The first
man was created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). It can be said that he was holy, because
he was spiritually, morally, and physically pure before the fall. He had been
especially set aside for fellowship with God, and God would come into the
garden and fellowship with the man He had created. When Adam fell into sin,
this beautiful fellowship came to a halt, not because God did not love Adam,
but because God is holy, and He cannot fellowship where there is sin. (This fellowship
was partially restored when God killed two animals, instead of Adam and Eve,
thus instituting the substitutionary sacrifice system.)
Moral Holiness is a term that defines
those things which we do, as Christians, which are a lifestyle beyond the minimum
acceptable for salvation. I say beyond “salvation” in that to be in an initial
“saved” condition, there are certain things which must be done. What I am
trying to teach at this time are those things which are pleasing to God and
those things which are so evil in the sight of God that they will eternally
separate you from His presence.
To remain “saved”, one has to become
Christ-like; in essence, become a Christian. Being a Christian, is a reflection
of the lifestyle that Jesus taught, that His disciples taught, that I, as a
minister of the gospel must teach. I will endeavor to teach the holy living
principles which are taught in the bible, and only those principles. This is
not an in-depth study; I will cover most of the principles of moral holiness in
this study, but you will need to study the topic for yourself.
1.
Works of the flesh
Galatians 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are
these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20: Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred,
variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21: Envyings, murders, drunkenness,
revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told
you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom
of God.
The works of the flesh are the things
which God considers bad enough to prevent a person from entering heaven, and to
send a person to hell. I will try to address each of these sins and describe
how we as Christians are supposed to live instead of in sin.
· Sexual Sins:
Adultery is sex between two people of the opposite sex in
which at least one person is married and they are not married to the other
person.
Fornication is sex between two unmarried persons.
Uncleanness The Greek word from
which this English word is translated is “akatharsia” which means morally or
physically impure. This is a derivative of the Greek word “akathartos” which
means impure, morally lewd, demonically foul or unclean.
Morally lewd can
easily be construed as to contain things such as pornography, self sex, public
exposure, or child molestation.
Any sex of the types presented here, are an
abomination to God. Sex is awesome in the sight of God if it is practiced in
marriage, all other ways are sin, and sin will send you to hell. If you have
any argument on this, take it up with God, I’m just telling you what His word
says.
· Jealousy:
Envying and emulations
are the same things as jealousy. Jealousy is evil in the sight of God, you
should rejoice in what your brother or sister has been blest with by the Lord.
Being immature and being jealous of your spouse is a major cause of divorce.
Some people never trust their spouse and are always watching them to see if
they even look in the direction of another person of the opposite sex. That’s
wrong; you need to trust your spouse! You do need to look out for your spouse,
but to mentally or physically abuse your spouse in any way is evil in the sight
of God.
Sedition is disunion, driving a wedge between two people or a
group of people. Unfortunately, there are people in the church who are that
way. They aren’t in charge and they will never be happy until they are. Usually
these people are only semi-competent which is why they aren’t in charge of
anything to begin with. These are the kind of people that never have anything
good to say about anyone, they try to build themselves up in the sight of
others by putting people down.
Strife is using intrigue to cause trouble. This brings to mind things such as
tale bearing, gossip and rumor starting. It can also be used in creating
factions, or Cliques.
Variance is stirring up trouble, causing problems, arguments,
etc. God loves peacemakers, not troublemakers.
· Anger:
Wrath: is a lack of self control, or using your overbearing
attitude to attempt to force people to do things your way. Excessive passion,
indignation, fierceness are words that are translated from the same Greek word “thumos”
that the English word “Wrath” is derived from.
Murders: this one is pretty much self
explanatory, people who kill other people. This is not as in a law enforcement
officer or a soldier doing their duty, but an individual with no regard for
human life, someone with no moral character.
Hatred: is defined as hostility, enmity, antagonism, or
animosity. Disliking a person to the point of wanting to hurt them or destroy
them in any manner possible. Being right or wrong in a matter is no excuse for hatred;
we are commanded to love our enemies.
· Serving
False Gods:
Idolatry is serving another God beside the one true God of the
bible. People tend to set up sports or political figures as their gods; others
make money or sex their god. Our God wants “all” worship reserved for Him, He
is the creator of the heavens and the earth and He deserves it all, and He will
have it all.
Witchcraft is serving the devil, pure and simple. The devil is
not God although he likes to think he is. He is far less powerful than God, and
is pure evil. The word that is translated witchcraft in this passage is the
Greek word “pharmakeia”. This is the root word from which we derive the English
words Pharmacy, pharmaceutical, etc. Therefore; witchcraft includes using
illegal drugs, or anything else which is used for the purpose of “getting
high”. It also includes the using of any form of magic, regardless of the tag “white”
or “black” magic.
Heresies, are teachings of false doctrine. Many churches today
teach a false, unbiblical doctrine in many areas, such as salvation and the
allowance of homosexuality in the ministry. Teaching such abominations will
send you straight to hell upon your death and that’s why I’m so careful about
what I teach and preach.
· Rowdy Sins:
Lasciviousness: means
licentiousness, recklessness, wantonness, or decadence; in other words,
overdoing it in a big way.
Drunkenness: Getting drunk, or intoxicated. This can
include drug usage, or any other thing that could affect or impair your
judgment. See witchcraft above.
Revellings: Partying such as a “rave” or “kegger”
party. Rioting, or in other words, an overly loud, rambunctious, or disruptive,
destructive get together.
2.
Thought Patterns
We need to watch what we think about
because all sin starts in the thought process. “for of the abundance of the heart his mouth
speaketh.” (Luke 6:45). Your heart is filled by whatever you put into it. It’s a little
like a computer, you put garbage into it, that’s all you can get out of it. The
word of God is our operating system, if we are constantly upgrading our
operating system with the word of God, our computer will work much better. If
we are installing viruses from the devil, it will soon fail us when we need it
to work.
How can we build our operating system so
that it will avoid system crashes? By constantly upgrading the operating
system, that’s how! By doing this we avoid glitches that come from degraded
files. Our memory fades after a while, just like it does on a file that has
been opened on your computer too many times. By constantly feeding your
computer (your brain, heart, soul, etc.) you will not only keep the files on
your computer fresh, but you will add more intelligent features that will help
you to grow more powerful in spiritual realms. The scriptures below are just a
fraction of the ones in the bible that command us to study God’s word
continuously.
Psalms 119:15 I will meditate
in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.
Romans 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. 2: 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.
Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true,
whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are
pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if
there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
2Timothy 2:15 Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman
that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
3.
Speech
My father used to have a saying and it went something
like this: God gave you two ears and one mouth, so you ought to listen twice as
much as you speak. Too many times we say things we shouldn’t and hurt people we
never intended to hurt. Once a word is spoken it can never be taken back. You
can hand something to someone and then take it back, but words cannot be taken
back. You may apologize for them, but they can never be taken back.
Not only should we be careful not to hurt people, we
should make sure that our speech is glorifying to God. A person can speak dirty
things without saying a dirty word. Are you a blessing or a cursing to others
when you talk?
When you speak of your faith, do you demean other
faiths by name? There’s no need to demean another faith by name. You speak the
truth concerning the bible, and never apologize for it. You only need to show
what the bible says on a subject and let others see for themselves why their
faith is misguided, or lacking in the fullness of truth the bible teaches. We
need to do this with a kind spirit, not an “I told you so” spirit, or with a
spirit of “superiority”. Your points and knowledge will not be taken into
consideration by those whom you are witnessing to unless you have a proper
attitude of humility.
The scriptures given below will accentuate what I have
said above. If we do not watch what we say, and how we say it, we’ll be wasting
our time and the time of others. May everything we say be to the glory of God.
James 3:1-13 My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we
shall receive the greater condemnation. 2: For in many things we offend all. If any man
offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the
whole body. 3:
Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn
about their whole body. 4: Behold also the ships, which though they be so
great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very
small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. 5: Even so the tongue is a little
member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire
kindleth! 6:
And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our
members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of
nature; and it is set on fire of hell. 7: For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of
serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: 8: But
the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 9:
Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are
made after the similitude of God. 10: Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and
cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. 11: Doth a fountain send forth at
the same place sweet water and bitter?12: Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive
berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and
fresh. 13:
Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a
good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.
4.
Financial
Malachi 3:8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say,
Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes
and offerings.
A man must be a wise steward of what God has given
him. We must be honest in our finances if we are to be pleasing to God. If we’re
thieves, whether from man or God, we’ll wind up in hell.
We need to be faithful to give to God what belongs to
God. We need to be faithful to give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar. That
doesn’t mean that we don’t take all legitimate deductions on our taxes,
but it does mean we don’t take any illegitimate ones.
We can’t be the type of person that writes hot checks,
that charges more on a credit card than they have means to pay back with the
intention of defrauding the person owed the money. We need to have a budget and
stick to it! Other than a house or maybe a car, we should pay cash for
all things.
Now I understand that some places won’t take cash
anymore. Hotels and motels come to mind first. Others are internet based stores,
these by necessity must use credit cards, just don’t buy anything from them
that you can’t pay in full when the bill comes due.
Mark 10:19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit
adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal,
Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.
Ephesians 4:28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands
the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.
Do you take things home from the job
without permission? If so, you’re a thief! That may sound cruel, but if you
take something that doesn’t belong to you without the owner’s permission,
legally you can be convicted in a court of law of being a thief. Thieves’ go to
hell, they have their place in the lake of fire.
5.
Integrity
It has been said that integrity is not
what you do when you are among people, it is what you do when you are alone. Do
you watch pornography on the internet? Do you watch things on TV that are
disgusting to God? Personally, I feel there’s so little of redeeming value on
television that a person really doesn’t need to own one. Not having a TV will
remove the temptation to watch something on it that may be less than glorifying
to God.
Even when you are alone as a person, God
is there with you, God sees all that you do, hears all that you say, and knows
all that you think. What is God seeing you do, hearing you say, and
understanding what you’re thinking? Is it things that are glorifying to His
name? Are you honoring Him or betraying His sacrifice for your sins?
Have you considered the lack of respect
people have for someone who lies? Do you lie? Do you know what the consequence
for lying is? The scriptures below dictate what happens to liars.
1Timothy 1:9-10 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous
man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for
unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for
manslayers, 10:
For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers,
for liars, for perjured persons, and
if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;
Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable,
and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars,
shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which
is the second death.
We have to be men and women of our
word. If we don’t, it will reflect on God and His kingdom. Even though God is
not a liar, people will judge God by what we say and do, or don’t do. How are
you representing God?
6.
Fidelity
Matthew 5:27-28 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time,
Thou shalt not commit adultery: 28: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on
a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery
with her already in his heart.
Matthew 19:18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do
no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery,
Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable,
and murderers, and whoremongers, and
sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall
have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
We’ve already defined what adultery
and fornication are earlier in this bible study. A person who “Cheats” on their
spouse is considered untrustworthy. When we cheat on our current spouse, we are
cheating on our future spouse, Jesus Christ. If you aren’t married to another
person in this world, as a Christian, you have a future spouse to whom you are
engaged. In the time of Christ, an engagement was considered the same thing as
being already married except for intercourse.
Revelation 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming
down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
How do you want you future spouse to
look at you; with love in His heart, or with divorce papers in His hand?
Divorce papers mean that you will go to hell instead of dwelling in heaven.
We need to be as faithful to our current
spouse as we intend on being to our future spouse. For those of us who are
single, we need to be as faithful to Christ now as we intend on being to our
future earthly spouse.
Let’s not forget the big picture folks, the here and
now is not what it’s all about. It’s all about Jesus, and it’s all about
meeting Him in the air! Let’s take steps to live a holy life, not just outwardly,
but in our hearts and minds as well.