Holiness

“To ask that God’s love should be content with us as we are is to ask that God should cease to be God: because He is
what He is, His love must, in the nature of things, be impeded and repelled by certain stains in our present character, and
because He already loves us He must labor to make us lovable.”
C.S. LEWIS

Kirk’s Comment
Before I knew the Lord, I wanted to be loved by the world and set apart for my own glory. Now, as a
Christian, I want to be holy, loved by God, and set apart for Him and His glory. I think of “holiness” as living
for an audience of One.

QUESTIONS & OBJECTIONS

“The Bible says ‘God repented.’ Doesn’t that show He is capable of sin?”
“Repent” means “to have a change of mind.” When the Bible tells sinners to repent, it means to change
their direction, to turn from their sins. God has no sin. God’s “repenting” is when He turns away from His
fierce anger toward sinners. He warns men of the consequences of their disobedience. If they repent (turn
from their sins), He will “repent” by not pouring out His promised wrath on them. For instance, Jonah 3:8,
9 says, “Let them turn every one from his evil way ... Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away
from his fierce anger, that we perish not?”
The word “holiness” carries with it some unwanted baggage, thanks to “religion.” In the East, to be a
holy man means to sit half-naked with your legs crossed, and having folks give you money in return for your
blessing. Some holy men sit on poles for twenty years. Others stay off poles but they

also stay away from any contact with a sinful world, in holier-than-thou legalism. Some live in
monasteries and have a vow of silence.
Most of the church doesn’t live on poles or have a holier-than-thou attitude. They do, however, live in
a monastery—one without walls. They too have a vow of silence. Few have physical contact with the world.
Their association with humanity is strictly confined to the church. Fellowship is what they have on
Wednesday nights, Sunday mornings, and Sunday nights. They are salt among salt, light among light.
True holiness is the opposite of the above. It means that we cut ourselves off from sin, but not from
sinners. True holiness is to be like Jesus
—“separate from sinners”—and yet He was accused of being a “friend of sinners.” The Scriptures
admonish us with these thought-provoking words:
I wrote to you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: yet not altogether with the fornicators of
this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then you would need to go out of the
world. But now I have written to you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator,
or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat (1
Corinthians 5:9–11).
Can you see what the Bible is saying? If we separate ourselves from sinners, we won’t be able to reach
them with the gospel of salvation. The only ones we are told to separate ourselves from are hypocrites. Look
at these wonderful words from George MacLeod of Scotland:
I simply argue that the cross should be raised at the center of the marketplace as well as on the steeple
of the church. I am recovering the claim that Jesus was not crucified in a cathedral between two candles, but
on a cross between two thieves; on the town’s garbage heap; at a crossroad, so cosmopolitan they had to
write His title in Hebrew and Latin and Greek ... at the kind of a place where cynics talk smut, and thieves
curse, and soldiers gamble. Because that is where He died. And that is what He died for. And that is what
He died about.
That is where church-men ought to be and what churchmen ought to be about.
 There is nothing “spiritual” about being holy. It just means a separation from sin. God is holy—He is
sinless (see Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 4:8; 15:4). We too are called to be holy: “But as he which has called you is
holy, so be holy in all manner of conversation” (1 Peter 1:15). See also Romans 6:19,

22; Ephesians 1:4; Titus 1:8. If you want to be an effective witness, remember Charles Spurgeon’s words:
“In proportion as a church is holy, in that proportion will its testimony for Christ be powerful.”
It’s as simple as this—God has given us an umbrella in the Savior to shelter us from the reign of His
wrath. God has given the covering, and we are told to stay under that covering of holiness. How can we best
do this? We do this by reading God’s Word daily, by keeping a tender conscience, by having an obedient
heart, and by living in the fear of God.
The next time you are witnessing to someone you know isn’t right with God, and he says, “Oh, I’ve
been born again. I know the Lord,” ask him if he is “living in holiness.” More than likely he will say that he
is. Then call his bluff. Ask him to define “holiness.” As he is straining his brain to come up with a definition,
say, “The Bible says, ‘Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord.’” That means that we should be separated
from sin and the world. Then ask him if he thinks he’s a good person. More than likely he will, so take the
time to go through the Moral Law with him.

QUESTIONS

1. What does the word “holiness” mean to many?

2. Why do you think the church has become a “monastery without walls”?

3. What is “true holiness”?

4. Why do you think Jesus was a “friend of sinners”?

5. With whom does the Bible say that we should have no fellowship?

6. List four things you can do to cultivate holiness.

PREACHER’S PROGRESS

Ian Oculated: “I know what you are saying is true.”

Christian: “Good.”
Ian Oculated: “I gave my heart to Jesus when I was 14 years old.”
Christian: “Where was that?”
Ian Oculated: “At a Christian rock crusade. Some guy at the end said that Jesus loved us, so I went up
to the front with some friends.”
Christian: “Did you repent?”
Ian Oculated: “I don’t know about that; but I became involved in a youth group for a while. Then I
got mixed up with this girl and we ... well, you know what I mean. I’m not going to any church at the moment,
but I still love the Lord.”
Christian: “Do you know that if you are not trusting in Jesus, you are an enemy of God in your mind
through wicked works?”
Ian Oculated: “I don’t believe that. I do believe that God loves me ... and I have been born again, and
that’s all that matters.”
Christian: “Are you living in holiness? The Bible says ‘Without holiness, no man will see the Lord.’”
 Ian Oculated: “Yes.”
Christian: “What is holiness?”
Ian Oculated: “Ah ... I don’t really know.” Christian: “Are you reading your Bible?” Ian Oculated:
“Sometimes.”
Christian: “Would you consider yourself to be a ‘good’ person?”
Ian Oculated: “Of course.”
Christian: “Let’s see. We’ll look for a moment at the Ten Commandments and see how you will do on
Judgment Day. Okay?”
Ian Oculated: “Okay...”

FEATHERS FOR ARROWS

In 1976 in Britain, the army was called in to do the work of firefighters during a fireman’s strike. When
a call came from an elderly woman whose cat was stuck up a tree, the army officers were immediately
dispatched to the scene. After the cat was rescued, the grateful woman asked the officers into her home for
tea and cookies. Afterwards, fond farewells were given. Then the army drove off ... over the cat and killed it.
When one studies the Christian faith, there seems to be a common denominator. Many were converted
after a “ran over the cat and killed it” experience. Some terrible tragedy, financial collapse, or the loss of a
loved one brought them to their knees. Sadly, most of us are so rebellious that it does take some traumatic
experiences to cause us to stop in our tracks and look heavenward.
Memory Verse
“But as he which has called you is holy, so be holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be holy; for I am
holy.”
1 PETER 1:15, 16

Last Words

Aldous Huxley (1894–1963), author and humanist:

“It is a bit embarrassing to have been concerned with the human

problem all one’s life and find at the end that one has no more to offer
by way of advice than ‘Try to be a little kinder.’”

The Will of God

“She is a traitor to the Master who sent her if she is so beguiled by the beauties of taste and art as to forget that to ‘preach
Christ ... and Him crucified’ is the only object for which she exists among the sons of men. The business of the Church is
salvation of souls.”
CHARLES SPURGEON

In frustration over wanting to know God’s specific plans for my life, I’ve even asked Him to kindly send me
a brief e-mail, detailing His instructions. This lesson is better than e-mail; it put me on the right track and
engaged my ability to further trust in God.

Kirk’s Comment

QUESTIONS & OBJECTIONS

“How can people be happy in heaven, knowing that their unsaved loved ones are suffering in hell?”
 A person asking this question falls into the category of those who asked Jesus a similar question. The
Pharisees said that a certain woman had seven consecutive husbands, so whose wife will she be in heaven
(Mark 12:23)? Jesus answered by saying that they knew neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. The
unregenerate mind has no concept of God’s mind or His infinite power. If God can speak the sun into
existence; if He can see every thought of every human heart at the same time; if He can create the human
eye with its 137,000,000 light-sensitive cells, then He can handle the minor details of our eternal salvation.
John writes that in heaven “we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2), so perhaps
we will be fully satisfied that God is perfectly just and merciful. Because He has given light to every man
(John 1:9), and His will is that none should perish but that all should come to

repentance (2 Peter 3:9), we can trust that He gave every individual the opportunity to accept or reject
Him. However He works it out, God promises that there will not be sorrow or crying in heaven. Our focus
in heaven won’t be on our loss, but on our gain.
***
When things don’t work out as we think they should, we often quote Isaiah 55:8: “For my thoughts are
not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the LORD.” God’s ways are higher than our ways,
and often we have no idea why He allows certain things to happen. But the Scripture we so frequently lean
on for consolation is not directed at the godly. Here it is in context:
Seek the LORD while he may be found, call upon him while he is near: let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts ... For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my
ways, says the LORD (Isaiah 55:6–8).
God is directing this to the wicked and unrighteous man. He is speaking to the unregenerate, those
whose “carnal mind is enmity against God” (Romans 8:7), who “walk in the vanity of their mind, having the
understanding darkened” (Ephesians 4:17, 18). Before we trust in the Savior, we are enemies of God in our
minds through wicked works, and even our thoughts are an abomination to the Lord (Proverbs 15:26). Like
lost sheep, we have all “gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6), and our way is
an abomination to the Lord (Proverbs 15:9).
Once, our lives were dead in trespasses, governed by sin, selfishness, Satan, and our senses. Upon our
conversion, God puts His Law into our minds (Hebrews 8:10), gives us the “mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians
2:16), and renews us in the “spirit of our mind” (Ephesians 4:23). Now God’s ways are our ways and His
thoughts become our thoughts. We are led by the Spirit, walking “in His ways” (Psalm 119:3).
If we are walking in the Spirit, with our sinful nature crucified, we can be assured that the desires we
now have are in line with God’s desires. For example, before I was a Christian, it never entered my mind to
publish a paper about Jesus, or get a bus and put Bible verses all around it; that would have been the last
thing I would have been interested in. Now my desires are radically different.

I’m sure few of us have failed to underline Psalm 37:4 in our Bibles: “Delight yourself also in the LORD:
and he shall give you the desires of your heart.” But what are our desires? What do we want most in life? Do
we desire above all things to have a better paying job, a bigger house, thicker carpet, a superior car, and more
money? Are we controlled by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life? Or have we been
transformed from the way of this world by “the renewing of [our] mind” (Romans 12:2), that we may prove
what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God? Are our desires now in line with God’s desires?
Are we above all things “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter
3:9)? If that is our testimony, it is because we have the same Spirit in us as the apostle Paul, who said, “For
it is God who works in me both to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). Look at this verse
in the Amplified Bible:
(Not in your own strength) for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you—energizing and
creating in you the power and desire—both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and
delight.
 Scripture tells me that the reason I have desires to do exploits for God is that He is in me “energizing
and creating in [me] the power and desire ... to work for His good pleasure.” When I get aspirations to do
things to reach the unsaved, it is because His desires have become my desires. I can pursue these aspirations,
trusting that they are in the will of God, and therefore I can confidently expect Him to grant them.
Remember, this is not presumption, “an arrogant taking for granted,” but a pure, unadulterated desire to do
the right thing by reaching out to the lost.
Read the following verses and see if you can detect whose idea it was for Peter to walk on water:
In the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw
him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway
Jesus spoke to them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord,
if it be you, bid me come to you on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of
the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus (Matthew 14:25–29).
Peter said, “Lord, if it be you, bid me come to you on the water.” Peter

had the concept, and Jesus put His blessing on Peter’s idea. Peter knew Jesus intimately—he knew the
mind of the Master. He knew that his desire wasn’t an impertinent presumption, but just a longing to follow
the Lord into the realm of the supernatural. Jesus said, “If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where
I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honor” (John 12:26).
This is why, when you and I do godly exploits, we can trust that we are in the will of God and that He
will honor them. This is the thought behind Jesus’ words in Mark 11:24: “What things soever you desire,
when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them.” The same applies to John 15:7: “If
you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done to you.”
Does this mean that we need merely speak the words, “Mercedes Benz, diamond rings, fur coats,” into
the air in believing prayer, and God will give them to us? Not according to Scripture. If our covetous heart
has been crucified with Christ, our desire won’t be for material things, but that none would perish. When we
seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, God promises to meet our true needs—food, drink,
clothing, etc. (Luke 12:31). Scripture actually warns that a covetous prayer will not be answered: “You ask,
and receive not, because you ask amiss, that you may consume it upon your lusts” (James 4:3).
Instead, if we follow the advice of Psalm 37:4 and delight ourselves in the Lord, the desires of our heart
will match His—and those are the desires He will grant.

QUESTIONS

3. Upon conversion, what does God do to our minds?

4. If we are walking in the Spirit, what should we have assurance

of regarding our desires?

7. According to Psalm 37:4, what should be our desires?

8. What can we learn from the reaction of Jesus to Peter’s idea to walk on the water?
FEATHERS FOR ARROWS

“Read and read again, and do not despair of help to understand the will and mind of God though you
think they are fast locked up from you. Neither trouble your heads though you have not commentaries and
exposition. Pray and read, read and pray; for a little from God is better than a great deal from men. Also,
what is from men is uncertain, and is often lost and tumbled over by men; but what is from God is fixed as
a nail in a sure place. There is nothing that so abides with us as what we receive from God; and the reason
why the Christians in this day are at such a loss as to some things is that they are contented with what comes
from men’s mouths,

without searching and kneeling before God to know of Him the truth of things.”— John Bunyan

WORDS OF COMFORT

I had a can of Diet Cherry Coke in hand. As I poured the foaming syrup into a plate on the ground, I
mumbled, “A dog’s life is too short; they need to have some pleasure in life.” Then I switched from
benefactor into more of an analyst. The older dog turned her nose up at the drink, while the younger one
lapped it up. I thought it must be that the older dog discerned all the chemicals in the drink.

Memory Verse
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father
in heaven.”
MATTHEW 7:21

This was interesting to an inquiring mind, so I called my daughter and said, “Look at this. The older dog
hates this drink, but the younger one loves it!” Then I said, “I had better put this away before your mother
sees it. She would be upset that I was giving this stuff to the dogs.” A minute later, all the evidence was gone.
The incident optimized my kind heart ... kind of like a dog Santa Claus.
About five minutes later I heard my wife, Sue, yell, “Yuk! The dog’s thrown up!”

Last Words
Voltaire, the noted French infidel, used his pen to try to retard Christianity. He once boasted, “In twenty
years Christianity will be no more. My single hand shall destroy the edifice it took twelve apostles to rear.”
Shortly after his death, his house became the depot of the Geneva Bible Society. The nurse who attended
Voltaire said, “For all the wealth in

LESSON 94

Our Most Valuable Commodity

“God has placed you where He has placed no one else. No one else in the world has the same relationships you have. No
one will stand in the same grocery store line at exactly the same moment you do. No one else will come across a hungering
diplomat in the desert at exactly the same time you do. God hasn’t put you in those places merely to model the truth. Listen for
the voice of the Spirit to whisper in your ear.
Watch for the stranger on the road. And be aware of your opportunities to go where He would send you.”
CHUCK SWINDOLL
 Kirk’s Comment
It’s been said that a person’s priorities can be determined by looking at his calendar and his
checkbook. This lesson made me examine my own heart and rethink how I spend the time and
resources that God has given me.

QUESTIONS & OBJECTIONS

“I have things I need to do before I become a Christian.”

Your statement implies that you believe following God will mean you won’t be able to do the things
you want to do. If that is true, then that means the things you intend to do would displease God. Are you
saying you prefer to do something God wouldn’t want you to do? If so, you are willfully sinning against God
and putting yourself in a dangerous situation. That is all the more reason you need His forgiveness.
If the things you want to do are good, why can’t you become a Christian and then do them? Nothing
you can do could be more important than your relationship with God. To put Him off is unwise. What if
you die before you become a Christian? Then you would be eternally without hope.

***
Imagine there is a bank that credits your account each morning with
$86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day—every evening it erases whatever part of the balance
you failed to use during the day. What would you do? Draw out every cent, of course.
Each of us has such a bank. Its name is “time.” Every morning it credits you with 86,400 seconds and
every night it writes off as lost whatever portion of this you have failed to invest to good purpose. It carries
over no balance; it allows no overdrafts. Each day it opens a new account for you; each night it burns the
remains of the day. If you fail to use the day’s deposits, the loss is yours. There is no going back, no drawing
against the “tomorrow.” You must live in the present on today’s deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the
utmost in God’s will. The clock is running; make the most of today.
To realize the value of one year, ask the student who failed a grade; one month, ask the mother who
gave birth to a premature baby; one week, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper; one hour, ask the lovers
who are waiting to meet; one minute, ask the person who just missed a train; one second, ask the person
who just avoided an accident; one millisecond, ask the silver medal winner in the Olympics.
In the following letter from an atheist, even he can see how the Christian should best spend his time:
You are really convinced that you’ve got all the answers. You’ve really got yourself tricked into believing
that you’re 100% right. Well, let me tell you just one thing. Do you consider yourself to be compassionate
of other humans? If you’re right about God, as you say you are, and you believe that, then how can you sleep
at night? When you speak with me, you are speaking with someone who you believe is walking directly into
eternal damnation, into an endless onslaught of horrendous pain, which your “loving” god created, yet you
stand by and do nothing. If you believed one bit that thousands every day were falling into an eternal and unchangeable fate,
you should be running the streets mad with rage at their blindness. That’s equivalent to standing on a street corner and
watching every person that passes you walk blindly directly into the path of a bus and die, yet you stand idly
by and do nothing. You’re just twiddling your thumbs, happy in the knowledge that one day that “walk”
signal will shine your way across

the road. Think about it. Imagine the horrors hell must have in store if the Bible is true. You’re just
going to allow that to happen and not care about saving anyone but yourself? If you’re right, then you’re an
uncaring, unemotional and purely selfish (expletive) that has no right to talk about subjects such as love and
caring.
Consider these probing questions about how you spend your time: Do you read your Bible every day
without fail? Do you find time to eat food each day? Which comes first in your life—your Bible or your
belly? Do you ever weep for the unsaved? Have you shared your faith verbally with more than 12 people in
the last 12 months? Do you pray for laborers as Jesus commanded us to (see Luke 10:2)? If you were to be
given $1,000 for every person you witnessed to, could you deal with your “fear of man” problem? Can you
say that you love your neighbor as much as you love yourself? Have you made it a habit to always carry
gospel tracts with you?
Yesterday is history, tomorrow a mystery. Today is a gift. That is why it is called the present. Be wise,
“redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15, 16).

QUESTIONS

1. How are you investing your time wisely for God’s kingdom?

2. How did the letter from the atheist make you feel?
3. What do your priorities say about your commitment to Christ?

PREACHER’S PROGRESS

Christian: “Do you know if there are any good churches around here?” Nick O’Deamus: “No, not
really. I haven’t been to church for a while.” Christian: “Do you have a Christian background?”
Nick O’Deamus: “Yes. I’m a Roman Catholic ... born in Ireland.”
Christian: “Have you been born again?”
Nick O’Deamus: “Yes. I was baptized as a child.”
Christian: “No. I’m not talking about being baptized. This is something different. It’s when you are
born again. It’s in the Catholic Bible, in John chapter 3.”
Nick O’Deamus: “I’ve never heard of that. How can you be born again?”
Christian: “The difference between believing in God and being born again is like the difference between
believing in a parachute and actually putting one on. There’s a big difference when you jump. Does that make
sense?”
Nick O’Deamus: “Yes, it does.”
Christian: “Do you know what made me see that I had to be born again?”
Nick O’Deamus: “No, what?”
Christian: “It was the Ten Commandments. Do you think you have keep them?”

Nick O’Deamus: “No.”

Christian: “So you see yourself as a sinner.”
Nick O’Deamus: “Oh, yes. Definitely.”
Christian: “If you died tonight, where do you think you would go?”

Memory Verse
“See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”
EPHESIANS 5:15, 16

Nick O’Deamus: “Probably Purgatory.”

 Christian: “There’s no such place. If you die in your sins, the Bible makes it clear that you will go to
hell. Did you know that Jesus said if you even look with lust, you have committed adultery in your heart?”
Nick O’Deamus: “No, I didn’t know that. I’ve done that many times.”
Christian: “So where would you go if you died tonight?”
Nick O’Deamus: “I would go to hell.”
Christian: “Do you know what God did for you so that you wouldn’t have to go to hell?”
Nick O’Deamus: “He died on the cross.”
Christian: “That’s right. Jesus, once and for all, took your punishment upon Himself, then He rose
from the dead. Now God will give you the gift of everlasting life if you repent—that is, confess your sins
not to a priest, but to God, and then forsake them—and put your trust in Jesus Christ. Then you will be
born again, with a new heart and new desires. Do you think you are ready to do that?”
Nick O’Deamus: “I am.”
Christian: “Then quietly confess your sins to God—ask for His forgiveness and tell Him that you are
going to trust Jesus. Then I will pray for you, and show you some incredible promises in the Bible. Okay?”
Nick O’Deamus: “Okay.”
“I have tried so hard to do the right.”

Last Words
Grover Cleveland (1837–1908), 22nd and 24th President of the U.S.:
“I have tried so hard to do the right.”