, Cmt. on Zec 8:3. This is always the fundamental idea of a holy, consecrated, separated, or sanctified person or thing–something set apart for God. Infinite confusion would have been spared the reader if qodesh had been uniformly trans. “set apart.”)

Headnote to Leviticus. “LEVITICUS stands in the same relation to EXODUS, that the Epistles do to the Gospels. EXODUS is the record of redemption, and lays the foundation of the cleansing, worship, and service of a redeemed people. LEVITICUS gives the detail of the walk, worship, and service of that people. In EXODUS God speaks out of the mount to which approach was forbidden; in LEVITICUS He speaks out of the tabernacle in which He dwells in the midst of His people, to tell them that which befits His holiness in their approach to, and communion with, Himself.

“The key word of Leviticus is holiness, occurring 87 times. Key verse is Le 19:2.

“LEVITICUS is in nine chief divisions: I. The Offerings 1.-6. 7 II. The Law of the Offerings 6.8-7. 38. III. Consecration 8. 1-9. 24. IV. A Warning Example 10. 1-20. V. A Holy God Must Have a Cleansed People 11. -15. VI. Atonement 16., 17. VII. The Relationships of God’s People 18.-22. VIII.The Feasts of Jehovah, 23. IX. Instructions and Warnings, 24.-27.”

N1 to Le. 1.8, p127 “And the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat, in order upon the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar:” (Fire. Essentially as symbol of God’s holiness. As such it expresses God in three ways: (1) In judgment upon that which His holiness utterly condemns (e.g.) Ge 19:24; Mr 9:43-48; Re 20:15; (2) in the manifestation of Himself, and of that which He approves Ex 3:2; 1Pe 1:7; Ex 13:21; and (3) in purification (e.g) 1Co 3:12-14; Mal 3:2-3. So, in Leviticus, the fire which only manifests the sweet savour of the burnt-, meal-, and peace- offerings, wholly consumes the sin-offering. Margin: fat That which burns most quickly — devotedness, zeal.)

N1, 2 to Nu. 6.1-2 et. seq., p173 “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the LORD:” (N1: There is a beautiful moral order in chapters 6.-7.; separation, Nu 6:1-12, worship, Nu 6:13-21, blessing, Nu 6:22-27 service, Nu 7:1-89. See Heb 13:12-16.); (The Nazarite (more accurately Nazirite, one separated) was a person of either sex separated wholly unto the Lord. Abstention from wine, the symbol of mere natural joy Ps 104:15 was the expression of a devotedness which found all its joy in the Lord (cf) Ps 87:7; 97:12; Hab 3:18; Phm 1:25,25,25. The long hair, naturally a reproach to man 1Co 11:14 was at once the visible sign of the Nazarite’s separation, and of his willingness to bear reproach for Jehovah’s sake. The type found its perfect fulfilment in Jesus, who was “holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners” Heb 7:26 who was utterly separated unto the Father Joh 1:18; 6:38 who allowed no mere natural claim to hinder or divert Him. Mt 12:46-50.)

In Deut. 7.1-11, God tells Israel why it is important to remain separated. Deuteronomy 7.1-11. The command to be separate. “When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou; And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them: Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly. But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire.  For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations; And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face. Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them.”

The results of failing to separate: De. 20.18: “That they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods; so should ye sin against the LORD your God.”

Deuteronomy 22.9-12. The law of separation. “9 Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with divers seeds: lest the fruit of thy seed which thou hast sown, and the fruit of thy vineyard, be defiled. 10 Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together. 11 Thou shalt not wear a garment of divers sorts, as of woollen and linen together. 12 Thou shalt make thee fringes upon the four quarters of thy vesture, wherewith thou coverest thyself.”

1 Ki. 14.24. Under Rehoboam, in Judah, Sodomites did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.

Sins for which God judged Israel: walking in statutes of the heathen, built high places, set up images and groves, burnt incense in the high places as did the heathen , wrought wicked things to provoke the LORD, served idols, (even though the prophets and seers warned them to  turn, etc. to which they hardened their necks. 2 Ki. 17.13-14, rejected His statutes & the covenant made with their fathers, & His testimonies which He testified against them, left all His commandments, made molten images, worshipped host of heaven & served Baal, caused their children to pass through the fire, used divination & enchantments, sold themselves to do evil, to provoke Him to anger. 7-23. Therefore God was very angry & removed them from his sight. 18-23.

The church that sets out to spiritualize the world will soon find that the world will secularize the church.  When wheat and tares compromise, it is the wheat that suffers.  Light and darkness, right and wrong, good and evil, truth and error are incompatibles, and when they compromise it is the light, the right, the good, and the truth that are damaged. W. Graham Scroggie, born 1877, twelve times the Bible teacher at the famous Keswick, England conference, They Knew Their God, Vol. 5, 194 cited in “The Berean Call, February 2006, 5.

The rules for the church and for the Jewish religion are not the same.  It is a mistake to Judaize the Church.  The following is from Dr C.I. Scofield, Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth, Loizeaux Brothers, New Jersey, First Edition, January, 1896, p 12:

“It may safely be said that the Judaizing of the Church has done more to hinder her progress, pervert her mission, and destroy her spiritually, than all other causes combined.  Instead of pursuing her appointed path of separation from the world and following the Lord in her heavenly calling, she has used Jewish Scriptures to justify herself in lowering her purpose to the civilization of the world, the acquisition of wealth, the use of an imposing ritual, the erection of magnificent churches, the invocation of God’s blessing upon the conflicts of armies, and the division of an equal brotherhood into ‘clergy’ and ‘laity.’”

[The key word of Leviticus is “holy” which occurs 87 times. The key verse of Leviticus is 19.2.  Leviticus is to Exodus (redemption) as the Epistles are to the Gospels—gives the details of the way, worship, and service of that people.]; Leviticus 11.44, 19.2, 20.26, 21.8; 1 Sam. 2.2.

N12 p130 (The sin-offering to be made outside the camp or gate, bc the unholy camp was an unfit place for a holy sin-offering.).

“Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout yhour generations: and that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean;” Leviticus 10.9-10.

A holy God—a holy people: (1) their food. Leviticus 11.

A holy God—a holy people: (2) the law of motherhood  Psm 51.5; John 3.6).

A holy God—a holy people: (3) leprosy—type of sin as in Rom. 6.12-14; 1 John 1.8.

A holy God—a holy people: (4) the law of the leper’s cleansing.

        A holy God—a holy people: (5) the imperative of cleansing (John 12.3-10; Eph. 5.25-27; 1 John 1.9).

Numbers 6.1-12 deals w/separation. “Numbers 6:1-12:  1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the LORD: 3 He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried. 4 All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk. 5 All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the LORD, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow. 6 All the days that he separateth himself unto the LORD he shall come at no dead body. 7 He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die: because the consecration of his God is upon his head. 8 All the days of his separation he is holy unto the LORD. 9 And if any man die very suddenly by him, and he hath defiled the head of his consecration; then he shall shave his head in the day of his cleansing, on the seventh day shall he shave it. 10 And on the eighth day he shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons, to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: 11 And the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, and make an atonement for him, for that he sinned by the dead, and shall hallow his head that same day. 12 And he shall consecrate unto the LORD the days of his separation, and shall bring a lamb of the first year for a trespass offering: but the days that were before shall be lost, because his separation was defiled.”

See N1, 2 to Nu. 6.1-2, p173-4. “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the LORD:” (Note 1: There is a beautiful moral order in chapters 6.-7.; separation, Nu 6:1-12, worship, Nu 6:13-21, blessing, Nu 6:22-27 service, Nu 7:1-89. See Heb 13:12-16.) (Note 2: The Nazarite (more accurately Nazirite, one separated) was a person of either sex separated wholly unto the Lord. Abstention from wine, the symbol of mere natural joy Ps 104:15 was the expression of a devotedness which found all its joy in the Lord (cf) Ps 87:7; 97:12; Hab 3:18; Phm 1:25,25,25. The long hair, naturally a reproach to man 1Co 11:14 was at once the visible sign of the Nazarite’s separation, and of his willingness to bear reproach for Jehovah’s sake. The type found its perfect fulfilment in Jesus, who was “holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners” Heb 7:26 who was utterly separated unto the Father Joh 1:18; 6:38 who allowed no mere natural claim to hinder or divert Him. Mt 12:46-50.)

Numbers 15.37-41 and N1 p188 thereto (A ribband of blue, the heavenly color, * * * signified that the servants of God were to be heavenly in obedience and character and separate from earthly ambitions and desires.).

N1 p532 to Ezra 4.2 “Ezra 4:2  Then they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, Let us build with you: for we seek your God, as ye do; and we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assur, which brought us up hither.” (The people of the land sought to hinder the work in three ways: (1) by seeking to draw the Jews into an unreal union, Ezr 4:3. (cf) 2Ki 17:32. (2) by “weakening the hands of the people of Judah,” Ezr 4:4 i.e, by withholding supplies, etc.; and (3) by accusations lodged with Ahasuerus and Darius. The first was by far the most subtle and dangerous. The lives of Ezra and Nehemiah afford many illustrations of true separation. 2Co 6:14-18; 2Ti 2:19-21.)

Notice the reaction of Ezra to the remnant which had returned to Jerusalem losing its separated position in Ezra 9.3-10.44. He rent his garment and mantle, plucked off the hair of his head and beard, sat down astonied, etc.  “The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, [had] not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Amonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites * * *.” Ezra 9.1.

Jeremiah 4 “3 For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. 4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.”

N1 p971 to Zech. 8.3 “Holiness, Sanctification, Summary: In the OT the words consecration, dedication, sanctification, and holiness are various renderings of one Hebrew word, are used of persons and of things, and have identical meaning, i.e. set apart for God. Only when used of God himself (e.g. Lev. 11.45), or of the holy angels (e.g. Dan. 4.13), is any inward moral quality necessarily implied.  Doubtless a priest or other person set apart to the service of God, whose whole will and desire went with his setting apart, experienced progressively an inner detachment from evil; but that aspect is distinctively of the NT, not of the OT. See Mt. 4.5.”

N1 p998 to Mt. 4.5 “Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,” (In the N.T. one Greek word, hagios, in its various forms, is rendered, “holy,” “holiness,” “sanctify,” “sanctified,” “sanctification.” Like the heb. qodesh, it signifies “set apart for God.” The important references follow Mt 4.5, marg. Cmt. on Mt 4:5)

Ro. 5 (entire chapter) “6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? 7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us. * * *.”

Ro. 12.1-2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Ro. 6.16-22 “16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? 17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. 19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. 20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. 21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. 22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.”

2 Cor. 6.11-20, 7.1, 11.2

I Co. 6.14-18 “And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power. Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.”

II Co. 6.11-18. The appeal to separation and cleansing. (2 Cor. 6.11-17.1)

II Co 6.14-18 “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”

N1 to 2 Cor. 6.17, p1234 “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,” (The appeal to separation & cleansing in 2 Cor. 6.11 – 17.1): “Separation, Summary: (1) Separation in Scripture is twofold: ‘from’ whatever is contrary to the mind of God: and ‘unto God Himself.  The underlying principle is that in a moral universe it is impossible for God to fully bless and use His children who are in compromise or complicity with evil..  The unequal yoke is anything which unites a child of God and an unbeliever in a common purpose (Deut. 22.10). (2) Separation from evil implies (a) separation in desire, motive, and act, from the world, in the ethically bad sense of this present world-system (See Rev. 13.8, note); and (b) separation from believers, especially false teachers, who are ‘vessels unto dishonour’ (2. Tim. 2.20, 21; 2 John 9-11). (3) Separation is not from contact with evil in the world or the church, but from complicity with and conformity to it (John 17.15; 2 Cor. 6.14-18; Gal. 6.1). (4) the reward of separation is the full manifestation of the divine fatherhood (2 Cor. 6.17, 18); unhindered communion and worship (see Heb. 13.13-15), and fruitful service (2 Tim. 2.21), as world-conformity involves the loss of these, though not of salvation. Here, as in all else, Christ is the model.  He was ‘holy, harmless, undefiled, and separated from sinners’ (Heb. 7.26), and yet in such contact with them for their salvation that the Pharisees, who illustrate the mechanical and ascetic conception of separation (Mt. 3.7, note), judged Him as having lost His Nazarite character (Lk. 7.39). Cf. 1 Cor. 9.19-23; 10.27.”

Ep. 5.1-20: “* * * 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. 12 For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. 13 But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. * * *.”

Colossians 3.1-25: “1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. 5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: 6 For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: 7 In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them. 8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. 9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; 10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: …”

Part VI. Christian living, the fruit of union with Christ (Col. 3.5-4.6)

1 Thes. 4.1-12 “* * * 7 For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. * * *.”

1 Thes. 5 “22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.”

2 Thes. 3 “6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us. 14 And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.”

        1 Pe. 1.13-16 “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;  As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: 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..”

        Rev. 2.14 (those of the doctrine of Baalam in the church—Baalam’s teaching Balak to corrupt the people who could not be cursed byGod [see N2 p1332-3.  It is that union of the world and the church which is spiritual unchastity.]

N2 p1353 to Rev. 22.11. Sanctification, holiness, Summary: (1) In both Testaments the same Hebrew and Greek words are rendered by the English words ‘sanctify’ and ‘holy,’ in their various grammatical forms. The one uniform meaning is, ‘to  set apart for God.’ (2) In both Testaments the words are used of things and of persons. (3) When used of things no moral quality is implied; they are sanctified or made holy because set apart for God.

(4) Sanctification when used of persons has a threefold meaning. (a) In position, believers are eternally set apart for God by redemption, ‘through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once’ (Heb. 10.9, 10). Positionally, therefore, believers are ‘saints’ and ‘holy’ from the moment of believing (Phil. 1.1; Heb. 3.1). (b) In the Scriptures (John 17.17; 2 Cor. 3.18; Eph. 5.25, 26; 1 Thes. 5.23, 24). In consummation, the believer’s complete sanctification awaits the appearing of the Lord (Ehp. 5.27; 1 John 3.2). See ‘Salvation,’ Rom. 1.16, note.

Holiness – Legalism Part 4 — The Wake-Up Herald

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“Herbap@aol.com” Herbap@aol.com ViewWednesday, February 6, 2008 6:20:23 AM

The Wake-Up Herald

And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. Romans 13:11-14

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Robert McCurry, Editor & Publisher

February 6, 2008

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Biblical Holiness and Religious Legalism

Part Four

This is the fourth and final article in this series on Biblical Holiness and Religious Legalism. Hopefully, these articles have informed, challenged, encouraged, and inspired the reader to develop a greater hunger and thirst for Bible holiness and an aversion and disdain for Religious Legalism. The Lord Jesus has promised, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled” (Matt 5:6). The following article by John Wesley is a fitting conclusion to this series. Read it and be blessed. ~Robert McCurry 

Biblical holiness is not legalism

John Wesley

“Without holiness no man shall see the Lord.” Nothing under heaven can be more sure than this; “for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.” And “though heaven and earth pass away, yet His word shall not pass away.” As well therefore might God fall from heaven, as His word fall to the ground (Heb 12:14; Micah 4:4; Matt 5:18).

No one who is not saved from sin here can be saved from hell hereafter. No one can see the kingdom of God above, unless the kingdom of God be in him below. Whoever will reign with Christ in heaven must have Christ reigning in him on earth. And yet as sure as this is, and as clearly as it is taught in every part of the holy scripture, among all the truths of God there is probably none which is less received by men.

Yes, professing Christians invariably invent one way or another to get to heaven without holiness. How? Why, by doing no harm, generally doing good, going to church, and taking communion. And many thousands are content with this, believing they are on the high road to heaven.

However, other professing Christians recognize that such a nominal Christianity is not sufficient. They correctly say that such a religion does not stand on the right foundation. However, they go on to say that Christ has already accomplished and suffered everything for us. They say that His righteousness is imputed to us; therefore, we need none of our own. Since there is so much righteousness and holiness in Him, there needs to be none in us. In fact, they claim that to think we have any holiness, or to desire or seek any holiness, is to renounce Christ. That from the beginning to the end of salvation, all is in Christ, nothing is in man. And that those who teach otherwise are preachers of legalism, and know nothing of the Gospel.

What evasion! What has Satan done? He has persuaded the very men who receive it to “turn the grace of God into licentiousness” (Jude 4). This is indeed a blow at the root, the root of all holiness, all true religion. The whole design of Christ’s death was to “destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). But now this is overthrown in one stroke.

The fruits of cheap grace

For wherever this doctrine of easy grace is received, it leaves no place for holiness. It forbids all such exhortations as might excite a desire for holiness. Nay, it makes men afraid of personal holiness, afraid of cherishing any thought of it. For they fear that any step toward holiness might be a denial of the faith, and a rejection of Christ and His righteousness. So that, instead of being “zealous for good works,” good works are a stench to their nostrils. In short, they are infinitely more afraid of the works of God than of the works of the devil.

Here is Satan’s masterpiece! We are to believe that men are holy, without a grain of holiness in them! Holy in Christ, however unholy in themselves. They are supposedly in Christ, although they have not one jot of the mind that was in Christ. They are “complete in Him,” although they are as proud, as vain, as covetous, and as lustful as ever. They think they can continue in unrighteousness because Christ has “fulfilled all righteousness.”

O you simple ones, do not be deceived. For as surely as the Lord lives, “neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God .” “Such,” indeed, “were some of you. But you are washed, but you are sanctified,” as well as “justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor 6:9-11). You are really changed! You are not only accounted as righteous, you are made righteous.

The inward power of the Spirit has made you free — really, actually free — from the law or power “of sin and death” (Rom 8:2). This is liberty, true Gospel liberty, experienced by every true believer. This is not freedom from the law of God, or the works of God, but from the law of sin and the works of the devil. See that you stand fast in this real, not imaginary, liberty. Take heed that you “be not entangled again” by means of these vain boasters, “in the yoke of” that vile “bondage to sin,” from which you have cleanly escaped (Gal 5:1).

I testify unto you, that if you still continue in sin, Christ shall profit you nothing. That Christ is no Savior to you unless He saves you from your sins. And that, unless it purifies your heart, faith shall profit you nothing. Oh, when will you understand that to oppose either inward or outward holiness, under color of exalting Christ, is directly to act the part of Judas, to “betray the Son of man with a kiss?”

What? Make Christ destroy His own kingdom? Set Christ against holiness? Talk of Christ as saving His people in their sins? It is no better than to say, He saves them from the guilt, but not from the power, of sin. Will you make the righteousness of Christ a cover for the unrighteousness of man? So that, by this means, “the unrighteous” of every kind “shall inherit the kingdom of God !” Stop! Consider! What are you doing? You did run well. Who has bewitched you? Who has corrupted you from the simplicity of Christ, from the purity of the Gospel?

You did know, “Whoever has been born of God does not [practice] sin” (1 John 3:9). O come back to the true, the pure, the old Gospel! That which you received in the beginning. Come back to Christ, who died to make you a holy people, “zealous for good works” (Titus 2:14). “Remember from where you have fallen, and repent, and do the first works” (Rev 2:5). For “do you want to know, O vain,” O empty “man, that faith without works is dead” (James 2:20)?

Do not stupidly and senselessly call holiness legalism — a silly, meaningless word. Be not afraid of being under the law of God. Rather, fear being under “the law of sin” (Rom 7:23). Love the strictest preaching best; that which most searches the heart, and shows you wherein you are unlike Christ. That which presses you most to love Him with all your heart, and serve Him with all your strength.

Permit me to warn you of another silly, meaningless phrase: Do not say, “I can do nothing.” If so, then you know nothing of Christ. Then you have no faith. For if you have faith, if you believe, then you “can do all things through Christ who strengthens you” (Phil 4:13). You can love Him and keep His commandments; and to you His “commandments are not grievous” (1 John 5:3). Grievous to them that believe? Far from it! They are the joy of your heart.

Show then your love for Christ by keeping His commandments, by blamelessly walking in obedience to all His Word. Honor Christ by obeying Him with all your might, by serving Him with all your strength. Glorify Christ by imitating Christ in all things, by walking as He walked. Trust in Christ to live and reign in your heart. Have confidence in Christ that He will fulfill in you all His great and precious promises. That He will work in you all the good pleasure of His goodness, and all the work of faith with power. Cleave to Christ, until His blood has cleansed you from all pride, all anger, all evil desire. Let Christ do all. Let Him who has done all for you, do all in you.

Exalt Christ as a Prince to give repentance. A Savior both to give remission of sins, and to create in you a new heart, to renew a right spirit within you. This is the Gospel, the pure, genuine Gospel; glad tidings of great salvation. Not the new, but the old — the everlasting — Gospel.

(Abridged from John Wesley’s tract, A Blow at the Root. Where needed, text and scripture quotations have been rendered into contemporary English).

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FIRST-PERSON: Abortion is all about sex By Kelly Boggs Feb 24, 2006

ALEXANDRIA, La. (BP)–Pro-abortion activists have long maintained that abortion in America is about a woman’s “right to choose.” They are correct. Abortion in the United States is about the right of a woman –- or teenage girl in too many cases –- to choose to have sex without any regard for the “negative” repercussion of pregnancy. In a recent Village Voice column, Rachel Kramer Bussel highlighted the pro-sex aspect of the abortion debate. She wrote, “I’m pro-choice because I couldn’t fully enjoy sex were I’m consumed with worry about the potential consequences.” Bussel’s sentiment is consistent with statistics on abortion motives. According to several surveys on why women choose abortion in the U.S., around 90 percent of respondents indicate their reason for aborting their unborn child was based on some aspect of convenience. If, and when, you hear pro-abortionists squawk about abortion being about the health of a woman, ignore them. Abortion in America is not about women’s health, it is about a woman’s sexual independence. Bussel, a senior editor at Penthouse Variations and a columnist for Penthouse magazine, also writes the Village Voice’s regular “Lusty Lady” column and reviews books for The New York Post. She links the pro-abortion movement with other activist groups. “We need to safeguard all forms of consensual sexual expression, including sodomy and kink, for ‘choice’ to truly matter,” Bussel wrote in the Village Voice piece. “The pro-choice movement and the GLBT movement should work together to ensure our right to sexual autonomy.” I do not know how much official cooperation takes place between homosexual activists and proponents of abortion. However, I do know that I have never witnessed a pro-abortion rally that did not have a strong presence of homosexual activists participating. What do homosexual activists have in common with pro-abortion activists? “Gay” activists seek to legitimize homosexual behavior by promoting a view of sexuality that is completely severed from procreation. Homosexual activists have a vested interest in convincing society that reproduction and sexual intercourse are somehow mutually exclusive. Bussel not only understands the link, but is one of the few willing to admit it. Bussel wrote in the Village Voice, “People have sex for many reasons — pleasure, boredom, curiosity, peer pressure, and, yes, baby-making.” What Bussel and activists — both homosexual and pro-abortion –- miss is that procreation is the main purpose of sex and not just one of many reasons. No doubt sex is pleasurable; however, pregnancy is the natural outcome of sex. It is not just something to engage in when bored, curious or seeking pleasure. If the primary purpose of sex was anything other than procreation, pregnancy would not be the result. Sadly, the success of activists in divorcing sex from procreation has resulted in the death of more than 47 million pre-born babies. It has also laid the foundation for a sexual ethic that has managed to compartmentalize intercourse from reproduction and made both seem mutually exclusive of one another. Nothing could be further from the truth. Sexual intimacy is the consummation of a life-long promise to be faithful to one’s marital spouse, as well as a commitment to the probable consequence of intercourse -– a child. Thanks to abortion supporters, far too many in America now view sexual intercourse as nothing more than a no-strings-attached recreational pursuit. –30– Boggs is editor of the Baptist Message newspaper in Louisiana. WWW.BPNEWS.NET Copyright (c) 2001 – 2006 Southern Baptist Convention, Baptist Press Terms of Use

The Wake-Up Herald

And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. Romans 13:11-14

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Robert McCurry, Editor & Publisher

July 28, 2008

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Christ and the World

“What fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?” —2 Cor. 6:14

“The friendship of the world is enmity with God.” —James 4:4

Ah, yes; the fashion of this world passeth away; and they who have followed that fashion, and identified themselves with that world, will find too late that, in gaining the world, they have lost their souls; that, in filling up time with vanity, they have filled eternity with gloom; that, in snatching at the pleasures of earth, they have lost the joys of heaven, and the glories of the ever lasting inheritance.

Yes, life is brief, and time is swift; generations come and go; graves open and close each day; old and young vanish out of sight; riches depart, and honors fade; autumn follows summer, and winter soon wipes out every trace of leaf and blossom; nothing abides….

O follower of the world, consider thy ways and ponder thy prospects….  Look before thee, and make sure of something better and more substantial. Look on the right hand and on the left, and see the weary crowds, seeking rest, and finding none….

Think, too, of thy brief time on earth, lent thee, in God’s special love, to accomplish thy preparation for the eternal kingdom. And, when thou considerest these things, rouse thyself from thy dream of pleasure, and rest not till thou hast made good the entrance at the strait gate which leadeth unto life….

Worldliness a Mark of the Unconverted

     “The seed is the word of God. Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to perfection. But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with an honest and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience. ” Luke 8:11-15

…They want to infuse as much religion into their life, their doings, their conversation, as will make them be reckoned religious men…. But they want also as much of worldly comfort and pleasure as will gratify the tastes of a still unrenewed nature. Their life is a compromise; and their object is to balance between two adverse interests, to adjust the conflicting claims of this world and of the world to come; to please and to serve two masters, to gratify two tastes, to walk in two opposite ways at once, to secure the friendship of the world without losing the friendship of God….

If they were compelled to choose between their two masters, the probability is that they would prefer the world; for their heart is not in their religion, and religion is not in their heart….  Their consciences would not allow them to throw it off; but it occupies a very small part of their thoughts and affections. They are, in fact, worldly men varnished over with religion; that is all. They are made up of two parts, a dead and living; the living part is the world, and dead is religion.

There are many of these in our day, when religion is fashionable. When religion is unfashionable there are few; when it is scoffed at, still fewer; when it is persecuted, hardly any….

They have never broken with sin, nor crucified self, nor taken up the cross. Whatever their lives or their words may be, their heart is nor right with God….

They never led to the new birth; they issue in no lasting spiritual life, so that, instead of leading to the transformation of the whole man, inner and outer, they have merely…

• been roused, but not converted….
• passed through a certain religious process, but not experienced the heavenly change…
• prayed a good deal… been moved under sermons; roused by searching books; done many things and taken many steps which seemed to be religious. Yet, after all, there has been no broken-heartedness… no crucifixion of the old man, no resurrection to newness of life….

The routine of religion is still gone through, and the profession still kept up; but all within is dried up and withered; there is no enjoyment of spiritual things [unless, as is now happening, all kinds of counterfeit thrills and experiences are brought into the church]; the service of God is a burden; praise and prayer are irksome; sermons and sacraments are wearisome; and the poor professor moves on in his heartless career; outwardly still religious, but at heart as unspiritual and worldly as if he had never at any time been touched or awakened at all….

His carnal tastes never having been radically changed, but simply overborne for a season, by a rush of religious earnestness, he returns naturally to their gratification in their old objects, and his only restraints are the dread of a dark future, which he cannot shake off [today, people merely argue that a loving God would send no one to hell — all will share the delights of eternity], and the desire to maintain a religious character, to stand well with religious men, and to maintain his place in the church. How many of this class there may be in our day, God only knows. We are warned that, in the last days, there will be multitudes having the form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.

These… belong to Christ but in name. These are the stony-ground or thorny-ground hearers; men who have a place at our communion tables, who figure at religious committees, who make speeches on religious platforms, yet are, after all, “wells without water,” “trees without root,” stars without either heat or light….

Fling away thy vain hopes and self-righteous confidences. Give up thy fond idea of securing both earth and heaven. Go straight to Calvary ; there be thou crucified to the world, and world to thee, by the cross of Christ. Go straight to the grave of Christ; there bring all thy sins, thy worldliness, thy half-heartedness, and all pertaining to thy old self, that being made partaker of Christ’s death and burial, thou mayest be sharer of His resurrection too.

Go at once to Him who died and rose again, and drink into His love. … The love of Christ will not only make you an out and out Christian, a thorough-going, decided man in all the things of God, but it will pour in a peace which you have never known, which you cannot know, save in simple faith in the heavenly Peacemaker, and in entire surrender of soul to Him who gave Himself for us, that He might deliver us from a present evil world, according to the will of God our Father.

~Horatius Bonar   (1808 – 1889)

For the whole sermon, go to http://docsouth.unc.edu/imls/bonar/bonar.html

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” 1 John 1:15-17

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The Wake-Up Herald

And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof. Romans 13:11-14

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Robert McCurry, Editor & Publisher

February 28, 2010

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“O Lord, Renew Our Days As of Old”

Part Two

by Robert McCurry

 

“Turn thou us unto thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old.”

            Lamentations 5:21

Renew v. 1: to make or become new, fresh, or strong again 2: to restore to existence: recreate, revive 3: to make or do again 4: repeat, to begin again; resume.

Biblical holiness, although ever unpopular with the majority, has always been God’s standard for His redeemed, covenant people. “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation [manner of living]; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I [God] am holy” (1 Peter 1:15-16).

“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

It is the easy-believism, compromise, and the go-with-the-crowd philosophy that’s attractive and popular with the majority. The world’s popular philosophies notwithstanding, the Lord’s Church must not yield to the temptation to revise and modernize God’s Word. Remember. It is the broad road of the majority that leads to destruction (Matt 7:13).

“An unholy church! It is useless to the world, and of no esteem among men. It is an abomination, hell’s laughter, heaven’s abhorrence. The worst evils which have ever come upon the world have been brought upon her by an unholy church.” ~Charles Spurgeon

Christ not only redeems His people from sin; He has purposed to “purify unto himself a peculiar people” (Titus 2:14). Thus, the Lord’s Church is to be a glorious Church, holy and without spot, wrinkle, or blemish (Eph 5:27). This is accomplished by a twofold process. First, Christ sanctifies and cleanses His Church by the washing of the Word of God (Eph 3:26). Second, each Christian must exercise personal responsibility to keep himself “unspotted from the world” by “denying ungodliness and worldly lusts” and by living “soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world.” (James 1:27; Titus 2:12)

“The whole purpose of God in redemption is to make us holy and to restore us to the image of God. To accomplish this He disengages us from earthly ambitions and draws us away from the cheap and unworthy prizes that worldly men set their hearts upon.

I cannot think of even one lonely passage in the New Testament which speaks of Christ’s revelation, manifestation, appearing or coming that is not directly linked with moral conduct, faith and spiritual holiness.” A.W. Tozer

Sin is the transgression of God’s law (I John 3:4). God’s ideal is that His people not sin (I John 2:1). However, when we do sin, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:9).

The Apostle Paul rebuked the Christians at Corinth because they were so puffed up with pride that they failed to grieve over sin in the Church. They had ignored and tolerated sin, and they refused to remove the unrepentant sinner from their midst. Paul had to direct the Church to take immediate action by delivering the unrepentant member over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh that the spirit might be saved in the day of the Lord. (I Cor 5:1-5)

If there is to be spiritual life, vitality, and power for the individual Christian and the Lord’s Church as a whole, there must be purity and holiness of life. Sin must not be denied, ignored, excused, coddled, justified, tolerated, or accepted. Sin not only troubles and defiles the individual; it infects and defiles many if it is not dealt with according to God’s Word. (Heb 12:15; I Cor 5:6, 7)

Without holiness no man will see the Lord (Heb 12:14). In the darkest and most hopeless days of history, God has had a remnant of people to hold forth His standard of holiness. He is calling out a people unto Himself today as the darkness of sin deepens and the wickedness of compromise and apostasy intensifies. Though they are few in number, God will have a holy people.

Spiritual renewal, first of all, is a strategic attack by God upon the strongholds of sin. Search the Scriptures. Study history. You will not find an instance where God manifested Himself in the “rejoicing” and “glory” of spiritual renewal that was not preceded by the pain of identifying and exposing sin and the repenting and forsaking of sin. It is sin that causes a state of declension from our first love to the Lord and it is sin that prevents the blessings of God and the moving of the Holy Spirit in an individual and the corporate life of the Lord’s Church.

As in the detailed account of the spiritual renewal that suddenly took place under Hezekiah in II Chronicles 29, God sovereignly identifies and exposes sin and filthiness and “cleanses the house of the Lord.” The Lord’s Church consists of individuals. It is here that sin exists. It is here that sin must be dealt with. One will be no more successful in blame-shifting and hiding sins than were Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, Achan in the camp of Israel, King Saul at Amalek, or Ananias and Sapphira in the Church.

The pus-pockets and boils of cancerous sins must be dealt with God’s way if we are to be spiritually renewed and survive as individuals, families, or a church. We must not coddle sin, ignore sin, apologize for sin, excuse sin, minimize sin, glamorize sin, popularize sin or cover sin of any kind. “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy” (Proverbs 28:13).

Remember. Sin is not the new kid on the block or a modern-day phenomenon. Sin began in the Garden of Eden when the authority of God’s Word was rejected. If we will not believe God’s truth, we will believe Satan’s lie. Satan’s lies are believed and embraced whenever God’s truth is denied and rejected. Satan’s lies will be believed when God’s Word is denied.

The individual, family, or church that ignores, excuses, or camouflages sin and reduces sin to a “mistake,” “deficiency,” or “poor judgment” is destined for ultimate destruction. (Matt 7:26-27)

“The world has lost the power to blush over its vice; the Church has lost her power to weep over it.” Leonard Ravenhill

“Turn thou us unto thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old.”

            Lamentations 5:21

“Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” ~Isaiah 55:6-7

~Continued in Part Three

Wake-up, Pastors! Wake-up, Christians!

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The Wake-Up Herald is published by Robert McCurry. The publication is designed to exalt the true God of the Bible, the Lord Jesus Christ, and inform, inspire, and challenge its readers regarding biblical truth and real-life issues. The contents are the sole responsibility of Robert McCurry and do not represent or speak for or on behalf of any other person or group. There is no subscription charge. The publication is a ministry of faith and dependent on the contributions of its readers. Contributions are not tax-deductible. Send all correspondence to: Robert McCurry, 605 Moore Rd , Newnan , GA 30263 or herbap@aol.com Remove? Send reply with “remove” in Subject line.