Title: Sin, Holiness and Obedience
Scripture Reading;
Genesis 6:5-7: Leviticus 11:44-45; John 14:15-17
And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6 And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
7 And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
For I am the Lord your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
45 For I am the Lord that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.
If ye love me, keep my commandments.
16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
According to Christian Bible Reference Site, the word sin is mentioned over 400 times in the Bible.
There are 76 occurrences with regard to Holiness, usually with reference to the holiness of God found in the bible. They are altogether 43 passages in the bible on holiness in the KJV. The central theme of holiness is God is Holy.
The word ‘obey’ is found 170 times in the Old and New Testament. Obedience to God is not only a way to worship him, but a way to get closer to him, prepare for whatever he leads you to and grow as a person.
- Sin
If you want to discuss about sin, you have to mention Grace.
Grace simply means Mercy and Love. That is the two words that best defined Grace
John 1:14 says, ‘And the Word was made flesh, dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father) full of grace and truth. ‘
John 1:17 continues to say, ‘For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.’ So because of sin, Jesus became human 2000 years demonstrating Grace (which is mercy and love) and truth. The truth mentioned here implies sin.
Four unique forms of love are found in the Scripture. They are communicated through four Greek words (Eros, Storge, Philia and Agape) and are characterized by romantic love, family love, brotherly love, and God’s divine love.
Read the Bible to understand the true character and work of sin.
Firstly let’s look at the work of sin; what sin has done to mankind
Sin entered and in rebellion against God Adam was driven out of Paradise – out of the place where God use to come down, walk and talked with Adam and Eve
Secondly let’s talk about the consequences of sin.
Sins brought untold millions of following generations under curse and ruin. Man has to toil day and night to survive. Family is broken and even nature is affected. We must see the true destructive nature of sin even over our lives.
Genesis 6:5-7 says, ‘And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.’
But popular Christianity is not biblical Christianity. Biblical Christianity isn’t popular.
Why was there law given by God? Because of sin
Thirdly, remember there is the judgment seat one day.
Revelation 20:11-15 says, ‘And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.’
Many and even most bible scholars believe that Christian will never appear before this great white throne. It isn’t because we can hide from it – no one can. The idea is that we are spared from this awesome throne of judgment because our sins are already judged in Jesus at the cross. We don’t escape God’s judgment: we satisfy it in Jesus.
Even Christian who escape the Great White Throne Judgement will have to stand before another throne -the judgement seat of Christ.
We won’t’ be punished for what was not done rightly unto the Lord; it will simply be burned up, and it will be as if we never did those things.
- The Holiness of God
Leviticus 11:44-45 says, ‘For I am the Lord your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. For I am the Lord that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.’
When you are in God’s presence (in the church or during your quiet time with God), you are in God’s holiness and God’s holiness will convict you of sin. If only time were taken to linger in God’s presence and let the Spirit of God accomplish his work of conviction in us. He would teach us to take an entirely new standpoint, and would give us a new view of sin.
Look at the book of Leviticus. You will notice, five times God gives this command, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’
Also in the book of Leviticus we have this more frequent expression: ‘I am the Lord that doth sanctify you.’ The Holy presence of God will sanctify you
How to know the holiness of God. This can never be done in any other way unless we take time and allow the holiness of God to shine on us.
When God gives the command ‘Be ye holy’, it takes on a religious aspect related to how we deal with
A. Our idolatrous neighbors
B. Our fellow country men (that is our covenant partners)
C. Our covenant God
- Obedience
John 14:15-17 says, ‘If ye love me, keep my commandments.16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
In connection with all that has been said about sin, and God’s holiness, we must always give to obedience the place assigned to it by God. Look at Jesus’ example. It was because Christ humbled himself and became obedient unto death, yes, the death on the cross that God so highly exalted him
Obedience is made possible because God will send you another comforter. In another translation, it says, God will give you another comforter. In various bible translation, this ‘another comforter’ is interpreted as ‘another advocate’, ‘another paraclete’, ‘another to be your advocate’ and of course ‘another comforter’. We are living in the last days: sins will abound and the love of many will wax cold.
The third person of the Holy Spirit is most needed right now. He is not a third fiddler. He is actually the most important person of the trinity in this age because His function is most needed.
The term ‘another’ is translated from a Greek term, ‘allos’ that means ‘another of the same kind’. The Holy Spirit has been called ‘the other Jesus’. The second term is the Greek term ‘parakletos’, which is used of Jesus as intercessor. Its etymology is ‘one called alongside to help’ in a legal sense. Therefore the term ‘advocate’ accurately translates this word. A form of this Greek root ‘comfort’ is used of the Father. Its antonym is ‘the accuser’, which is Satan.
