A Refuge For Holiness | Ep25

Transcript

When one thinks about the attributes of God, there are so many things that come to mind. We can think about his omniscience, knowing all things. We can think about his ability to be everywhere, omnipresent.

We can think about his ability to see all things. There are just so many tremendous attributes about God. But of all the attributes that God has, most scholars believe holiness is the most important one.

As we are studying the cities of refuge that are in the Old Testament, and that are spoken of in Hebrews 6.18, the refuge of Christ, and that the meaning of each of those cities gives us some insight into the blessing of having refuge in Jesus Christ.

And so it’s no surprise that one of those cities, Kaddish, means holiness or sanctification. If we want to have a refuge of holiness, it has to be in Jesus Christ. In Hebrews 12 and verse 14, the Hebrew writer said, Pursue peace with all men and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.

That easily tells us how important sanctification is. As we look at the city of refuge of Kaddish and its meaning of sanctification or holiness, I want us to think about that idea. I want us to do two things in this lesson.

First thing, I want us to talk about sanctification to maybe help us understand something about it. And then I want us to see the application of it. Sanctification is a word I don’t think too many people are familiar with it.

There are some denominations that put a great deal of emphasis on sanctification, and they really teach some things contrary to scripture about how one is sanctified. As we think about sanctification, most of us really have not studied it or thought about it. It is a key concept in one’s relationship to God.

And I want us to come to understand it a little bit and then see the application of it. Sanctification, the root of it, means to be set apart. It is something that is different from everything else, set apart.

As the word sanctification is used in scripture, it sometimes describes a one-time event, something that occurs only once. In 1 Corinthians 6, as Paul is talking about the people in Corinth and how vile and corrupt they were, he mentions what happened to these folks. He said in 1 Corinthians 6, beginning in verse 9, “‘Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

Such were some of you, but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” Notice he names all of those sins, and he says those, some people in the congregation, you were of this way. This is the kind of life you lived. These were the sins in which you were involved.

But then notice in verse 11, such were some of you, but you were washed, but you were sanctified. Now, that word sanctified is a one-time event. It’s not a continuous action in this context.

They were washed and sanctified. The washed, of course, is when they were baptized in water, and the result of that was they were sanctified. They were set apart, and so sometimes the word sanctification carries with it the idea of a one-time event that takes place when we are devoted to God, when we are baptized into Christ, we are sanctified, we are set apart for his service.

But at other times, that word is not a one-time event, but something that must occur over and over. In 1 Thessalonians 4, we see it used in this way. He is writing to these Christians and urging them to live the Christian life.

And in 1 Corinthians 4, he says this, finally then, brethren, we request of you and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you receive from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God, just as you actually do walk, that you excel still more. For you know what commandment we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification.

That is, that you abstain from sexual immorality, that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lustful passions like the Gentiles who do not know God. And that no man transgress and defile his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before, and somberly warned you. Notice what he said.

He said, for this is the will of God, your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual immorality, that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification. He’s urging these people to continue in this. So sanctification is a one-time thing that when one is baptized into Christ, he is set apart.

Now then, Christians must continue to live a holy life. And so sanctification in that situation is a continuous thing. He is dealing there with their continuous growth in holiness.

And so the refuge of Jesus Christ and holiness, sanctification says, if we’re going to see the Lord, we’ve got to be sanctified. We’ve got to be holy. That begins when we’re baptized, set apart.

That continues as we continue to grow in our holiness and as we progress in our holiness. Also, this idea of sanctification, sometimes it is something that God does for us, and sometimes it is something that we must do for ourselves. In John 1717, Jesus prayed to God for his apostles, and he said, sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth.

He was asking God to set them apart. And so sometimes the scriptures use the idea that God does something to sanctify us. He did that in 1 Corinthians 6 and 11 that we’re talking about.

And we see it in 2 Corinthians 3, 18, that we’re changed by God. As we cooperate with God, as we strive to live the Godly life, God will change us, not directly, but with our help. He will change us.

He will change us from worldliness to sanctification or holiness. And then at times, as we’ve already seen there in 1 Thessalonians 4, it is something that we must do. So the idea of sanctification is a key factor in our obedience and ability to have fellowship with God.

He said, without holiness, no man will see the Lord. And that word holiness is the word sanctification. Without being sanctified, we cannot see God.

We cannot have fellowship with him here. We will not have fellowship with him in eternity. And so we need to strive for sanctification.

We need to do our part and trust that God will do his part. We can appreciate that great sanctification process. In Christ’s only place to find that sanctification, we mentioned Hebrews 12, 14.

In Hebrews 10:14 and 10:10, he speaks of us being sanctified in Christ. And so if we’re going to have that holiness, whereby we can have fellowship with the Father and with Jesus Christ his Son, we must be set apart and we must be dedicated to continue that fellowship, growing in our holiness. The great principle of this is the idea that is stated in the book of Leviticus and also in 1 Peter 1, 18 and 19.

He says, Be ye holy even as the Lord your God is holy. That’s our goal. We must be holy because the God we serve is holy, and that we must become like God in all aspects to the fullest degree possible.

That we can grow in our holiness. We will never reach the perfection and the holiness of God, but we must always strive for it. The exhortation is be ye perfect even as the Lord your God is perfect.

We will not reach that standard, but we can always strive for that ability to become more and more like God every day. I want us to think also about why we do this, or the purpose of this. Paul expressed this concept to the Philippian church in Philippians 2:12-14, and it’s a great guideline for us today.

Notice he said, Do all things without grumbling or disputing so that you will prove yourself to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation among whom you appear as lights in the world. Notice what he is saying. This is the reason you need to be holy so that you will prove yourself to be blameless.

That’s the idea of holiness and innocent children of God. Why? That you may shine in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. We live among people who are wicked and corrupt.

We live in a world that does not understand the darkness of sin. We live in a world where nearly all sins are accepted as being okay. It’s a dark world, but Christians who have been sanctified and are striving to live a sanctified life look like lights to this dark world.

Notice what he says here and again. So that you will prove yourself to be blameless, holy, and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation among whom you appear as lights in the world. Our people around us are walking in darkness, and sometimes the only light they see is that light of a Christian life.

And he said that’s why your sanctification needs to be manifested to the world around you. You need to look different, live different, speak different, think different. That the world that you can be as a light to these people who are struggling in darkness.

He goes on in verse 16 and says, holding fast the word of life so that in the day of Christ I will have raised the glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain. He said, I want you to hold forth this word of life for these folks so that they can see your life and be won and saved in the end. Sanctification is a great refuge, but we can only be sanctified when we’re put into Christ by being baptized into Christ.

As we’re baptized into Christ, we have been set apart, made holy, and then we as Christians grow to the very best of our ability, adding those things and becoming what God wants us to be in all aspects of life. We can, as we think about it, our life needs to be a contrast to the life we used to live. People who knew us then and know us now can be able to see the difference that that holiness is made.

We need to manifest this character of God that He has and put on those attributes into our life. We need to manifest holiness in our homes. Oh, so many homes are falling apart today because they rarely get to see what a good, holy, godly home is like.

Those who are godly Christians and living holy lives, you are a great example as to your home, as to what others around you should see and emulate in their homes. God also wants us to manifest this holiness in the workplace. So many workplaces are filled with sin and corruption, vileness of speech, corruption in several ways, with you as a Christian, shine as a light that you may be a light in that workplace to show them what holiness is and that we can live a wonderful life, blessed and happy, fulfilled, and show them what true happiness can be found.

We need therefore to be holy even as God is holy. It’s no accident that one of the cities of refuge meant holiness. It is a refuge where we can become holy, where we must live to continue to stay holy.

We find that when we flee to Christ, we find that holiness and we expect, and He expects us, to manifest that holiness in the life we live, in our everyday functions as we function as a family and as an individual. And so as we close out this thought about coming to Christ as the refuge for holiness, may we incorporate His holiness into our life that we can be a shining light to those in the gardens. Thanks for joining us this week and spending time in God’s Word.

Special thanks to Matt Graham, John Kachelman, and LightWay Media for recording, producing, and making this podcast possible. If you’re ever in the Littleton, New Hampshire area, we’d love to have you join us for worship and Bible study on Sunday afternoons at 4 at the Senior Center. You’re always welcome.

For more information about this podcast, visit lightweightmedia.com/meditating-on-the-word and find the link there to email me to subscribe to my free weekly newsletter with more information you can use in your personal Bible study. Be sure to like, subscribe, and follow us on your favorite podcast app so that you never miss an episode. And if today’s message encouraged you, share it with someone else and consider leaving a review. It helps others find us too.

Until next week, keep meditating on the Word.

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“Meditating On The Word” is hosted by Wayne Burger, recorded by Mac Graham, and produced by John Kachelman III and LightWay Media. Follow us on social media to get updates and information when available.

If you’re ever in the Littleton, New Hampshire area, please join Wayne and Mac for worship and Bible study on Sundays at 4 PM at the Senior Center. You’re always welcome! You can get more information on their work online at www.littletonnhchurchofchrist.org.

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