Okay, let's look at that passage
that Brother Doug just read, 1 Peter chapter 1. And really I'm just going to
focus on verse 15 this morning. We could read verse 16 also with
it. Let's look at that, verse 15
of 1 Peter chapter 1. But as he which hath called you
is holy, Now, obviously, you can understand who that is. That's
God Almighty. That's the... we would encompass
in the Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He's holy. But as He which hath called you
is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation. Now,
conversation there means more than just how we speak. It means
our walk. You know how to walk, don't you?
You put one foot in front of the other and then you repeat
that process. So that's conversation. And what
he's talking about is our whole life. He's talking about our
walk, our conversation, our thoughts, our attitude, how we conduct
ourselves in this world. So in all manner of conversation,
behold. And then verse 16, he says, because
it is written. And he quotes back from the book
of Leviticus there. Be ye holy, for I am holy. Now,
what comes into your mind when you read scriptures like that?
Well, what is it to be holy? Somebody might say, well, when
I read that, the first thing I think of is, well, I just can't
do it. I can't do that. And my question
to you is this, well, are you thinking right if you say that? You say, well, I can't be perfect.
Well, I know you can't. I can't either. Only Christ himself
is perfect. But is that what that's talking
about? Is that what that means? He says, but as he which hath
called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation,
but then add your commentary, but forget about it, fellas,
because you can't do it. Is that what that book said?
No. It says, be ye holy. Well, what is it to be holy? What does that mean? I've entitled
this message two words, holiness and sanctification. You heard
of the term sanctify, sanctification. They're virtually the same word.
Holy, sanctify, holiness, sanctification. Back over in 1 Peter, 1 and verse
2, look at that, he says, elect, that's God's electing grace,
according to the foreknowledge, that's foreordination in the
original wording, the foreordination of God the Father through sanctification. That's virtually the same root
word as the word holy. And you'll find the same thing
in the Old Testament in the Hebrew language. Holy, sanctify. Holiness, sanctification. But what's that all about? Someone
said one time, if I had to choose one attribute to describe God,
it would be that word holy. And that's a good word. Holy,
holy, holy. The Lord God Almighty. That's
what Isaiah said, or the cherubim said when Isaiah saw in that
vision the Lord in the temple. high and lifted up. His train
filled the temple. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty. We sing that song, holy, holy,
holy. The high priest Aaron, when God
instructed Moses on how to make the garments of the high priest,
he wore a mitre on his head. It was kind of like a helmet
or a turban. And on that turban there was a plate that covered
his forehead and it said, holiness unto the Lord. In other words,
when Aaron went into the holiest of all, that place which is called
the holiest of all, he was to have on his mind, God is holy. And I would put it to you this
way, whenever we come to worship, as we're met together today,
that's what we ought to have on our minds. God is holy. So, holy and sanctified, basically,
they're the same thing. Again, when we read this in verse
15 of 1 Peter 1, we might say, well, we can't really be holy.
We're sinners. We're sinners. But I want you
to think about something. Now, let's think in terms of
this. There's holy, sanctified, all right? If you were to go
through the Bible and find the one word that is used most to
describe children of God, believers, sinners saved by the grace of
God, what do you suppose it would be? It's exactly what it is. It's the word saint. And the
word saint comes from this root word for holy, for sanctified.
It really means sanctified ones. Now most people today in religion
think of a saint as being a special class of Christian. Or they think
of it being somebody who the Pope canonizes. And that's blasphemy,
that's heresy. No man, I don't care who he is,
or what you call him, or where he lives, or where he sits, or
what he wears, or what he claims, can make you or me a saint. He can't even make himself a
saint. You see, God is in the business of making saints. Salvation is of the Lord. And
that's the way most people think of it. It's either somebody that
they canonize, or it's a special class of people who are not just
like me. I believe it, but I'm just not
that serious about it. But they're really serious about
it. I mean, this guy's really serious about his religion. And
you know, it's common for people to say, well, I'm a Christian,
but I'm no saint. Now what I want to do, I'm going
to preach several messages on this subject from different passages
of scripture. In fact, I'm going to come back
to this one next week because I want to show you some things
in the context here. But how am I to think when I
read passages like that? Holy, be ye holy. or passages
that call the people of God, and that includes me, that includes
you if you know Christ, calls us saints. Just about every time
you see the opening of an epistle, it says, to the saints that are
in Rome, to the saints that are in Ephesus. How do you think about that?
And then, back over there in Psalm 86 that I read, you remember
what David said there, King David? Verse 2, in his prayer, after
he'd said, I'm poor and needy, he said in verse 2 of Psalm 86,
preserve my soul for I am holy. David said that. You ever read
about David? Were there times that he was
holy and times that he wasn't holy? Or was he just lying to himself?
Was David denying here that he was a sinner when he says, I'm
holy? I know in your concordance it probably has something like,
one whom God favors. And that's true. I'll tell you,
if anybody's a saint or a holy person, that's one whom God favors.
So was David denying all that? Was he saying, you know, I'm...
Was David saying, I'm not perfect, but I'm holier than others? You
know, technically, there are no degrees of holiness. There are no degrees of... Now,
there are degrees of knowledge. There are people here that know
more than others, even about the Scripture. In fact, the Bible
speaks of the gift of knowledge. That God gifts some people with
a special knowledge. And that's not Gnosticism now.
That's not, well, I know something you don't know, and if you ever
get it, you'll get all that crap. No. It has nothing to do with
that. It's just that gift that he gives
to some people to be guides, spiritual guides and leaders.
But there are degrees of knowledge. There's degrees of growth in
grace, just like there are degrees of physical growth for some people.
Some people grow quickly. Some people grow slowly. Same
way spiritually, there are degrees of growth in grace, but there
are no degrees of holiness. Now, the term holiest is used,
but that was pertaining to a physical tabernacle. And what that was
talking about was that in the tabernacle, when you went into
the tabernacle, you had the court there, the open court, where
you had the brazen altar, and then you'd approach the inner
chamber, which was that part called the holy place. It was
separated. And it was separated by the curtain. And right before you went in
there, there was a laver of brass where the priests washed themselves,
and then they went into the holy place, and they had the table
of showbread in there and the golden candlestick. But inside
that, you had another curtain dividing that, separating that,
and inside that curtain was the holiest of all. That term holiest
is used to describe the holiest of all. And only the high priests
could go in there one time a year on the Day of Atonement. So see,
that didn't pertain to the believer, you see. That was a ceremonial,
physical separation. And then the word holier, you
know the only time the word holier is used in the Bible, let me
show it to you, it's in Isaiah. Turn to Isaiah chapter 65, let
me show you this. The only time the word holier
is used And he's talking about here is
how the Gentiles are going to seek him, his elect among the
Gentiles. It says in verse 1, listen to this, Isaiah chapter
65. He says, I'm sought of them that
ask not for me. I'm found of them that sought
me not. That's God calling his elect people to himself. He said, I said, behold me, behold
me unto a nation that was not called by my name. That's the
Gentiles. Paul quotes that in Romans chapter 10, and he's talking
about the calling of the Gentiles. He says in verse 2, I've spread
out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, that was
the unbelieving Jews, Paul writes in Romans 10, which walketh in
a way that was not good after their own thoughts, a people
that provoketh me to anger continually to my face. Who's he talking
about? He's talking about unbelievers. that sacrificeth in the gardens,
not in the temple now, but in the gardens, in the groves, that's
idolatry, burneth incense upon altars of brick. What's wrong
with burning incense upon altars of brick? You see, the altar
was to represent the work of God, not the work of men. Bricks
were made by men. And so they're worshiping their
own works, that's what they're doing. Verse four, which remain
among the graves and lodge in the monuments, which eat swine's
flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels, which
say, now here listen to this, verse five, which say, these
unbelievers say, stand by thyself, come not near to me, for I am
holier than thou. And he says, these are a smoke
in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day. In other words,
the only time you see the word holier in the Bible, it's used
by unbelievers. I'm holier than thou. Is that
what this is talking about when it says, be ye holy? Well, obviously
not. I believe there's a good definition
of saints in the Bible. It's all through the Bible, but
let me give you one in Psalm 50. Here's a good definition
of a saint. in Psalm 50 in verse 5, where
God commands. He says, gather my saints, literally
my sanctified ones, or you could just as well say my holy ones. Gather my saints together unto
me. Who are they? He defines them
in the next line. Look at it. Those that have made
a covenant with me by sacrifice. And verse 6 is, "...and the heavens
shall declare his righteousness, for God is judge himself." That's
what a saint is. He's a person who's made a covenant
with God by sacrifice. Now let me ask you, upon what
sacrifice will God make a covenant with a sinner? There's but one. And that's the sacrifice of the
blood of Christ. And what declares his righteousness
and his judgment? The blood of Christ. A saint
is a sinner who believes the gospel, who's come to God based
on the blood and the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's
what a saint is. He's a sinner saved by the grace
of God. That's what he is. And the reason, listen, the Bible
teaches us this, the reason God saves us through Christ, the
reason Christ died, is to make His people holy. Let me show
you that. Turn to Colossians chapter 1.
Colossians chapter 1. And look at verse 20 of Colossians chapter 1. He's
talking about how Christ, the fullness of the Godhead, In Him
should all fullness dwell. Verse 20, And having made peace
through the blood of His cross, He made peace between God and
sinners by His blood. He satisfied the justice of God. He brought forth everlasting
righteousness by Him, by Christ, to reconcile all things unto
Himself. By Him, I say, whether they be
things in earth or things in heaven, the saints in heaven,
the saints on earth. are reconciled to God by the
blood of Christ. God doesn't reconcile you one
way and me a different way. It's all one way. I am the way,
Christ said. I am the truth. I am the life.
No man cometh to the Father but by me. He says in verse 21, and
you that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked
works. Now those wicked works could
be religious works or they could be works of immorality. Either
one. Do you suppose the religious
man is any closer to God than the immoral man? No, sir. The religious man who comes to
God based on his works, those are wicked works. There's only
one thing that'll bring you to God, and that's Christ and him
crucified. And he says, yet now hath he
reconciled, verse 22, in the body of his flesh through death,
his death, to present you holy. That's why he died. If he died
for you, he died to present you holy. And if he can't present
you holy, then he failed. But he didn't fail. And somebody
said, well, he's not presenting me holy now, but later on he'll
do it. Well, that's not future tense
there. That's present tense. And then he says, unblameable.
What does that mean? It means you can't be charged. You're unchargeable. I heard
a fellow say one time that God doesn't charge His people with
sin, but they're chargeable. No, it says here they're unchargeable,
unblameable. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It's God that justifies. And
unreprovable. That means no need of correction.
Now, I need a lot of correction right now, don't I? But in Christ,
I'm perfect, I'm complete. And it says here, here's the
key, now look at it, look at those last three words, in his
sight, not in your sight, not in my sight, in God's sight.
You see that? If you continue in the faith,
grounded and settled. That is, if is not a conditional
if, it's not conditional, it's evidence. It's like me saying,
I know you're alive if you breathe. Your breathing is the evidence
that you're alive. Your breathing is not the condition
for you living. You have life within. God has
put a spark of physical life within you and you breathe as
a result. All right? Grounded and settled.
And be not moved away from the hope. The Bible says, let me
read you these, because we don't have time to turn to all of them,
but listen to this, he says Colossians 3.12, put on therefore as the
elect of God, holy and beloved. That's how he identifies the
people of God, holy and beloved. They are the elect of God, God
chose them, and holy. They're made holy and beloved. Bows of mercy, kindness, humbleness
of mind, meekness, long-suffering. Here's another one. Here's the
reason God calls His people. 1 Thessalonians 4 and verse 7,
For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but holiness. Unto
holiness. That's what we've been called
to. If you've been called to Christ, you've been called to
holiness. 1 Thessalonians 5, 27, I charge
you by the Lord that this letter be read to all the holy brothers. Now, was Paul speaking just of
a special class of people within the church at Thessalonica? No,
he was talking about the whole church. They're all holy brethren. Look at 1 Peter, back here at
our text. Look at verse 9. This is a description
of the people of God. Listen. Verse 9. He says, you're
a chosen generation. Who chose you? God did. You're
a royal priesthood. That means a kingdom of priests. You have the authority of the
King of Kings by the Word of God and by the Spirit of God.
And in the priesthood, you have a right and title to enter into
the holiest of all, the very presence of God through the blood
of Christ. You're an holy nation. A peculiar people, that means
a purchased people. That you should show forth the
praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into His
marvelous light. A holy people. In Hebrews chapter 3 and verse
1, wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling,
consider the apostle and high priest of our profession, Christ
Jesus. Holy brethren! That's what he calls the church.
Then one more, 2 Timothy 1 and verse 9, talking about God who
has saved us and called us with an holy calling. If you've been
called to Christ, that was a holy calling, not according to our
works. You hear that? That holy calling
is not a calling that's according to our works. You know why? Because
our works corrupt it. But according to his own purpose
and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world
began. Here's the fact of the matter. We must obtain holiness
or we cannot see the Lord. Where there's no holiness, there's
no salvation. Listen to Hebrews 12 and verse
14. I'm going to preach a message
on this one later on. Hebrews 12 and verse 14. It says
this, follow peace with all men and holiness. And again, that's
the same word as sanctify, sanctification. These words are interchangeable,
basically. Without which no man shall see the Lord. You say, well, I can't be holy.
Well, you can't see the Lord then. That's what that scripture
says. Now, what is this holiness? Well,
now let me give you this now. The main idea of holiness, the
main idea of sanctification means this. It means to set apart. Get that in your mind. Back over
here in 1 Peter 1, you see, look back there, and I'm going to
come back and deal with this in more detail, but look at verse
13. Now, in the context of this thing
about being holy and seeking holiness and all of that, one
of the first things he says, he establishes the powerful,
sovereign, merciful grace of God all the way through this
chapter. I hope you read along as Brother Doug read it because
he's talking about how believers are saved by sovereign grace. We're not saved by our works.
We're not made holy by our works. Alright? We're not sanctified
by our works. But it's by the blood of Christ.
It's by His death. It's by what He accomplished
in this living hope that comes through the resurrection of the
Lord Jesus Christ. And His resurrection is the accomplishment
of what He did in His death. He put away my sins. What can
wash away my sins? Didn't we sing that? Nothing
but the blood of Jesus. My works can't put away my sin.
My prayers can't put away my sin. Baptism cannot put away
my sin. What can wash away my sin? Nothing
but the blood of Jesus. Nothing but the blood of Jesus. And then he says, he says it's
to an inheritance that's incorruptible. If we're in Christ, we're the
recipients of an inheritance that we can't, even we can't
corrupt it. If it had anything to do with
our works and our efforts, it would be corrupted. But it's
in Christ, you see. It's undefiled. It fadeth not
away. It's reserved in heaven for us. We in Christ have a reservation
that cannot be canceled because it's in Christ. Kept, he says
in verse 5. We're kept. We're a kept people.
How are we kept? By our own faithfulness? No,
by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed
in the last time. We're kept by the power of God.
Paul said, I know whom I have believed and I'm persuaded that
He is able to keep that which I've committed unto Him against
that day. So he's talking about the grace of God here. Now that's
the foundation for everything that we study in the Word of
God. And look at verse 13 of 1 Peter 1. He says, Wherefore,
for this reason now, And he tells them, he says, now here we're
saved by the grace of God, we're kept, we're reserved, all of
that. We're going to go through trials,
he said, trials that are going to try us sorely, that are going
to just bring us down, but we're the recipients of a salvation,
even which the prophets looked into and desired. They looked
forward to the coming of Christ. And he says in verse 13, wherefore,
for this reason gird up the loins of your mind. Now that means
get your mindset ready for action. Get your mind right. Now what
I'm saying in this message is that when you think about this
word holy and holiness and sanctify and sanctification, let's get
our minds right. That's what we have to do. And
the main idea behind the word holiness, being holy, is to be
separate. That's what it is. And it's separated
unto the things of God. Alright? It's separated from
the world. It has to do with a separation
from all that is unholy. We think of holiness as referring
specifically to sinless perfection, and that's included. Now, God
is holy. He's sinlessly perfect. He has
no sin. But what that means is God is
separate from everything. There's nothing you can compare
God to. There's nothing you can liken
God to. God is holy. He's separate from
everything. He's it. He is him. Everything that's unique. So
let me give you these things here. First of all, to be holy
is to be set apart for the glory of God and service to God. That's
what that means. to be set apart. Now, back in
the Old Testament, you see that idea played out in certain things
that God ordained for the worship of the nation Israel. For example,
even before that, back in creation, God sanctified, set apart the
seventh day. He made it holy. It was sanctified. Now, there's nothing sinlessly
perfect about a day, but that day was to be used for Israel
in the Sabbath for that purpose and for no other purpose. Back
in the Old Testament, He sanctified the firstborn. He said in Exodus
chapter 13, when your children are born, you take that firstborn
son and you set him apart. He's to be sanctified at that
child, the firstborn of the family. He was a type and a picture of
the firstborn among many brethren, Christ. In Exodus chapter 29,
the tabernacle itself was set apart. That tabernacle and all
of its vessels was to be set apart for the glory of God. It
wouldn't be used for anything else. They weren't to go in there
and live and have parties and build campfires and all. That
tabernacle was to be used for one thing and one thing alone,
set apart for God's service. And I can show you this, Christ
himself, now listen to this, Now everybody here, I hope you
all agree with me on this. Christ himself was sinlessly
perfect. He had no sin, knew no sin. Listen,
in himself he was always sinlessly perfect. Yet he himself in his
high priestly prayer in John 17 and verse 19, he sanctified
himself. Listen to what he says here.
He says, talking about for his people, the ones for whom he
died. He says, it's for their sakes
I sanctify myself. Now he wasn't making himself
sinlessly perfect, he already was sinlessly perfect. But he
sanctified himself. He said, and for their sakes
I sanctify myself. What does that mean? He set himself
apart for our redemption, for our salvation. The God-man, his
whole task was the glory of God in the salvation of his people.
He said, for their sakes I sanctify myself that they also might be
sanctified through the truth. He sanctified himself, he set
himself apart for our redemption in order that we might be set
apart for the truth. The Bible speaks of a three-fold
sanctification in that sense. Let me just read you this, we're
sanctified by God the Father. We see all three persons of the
Godhead involved in this setting apart, this sanctification, this
holiness in essence. God the Father, it says, Jude
verse 1, Jude the servant of Jesus Christ and the brother
of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father and preserved
in Jesus Christ and called. Now when were we sanctified by
God the Father? Ephesians chapter 1 tells us,
we were chosen by God in Christ before the foundation of the
world. God set us apart before the foundation of the world in
divine election. He set us apart. The Bible says
we're sanctified by God the Son. Let me read you this, 1 Corinthians
chapter 1 and verse 1. It says, Paul, called to be an
apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes,
our brother, unto the church of God, which is at Corinth,
to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints,
with all that in every place, call upon the name of Jesus Christ
our Lord, both theirs and ours. We're sanctified by Christ. What
does that mean? We were set apart in Christ on
the cross. when he died for our sins. The
Bible says when he died, I died. When he was buried, I was buried.
When he arose again, I arose again. He went to the cross not
for himself, the book tells us, but he went there for the sins
of his people charged to him, accounted to him. We were set
apart on that cross. When Christ died under the judgment
of God for my sins, my sins were judged. And he drank damnation
dry. We were set apart in redemption.
And then the Bible speaks of us being set apart by God the
Holy Spirit. Now look back at 1 Peter chapter
1. That's what this is talking about. In verse 2, elect according
to the foreknowledge of God the Father through sanctification
of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit sets us apart. When does the Holy Spirit set
us apart? Exactly when? In the new birth.
We're set apart under the preaching of the gospel. We're brought
out of the kingdom of darkness into the light of God's marvelous
Son, gives us life and brings us in conviction of our sins
to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and true repentance. We're set
apart. We're now believers. What were we before? Unbelievers. Now we're set apart. Do I have
perfect faith all the time? No. But I have holy faith. It's a faith different from anything
this world can muster up. It's set apart. It's special. It's a gift from God. It comes
to me by virtue of Christ and what He accomplished on Calvary.
And it's a gift of God given to me by the work of the Holy
Spirit who gives me life. He set me apart. And that's not
a progressive thing. I'm born again by the Spirit
of God, and then He sets me apart as He fills me and keeps me looking
to Christ, seeking to follow Him. What's different about you
as a Christian? What sets you apart from others? Think about it. We believe in
the Lord Jesus Christ. We rest in Him. He's all our
hope. What can wash away my sins? What
does the world say? Well, go to take a trip to the
Holy Land, they call it, and get baptized in the Jordan River.
Will that do it? Is that what sets you apart?
Oh, my friend, that's not God's holiness. That's not sanctification.
What sets me apart? What can wash away my sin? Nothing,
nothing, nothing but the blood of Jesus. That's what sets a
believer apart. He knows that Christ and him
crucified is his only righteousness before God. What is your righteousness
before God? Well, I joined the church. Well,
that doesn't set you apart. That doesn't sanctify you. So,
well, I try to do the best I can. I've made missionary trips. That
sets you... No, that doesn't set you. What sets a believer
apart? A child of God apart? You see
what I'm saying there? That's why we're saying, we have
one righteousness. My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest
frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. On Christ the solid rock
I stand. All other ground, You see, that
which I'm separated from, all other ground, is what? Sinking
sand. I'm not on the sinking sand.
I stand on the rock Christ Jesus. That's what sets me apart. And
that's what the Holy Spirit does when He sanctifies me. Let me
give you another definition of sanctify or holiness. It means
to regard or treat or declare as holy. We're commanded to sanctify
God Himself in that way. Look over, turn the page there
in 1 Peter chapter 3. Listen to this in verse 15. 1 Peter chapter 3, look at verse
15. He says, "...but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts,
and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh
you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear."
How we sanctify the Lord God? Do we make Him sinlessly perfect?
No. What does that mean? We regard
Him for who He is. We recognize Him and acknowledge
Him and worship Him in our hearts as the one true and living God. The God of all grace. The God
who is set apart from every other God. All other gods are idols.
All other gods are gods who cannot save. There's nothing like our
God. How can you describe Him? Who
can you compare Him to? He's marvelous in our eyes. Sanctify
Him. And listen, let me tell you this.
Whenever a sinner comes before God expecting to be saved by
His works, he is not sanctifying the Lord God in his heart. No,
sir, he's blaspheming God. That's what Cain did. When Cain
came before God seeking salvation by the works of his hand, he
wasn't regarding the holiness and justice and even the grace
and mercy of God. He was coming in pride and self-righteousness,
blaspheming God. But whenever a sinner makes that
covenant with God through sacrifice, Lord, be merciful to me, the
sinner, the publican said. I have no hope of salvation or
forgiveness or righteousness, but in your Son, the Lord Jesus
Christ, and based upon His blood and righteousness alone, that's
sanctifying the Lord God in your heart. Whenever a sinner thinks
of himself as holy based on his works, that's blasphemy. That's
right. But here's the key for us. In
Christ, now listen to me, in Christ, don't let this slip by,
in Christ, all true believers are regarded and declared and
treated by God as holy. That's exactly right. Turn to
Hebrews chapter 10, let me show you this. Hebrews chapter 10. All believers, now listen, and
I want to make a point here that I think is so important because
of some things that I've heard being said today. Now listen,
to be holy, to be sanctified, is to be regarded and treated
and declared as holy by God Almighty. But many people will say, well
now I'm a sinner in myself. And yet God treats me and declares
me and regards me as holy? Is God pretending there? Is God
just... is He saying something that's
just not true? No, He's not pretending. And no, He's not saying something
that's not... In God's sight, I am really holy. That's right. I'm a sinner in
myself, but in Christ, God treats me and regards me and declares
me to be holy, truly holy, not pretend. This is no fiction here. God doesn't deal in fiction.
God doesn't see fiction. God sees things as they are. And listen to this, Hebrews chapter
10. Look at verse 10. He starts out here by the which
will. We are sanctified, set apart. Now whose will is he talking
about? Well look at verse 9, Then said
he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. This is Christ speaking
unto the Father. He taketh away the first, that
he may establish the second. That is, he takes away that old
covenant that's abolished by way of fulfillment, establishing
the new covenant. And it's all by the will of God,
by the which will we are sanctified, set apart through the offering
of the body of Jesus Christ once. That's what that literally reads.
It says for all, it's talking about all his people who are
sanctified, all believers. And look at verse 12. He says,
but this man, Christ, Jesus, the God-man, after he had offered
one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of
God, from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his
footstool, for by one offering he hath perfected, forever, completed,
finished, them that are sanctified, set apart. Now what does that
mean? Look down at verse 19. Having
therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest, how? By the blood of Jesus. Are you washed in the blood of
the Lamb? Now let me tell you something
now. You sing that song? Are you washed in the blood of
the Lamb? Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow? Now if
you sing that, and you believe what you're singing, you know
what you're saying? You're saying the same thing David said back
in Psalm 86, I am holy. You say, well preacher, I feel
like I'm, I feel about embarrassed to say that. Well you're looking
the wrong way. You're looking inwardly. You're
looking to self. Look to Christ. Are my garments spotless? What
are my garments? The white robe that's washed
in the blood of the Lamb, Revelation. That's my garment. It's the white
robe that's freely given and imputed, charged to me, that
was washed in the blood of the Lamb. Now I'm not embarrassed. Well, I'm embarrassed about me,
but I'm not about Christ. Are you washed? That's what that's
talking about. 1 John 4.10. Listen to this.
1 John 4.10. Listen to this scripture. He
says, I'm sorry, 4.17. 1 John 4.17. Herein is our love made perfect,
complete, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment. Now,
how are we going to have boldness in the Day of Judgment? You remember
those false preachers that stood before Christ at the Day of Judgment
and said, have we not preached in your name? Have we not done
many wonderful works? All of that? He said, I never
knew you. They were bold in their works,
but they became ashamed. Well, herein is our love made
perfect that we may have boldness in the Day of Judgment because
as He is, as Christ is, so are we in this world. God sees me
in His Son. It's not that God sees me as
holy, but I'm really not. No, sir. He sees me as holy because
I really am in His Son. You see the difference? The old hymn writer said, not
as we were in Adam's fall when sin and ruin covered us all,
But as we shall stand another day, fairer than the sun's spotless
ray, for with his holy garments on, we are as holy as God's Son."
That's it. Are your garments spotless? Are
they white as snow? Now, lastly, I want to give you
this, and this is what I'm going to be preaching on in several
messages on this subject. There's a third way. The third
way we're set apart is to live in the grace of God by the principles
of holiness as we see them in Christ and His Word. And that
begins in the new birth. You see, before the new birth,
what are we? We're dead in trespasses and sins just like everybody
else. But then God sets us apart, gives us life. Before the new
birth, we were servants of sin. Now we're servants of God. We're
not perfect in ourselves. We are in Christ, truly, really. How do we do this? First, by
looking to and living out of Christ, for He is our life. Secondly,
by seeking to be conformed to Christ according to His Word.
Live by His Word. That'll separate you, won't it?
Live by His Word. Thirdly, grow in grace and in
knowledge of Christ, feeding upon His Word, cultivating the
fruit of the Spirit, fighting the works of the flesh. All of
this not to be saved, but because you already are. That sets you
apart, doesn't it? Fourthly, striving for perfection,
knowing well our sins, and knowing well that our hope of perfection
is only to be found in Christ. Be ye holy, he says. We'll say
some more about that later. All right.