Be You Holy As I Am Holy

The book of Leviticus, the third book in our Bible, is a book about holiness. A lot of chapters in this book address holiness in one way or another. And it's interesting for you to read it with that focus.

And one of the things that comes out throughout the book is that God is holy, and He calls these people to be holy. Whether it is in our conduct, in our worship, and in our interaction with one another, whether it is in church or in the community.

There's something that you may have not thought it that way, but we all remember God's commandment to only eat clean foods. And quite often, we may refer to that eating clean foods as basically a law of health. And surely it is. Not denying that. But there is, far more, spiritually speaking, a far more important principle about clean and unclean foods. So let's just briefly look at Leviticus 11, Leviticus 11, which is the chapter that talks about clean and clean foods. And as you read it, you can see you may eat this, and you may not eat that, etc. And right towards the end of chapter 11 in verse 44, you read, For I am the Lord your God, you shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy, for I am holy. Neither shall you defile yourselves with any creeping thing that creeps on the earth. And then it talks that once again, you shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. And then in verse 47 says, So that you distinguish between the unclean and the clean, and between the animal that may be eaten and animal that may not be eaten. So clearly this chapter is talking about clean and unclean foods. But it gives us the reason why God gives us this. Surely it's for health reasons, but primarily is that you and I are to be holy like God is holy. He's holy. This law is repeated in Deuteronomy 14, and so if we turn to Deuteronomy 14, you will see again the laws of clean and unclean foods.

But as it begins to talk about that in verse 2, he says, For you are a holy people to the Lord your God and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for himself, a special treasure above all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. You shall not eat any detestable thing.

There is a direct connection between clean foods and spiritual holiness, which means being set apart. In our booklet about clean and unclean meats, on page 9 it reads, on page 9 it reads, the specific purpose God gave for avoiding unclean foods is holiness. Have you ever meditated about that? Because quite often we just say, well, we have clean and unclean foods for health reasons. True, it is. True, it is. But far above that, it's to teach us a principle of holiness.

Then it continues, God wants us to be holy. Since we belong to him and he purchased us with Christ's blood, he does not want us to contaminate ourselves through any kind of physical or spiritual defilement. And then it refers to 1 Corinthians 6, 15 through 20, which we'll go through in a moment. And it continues, in God's sight, refraining from eating unclean animals is an identifying sign of the holiness of those God has set apart through a relationship with him. The Bible often uses physical examples to teach us or illustrate to us spiritual principles. And so, as it refers to 2 Corinthians 6, let's go there very briefly. 2 Corinthians 6. And we're going to start in verse 14. Now, Paul is here addressing a church that had many problems, as we know. And here in his second letter, he says in verse 14, do not be unequally yoked. And so, Yah is this spiritual principle of clean and unclean, taken to a different level.

And he says, together with unbelievers, for what fellowship has righteousness with lawliness and what communion has light with darkness? And what accord is Christ with belial? Or what part is a believer with unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? And so, as we, because it says, for you are the temple of the living God, as God has said, I'll dwell in them and I'll walk among them, I'll be their God, and they shall be my people. Come out from among them and be separate. To be holy comes from the word in Greek, agios, which means being separate, being set aside, being agios. It's sometimes translated as holy. The same word is sometimes translated as saint.

And so, he says, do not touch what is unclean and I'll receive you. It reminds you about Adam and Eve, and when Eve says, said to Satan, we are not to eat nor to touch it. There is a very important principle here. Verse 18, I'll be a father to you and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. We are to be holy like God is holy. And so today, brethren, I want to talk a little bit about our need to move from a state or a condition of sin and cleanliness to a state or condition which is sinless, in other words, clean. In other words, move to a holy, undefiled condition.

And you may ask, why is this important to you and I? So that you and I may be glorified. For you and I to be classified as a person that will be given honor and glory in God's kingdom, we need to be counted worthy of that. In other words, we need to be clean, spiritually speaking, in other words, set aside separate from the world.

You all know the story about a bad apple spoils a bunch. It must be separated, removed. And so the clean ones must be set apart. Holy, saints, sanctified. The same Greek word, hagios, set apart, holy, saint. And you can take that to any number of analogies, for instance, for instance, in a government, whether it is a city or a state or a national government.

If you have members in that government that are corrupt, in other words, unclean, it'll affect the whole government. It'll affect the whole organization. And the same thing applies to God's government, God's family. In God's family, you will not have any people that are corrupt, that are unclean. And so we have to go through a process in this life of repentance, of change, changing from unclean to clean, a transformation process from carnal to divine. In 1 Corinthians, now we're going to the first letter of 1 Corinthians, chapter 6, verse 15. 1 Corinthians chapter 6, verse 15. It says, do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? In other words, we are all members of Christ's body. Shall I then take the members of Christ, in other words, you and I that are members of Christ's body, which is the church, and make them members of a hollet? Certainly not. Or do you not know that he who is joined to a hollet is one body with her? For the two, he says, shall become one flesh. But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him. So we're going to be of the same spirit. We're going to be of the same mind as God. God is holy. You and I need to become holy. And yes, that is a process of conversion. It takes time. It takes time. We got to be clean, spiritually clean, and not unclean. In other words, we are going to take care of the body, our physical body, and also the body of Christ. And therefore, the analogy in this multitude of meaning says in verse 18, flee sexual immorality. In other words, flee any immoral behavior. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. So any unfit behavior in you as member of a body, specifically in this example, marriage, likewise as a member of the body, which is Christ's body, we have to be careful. And that's what it says. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit? It was God is in us. And we, as we covered, for instance, in the pre-teen camp and the teen camp, that we are being built into that spiritual body, which is the church. And so we are part of the temple of God. So the Holy Spirit lives in you, and we have been bought. It says in verse 20, for you bought at a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, in your body and in the spirit of man in man, which is really what is going to be carried through to a spiritual body. And in your spirit, which are God's. And so, brethren, the Bible once again uses physical examples to illustrate important spiritual principles. And whatever it is, harlotry, or wherever it is, mixing truth with a lie, we have to be clean. And so the question is, how do you and I become holy? How do you and I become separated from this world? Obviously, what it clearly requires is a continuous monitoring of your mind, of your thoughts, of what you read, or what you say, or what you think, and what you do. You've got to continuously focus on that.

And that's where the example of clean and unclean foods is so interesting. Because when you go shopping, you look on the label. Has this got pork in it or not? You are continuously focusing on what you buy, whatever container, whatever food, and if you're going to buy fish, you're going to look as if it's got scales or what. You are continuously, in whatever you do, and eating, you're eating all the time, you're always focusing, is this clean or not?

And so it's a continuous focus. And likewise, the principle is, we've got to continuously focus on what we think, what we read, what we see, to make sure that what enters into our mind, just like food, is what enters into our stomachs. But what, more important, is what enters into our minds is clean spiritual food. Very important. So we are to be set aside, separate, clean, in other words, holy, Greek word, agios. From that Greek word comes words like being made a saint, sanctified, and holiness. And the means, the tool, the power, the helper that helps you to go through that change is God's early spirit.

It's God's early spirit. We are to change our whole mental approach, just like our mental approach changes in relation to food into our stomach. Our mental approach, likewise, must be continuously focused in what spiritual food we allow into our minds, and obviously what comes out of it. Otherwise, we will have inappropriate behavior. We gotta overcome it. And that's why we read in 1 Corinthians 6, verse 20, that we are bought with a price, which is Christ's own blood, his own sacrifice.

He has purchased us with his life. For what purpose? For you and I to be different, to be holy, to be set apart. And so we are to be washed of that fullness, that uncleanness, through Christ's blood, his sacrifice. And now he does not want us to contaminate ourselves again through any kind of spiritual defilement. And likewise, physical defilement, because that teaches us a spiritual lesson. So we must separate ourselves and we must be holy. In Hebrews chapter 9, starting in verse 11, Paul, which I believe that he was the writer of Hebrews, although I admit there is some arguments about that, but that's okay.

It says that Christ came as a high priest of the good things to come with a greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands. That is not of this creation. And so Christ died for us, but now he's resurrected, he's our high priest, he's mediating for you and I, he's intervening for you and I. And he brings his sacrifice, his blood, because in verse 12 says, he does that not of the blood of goats and calves, but of his own blood. He entered the most holy place, in other words, God's heavenly throne, once for all having obtained eternal redemption for us so that you and I are redeemed, bought back forever.

And so if the blood of bulls and goats, as it says in verse 13, it's therefore the sprinkling of the unclean, you see again the word unclean, and sanctifies or sets apart for the purifying of the flesh, verse 14, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Christ's blood washes, cleanses our conscience from our sins, and now you can have a conscience which is not guilty, because it's been cleansed. What a beautiful meaning that Christ is changing us from unclean to clean, spiritually speaking. And for this reason, verse 15, he is the mediator of the new covenant by means of death for the redemption of the transgression under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

And so we need to change. Christ is washing our conscience, is forgiving our sins. You don't have to feel guilty anymore, provided you and I have repented, and that repentance is genuine. A little ahead in chapter 10, still in Hebrews, chapter 10, verse 21, it says, you know, Christ building it up from verse 19, we, Brevalin, we have boldness to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus.

In other words, you and I have confidence to enter God's throne when you and I pray, even you and I are physical human beings through Christ's blood, by a new and living way, which he consecrated for us through the veil that is his flesh. And having a high priest over the house of God, let us, verse 22, let us draw near with a true art full of faith, or full in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience. In other words, Christ's blood washes our conscience, so it does not have to be guilty, because your sins have been forgiven, provided you have repented, and, and an additional point here, our bodies washed with pure water.

Now, understand the water represents God's Holy Spirit, and so our past sins are forgiven through Christ's blood. Our conscience is washed clean, and we have to live a new way. And so, our bodies now need to be washed with God's Holy Spirit. In other words, we need God's Holy Spirit to help us to stay clean, just like when you keep working in the kitchen, you keep washing your hands, and you do something else, wash your hands, and so you gotta keep going and washing yourselves with pure water, which is God's Holy Spirit.

We need God's help, brethren. You and I cannot do it by yourself and by myself. Yes, we repent. Yes, we commit. Yes, God forgives us through Christ's blood. But now, after that commitment, which is baptism, you and I receive God's help through the laying on of hands, because you and I need God's Holy Spirit to help us to stay clean. We need that helper. We need that helper all the time. And brethren, you and I need to recognize our weakness.

You see, when we heard in the sermonette about Ezeqiah, he was forgiven. A lot of things were given to him. And then he became proud and arrogant. I'm such a great, you know, successful, whatever. God is on my side, all that. We need to be humble, brethren, and recognize our weaknesses all the time. And that's why Paul said, I have many weaknesses, and I recognize I have weaknesses. Look at 2 Corinthians chapter 12 verse 9. 2 Corinthians chapter 12 verse 9.

In this section, we can see about Paul talking about his thorn in the flesh, and he says that he's pleaded with God for three times to remove that thorn in the flesh. Could have been some influence of somebody that kept giving him a hard time, maybe the very pharacycho Jewish people. Or maybe it was a healthy issue because we do know that he was beaten and that he could not see properly. So whichever one it was, he asked. And then God Christ, or in this case, Christ, verse 9, 2 Corinthians 12 verse 9, said to Paul, My grace is sufficient for you, and for my strength is made perfect in weakness. We need to recognize our weaknesses, brethren, and we recognize that through our weaknesses, we learn to become stronger with God. And so let's analyze how Paul struggled with his weakness, and not just this weakness, but let's look a little bit more about how Paul admitted a weakness that he has, or had, and that we all have. And that's in Romans chapter 7. So let's go to Romans chapter 7. And what Paul is basically talking about is a problem he has, a problem he has. And in Romans chapter 7 verse 15, Romans chapter 7 verse 15, we read, For what I am doing I do not understand, but for what I will to do, that I do not practice, but what I hate I do. He recognized his weakness.

He had a weakness, and you and I have a weakness. You and I have a problem that you and I need to recognize. I'm not going to turn there, but I'm just going to refer to it. But think about Proverbs 14 verse 12 says, There's a way that appears right to a man, but the end thereof is death. So you and I think, well, this is a great idea. This is what I should do. Voila! But in Proverbs 14 12 says, the end thereof is death. And why? Well, Jeremiah chapter 17 verse 9 says, why? Because it says your heart is desperately wicked.

Oh, not my heart. Oh, no, not my. Hey, it's our heart. Yours, mine, ours. It's desperately wicked. Who can know it? And that's why it says, you know, we don't understand. You see, what happens is you and I have a natural carnal tendency to be, let's call it, unclean. You know, minds in our thoughts, because our heart is unclean. And what happens is you and I try to justify that. Oh, yeah, this principle is okay, but it doesn't apply to me because I'm on this specific situation. You see, we justify it. We twist God's word to justify maybe some bad conduct.

You see, and then in Jeremiah chapter 10 says, we don't know. Verse 23, we don't know how to direct our ways. And that's why you and I have to ask God, show me the way. Show me the way. But not in your anger, but in mercy. You know, quite often we may say to God, well, show me the way. But please always put with it the statement, please God, in your mercy. You see, because sometimes we've got to be careful what we pray for, because we might just get it. I'm saying it in a little bit of a chest. But, you know, if you ask God, correct me, and God will correct you. But please put like a conditioned statement, says, God, please, in your loving kindness, in your mercy, a little bit of a time. Otherwise, it'll be too much for me. So, yes, we need to recognize our weaknesses. We need to ask God to direct our steps towards holiness. We need to ask God for help through the power of His Spirit. But please ask, please God, gently, loving kindness, not in your anger, just slowly a bit of time. Otherwise, it'll be too much for me, and I could actually end up leaving the church. So, ask for it in God's mercy. And so, as we continue now in reading in Romans 7, we read verse 15 that Paul said, there's a law in me that I'm struggling with. That's what you and I call a carnal mind. You know, in our bodies, you and I are physical human beings, and you and I are made with a carnal mind by design. It was specifically designed by God to be made this way in His wisdom.

And that's why then in Romans 7 verse 21, he says, I find in a law that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. I want to do what's right, but in my physical body, in my physical mind, in my physical members, there's this carnality, there's this uncleanliness, and I have to continuously with my mind be focusing, hey, make sure I spiritually eat quote-unquote clean spiritual food, that I get things into my mind that are spiritually clean.

Verse 20, for I delight in the law of God, according to the inward man, in my mind, in my spirit, I want God's Holy Spirit, I want to love God's way, I want to do what's right. Verse 23, but I see another law in my physical body, in my physical members, which is warring against the law of my mind. So there's this conflict, this fight, struggling to overcome whatever it is, whatever temptations, whatever things that may come, and that bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, which is in my members. This law of sin is there all the time, and I've got to be fighting it all the time. Oh, Richard Mann says, Paul, verse 24, that I am. Who will deliver me from this body of death? I mean, this body is always trying to push me to have unclean spiritual food, quote-unquote, and I have to be fighting it all the time. When will that occur? That I don't have to fight that anymore. It says, verse 25, I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Why? Because when you and I become a spirit being, we will not have that carnality. You will not have that carnal body, and you would have learned through this life to fight anything that may come. Who knows, in the future, that could lead you. You will always be loyal and faithful to God. And it says, so then with the mind I serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. Therefore, there is now no condemnation. That's the next verse, chapter 8 verse 1. Therefore, there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. In other words, you have God's only spirit. You have God's mind leading you, as it says in verse 14, Romans 8, as many as are led by the Spirit of God. These are the sons of God. So you have God's mind, God's Spirit leading you, and therefore you're not walking. You're not living in that spiritual unclean, uncleanliness. But you are striving to live a life according to God's Spirit, which is holy. And that is the beauty. And that's why it says a little later, in verse 5 of Romans 8, it says, For those who live according to the flesh, said their minds on the things of the flesh. But you and I are not living according to the world. You and I are not living eating between inverted commas, spiritual unclean food. Right? But we are, as it says, we are setting our minds according to the Spirit, to the things of the Spirit. In other words, to have spiritually clean food. Because, verse 6, to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. So if we are spiritually focused on spiritual unclean foods, that is death. But if we are focused spiritually on clean spiritual foods, that is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is the enemy against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. And those that are in the flesh cannot please God. But you, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed God's Spirit dwells in you. Because if you do not have the Spirit of Christ, which is the Spirit of God, because there's only one Spirit, it's the same Spirit. It's the Spirit of the Father, it's the Spirit of the Son, it's God's only Spirit.

If we don't have God's Spirit, we're not gods, we're not Christian, we're not really striving to overcome. We need to be continuously striving to overcome. And that's why we read in verse 20 a very interesting statement of Romans 8 that says, for the creation, that means you and I, the physical creation, was subject to futility. Not willingly. You and I were subject to this carnal mind, this frailty, this weakness. Not willingly, but because of him who's subjected in hope. God, by design, designed you this way to teach you, to give you and I an opportunity to learn to fight it, to overcome it.

And that is by design, that you and I need to learn to be holy. God called us to be holy.

In Peter's letter to God's people in the dispersion, they were going through various trials. So let's look at that letter in 1 Peter chapter 1. 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 2. So we read that first letter to Peter of Peter to the pilgrims in the dispersion. And in verse 2 he says, to them elect, according to the form for knowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit. In other words, in the act of setting us apart through the power of God's Holy Spirit. For what purpose? For obedience. And the sprinkling of the blood of Christ. And so the two work together. The crushed blood cleanses our conscience, and the pure living Word of God's Holy Spirit helps us to become as we use it, more and more cleaner, more and more pure. And then a little bit lighter in verse 14 and 15, still of 1 Peter, verse 14 and 15. It says, verse 13, starting in verse 13, therefore, gird up the loins of your mind. Therefore, control your mind. Be sober and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ, that means that Christ's second coming, as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts as when you were in ignorance. And so we are not to go on like we used to be living, spiritually speaking, in an unclean way, but now we live in a clean way. That's why it says then, verse 15, but as he has called you, he's holy. You are also, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, be holy for I am holy. You see, brethren, we gotta be holy like God is holy. We gotta be separate. We gotta be sanctified by God's holy spirit, as it says in verse 2, the sanctification of the spirit. And we, you gotta use that power that transforms us. Now, in Romans chapter 12, verse 1 and 2, talks about a living sacrifice. Romans chapter 12, verse 1 and 2.

I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice. You know, quite often we read on holy days and things like that, that we are to offer a sacrifice. And quite often we read over it. But you know, we are to offer a sacrifice, but not of bulls and goats. We gotta offer a sacrifice, which is living, which is controlling our minds. And quite often that control of our mind is going through a fiery trial. It's like a burnt offering. You're going through a difficult, fiery situation, and you and I have to control our minds. And so we gotta present our bodies a living sacrifice. Not a dead sacrifice, but a living. Holy. In other words, set apart separate, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, unclean world, but be transformed. It's like a metamorphosis. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove. In other words, that you may live and practice, that you may apply, that you may be doing what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. And you and I cannot do it by ourselves unless we use God's Holy Spirit. You see, God's Holy Spirit has got very scary tristigs as we read in Galatians 5, verse 22 and 23. In Galatians 5, verse 22 and 23. And so you and I need to pray and ask God for these characteristics so that we put them in our lives. What are they? What are those attributes in Galatians 5? We need to pray and ask for God's love to be in us. We need to pray and ask for God's joy, inner joy, to be in us. We need to pray and ask for God's internal peace of mind to be in us. We need to pray and ask God for long suffering. In other words, to be patient when things don't go right, when we're struggling with big trials. Just need God's help through His Spirit to be long suffering. We need in those circumstances to be kind to others. We need to do goodness. We need to be faithful. Like God is faithful. God says, let your yes be yes and your no be no. And if your yes is yes and your no is no, you are faithful. And therefore, we need to be faithful. We need to be meek and gentle. We need to have self-control. We need to ask God for these characteristics of His Spirit to help us overcome. You see, the problem with religion today is that religion has an appearance of being very religious, but they do not use the power of God's early Spirit. Look at 2 Peter, 2 Peter, chapter 1, 2 Peter, chapter 1, 2 Peter, chapter 1.

Starting from verse 2 through to verse 11. You see, yeah, we have various attributes or ways we can use God's early Spirit. We can use God's power to overcome. But what happens is today's religion does not use God's power. I think it is 2 Timothy, chapter 3. Let's just bear with me. 2 Timothy, chapter 3. Or maybe it's 1 Timothy, just a moment. I think it's 2 Timothy, chapter 3. Let me just get to it. He says, yeah, chapter 3, 2 Timothy says, we're living the last day. Perilous times. And you see, people have got all these wrong things. But look in verse 5, it says, they have a form of godliness. People in the swole have a form of godliness, but deny its power. They deny, they do not use God's early Spirit. You see, that's the problem with the world today. People are religious, but they don't use God's early Spirit. So back to 2 Peter, where we were a moment ago, we've got to be diligent to make our calling and election sure, as it says in 2 Peter, chapter 1, verse 10. And if we do these things and we're using God's early Spirit, we will never stumble. In my last sermon to you last week, I gave you some homework, as you may recall, to go through this section of 2 Peter from verse 2 and 3 through to verse 11. And that's basically referring to that God has given us His divine power, as you see in verse 3. That's God's early Spirit. And it's given God's early Spirit for us to be like God, for us to be holy, for us to put on the divine nature in order to be spiritually clean. And it gives like stepping stones of how to use God's early Spirit. And then it says, if you do these things and you're diligent on it, you'll never leave God's church. You will be faithful, and you not only call and chosen, but you believe faithful at Christ's coming. And that way, verse 11, you will enter into God's kingdom. And interesting, yeah, is in verse 12 as well, because in 2 Peter, chapter 1, verse 12, Peter says, for this reason, I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things. And likewise, brethren, God's ministry must not be negligent. Must not be negligent in reminding you of these things that we gotta use God's early Spirit and strive and work all the time to move ourselves from unclean to clean, spiritually speaking.

Yes, verse 13, I think it is right, as long I am with you in the stand, as long as I love, to stir you up by reminding you to use God's Holy Spirit. And so, brethren, as you and I daily, as we eat food, and we are careful to only eat clean foods, let us remember that the principle is applicable beyond just food, physically speaking, but is applicable spiritually to remind us to be holy all the time.