Is striving for personal holiness in the Christian life really that important?  It is a lot of work.  It requires a lot of effort and time.  We must study and know the nuances of the Bible to be holy.  We all have a lot to do; there are family demands, work demands, friendships need attention, kids need raising, and we have ministry and service responsibilities.  Does the Christian life need to be that hard?  Can’t we just enjoy life?  We are free, so can’t we be free just to let go?  Is this striving for personal holiness a Biblical requirement?

In today’s passage (1 Timothy 3:14-15), we will learn the three reasons why striving for personal holiness is a demand for every believer.  Let’s first introduce the text.

Verse 14 – “these things” – These things refer to the immediate context of chapter 3.  In chapter 3, Paul provides the qualifications for church leaders and commands the church to imitate the leader’s example.  Among other things, leaders are to be above legitimate reproach.

Verse 15 – “conduct oneself” – There is a standard for regular living that applies to everyone in the church.  Paul makes it clear that one’s proper conduct is an urgent essentiality in the life of a believer.

Verse 14 – “hoping to come before long” – While this is true, Paul had hoped to visit Timothy in Ephesus, so why labor to write to him?  It would have been a dangerous and long journey to deliver a letter to Timothy.  Paul would need to sacrifice a trusted person in his ministry to make the journey.  Why?  The holy conduct of the church was too urgent to wait.  All of us must know and strive to meet God’s demanded standard.

Verse 15 – “ought” – This is not an optional clause.  It is urgent and necessary for all to conduct themselves according to the standard.  God has requirements.

Why is this pursuit so urgent?  Let’s examine the three reasons why striving for personal holiness is a demand for every believer.

How do we do this?

In today’s passage (2 Timothy 2:20-26), we examine a prison epistle written by Paul to Pastor Timothy who was shepherding a flock in Ephesus. While written originally to a pastor, this passage is useful to all believers.

Usefulness to the Lord has direct correlation to holiness in three ways:

Character (verse 20-22)

Content (verse 23) of our message

Conduct (v.24-26) – Sanctified

We continue in our two-part series examining today’s passage (1 Peter 4:10-11).  We are studying the four ways Peter describes how to be fruitful to the glory of God as we eagerly wait for the return of the Son.  As we are waiting for Christ’s return, there is a proper way to respond to the nearness of the end; we are commanded to be fruitful and we must understand how.

We long for the return of our Savior and we pursue faithfulness as a people of God.  God’s plan of redemption is at hand.  In this passage, Peter gives us an indicative and an imperative.

Scripture teaches us that when meditating on the truths of eschatology (end times) and studying Biblical prophecies, these truths should produce the following in the people of God:

Last week, we examined the first three ways that Peter commands for believers to live considering the imminent return of Christ.  They were:

And today, we will examine the fourth:

Spiritual Gift Defined:  A God-given spiritual ability to edify other member of the Body of Christ in specific ways.  For example, the gifts of teaching, service and mercy are designed by God to encourage other believers to learn truth, serve others, and grow in compassion.

In today’s passage, Peter gives us a brief systematic theology on spiritual gifts.  The New Testament provides other looks, but Peter is both comprehensive and brief in his explanations.  He emphasizes four things in these two verses:

The Universal Reception of the Gifts.

The Believers Stewardship of the Gifts.

Peter’s exhortation in 1 Peter 4:10 is not just a command to obey, but it also a stewardship to embrace.  He says, “employ it (the gifts) in serving one another as good stewards.”

What kind of steward are you?  Are you faithful to Christ in the way you employ your gifts?  What are you regularly doing with His grace gift?

The Believer’s Proper Use of the Gifts

In 1 Peter 4:11, Peter divides spiritual gifts into two categories: speaking gifts and serving gifts.

Why Cessationism? by Jerry Wragg http://www.gibcjupiter.org/pages/sermons/detail/sermon/1223

How Do I Know the Miraculous Gifts Aren’t for Today? By Jon Anderson

http://www.gibcjupiter.org/pages/sermons/detail/sermon/3096

The Ultimate Purpose of the Gifts

What we know from other passages of Scripture is that the immediate purpose of spiritual gifts is the edification of the other members in the Body of Christ. 

1 Cor. 14:3 – for edification

1 Cor. 14:4 – edifies the church

1 Cor. 14:5 – so that the church may receive edifying.

1 Cor 14:12 – for the edification of the church.

1 Cor. 14:26 – for edification.

The immediate purpose is for the encouragement and edification of the other members of the body of believers. But when we come to the end of 1 Peter 4:11, we find that the ultimate purpose is doxological.  The ultimate purpose is so that “God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.”  In other words, the ultimate purpose is to put on display the infinite riches of God’s character.

How should we then live in the light of the nearness of the end of all things?  Peter says that as the people of God eagerly await the return of Christ, keep on being the church.  Keep on being the Body of Christ.  Keep on faithfully serving the One who has redeemed you through His blood and who is coming soon to take you home.  There is nothing mundane or insignificant about faithfully serving in the Body of Christ, no matter how small your ministry is.  Regardless of your ministry, if you are faithfully using the gifts that God has given you to serve the body in the strength that He supplied, you are not only being a trustworthy steward of the manifold grace of God, but you are putting that grace on display.  And, you are doing it in such a way that brings glory and honor to the only One who is truly worthy and that is no small thing!  What a privilege it is to serve one another as we serve Jesus Christ to the glory of God the Father!!!

In today’s passage (1 Peter 4:7-11), we begin a short two-part series to study the four ways to be fruitful to the glory of God as we eagerly wait for the return of the Son.  As we are waiting for Christ’s return, there is a proper way to respond to the nearness of the end.  In light of Christ’s return, we are commanded to be fruitful and we must understand how to do so.

First, let’s clarify the context of the passage.

In the passage today, at the very start of verse 7 we see, “The end of all things is near or at hand.”  The phrase, “the end,” does not refer to the termination of time.  It could be better translated as “The ultimate consummation of God’s plan is near.”  That is, God has a goal that He ordained from the beginning of time.  He has an eternal restoration plan and the return of Christ is the beginning of the time of restoration.

In this first verse, we also see a phrase that reads, “is near”.  In other words, the time has drawn near and the end still remains near.  This is not a prediction of timing, but an encouragement about the imminent or close at hand sequence of events.  These time written about by Peter and still in this present day is the final act of God’s planned historical drama.

In this passage, we are instructed of the four ways to live as the end is near:

In today’s passage (Hebrews 12:1-3), the writer exhorts the believer to endure in two specifics ways.  Following this design, we can maintain our spiritual stamina:

Imitate the saints of old (Hebrews 12:1)

Concentrate on the supreme faith and the endurance of Jesus (Hebrews 12:2-3)

As we gather around the Lord’s table, let’s consider this passage and the further encouragement in Galatians 6:9 – “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.”  We have examples for imitation in the saints of old and in Jesus Christ.  Don’t grow weary.  Endure.  Grow more and more Christlike.

In today’s passage (Jeremiah 2:26-28), we continue our series through Jeremiah 2 and the study of Religious Idolatry.  In today’s sermon, we will learn how does all this idolatry end for the idolater.  Spoiler alert… it doesn’t end well.  In fact, the all of humanity is terrified by the three states of the religious idolater in the end.   He is ashamed, self-condemned, and helpless.

Religious idolatry ends in shame (Jeremiah 2:26-27).

The religious idolater stands self-condemned (Jeremiah 2:27b).

A life of idolatry leaves the idolater helpless (Jeremiah 2:28).

In today’s passage (Psalm 101:1-8), the psalmist King David makes no petition or request of God.  Inherently, David is saying what he is now and what he is determined to do.  Psalm 101 presents David’s resolutions.  When writing these resolutions, you might want to think of them as:

Psalm 101 has two parts, verses 1-5 includes David’s resolutions for his own life as the King of Israel.  While verses 6-8 are David’s resolutions for the King’s Court and the entire nation.

Psalm 101:1 – Personal Resolution #1 – “I will be a man of focused worship.”

Psalm 101:2 – Personal Resolution #2 – “I will be a man of integrity in public.”

Psalm 101:2b – Personal Resolution #3 – “I will be a man of dependent humility.”

Psalm 101:2c – Personal Resolution #4 – “I will be a man of integrity in private.”

Psalm 101:3-4 – Personal Resolution #5 – “I will be a man who proactively pursues purity.”

In the second part of this psalm, beginning in verse 5, David shifts his resolutions toward the King’s Court.  These are corporate governing or national resolutions for the whole land.

Psalm 101:5 – The King’s Court Resolution #1 – “We will be intolerant of secret slander.”

Psalm 101:5b – The King’s Court Resolution #2 – “We will be intolerant of men with pride.”

Psalm 101:6 – The King’s Court Resolution #3 – “To fellowship with men who are like-minded with integrity.”

Psalm 101:7 – The King’s Court Resolution #4 – “To be intolerant of deceptive men.”

Psalm 101:8 – The King’s Court Resolution #5 – “To be intolerant of wicked men with a resolve to judge and destroy it.”

Psalm 101 has implications for us today.  First, let’s understand that we are not Kings appointed by God, so there is not a one-to-one relationship with everything described here.  We are not called to destroy wickedness in the nation.  However, there are some things we can emulate and learn about ourselves:

In today’s passage (Jeremiah 2:20-25), through the prophet, God exposes Israel’s presumption of innocence.  Like Israel, believers in the current day Evangelical church can fall into the same presumptions.  The nation of Israel held to idolatry, but presumed innocence.  This passage alerts us to three common indicators of our own idolatry and presumed innocence.  The three indications of idolatry are defiance, denial, and despair.

Jeremiah 2:20-22 – Presuming to be innocent, but practicing defiance.

Jeremiah 2:23-24 – Presuming to be innocent, while denying idolatry.

Jeremiah 2:25 – Presuming to be innocent, but they are despairing.

In conclusion, we must admit that our natural disposition is to presume our own innocence of idolatry.  Your continued assurance is reliant on how you respond to any remaining idols in your life.  Idols are to be found and forsaken.  You cannot live comfortably in the Christian life and worship any idol or practice anything that defies God’s Word.  Repent today and live!!