The Word is Holiness - Part 2

The Word is Holiness - Part 2

Central to God’s character is the quality of holiness. Yet, even so, most people are hard-pressed to define what God’s holiness precisely is. Many preachers today avoid the topic altogether because people today don’t quite know what to do with words like “awe” or “fear.”

The holiness of God in its proper and central place in the Christian life is vital to his understanding. He paints an awe-inspiring vision of God that encourages the Christian to become holy just as God is holy. Once you encounter the holiness of God, your life will never be the same.

Holiness for the believer is to know that he is “set-part to the Lord”. Consider what the writer of Hebrews 12:14 says, (NKJV) Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:  Strive for peace with all men as well as personal holiness must be vigorously sought since without holiness no one will see the Lord. Since no sin can stand in God’s presence, Christians must—and will be—sinless when they see the Lord. Thank God for the promise of 1 John 3:2,3 (NKJV) Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.  All things being equal, on that day having lived according to God’s plan and will, we shall be like Him.

Philippians 3:15-21 (NKJV) 15 Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. 16 Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind. 17 Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern. 18 For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: 19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame--who set their mind on earthly things. 20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.

Once You Encounter The Holiness Of God,

Your Life Will Never Be The Same.

The Word Is Holiness

The Word Is Holiness

I accepted Jesus as my Lord and savior in my junior year of High School in 1952. That decision introduced me to the Assemblies of God. Thinking back to those early days there were some “strange rules” recognized and accepted as Holiness. 

For instance, the ladies were discouraged to cut their hair. Accept for wedding rings, it seemed that jewelry that touched the skin like earrings and necklaces were taboo.  Slacks and jeans were also considered unacceptable. Movies, cards, social drinking, mixed swimming likewise were all no, no’s.  These and others were all promoted as signs of “holiness”.  We must understand that Holiness is NOT a man made list of do’s and don’ts. As time went by most of these outward standards fell by the wayside.

The question that we must ask is, “What is Holiness?”  

1.    Holiness is related to Godliness, i.e. God-like-ness. Paul shares some light in his letter to young Timothy. 1 Timothy 4:7-8 (NKJV) 7…exercise yourself toward godliness. 8 For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.  Exercise yourself toward godliness. Godliness is profitable for all things.

2.    Holiness is related to Righteousness, i.e. Right-living or Doing what is right. Romans 8:4 (NKJV) …that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

I believe that Holiness is the basic central nature of God. I base this on the events we can see from the Scriptures. Listen to Isaiah 6:1-3 (NKJV) 1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!"  Revelation 4:8 (NKJV) The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!"  These two events one from the Old Testament and the second from New Testament imply that those heavenly creatures closest to the throne and He who sat on the throne cried out day and night Holy, holy, holy. Why? They could have said power; love; grace; wisdom; omnipotent; eternal; all words that could have been spoken honoring the Almighty one on the throne. But these creatures cried out day and night Holy, holy, holy, because holiness is His central basic nature.

1 Peter 1:16 (NKJV) because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy."  

1 Thessalonians 4:7 (NKJV) For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness.

Romans 6:22 (NKJV) But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.

Hebrews 12:14 (NKJV) Pursue…holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:

George O. Wood General Superintendent, The General Council of the Assemblies of God - Statement Regarding Strange Fire Conference

George O. Wood General Superintendent, The General Council of the Assemblies of God - Statement Regarding Strange Fire Conference

Recently, Dr. John MacArthur and Grace to You Ministries hosted the Strange Fire Conference at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California.

Dr. MacArthur believes that the miraculous gifts of the Spirit ceased with the close of the Apostolic Era and that the Pentecostal and charismatic movements are therefore theologically aberrant at a foundational level.

By contrast, Pentecostal and charismatic Christians believe that “the promise [i.e., the gift of the Holy Spirit] is for you and your children and for all who are far off — for all whom the Lord our God will call” (Acts 2:39). With this promise comes the evidential sign of speaking in other tongues and power to be witnesses of Jesus Christ “to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8, 2:4, cf. Luke 24:49). Consequently, following the Apostle Paul’s teaching, we “eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit” (1 Corinthians 14:1).

While there have been isolated aberrations of behavior and doctrine over the past century among those who self-identify as Pentecostal or charismatic, the movement as a whole has proved a vital force in world evangelization —a fulfillment of the promise Jesus made to His disciples in Acts 1:8. On behalf of the 66 million adherents and 360,000+ churches in the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, I thank God that the faith and life of the Acts 2 church are still being believed and experienced today.

The Assemblies of God celebrates 100 years in 2014 and remains committed to the full authority of God’s Word. As a founding member of the National Association of Evangelicals, the Assemblies of God has sought to cooperate in the Great Commission with Christians of like-minded faith, even when they are not Pentecostal and charismatic and we remain committed to that collaboration.

We trust the time will come when Dr. John MacArthur and those who share his perspective will acknowledge the great contribution that Pentecostals and Charismatics are making in the evangelization of individuals without Christ. We pray God’s blessings on their efforts to share His gospel with a lost and dying world. Pentecostals and charismatics are their co-laborers in this effort so we ask that they would similarly pray for God’s blessing on us as we seek to fulfill the Great Commission that God has given us all.

George O. Wood General Superintendent, The General Council of the Assemblies of God

Chairman, World Assemblies of God Fellowship

The Word is ...?

The Lord said to me…”I will test my people with a Plumbline, Amos 7:8 (TLB)

The Plumbline is a blog to encourage the Body of Christ.

The Word is ...?

An elderly man used to go around selling little boxes of cement which could mend all family jars and even broken hearts.

Some only laughed at him, but those that purchased one of the little boxes for one cent found a small peice of paper inside. On it was written the word Love. What a sure cure for family jars and broken hearts.

Love does no wrong to the family or friends. True love is patient , kind, it is not jealous, boastful or proud. Love never gives up, or loses faith, but is always hopeful and endures through every circumstance. You can’t go wrong when you love others. (See Romans 13:10; 1 Corinthians 13:4,7 NLT).

The Word is Love

The Word is Love

The Apostle John gives us a powerful and beautiful insight into the word “love”. Kenneth Taylor in his New Living Translation states is so well.

1 John 4:7-10 (NLT) 7 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

Love stems from a regenerate nature and also from fellowship with God which issues in knowing Him. The absence of love is evidence that a person does not know God. Since God is love, intimate acquaintance with Him will produce love. Like light, love is intrinsic to the character and nature of God, and one who is intimately acquainted with God walks in His light. (See 1 John 1: f regarding “light”).

If one wishes to know how God has demonstrated His love, he need only look at the fact that God sent His One and only Son into the world that we might obtain eternal life thereby (“One and only” translates  “only born one,” which also is used in John 1:14, 18; 3:16). Moreover, this love was not a response to man’s love, but an initiative on God’s part (1 John 4:10). By it the Son became an atoning Sacrifice, “propitiation”. Nothing less than God’s love in Christ is the model for the love Christians should have toward one another. [1]

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[1] The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures by Dallas Seminary Faculty.

The Man Gideon

The Lord said to me…”I will test my people with a Plumbline, Amos 7:8 (TLB
The Plumbline is a blog to bring hope and encourage to the Body of Christ.

The Man Gideon

Gideon is called the mighty warrior by an angel of the Lord. Once more God’s people reverted to a syncretistic religion that conformed the ways of the Canaanites. As a result for seven years God permitted the Midianites, assisted by the Amalekites and tribes from the east to invade and oppress Israel (6:30. They were forced to hide in caves and conceal their produce (vv. 2-5). When the situation became unbearable, they call on God for help (vs. 6).

GIDEON: Personal name meaning “one who cuts to pieces.” He was the fifth major judge of 12th century Israel. He was also called Jerubbaal and was the son of Joash of the tribe of Manasseh. He judged for 40 years (Judg. 6:11–8:35).^[1]

Check out Judges 6:12–16 (NCV) ¹² The angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon and said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior!” ¹³ Then Gideon said, “Sir, if the Lord is with us, why are we having so much trouble? Where are the miracles our ancestors told us he did when the Lord brought them out of Egypt? But now he has left us and has handed us over to the Midianites.” ¹⁴ The Lord turned to Gideon and said, “Go with your strength and save Israel from the Midianites. I am the one who is sending you.” ¹⁵ But Gideon answered, “Lord, how can I save Israel? My family group is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least important member of my family.” ¹⁶ The Lord answered him, “I will be with you. It will seem as if the Midianites you are fighting are only one man.”

In the sixth chapter verse 34 “The Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon.” The verb “came upon” literally means, “to put on, clothe.” The Holy Spirit filled Gideon, so that Gideon was the clothes, and the Spirit within him moved him so as to equip him to serve God’s people. This expedience of having the Spirit come upon and live in a person is promised to all who believe in Jesus Christ. Gideon was an instrument in God’s hands that did great and wonderful things  in Israel.

Check out what Luke tells us in Acts 2:4, 38-39.  Acts 2:4, 38-39 (NCV) ⁴ They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak different languages by the power the Holy Spirit was giving them. ³⁸ Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

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^[1] Gautsch, D. R. (2003). Gideon. In C. Brand, C. Draper, A. England, S. Bond, E. R. Clendenen & T. C. Butler (Eds.), Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.

The Man Thomas

The Lord said to me…”I will test my people with a Plumbline, Amos 7:8 (TLB)

The Plumbline is a blog to bring hope and encourage to the Body of Christ.

The Man Thomas

THOMAS was one of the twelve apostles. In the lists of the Twelve, which are arranged in three groups of four each, Thomas occurs in the second group (Mt. 10:2–4; Mk. 3:16–19; Lk. 6:14–16; Acts 1:13). He is linked with Matthew in Mt. 10:3 and with Philip in Acts 1:13. The name comes from Aram, meaning ‘twin’; John three times uses the Greek. version of it, ‘Didymus’ (11:16; 20:24; 21:2). The question whose twin he was cannot be answered with certainty. “Apostle” comes from the root world, which means to send out with purpose, a mission or a commission with the authority of the sender.

It is only in the Fourth Gospel that there are any personal references to Thomas. He was prepared to go with Jesus to the tomb of Lazarus and to possible death at the hands of the Jews (Jn. 11:16). He confessed himself unable to understand where Jesus was going when he warned the Twelve of his impending departure (Jn. 14:5). The chief incident for which he has always been remembered, and for which he has been called ‘Doubting Thomas’, is his disbelief in the resurrection. He missed the appearance of Christ to the other apostles (Jn. 20:24) and said that he needed visual and tactual proof of the resurrection (20:25). A week later Christ appeared again to the Eleven and he offered Thomas the opportunity to test the reality of his body.

Jesus sets up a great insight for us. Look at what John 20:21-22 reports. “Peace be with you! As the Father sent me, so send I you”. Jesus then breathed on the Apostles and said “Receive the Holy Spirit…” This act by Jesus possibly changed the course of the Apostles.

Thomas’ confession of faith, ‘My Lord and my God’ (20:28), marks the climax of the Fourth Gospel;The Scriptures declare that Jesus is God. This is the foundation of the Christian faith and is utmost importance for our salvation. Thank you Lord Jesus for your commitment to the Father’s Will making atonement for the sins of the world. Mark 1:11 (NKJV) Then a voice came from heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”