Rick:
In continuing our discussion on holiness, let me remind you that God needed to show His people what true holiness is. As is often the case, what God intended for mankind had been taken and twisted by man. The Canaanites had taken the word holy and had given it a totally different meaning than the meaning that God intended.
In studying the Old Testament Law, we find that there are some constant definitions that God gives to the meaning of holiness as He tries to redefine the word/concept in the minds of the children of Israel.
Here are the 5 basic components of holiness as outlined in the OT Law:
1. To be holy means to have the presence of God (Exodus 3:5).
2. To be holy means to be dedicated for the use of God/ to be at God's disposal (I Corinthians 6:19-20).
3. To be holy means to be separated from the common/ordinary (Leviticus 10:10). (The opposite of "holy" is "common", not "unholy".)
4. To be holy means to be separated from everything that would defile. God expects purity (I Thessalonians 4:3).
5. To be holy means to obey the word of God (Leviticus 20:7-8).
Let us use the tabernacle as an illustration to help us better understand these concepts. There were, within the tabernacle, several vessels, utensils, and pieces of furniture that were considered to be holy. What made these things holy?
The vessels, utensils, and furniture were holy because they had been deliberately dedicated to God's use. This dedication involved a separation from ordinary vessels.
As the priests entered the tabernacle to use these vessels in worship, they were required to wash their hands. They were to make sure that they were not defiling the house of God and the instruments contained within the house of God.
The most important aspect in these instruments being classified as holy is that they were in the presence of a holy God. And they were used in the worship of a holy God.
The priests themselves were considered holy because they were men (ordinary) that had been set apart for the use of God (holy). They were the representation of the presence of God to the other men. The priests were to remain pure. This means that they were to refrain from involving themselves in activities that would defile them. In order to properly discharge their responsibilities, they also had to remain obedient to the word of God.
I hope that you are gaining a better understanding of the meaning of holiness, sanctification, and entire sanctification.
We will continue this discussion at another time. There is much more that we can discuss on this subject.
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Friday, June 29, 2012
To Rick:
Rick,
I am posting here in response to your question about sanctification. In reality, the question is really about holiness. In order to fully understand the relationship between holiness, sanctification, and entire sanctification, we will need to work with some history and some words from the original language.
While the concepts that we will be discussing can be explained in a much simpler format, I believe that you are trying to dig a little deeper. Therefore, I am going to try to explain this belief as fully as I can without loosing myself (and you) in a mass of Hebrew and Greek word studies.
As I shared with my Newville congregation on Thursday evening, I was reminded once again this week of the Apostle Paul's words in Romans 7:7 that the Law has come to show us our sinfulness. Without the Law, we would not be as aware of our sinfulness.
When we speak of the Law, we are reminded of how God handed down the Law to the children of Israel at Mount Sinai. First Peter 1:16, in a quote from the Old Testament, reports God's command for us to be holy. In fact, this command is given in at least 4 different verses in the book of Leviticus alone.
Le 11:44 For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Le 11:45 For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.
Le 19:2 Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.
Le 20:26 And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine.
It is pretty clear that God intended for His people to be holy. The question is: What does it mean to be holy?
The Israelites had just been delivered from slavery in Egypt. They had been immersed in the Egyptian culture, including the spiritual culture. Egypt was a poly-theistic society. In other words, they worshiped many different gods. Different gods were supposed to be responsible for different things. Therefore, a person would try to worship and appease each one.
God delivered them from that culture. Now He had to train them and teach them about true holiness.
In addition to the negative influence of the Egyptian culture, the land of Canaan was inhabited by several different people groups who spoke the same language as the children of Israel. These people groups already had a word for "holy". This word was well defined in their culture.
For the Canaanites, a "holy" woman was a Temple prostitute. The concept of holiness in Canaan was to commit adultery with the "holy" woman as an act of worship to the fertility god/goddess.
God needed to help the Israelites learn the proper definition of holiness. As we continue to study, we will see that God gave His people some specific lessons on what it means to be holy.
I am posting here in response to your question about sanctification. In reality, the question is really about holiness. In order to fully understand the relationship between holiness, sanctification, and entire sanctification, we will need to work with some history and some words from the original language.
While the concepts that we will be discussing can be explained in a much simpler format, I believe that you are trying to dig a little deeper. Therefore, I am going to try to explain this belief as fully as I can without loosing myself (and you) in a mass of Hebrew and Greek word studies.
As I shared with my Newville congregation on Thursday evening, I was reminded once again this week of the Apostle Paul's words in Romans 7:7 that the Law has come to show us our sinfulness. Without the Law, we would not be as aware of our sinfulness.
When we speak of the Law, we are reminded of how God handed down the Law to the children of Israel at Mount Sinai. First Peter 1:16, in a quote from the Old Testament, reports God's command for us to be holy. In fact, this command is given in at least 4 different verses in the book of Leviticus alone.
Le 11:44 For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Le 11:45 For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.
Le 19:2 Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.
Le 20:26 And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine.
It is pretty clear that God intended for His people to be holy. The question is: What does it mean to be holy?
The Israelites had just been delivered from slavery in Egypt. They had been immersed in the Egyptian culture, including the spiritual culture. Egypt was a poly-theistic society. In other words, they worshiped many different gods. Different gods were supposed to be responsible for different things. Therefore, a person would try to worship and appease each one.
God delivered them from that culture. Now He had to train them and teach them about true holiness.
In addition to the negative influence of the Egyptian culture, the land of Canaan was inhabited by several different people groups who spoke the same language as the children of Israel. These people groups already had a word for "holy". This word was well defined in their culture.
For the Canaanites, a "holy" woman was a Temple prostitute. The concept of holiness in Canaan was to commit adultery with the "holy" woman as an act of worship to the fertility god/goddess.
God needed to help the Israelites learn the proper definition of holiness. As we continue to study, we will see that God gave His people some specific lessons on what it means to be holy.
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