Raising the Standard
“The Pursuit of Personal Holiness” # 3
Hebrews 12:12-17
Wayne J. Edwards, Pastor
In 2 Corinthians 5:21, the Apostle Paul wrote: “For our sake he made him [Christ] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
- This positional righteousness secures God’s acceptance, regardless of our feelings or actions at any given moment.
- Because of His imputed righteousness, God has declared us to be acceptable, which means our sins are forgiven because of Christ’s death, and not our own.
In James 2:18, the Apostle wrote: “Yea, a man may say, thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works.” (KJV)
- Our positional righteousness is a one-time event that occurred on the day we were born again.
- Our practical righteousness is that day-to-day process of conforming our lives to the image of Jesus Christ, and therein lies our pursuit of holiness.
In Philippians 2:13, the Apostle Paul wrote: “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling.”
- God will not do it for us, but He cannot do it without us. However, He will do it through us if we will surrender our lives unto His Lordship.
- Personal holiness is the fruit of the righteousness of Christ that was imputed to us on the day we were born again. Before that moment of regeneration, we were incapable of producing any kind of works of righteousness.
- From Romans 3:9-18: “There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one. There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
- However, the evidence that that righteous seed of Christ has been implanted into our souls is that we begin to produce the fruit of pure righteousness, as Jesus illustrated in John 15:1-6.
- The branches of the vine do not produce the fruit on their own; they must be attached to the vine and draw their life-giving nourishment from it.
- Jesus said He was the Vine, and those who believe in Him were the branches, and those who abide in Him will produce much fruit.
- Proverbs 11:30 – “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and the one who is wise saves lives.”
- Galatians 5:22–23 – “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”
- Philippians 3:9 – “The fruit of righteousness is not the righteousness of my own that comes from my obedience to the law, but rather that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.”
- From Luke 19: “Lord! Here and now, I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”
- From 1 Timothy 6:11-12: “But you man of God, flee from all this and pursue righteousness.”
Twelve Evidences that prove the righteousness of God has been imputed into our lives.
- There is a deep delight in the holiness of God. While we may be drawn to Him by His love, His mercy, His grace, and His power, we are attracted to His holiness, and we desire to be like Him.
- We have allowed the aroma of His holiness to spread over every area of our lives – even into those dark corners of our lives where we have reserved those hidden sins. Our desire is that the light of God’s holiness will illuminate our souls.
- There is a desire to be holier than we are right now. While we are constantly aware of our sin nature, the deepest desire of our lives is to be free from the appeal of sin; to no longer let sin reign over us.
- We have a true hatred for all sin and wickedness. All sins are equally detestable. Since Jesus not only loved righteousness, but He also hated all kinds of wickedness, if His righteousness has been imputed into our souls, then we will hate all kinds of wickedness too, including those little “lite” sins that we excuse in ourselves and others.
- We are deeply grieved and troubled by our sins – we don’t take them lightly or try to rationalize or justify them.
- In Psalm 38:18, David said, “I confess my iniquity, I am troubled by my sin, it bothers me that I sin.”
- In 2 Corinthians 7:10, the Apostle Paul said, “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret.”
- We are attracted to and delighted with holy duties – they are no longer a burden to us. It is no longer a burden to wake up in time to have our daily quiet time. It is now a delight to be able to fellowship with God’s people around the study of God’s Word, and we look forward to it with great anticipation.
- We work to make other people holy. We pray for the holiness of others and we constantly challenge those we love to live holy lives and join with us in that pursuit of holiness.
- We are grieved by the lack of holiness among all the people of the world, especially those who claim to be God’s people, but will not come out from among them and be separate.
- Since we know that we were predestined to become conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, we can’t wait until that goal has been accomplished in our lives. This is more than asking, “What would Jesus do?” This is a yearning to be “like Christ,” in everything we do – to have such a holy heart, and to live just a holy lifestyle.
- We delight in studying God’s Holy Word, whether it is in our own personal Bible study, or in a Bible Class or in the Worship Service. Like newborn babes, we crave the nourishing milk of the Word, because we know that is the only way we can become spiritually mature in our faith.
- We delight in making sure that the ultimate goal of our lives is to glorify God and to praise Him forever. Therefore, we strive to see that God is glorified; that His holy attributes might be put on display, in whatever our hands find to do.
- We are not ashamed to speak a holy language or to openly discuss spiritual issues. We are not afraid to talk to others about Jesus or to share what the Holy Spirit has revealed unto us.
“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore, I run, not with uncertainty. Thus, I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.”
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
