Pursuit of Holiness 5

Evening!

Raises his cup of coffee

It is Friday April 25th of 2025.  It is been a partly cloudy day with a chance of rain later tonight.  Might be a good idea to take an umbrella with you for the evening.  And a high of 78 forecast.

God is Omnipotent.  There is none who can stand before Him.  He is The One True God.  Righteous in everything He does.  He builds us up.  He breaks us down.  His wisdom builds worlds.  God holds the stars in his hands and names each one.

Today I want to start us with a familiar verse.

Proverbs 1: 7

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Lord.  For who will be our advocate if we sin against Him?  Our God forgives sin, but He corrects those who are His children.  We are not spared the rod as believers.  Especially if we continue sinning with knowledge of what we do.  It is precisely because we are holy, because we are set apart by God for His purposes that His Love must correct us and God’s Judgement is perfectly Just and perfectly Righteous.

Romans 2: 1-12

“Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.  But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things.  And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God?  Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and long-suffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?  But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who ‘will render to each one according to his deeds’.  Eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness- indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also to the Greek; but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.  For there is no partiality with God.  For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law.”

We have not only been called to holiness, we have been commanded to it.  As we’ve been going over in our study this past week.  Repentance is a necessary step and a sign to God, ourselves and those around us that we are Christians.  That we love Him.  That we are abiding in and cherishing His Word.  Everyone who is a Christian struggles with sin through our lives, it is part of the design of things, but not many of us struggle to the point of bloodshed, as did Christ, against sin in our lives.

Paul teaches us that God’s judgement is according to the truth of our sins and the truth of our sins are infinitely terrible as the sins we are speaking of are against an infinitely Holy God.  He is infinitely Good.  He is infinitely Just.  He is infinitely Sovereign and these three things alone make any sin committed against Him infinitely terrible by the very nature of who God is.  But we are good to remember that God does not need a reason to allow us to suffer.  But when we sin against Him, there is good reason for punishment.  Doubly so for the believer and doubly so I say from my own personal experience.

Hebrews 12: 3-11

“For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.  You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.  And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: ‘My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the LORD loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.’  If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?  But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.  Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect.  Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?  For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but for our profit that we may be partakers of His holiness.  Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”

For today let’s continue to pray without cease.  Let’s continue to rejoice!  And let’s take another reading day as I put together where we’re going for next week.