Holiness is the word for today. It’s found in Paul’s simple message to the Thessalonians – this is the will of God your sanctification. Jerry Bridges, the author of many an article and book on the subject of holiness writes the following: “As I sat in the doctor’s waiting room, my attention was drawn to a portrait of a man sculpted out of a block of marble. The sculpture was complete down to about mid-thigh, but below that the partially chipped-away marble gradually phased into the outline of the original block. The man in the sculpture was handsome and robust, the kind of body any man would like to have. But the arresting thing about the picture was that the sculptor’s hammer and chisel were in the hands of the man being sculpted. The man was sculpting himself. As I pondered the painting, [this guy is working on himself] I was struck by its graphic portrayal of how many Christians seek to grow in personal holiness [by trying to work on themselves]. We try, as it were, to sculpt or mold ourselves. We seek to grow in holiness through our own personal efforts and willpower. And we’re just as ludicrous as a block of marble trying to sculpt itself. Holiness is not, as is so often thought, adherence to a set of rules. It is conformity to the character of God—nothing more, nothing less. It is God’s plan for us. He has “predestined [us] to be conformed to the likeness of his Son” [Romans 8:29]. To this end, Paul says, “We are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” — 2 Corinthians 3:18. ¹. So in today’s podcast, we take up what Paul took up Why God Is Super Pleased with Holy Living and Right Conduct. That’s our focus on this week’s Light on Life.

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Why It’s Important to Flow in Faith’s Domain

[Tweet “All of spiritual life falls under the heading of walking in love. But, there’s an absolute tie-in to sanctification or holiness.”]

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You can view a basic transcript of this podcast at the bottom of this section.

Accept the Challenge

Each week’s podcast contains a call to action. The Word of God will not produce in your life unless you put it into operation.
This week’s call is:

It’s right to have an awareness that God is a Holy God.  Old Testament and New, He has not changed. He is Holy with all kinds of holiness.

Join the Conversation

Testimony is vital to a believer’s life. We overcome by it (Rev. 12:11). Each week’s podcast also contains a question designed to encourage testimony.
This week’s question is:

Question: How has knowing about God’s holiness modified your lifestyle?

Episode Resources:

We are currently teaching in the book of First Thessalonians. You can click on the links below to listen to some of these podcasts.

1. #S10-030:What to Do When the Answer to Your Prayer Is Delayed [Podcast]
2. #S10-029:Why You Can Overcome Fear and Anxiety In a World Gone Crazy stop [Podcast]
3. #S10-028:The Real Reward In Helping People Through A Tough Day [Podcast]
4. #S10-027: Hindrances To The Gospel of Jesus: Do You Know What Goes On Behind The Scenes? [Podcast]
5. #S10-026: Why It’s Important to Realize that the Wrath of God Will Balance Everything [Podcast]
6. #S10-025: How the Word of God Is Remarkably at Work in You [Podcast]
7. #S10-024: How a Spiritual Dad Can Demonstrate the Love Walk towards His Children [Podcast]
8. #S10-023:What’s Our Responsibility to Those Newly Come to Faith in God [Podcast]
9. #S10-022: Why the Second Coming of Jesus is the Expectation of All Believers [Podcast]
10. #S10-021: Why Modeling the Jesus Life Is Such a Powerful Witness [Podcast]
11. #S10-20: Why Turning from Idols Is A Super Exceptional Move of God [Podcast]
12. #S10-019: Why It’s Vital that Jesus Followers Pray for One Another [Podcast]
13. #S10-018:How to Start a Power-Packed Effective Church: Lessons from Thessaloniki [Podcast]
14. #S10-017: How the Breath of God Inspired the Writing of First Thessalonians [Podcast]

About Emery

Emery committed his life to the Lord Jesus Christ over 45 years ago and has served as both a full-time pastor and an itinerant minister. He and his wife Sharon of 40 years emphasize personal growth and development through the Word of God. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is the focus and the hallmark of their mission. Read more about them here.

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If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate it on Stitcher Radio and leave a review. If you have a suggestion for a Bible topic, you would like to see taught, or if you have a question, please e-mail me at emery@emeryhorvath.com

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Podcast Notes

Let’s pray: Father in the Name of Jesus, we thank you for this time in your Word. And we thank you for helping us to know your ways and to walk in the light thereof, In Jesus’ Name, Amen. You go what

Holy Living: Right Living

1 Thessalonians 4:1–6 (ESV) — 1 Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you.

• So, you see this in Paul’s letters — you see teaching on faith, and righteousness, and walking in love and overcoming trials but in so many of his letters, he comes back again and again to the subject of right living.

For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;

• What you believe is vital — how you live is equally important.
• How do we know that to be so?

Holy Living: Pleasing God

• Paul says ‘I urge you.’
• The Greek word ‘urge’ doesn’t just mean to compel but means to urge strongly.
• There’s an extra ‘oomph’ to this word.
• Words like to appeal exhort, or encourage, all fit the definition.
• ‘Well, Paul, what are you urging us strongly to do?’

that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God,

• Paul is saying, we taught you two things: how to walk and how to please God.
• And, now that you’re doing just that how about kicking it up a notch?
• Do so more and more.
• So, there was an emphasis placed on the vitalness of pleasing God.
• Paul said we gave you instructions concerning this.
• This was given verbally which means Paul took time to explain it.
• We have specific instructions on how we are to do this.
• You can’t just assume that people know.
• Now there are several areas that fall under this umbrella.

What Pleases God?

• Faith — Hebrews 11:6 tells us that.
• Presenting your bodies a living sacrifice, Romans 12:1 tells us that.
• Praying for your leaders — 1 Tim. 2:1–3 – super pleasing to God.
• It doesn’t matter what your political affiliation is — if you voted for the man in office or not.
• If you disagree with your leaders, that’s fine but you must know that the man has a soul and he needs Jesus.
• You may not agree politically but can you agree to pray for the man to come to know God?
• What else pleases God?
• Children taking care of their widowed parents — 1 Timothy 5:4
• Doing good and sharing — Hebrews 13:16
• Giving financially to support the gospel — Philippians 4:18
• These are all areas where we should strive to please God.
• Here’s a place where we should put extra emphasis.

Psalm 19:13–14 (ESV) — Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

• It’s helpful to know what the Hebrew definition is for the word ‘acceptable.’
• The word means what is pleasing.
• It means what is a pleasure, or to the liking of; or in favor of.
• So, let the words of my mouth be what is pleasing to God.
• Let my meditations [we could say here your self-talk] be to God’s liking.
• It’s possible to do — that is to live totally pleasing to God.
• Jesus did it.

John 8:29 (ESV) — 29 And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.”

• AW Tozer wrote the following and I believe this should be an anthem to your heart.
• And with that thought, here is the Quote of the Day.

I want it to be known in heaven that I loved Him [was pleasing Him] more than the next man, more than any other man on the planet. That should be our goal to outdo one another in loving [and pleasing] God. The Word says that by faith we have access into this grace in which we stand but blessed is the man who uses it! Blessed is the man who seeks God diligently taking advantage of that access! When you boil it all down, you spell love T-I-M-E. If you love Him, you are going to spend time with Him, in prayer (you are fooling yourself if you say you love God but you don’t talk to Him or take the time to listen to Him speak to you, to wait on Him in His Presence until He does speak), in His Word (you are fooling yourself if don’t open your Bible and read His Word – and those who are really hungry for Him and want to know Him don’t just read a verse or two – I mean you want to know Him and in the Word is where we learn of Him and so we read – in fact, we read a lot – large portions – big meals – why? we are hungry for Him). Time is a by product of pursuit. When you are really into something, time just goes by. For example, some people have hobbies like their car, its nothing for someone who is into their car to spend hours at polishing it, tuning it up, adding this new feature to it – next thing you know – hours have gone by. Its not ‘okay I am going to prove how devoted I am to my car, I am going to spend one hour washing it.’ But yet we do that with God, ‘okay I am going to prove that I love God, I am going to spend 1 hour praying.’ No, time is by product of pursuit. I just pray and time just flies – I read the Word and time just flies – I am seeking Him and time just flies. I am more often saying ‘Man, I wish I had more time to pursue this.’

Holy Living: The Sanctification Piece

• So, Paul goes on and adds to the list of things that surely please God.
• He says this is the will of God, your sanctification.
• Or, we could say it this way ‘Sanctification is the will of God for your life.’
• The Greek word sanctification is what we want to look at and with that thought, here is the Definition of the Day.
• The word sanctification means personal dedication to the interests of the Most High God.
• So, it’s dedication — some like to use the word separation.
• The word means holiness or, consecration.
• All of spiritual life falls under the heading of walking in love.
• But there is an absolute tie-in to sanctification or holiness.

1 Corinthians 13:1–3 (ESV) — 13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

• The Great Commandment is to love God — love people.
• Right?

Matthew 22:36–39 (ESV) — 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

• If you love your neighbor as yourself, you won’t steal from them.
• Why would you steal from yourself?
• If you love your neighbor as yourself, you won’t commit adultery with your neighbor’s spouse.
• Why would you sin against yourself?
• Wrong sex is sinning against your body?
• Yes!

1 Corinthians 6:18 (ESV) — 18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.

• So you see, everything is under the canopy of love and love walks in such a way as to do no harm to others.
• You must partake of unholy actions to sin.
• See what the Lord told the Israelites about holiness.

Leviticus 19:2 (ESV) — 2 “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.

• Well, you may say that’s the Israelites — that verse is in the Old Testament.
• It’s on the B.C. side of the cross.
• Jesus came, Jesus died, Jesus rose again — we are in the Age of Grace.
• Yes, we don’t want to just stop reading Leviticus.
• Jump over into the New Testament.

1 Peter 1:15–16 (ESV) — 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

• So you see, it’s the same message, Old Testament or New.
• Holiness leaps over the shadow of the Cross.
• Yes, we are forgiven — forgiven into a life of holiness.
• God’s people were to live a certain way before the Cross and, they are to live that same way after the Cross.
• The particular area of holiness discussed is to make sure we are not on the wrong side of wrong sex.
• Hear it again.
• This is the will of God that you abstain from sexual immorality.
• The fact that you obey this commandment will automatically bring separation.
• You will be totally unlike the world.
• Obeying the Word separates you from the world.

Holy Living: What the Rabbis Said

Joshua 24:19 (ESV) — 19 But Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins.

• Here’s what one Rabbi said about this verse.

Holiness implies apartness as well as perfection. God is not only pure; he is all together different.

• I know one day the Lord said to me, ‘I’m not like you think I am.

The Talmud comments that in Joshua’s words, “He is a holy God” (Joshua 24:19), the word “holy” is plural. This means, “He is holy with all kinds of holiness.” In other words, he is the perfection of holiness (Ber. 13a).

• I looked this up to see if the Rabbi was right about the word holy being plural.
• It’s a good thing to prove what others are saying about the Word for yourself.
• We are instructed to do this.

1 Thessalonians 5:21 (KJV 1900) — 21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

• The word prove means to make a critical examination of something.
• It means to determine genuineness, put to the test, or examine.
• Examine what people are saying about the Word.
• Put what they are saying about the Word of God to the test.
• If they say, ‘You can get this result from the Word by doing such and so, test it — do such and so and prove out the scripture for yourself.
• Here the author said the word holy is plural and you know what?
• It is – I know it is so because I looked it up.
• Living this way causes your confidence to be in the Word and, not in the commentator, the Bible teacher, or the pastor.
• So the word God is holy — plural — means that He is holy with all kinds of holiness.
• He is perfect in holiness.
• Now, you will shout unto God when you hear this next part.
• This Rabbi went on to write.

This apartness means that God is unapproachable.

• But, here’s the thing, Jesus changed this.
• He gave us access to the Father.

Hebrews 4:16 (KJV 1900) — 16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

• In the Old Testament, they couldn’t come boldly.

The people could not approach the mountain at Sinai; neither could they look at Moses’ face when the glory was shining on him. Fire is a good image, glorious, but dangerous.

• There was fire on Mount Sinai because God descended on the mountain in fire — Exodus 19:18.
• Moses had to tread carefully and reverently at the burning bush.
• Why? there was fire there as well.
• Isaiah was cleansed with a burning coal from the altar – Isaiah 6:6–7.
• How did the coal start burning – it was in the presence of fire.
• Isaiah knew he was unworthy to look upon the Lord high and lifted up; so God cleansed him with a burning coal out of the fire of His Presence. This experience made such an impression on him that he consistently thereafter referred to God as “the Holy One of Isra’el.”

Holy Living: Recognizing the Holy One of Israel

• The phrase ‘the Holy One of Israel’ occurs twenty-eight times in Isaiah.

Isaiah 47:4 (ESV) — 4 As for our redeemer, the Lord of hosts is his name, The Holy One of Israel.

*We love the idea of Jesus being our Redeemer and the fact that we are redeemed by His Blood but, that concept is tied to the holiness of God.

Isaiah 48:17 (ESV) — 17 Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, Which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.

• God will teach us how to profit.
• We like the word profit or the concept of prosperity but don’t forget, it’s linked to the holiness of God.
• The God you have come to know and love, the God that you come boldly to in prayer, the God you receive healing from, the God whose authority you use to exercise dominion over devils is a Most Holy God.

Holy Living: A Holy Life Stands Out

• Now, just be warned here.
• Living holy will cause you to stick out from the crowd like a sore thumb.

Matthew 5:14 (ESV) — 14 You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.

• If you want to initiate change be holy as He is holy — be the light of the world.
• Holiness is about change — you will definitely stand out when you renounce the Dark Side.
• When you choose to live holy in an unholy world, it can’t help but be noticed.
• But here is the truth — in your holiness people need to see Jesus, not you.
• You can’t be Holy without the Holy One.
• You need Jesus to be like Jesus.
• You are not like that statute in our opening illustration — do you remember? — the man chiseling himself out of his own block of marble.

Holy Living: Abstinence from Wrong Sex

• Now that we have gotten over into these general admonitions about holiness, let’s get back to Paul and the Thessalonians.

For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God;

• That’s pretty plain, isn’t it?
• Abstain from sexual immorality.
• We have several podcasts along this line from the Ephesians series.
• Paul mentioned this topic in almost all of his letters to the churches.
• Romans, First and Second Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, and Hebrews all mention it.
• That should be a clue to us.
• Repetition in the Bible means importance.
• Whatever God speaks a great deal about in the Bible, you should do likewise.
• Whatever He talks only a small amount, you should follow suit.
• You can tell the things that are most vital to Him by following this simple guideline.
• People get off into the ditch when they flip this guideline around.
• So over and over Paul says in his letters to the churches: control your body in holiness and honor.
• Don’t sin against a brother or sister in the Lord in these areas of wrong sex.
• God is watching.
• The Lord is the Avenger of the person who has sinned against.
• it is just plain wisdom not to sin and get on the wrong side of wrong-sex.
• And since God is the one who takes vengeance, it is not wise to take this matter into your own hands.
• Wait for the Lord in these areas.
• That’s God’s will also.
• We’ve been speaking of God’s will throughout this podcast.
• God’s will is your sanctification — abstaining from wrong sex, from sexual immorality is all His will.
• Andrew Murray said the following.

IN the will of God we have the union of His wisdom and power. The wisdom decides and declares what is to be: the power secures the performance.

• So, in the wisdom of God, sanctification is what is right per God’s all-encompassing knowledge.
• Listen to this thought from Bishop N.T. Wright in his book on Paul.

Sexual holiness is mandatory, not optional, for followers of Jesus… Unbridled, crazy, and inflamed lust is a sign that one does not know God. Sexual holiness isn’t just a “rule,” an arbitrary commandment. It is part of what it means to turn from idols and serve the true and living God. It is part of being a genuine, image-bearing human being.²

• It’s mandatory folks.
• Being pure is not just a good Sunday School suggestion.
• A clean, pure, and holy life is God’s will for your life.
• Living in this fashion brings you in line with His thoughts and His ways.

Now Father God, in the precious Name of Jesus, thank you for making your way’s know to us. You’ve made the way plain and clear. We’ve had help not seeing the big picture. So, I pray today that you would grant unto the listening audience a spirit of wisdom by your Holy Spirit and, a spirit of revelation by that by that same Holy Spirit. We thank you for His cleansing work in our life and we thank you that you who have done a good work in us will continue this work until the day of Jesus Christ. It is our hearts desire to be like you. It’s our sincere desire to be all in in all areas of our lives. We give you all the praise and glory in Jesus Name, Amen.

• Why God Is Super Pleased with Holy Living and Right Conduct.
• We will see you next time for another edition of Light on Life.

How to Absolutely Discern the Will of God: What the Bible Says

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