Part 5 (1/2)
CHAPTER IX
Holiness
=Holiness an attribute of G.o.d.= ”Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the G.o.ds? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?”--Ex. 15:11. ”And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.”--Isa.
6:3. ”And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord G.o.d Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.”--Rev.
4:8.
=G.o.d must be wors.h.i.+ped in holiness.= ”Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering and come before him: wors.h.i.+p the Lord in the beauty of holiness.”--1 Chron. 16:29. ”Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.”--Psa. 30:4.
=G.o.d's throne and dwelling-place.= ”G.o.d reigneth over the heathen: G.o.d sitteth upon the throne of his holiness.”--Psa. 47:8. ”For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit.”--Isa. 57:15. ”Be silent, O all flesh, before the Lord: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation.”--Zech. 2:13.
”Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and thy glory.”--Isa. 63:15.
=Holiness becomes G.o.d's house.= ”Thy testimonies are very sure: holiness becometh thine house, O Lord, forever.”--Psa. 93:5. ”The aged women likewise, that they be in behavior as becometh holiness.”--t.i.tus 2:3.
=The church of G.o.d is called a mountain of holiness.= ”The Lord bless thee, O habitation of justice, and mountain of holiness.”--Jer. 31:23.
”Thus saith the Lord; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the Lord of hosts the holy mountain.”--Zech. 8:3. ”The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and the dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain saith the Lord.”--Isa. 65:25.
=G.o.d speaks in holiness.= ”G.o.d hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice.”--Psa. 60:6. ”Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets; all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome, because of the Lord, and because of the words of his holiness.”--Jer. 23:9.
=The way of holiness.= ”And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pa.s.s over it; but it shall be for those; the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there and the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”--Isa. 35:8-10.
=The courts of holiness.= ”But they that have gathered it shall eat it, and praise the Lord; and they that have brought it together shall drink it in the courts of my holiness.”--Isa. 62:9.
=The people of G.o.d are holy.= ”The people of thy holiness have possessed but a little while: our adversaries have trodden down thy sanctuary.”--Isa. 63:18. ”And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the Lord: and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken.”--Isa. 62:12. ”And the Lord hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments; and to make thee high above all nations which he hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honor; and that thou mayest be an holy people unto the Lord thy G.o.d, as he hath spoken.”--Deut.
26:18, 19. ”But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”--1 Pet.
2:9.
=We are called unto holiness.= ”Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.”--Heb. 12:14. ”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.”--1 Pet. 1:15, 16.
”For G.o.d hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.”--1 Thess. 4:7. ”That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.”--Luke 1:74, 75.
”For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.”--Heb. 12:10.
=A perfect holiness attainable.= ”Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of G.o.d.”--2 Cor. 7:1.
=Fruit unto holiness.= ”But now being made free from sin, and become servants to G.o.d, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.”--Rom. 6:22.
The foregoing scriptures are but a few out of the many plain texts from the word of G.o.d teaching us the glorious doctrine of holiness. Some professing Christians look upon this doctrine as unscriptural and impracticable, but in the light of the gospel of Christ there is no other doctrine taught than holiness. The very fact that G.o.d, and Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, the word of G.o.d, and heaven, and all the celestial hosts are holy, at once suggests to every reasonable mind the utter necessity of holiness in the heart and life of man. The apostle says (Eph. 2:10) that ”we are his workmans.h.i.+p, created in Jesus Christ unto good works.”
Were we to look upon depraved humanity in the image of Adam, we would see nothing but sin and unholiness; but G.o.d has brought into existence a new order of creation in Christ Jesus. The first Adam is a sad and irreparable failure, and in him we see nothing good. All who are living according to the flesh are dead in trespa.s.ses and sins, and of course are unholy; but the second Adam, which is Christ has brought redemption and life, in whom there is purity and holiness. The old man is corrupt according to the deceitful l.u.s.ts, which =must be put off=. The new man is created in righteousness and true holiness, which =must be put on=. The reason some do not comprehend the doctrine of holiness is, they are yet living in the old creation, hence their nature and mind are corrupt. It is utterly impossible for such to be holy in this condition. The command, ”Be ye holy,” does not apply to them. They are not G.o.d's people. The first step for such to take is to repent, which if they obey they will be brought into the kingdom of G.o.d's holiness; into the new creation, the workmans.h.i.+p of G.o.d in Christ Jesus. Bless the Lord, O my soul, for this new creation of purity and holiness. All the living creatures of heaven bow before him that sitteth upon the throne, saying, Holy, holy, holy! and every sanctified heart on earth can join the blessed anthem of praise and adoration with the consciousness that the all-cleansing blood of Christ has reached its inmost depth and purified it for the habitation of the heavenly guest, the Holy Spirit. The pure heart is G.o.d's dwelling-place on earth. Jesus says (John 14:23) ”If a man love me, he will keep my words and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”
Thus we see that G.o.d not only dwells in the high and holy heaven, but also upon earth in the hearts of his obedient people. Who could consistently believe that G.o.d would dwell in a corrupt heart? ”He shall be in you,” is the promise of Jesus. ”At that day [the day when the Holy Spirit comes into the heart], ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.” Oh, the depths of the riches of this wonderful redemption, that G.o.d would forgive the guilty sinner, then purify his heart and make it his earthly abode. This is his will toward every son and daughter of Adam's race. He will create us in the image of Christ, so that we may truly serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life. This can be called none other than the way of holiness. It is G.o.d's own way, and is truly a highway too high for anything unclean to pa.s.s over. It is on a perfect level with heaven itself, and yet it is a highway here upon earth for all the ransomed of the Lord to travel upon. It is so plain and simple that no one need be led astray. The wayfaring men though fools, shall not err therein. A wayfaring man means one who is on the way, one who lives on the way. A seafaring man is one who lives on the sea. This way is so safe that though a man may be simple in the estimation of the world, and may be called a fool, yet if he keeps obedient to G.o.d he shall not be led astray. ”No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon.” This indicates a very safe way, where we need not fear any evil. Everything of the flesh or the old man is ruled out, and none but the redeemed shall walk there. We see therefore from the description of the prophet that this is a highway, a clean way, a simple way, a safe way, a way of songs and everlasting joy, which necessarily const.i.tutes a way of holiness.