Thanksgiving: Taste and See That the Lord Is Good!

Taste and See That the Lord Is Good!

We are told in the introduction to Psalm 34 that it was written in response to the circumstances surrounding the time that David fled from king Saul fearing for his life. David’s flight took him to a place where no one would have suspected he would go. He went to the Philistine city of Gath, which had been the hometown of the giant Goliath and who had been slain by David about a year previously (I Samuel 17:31-51).

The reference to “when he changed his behaviour before Abimelech” refers to the instance in I Samuel 21:10-15 when David pretended to be a madman before the Abimelech of the Philistines (king Achish; Abimelech is probably the Philistine title for their king. It comes from the Hebrew word Abiymelek (ab-ee-mel'-ek) meaning my father is king. David was given the presence of mind to pretend to be a madman. The Philistines believed madmen were possessed by spirits (gods to them). Therefore, they would never think of harming someone they thought was “mad.”

David was in a difficult position. His own king Saul was trying to kill him (I Samuel 21:10) and so in fled in fear of his life from Saul. In David’s flight of fear from Saul, he ends up in an equally dangerous situation before king Achish. David was in between the proverbial rock and a hard place. Yet God delivered him. It is out of the scenario of that deliverance that we have this Psalm of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord. It is David’s Hallelujah Chorus.

“¹ <<A Psalm of David, when he changed his behaviour before Abimelech; who drove him away, and he departed.>> I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. ² My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. ³ O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together. ⁴ I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears^{. 5} They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed. ⁶ This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. ⁷ The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. ⁸ O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him” (Psalm 34:1-8).

David knew he lived his life in the “valley of the shadow of death.” We all live our lives in the “valley of the shadow of death.” David knew that it was by the grace of God that he had escaped death’s grip once more. This Psalm is a sigh that releases both David’s fear and praise in the same breath. The words of this Psalm flow from a heart that has just been touched by the hand of God.

The construction of this Psalm shows us that God intends it to be used in the instruction of children. We know that because it is one of nine Alphabetical Psalms (the Hebrew alphabet has 22 letters in it). Each of the twenty-two (22) verses in this Psalm begins with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet (these are not apparent in our English translations). Therefore, Psalm 34 is a Psalm of foundational truths.

This is a Psalm intended to instruct children (and baby Christians) in the matters of thanksgiving, praise and worship. The wise Christian will spend much time in Psalm 34 learning its instructions. The uniqueness of this Psalm is that it is intended to provide instruction in these matters as viewed from the perspective of the human experience bathed in the grace of God. Therefore, it is intended to teach that thanksgiving, praise and worship should be taught to our children through the vehicle of the everyday experiences of our lives and their lives. In David’s case, this event with king Saul and king Achish could have gone by without any acknowledgment that God’s grace was the source of David’s deliverance. Sadly, that is what often happens in the events of human history.

Each verse of this Psalm teaches a unique truth all by itself. As a child memorized a letter of the Hebrew alphabet, he also memorized the verse beginning with that letter. As he learned a letter of the alphabet, he learned a concept of truth that transported his thinking beyond the mundane of the mere education of facts to the Throne room of God.

In this, we find a God ordained philosophy of education that is critically lacking in our modern day philosophies of education. This involves the educator in connecting every thought and absolute to the Author of absolutes in God Himself. Creating this connecting link between truth and its Author is the central responsibility of the educator. Regardless of how much knowledge is taught to a child, if that knowledge does not result in the generation of thanksgiving, praise and worship in the one being educated and flowing to the Author of all truth, education has failed. Therefore, any system of education that fails to integrate facts (absolute truths) with the Creator and Author of those truths is an unscriptural method of education.

The responsibility to connect all truth to the Originator of those truths falls on the shoulders of parents. Although we may decide to put our children in the hands of another person to be educated, that does not abrogate our responsibilities to God in any way. In the critical responsibility of raising our children “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4), we had better insure that the person educating our children holds to this God ordain philosophy of education.

This God ordained philosophy of education is what defines our parental responsibilities. This God ordained philosophy of education is also what defines our success or failure as parents. Regardless of what other successes we may achieve in this life, if we have failed to raise children to bring thanksgiving, praise and worship to God for every truth that exists in this world and then serve Him in holiness, we have failed as parents (educators of our children).

This God ordained philosophy of education should also be the ultimate goal of the church in its philosophy of education. This should be the ultimate goal of the home in its philosophy of education. It should also be the ultimate goal of the Christian School in its philosophy of education. It is also the reason why the education of your child in government schools is immediately doomed to failure. It is doomed to failure because in God’s philosophy of education, the educator weaves facts and faith together like a basket weaver. The faith factor cannot be added at some later point. It must be included at the same moment the fact is. They must be woven together.

We also must see that the factual aspect of education plays only a small part compared to the conceptual aspect of education. The conceptual aspect of education fixes our attention on the Creator. The alphabetical letter was important only in its use to communicate truth. The facts of education must centrally be seen as a vehicle to direct our attention to the Author of all truth. Historical or scientific truth does not exist in a vacuum. The central purpose of creation is to direct our attention back to the Creator in that the creation is nothing more than a reflection of His power and glory.

“¹⁹ Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. ²⁰ For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:19-20).

That is the concept communicated to us in the words “taste and see that the LORD is good” in Psalm 34:8. It was David’s experience of God’s grace in the everyday struggle of his life that prompts him make this statement. All though it communicates a truth apart from the story of David’s predicament, its spiritual richness lies in the fact it is a real life testimony. It is the testimony of someone who did “taste and see that the LORD is good.”

We can talk about God and giving thanks, praise and worship to Him all day long, but a mere intellectual theology will never generate worship. Thanksgiving, praise and worship must come from the heart, not the head. That will only happen when a believer comes to know God experientially. Thanksgiving, praise and worship are not practices that can be worked up. They must flow from a heart that has seen God work and that knows it was God working. That seldom happens to Rocking Chair Christians.

That is what David is saying in Psalm 34:2, “My soul shall make her boast in the LORD.” The words “shall make her boast” are from the Hebrew word halal (haw-lal'), which literally means to shine. Get the verbal picture that David is weaving in with the facts of his story in the process of education. He is saying, “My soul shines on YAHWEH (the Self-existing One).” Every Hebrew child who learned the Hebrew letter Beth from this Psalm, also learned that his soul should shine on God.

Shining on God is the meaning of bringing God glory. That is the central function of all of God’s creation. We are to be a living testimony to His existence, to His power and to His glory. That was the living testimony of David’s life (soul). Our lives are to make God known as to Who and What He really is. We are to reflect the image of God in all that we say or do.

David says, “The humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.” The word “hear” is from the Hebrew word shama` (shaw-mah'). It means to hear with the intent of obeying. The “humble” are the poor, weak and needy. They shall hear the testimony of God’s power and begin to live a life of faith as well. They shall begin to weave their own basket of life out of the facts and faith of those who have already walked through “the valley of the shadow of death” under the Shepherd’s protection and care (Psalm 23).

In Psalm 34:3, David calls all believers to “magnify the LORD with me.” The word “magnify” is from the Hebrew word gadal (gaw-dal'). It means to grow to greatness. However, the greatness is not for personal fame or glory. The motivation for working to excel to greatness is to increase a person’s influence. Increasing influence is like increasing the wattage in your glory to God bulb. That is why this greatness (influence) is directed to “the LORD.”

To “exalt” the “Name” of God is to lift up His Name. When a person returns thanksgiving, praise and worship to God for every success in his life, he lifts up the Name of God like a victor’s banner in a parade. Although the whole army marched in that parade and received the glory of men for their victory, the banner bore the emblem of their king to whom their victory brought honor and glory. The king was their commander and chief. He paid their wages and provided their weapons. He gave them the leadership and direction to win over their enemies. David is saying, “To God be the glory.” He is saying, “Come and worship the LORD with me; join in my jubilation and share in my rejoicing. We have a great God.”

David says, “I sought the LORD, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.” David is offering a testimony to God’s grace and power. He is setting a twofold example for us. First, here is what the Lord did for me. He is great. He is wonderful. He is able. Secondly, since He did this for a sinner like me, He will do it for a sinner like you if you will seek Him.

Notice that David’s deliverance was not just a matter of asking. Yes, answered prayer comes only to those who ask, however, God is not a Gum Ball Machine God. You just do not put your quarter in and get what you want. The word “sought” is from the Hebrew word darash (daw-rash'). It was a word that meant to seek deity in prayer and worship. David did not just pray to God because He was in trouble. David sought the Lord’s communion before He sought the Lord’s communication in answered prayer.

Most people really cheapen God’s grace when they use Him as a fire escape from the consequences of their own disobedience and sin. They expect God’s deliverance without even giving a thought to repentance, confession and seeking forgiveness.

David’s encouragement is to “taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him.” When was the last time you stood up in the midst of God’s people and called them to join you in thanksgiving, praise and worship to the God of your salvation? When was the last time you spontaneously stood before a congregation and gave a testimony to what God did in your life that week, or that day or for anything for that matter? When was it? Is it because God hasn’t been doing anything in your life? Or, is it because you haven’t been doing anything with the life God gave you? If it is one of those two things, either way, it reveals a serious problem with YOU!

Holiness: A Purified and Peculiar People II

“1 But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine: 2 That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience. 3 The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; 4 That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. 6 Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded. 7 In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, 8 Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you. 9 Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again; 10 Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things. 11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. 15 These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee” (Titus 2:1-15).

The word “peculiar” in Titus 2:14 is the word that defines the objective of this text. All the instructive commands of verses 1-13 are intent upon producing this spiritual entity referred to as a “peculiar” person “zealous of good works.” The word “peculiar” is from the Greek word periousios (per-ee-oo'-see-os), meaning being beyond usual, i.e. special (one’s own). The idea is a person who lives in such a unique way that it is publicly evident he/she is a servant of God and is dedicated to living to please God. Each of the commands details how this peculiarity is defined and achieved. However, we MUST emphasize that the focus of the peculiarity is God ward, not man ward. Holiness and peculiarity are synonymous and synchronous.

Modern day Christians want an identity with the world and an identity with God. They have come to think they can have both. However, these two identities are incongruous (not harmonious in character). Thinking of peculiarity in musical terms is an apt way of viewing this distinctiveness. Peculiarity is what is necessary in our lifestyles that keep our lives in harmony with God and is what defines spirituality.

This is not merely an external application of Biblical principles. Their must be a true yielding of the body, soul and spirit to the indwelling Christ because we love Him and desire to please Him more than anything else in this world. The issue of peculiarity is not that we wish to identify ourselves as Christians to the world, it is that we want the world to immediately identify us as Christians by the peculiar way in which we live our lives. This is why identity (what we choose to identify ourselves with by the way we live, dress, entertain ourselves and provide for our daily needs) is critical to peculiarity. Modern day Christians look at these issues and merely seek to justify lifestyles according to the Word of God. The peculiar Christian looks at these issues thinking, how will the world view my Christianity and how will I maintain my spirituality, peculiarity, distinctiveness, or holiness if I identify my life with the practices of worldly people?

This epistle to Titus is one of the Pastoral Epistles. It instructs regarding the role of Pastors in the local churches that God has called them to shepherd. Uniquely, the text before us tells us that it is not primarily the role of the pastor to teach women. That role is delegated to the woman’s husband (if she has one) and to the older, more spiritual women in the congregation.

“34 Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. 35 And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church” (I Corinthians 14:34-35).

This context of this particular text refers to speaking in tongues. The word “silence” in I Corinthians 14:34 is from the Greek word sigao (see-gah'-o), which means to keep your mouth closed. Women were not allowed to speak in tongues. In I Timothy chapter 2 (another Pastoral Epistle), Paul gives further instruction regarding the role of women in the local assembly.

“11 Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. 12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence” (I Timothy 2:11-12).

In this text, the word “silence” is translated from the Greek word hesuchia (hay-soo-khee'-ah). It means quietness. The intent is that women are to exhibit a meek and quiet spirit within the local church assembly. They should not be allowed to publicly challenge the teaching of a man or “usurp” his authority.

This is not popular teaching today, but I did not write the book. I am just God’s messenger boy and my responsibility is just to get the message accurately conveyed. The important thing here is that women recognize that this is God’s instruction and defines their peculiarity.

The word “likewise” of Titus 2:3 lays down three behavioral commands for women. The first is that they are not to be “false accusers.” These two words are translated from the Greek word diabolos (dee-ab'-ol-os). This word is frequently translated “devil” in the Bible. In the metaphorical sense, it refers to a person who becomes a partner in Satan’s work of accusing the brethren through gossip, slander and the dissemination of half-truths. In doing so, they oppose the cause of God.

It is not that men are not guilty of this kind of behavior. However, Satan seems to get a lot of mileage out of both men and women in this area and I agree that it is directly related to idle time.

Secondly, women were not to be “given to much wine.” The word “given” is the key word here. It is from the Greek word douloo (doo-lo'-o), which refers to becoming the slave of “wine” (grape juice) as a beverage. This command does not give permission to drink alcoholic wine in moderation. The word for “wine” is the Greek word oinos (oy'-nos). It can refer to either fermented grape juice or freshly squeezed grape juice. Since alcohol content could not be determined during this time in history, the drinking of grape juice was strictly restricted and even then it was watered down as much as five parts to one. To avoid any possibility of drunkenness, the Jewish priests were not allowed to drink any wine. Today, all believers are priests before God.

The drinking of “wine” was usually connected to idle time, much like the coffee clutch of our time. The link between the admonition against being “false accusers” and “much wine” is most probably related to the gossip that tends to be produced from idle time. Leisure time can be easily used of Satan if it is not guarded and protected against the carnal tendencies of the flesh to discuss the problems of our friends and neighbors. Have you heard is a dangerous way to begin a discussion.

Thirdly, spiritually mature Christian women should be “teachers of good things.” These words are all translated from the Greek word kalodidaskalos (kal-od-id-as'-kal-os). It is constructed from two Greek words: kalos (kal-os') meaning beautiful or excellent and didaskalos (did-as'-kal-os) meaning teacher. Together they mean a beautiful example of right living. The direction of their influence is defined by Titus 2:4, “That they may teach the young women . . .”

The intent of God’s instruction in this text is the creation of a positive peer pressure among women within the local church. The older, more spiritual women are to generate positive spiritual peer pressure upon the younger, less spiritual women by consistently doing what is right. Through the beautiful example (modeling) of the older, spiritually mature women in the church, the younger Christian women are to learn eight practical truths for holy living and peculiarity.

1. “To be sober” (sophronizo, so-fron-id'-zo), meaning to teach others to have self control
2. “To love their husbands” (philandros, fil'-an-dros). A woman loves her husband by being a godly woman, obedient to the plan and purposes of God for her life.
3. “To love their children” (philoteknos, fil-ot'-ek-nos). A woman loves her children when her goal is to raise them in the nurture and admonition of Christ and to be servants of the Lord.
4. “To be discreet” (sophron, so'-frone) referring to the curbing of her carnal desires
5. To be “chaste” (hagnos, hag-nos'), can refer to being clean, but probably refers more to personal purity that causes others to think highly of her for her moral values.
6. To be “keepers at home” (oikouros, oy-koo-ros'). The word in is purest sense means to be a guardian of all the matters pertaining to the household. It refers to the wife staying at home and taking care of the household affairs. During Bible times, it was the wife’s responsibility to care for the children and educate them, to shop for food, make clothing, prepare the meals, wash the clothes and keep the house clean. You can hire someone to do those things, but you cannot call that being a mother or a wife. Being a wife and a mother is a Biblical responsibility that cannot righteously be transferred to a surrogate.
7. To be “good” (agathos, ag-ath-os'), meaning to be good in the sense of being pleasant, agreeable, joyful and happy. In general, it means to be a good-natured person.
8. To be “obedient to their own husbands” (hupotasso, hoop-ot-as'-so). This is a Greek military term used to denote submission to the order of command. In non-military use, it was a voluntary attitude of giving in, cooperating, assuming responsibility, and carrying a burden. In the simplest terms, it means to submit voluntarily to another person.

“21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. 22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. 24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing” (Ephesians 5:21-24).

We are rapidly losing this model of Biblical femininity in the American culture, as we rapidly become a matriarchal society. Due to the failure of Christian women and the advancement of the Woman’s Liberation Movement, we are rapidly seeing the demise of the typical family. Most families today are dysfunctional where a single or divorced woman is raising children born from one or more men who no longer live in the home or support the family. This is to what the Sexual Revolution and the Woman’s Liberation Movement has liberated women. Women are treated more like a piece of meat today then ever before in the history of our country.

The motivation for the spiritually mature woman to be the godly example to the younger women is “that the Word of God be not blasphemed.” One of the reasons young women do not develop into the kind of women God wants them to be is because the older women of the church are not being the examples they ought to be. If you are an older (more spiritually mature) lady in the church, when was the last time you sat down with a younger woman in the church and showed her what God expected of her regarding the way she dressed, the things she talked about, the way she should treat her husband and her responsibilities regarding raising her children and being a “keeper at home”?

“Young men likewise” are to be exhorted “to be soberminded” (Titus 2:6). “Exhort” is from the Greek word parakaleo (par-ak-al-eh'-o), which means to summon to one’s side for instruction. “Sober minded” is from the Greek word sophroneo (so-fron-eh'-o) meaning right thinking or right minded.

The teaching ministry of a local church is not relegated just to the pulpit or to the Sunday School classroom. Teaching is the responsibility of all mature Christians each moment of the day and through any vehicle of opportunity that might arise. The idea being conveyed in this text is that the spiritually mature believers in a local church are supposed to spiritually parent the younger, less spiritually mature believers. In most cases, this teaching role is being relegated almost completely to pastors.

When God reveals an inconsistency with His Word in the life of another believer, He does so because He expects mature believers to lovingly confront that inconsistency with the truth. That is what mature believers do when they see inconsistencies in the life of another believer.

“1 LORD, I cry unto thee: make haste unto me; give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto thee. 2 Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. 3 Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips. 4 Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practise wicked works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their dainties. 5 Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head: for yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities” (Psalm 141:1-5).

Every believer should be open to loving confrontation because of a desire to be a good testimony to the lost and a good example to other believers and wants the world to identify him/her as peculiarly Christian. It would be inconsistent with a hunger and thirst after righteousness in one’s life to be offended at another believer lovingly confronting any inconsistency in our lives with what defines peculiarity. The person that is offended by someone confronting an inconsistency in his life is really revealing himself as a “scorner” (mocker of truth) who lacks a desire for righteousness in his life.

“Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee” (Proverbs 9:8).

No one wants to be seen as peculiar. Peculiar is not a word most people like to have used to describe them. The fact is, how we live should appear peculiar to people living contrary to God’s instruction book. Peculiarity is normal Christianity. The lack of peculiarity is abnormal Christianity.

Holiness: A Purified and Peculiar People

“¹ But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine: ² That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience. ³ The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; ⁴ That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, ⁵ To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. ⁶ Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded. ⁷ In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, ⁸ Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you. ⁹ Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again; ¹⁰ Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things. ¹¹ For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, ¹² Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; ¹³ Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; ¹⁴ Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. ¹⁵ These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee” (Titus 2:1-15).

Holiness is not some ambiguous concept of impossible goals. In Titus 2:1-15, holiness is defined in some very tangible terms and with some very practical expectations. Holiness is defined and revealed in our behavior (Titus 2:3). God expects mature believers to be the models of holiness to young believers. The word “shewing” in Titus 2:7 is from the Greek word parecho (par-ekh'-o), which means to offer one’s self as an example. Paul repeatedly held himself up as a model of the Christian life and in Titus 2:1-15 he is commanding all believers to do the same.

“Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ” (I Corinthians 11:1).

“¹³ Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, ¹⁴ I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. ¹⁶ Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing. ¹⁷ Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample. 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 mind earthly things)” (Philippians 3:13-19).

True holiness exists inwardly in a change of desires and motivations before it becomes evident in the outward practices (behavior) of our lives. Seldom do Christians recognize the reality of the Christian life that is theirs in Christ Jesus and seldom do they accept the solemn responsibilities regarding their leadership influence upon other believers. The potential abundant life that Christ promises to all believers is available only to those who are willing to make the sacrifices necessary to abide in Him.

“¹⁰ If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. ¹¹ These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. ¹² This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. ¹⁴ Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you” (John 15:10-14).

However, Phariseeism results when the commandments and truths of Christ’s expectations are applied to the externality of a life without a change in the “heart” (inward desires and motivations). A change of “heart” exists when the motivation for doing what God wants and expects comes from a genuine desire to please Him rather than impress men. Laws and Biblical expectations (rules and regulations) without a personal, loving relationship with Christ will always result in either Phariseeism (externalism and hypocrisy) or rebellion. Both of these phenomena are consistently evident in much of professing Christianity. Both are deadly to true spiritual growth, true holiness and the abundant life available in Christ Jesus.

“²⁵ Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. ²⁶ Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. ²⁷ Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. ²⁸ Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity” (Matthew 23:25-28).

True holiness is the by-product of hungering and thirsting after the practical righteousness of God and will manifest itself in the outward expression of God’s truth in the everyday practices of life (behavior). That is what Paul is communicating in Titus 2:1-15. Holiness is not a vain show of pompous piety. Holiness is the revelation of a changed life brought to spiritual maturity and becoming a visible reality through some very tangible and practical realities of life. “Aged men” (v 2) and “aged women” (v 3) both refer to those who have enough spiritual history (experience) behind them to have acquired spiritual maturity and consistency in their lives.

The first instruction for practical holiness is in Titus 2:1. The believer who is really concerned about the righteousness of God will be concerned about “sound doctrine.” The word “sound” is from the Greek word hugiaino (hoog-ee-ah'-ee-no). It means to be free from any mixture of error. The word “doctrine” is from the Greek word didaskalia (did-as-kal-ee'-ah). It refers to teaching or instruction. The person who desires true holiness in his life will be consumed with knowing God’s Word for the purposes of both teaching that truth and living that truth before others.

In verse 2, Paul gives some very definitive expectations in behavior that should be the fruit of a “heart” intent on doing what is right before God and living right before men. The word “likewise” of verse three establishes that holiness is directly related to “behaviour” for both men and women. The word “behaviour” is from the Greek word katastema (kat-as'-tay-mah). It refers to a person’s demeanor or the way a person shows or exhibits who and what he is to the world. “Behaviour” refers to everything a person does, the people he associates with, the manners and practices of his daily life, the clothes he wears, the food he eats, the kinds of things he involves himself in for recreation and his general demeanor. “Behaviour” refers to both verbal and non-verbal communication that exhibit the reality of what this person is all about. What we do, how we live and what occupies our time are the true barometer of our relationship with Jesus Christ and the measurement of the reality of our Christianity.

We reveal more about ourselves non-verbally than we do verbally. I can tell a lot about a person by the way he dresses, the way he cuts his hair, what he spends his time on and just by observing his attitudes towards people. You can tell a lot about a person’s level of spiritual growth by how he handles difficulties and by what he does when he fails to do what is right.

God gives a number of behavioral definitions for both men and women that “becometh holiness.” “Becometh holiness” is from the Greek word hieroprepes (hee-er-op-rep-ace'). It means to stand out, to be conspicuous. The way we live, dress, talk, eat, drink or just our attitudes towards life and work in general reveal to others our relationship with God and the reality or hypocrisy of that relationship.

For men, God lists six specific areas that reveal the genuineness of our Christianity and our personal relationship with Him. The first is the word “sober.” It is from the Greek word nephaleos (nay-fal'-eh-os) and refers to the abstention from the use of wine or alcohol. Although this refers to something specific, in the broader sense it refers to anything that might cause us to lower our inhibitions regarding sin or to lose control of our emotions or feelings.

The second behavioral command is the word “grave.” It is from the Greek word semnos (sem-nos') and refers to possessing the character and integrity that is worthy of honor or respect. The Christian that considers this understands that his life is lived under the world’s microscope. The people we will be modeling Christ before (which includes everyone) will be watching for the faintest hint of inconsistency in our lives. Satan will take that inconsistency and blow it up to billboard size to discredit and destroy a believer’s testimony for God. We need to remember that the way we live our lives is the “light” that directs men to God. If our life is not what it ought to be, no one will listen to what we have to say. As someone has said, “Your life speaks so loud I cannot hear what you are saying.”

The third behavior command for holiness is the word “temperate.” It is from the Greek word sophron (so'-frone). The “temperate” person is a person with the kind of self-control that is able to curb his desires and impulses. Here is where the reality of our Christianity is really tested. We are by nature (fallen nature) reactive (as opposed to being proactive). When someone attacks us, we respond (react) defensively. When someone hurts someone we love, we naturally want vengeance.

We must remember that for a person with a fallen nature, what comes naturally is usually sin. The “temperate” person learns to be proactive. He plans ahead. He determines before hand how he will act if certain situations arise. That does not mean he will not be caught off guard occasionally. However, when the proactive “temperate” person realizes he has reacted wrongly, he immediately seeks to remedy the failure by confessing his bad behavior and seeking the forgiveness of those involved. He immediately returns to being proactive.

The fourth behavioral command for men is found in the words “sound in faith.” This command is from the Greek words hugiaino (hoog-ee-ah'-ee-no) pistis (pis'-tis). It means to be free from any error in the practice of the teachings of the Word of God.

We cry out to God for justice and righteousness while still wanting to live in the middle ground of commitment to truth and service. If that is the defining reality of our Christianity, we can say, “truth is fallen in the street.” Until the truth we know becomes the everyday practice of our lives, we are “lukewarm” Christians. Soundness is not about knowing truth as many suppose. Soundness in the faith is about living the truth and doing what is right. Like many Christians, Israel continually fell into this pit of self-deception.

We need to be reminded that it was the failure of the children of Israel in the area of practical holiness that was the central hindrance to God blessing their lives. God wanted to save them. God wanted to hear their prayers and answer them. God wanted to bless them, but He could not because they were not living the way they should have been living.

“¹ Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: ² But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. ³ For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness. 4 None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity. 5 They hatch cockatrice’ eggs, and weave the spider’s web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper. ⁶ Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands. ⁷ Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths. ⁸ The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace. ⁹ Therefore is judgment far from us, neither doth justice overtake us: we wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, but we walk in darkness. ¹⁰ We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the night; we are in desolate places as dead men. ¹¹ We roar all like bears, and mourn sore like doves: we look for judgment, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far off from us. ¹² For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them; ¹³ In transgressing and lying against the LORD, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. ¹⁴ And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.” (Isaiah 59:9-14).

There is no middle ground when it comes to the issue of righteousness. It is either all or nothing as far as God is concerned. If we want God’s blessings upon our lives, there must be brokenness about sin. There must be a turning from the carnal pursuits after pleasure and worldliness in our lives. There must be a whole-hearted turning to God and His righteousness. There must be a hungering and thirsting after practical righteousness in our lives. God will find no pleasure in our half-hearted, lukewarm pretension. We cannot fool God with a facade of Christian pretense.

“² The LORD hath been sore displeased with your fathers. ³ Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts” (Zechariah 1:2-3).

Holiness: Today - Harden Not Your Hearts!

“⁷ Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, ⁸ Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: ⁹ When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. ¹⁰ Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. ¹¹ So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.) ¹² Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. ¹³ But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. ¹⁴ For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; ¹⁵ While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. ¹⁶ For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. ¹⁷ But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? ¹⁸ And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? ¹⁹ So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief” (Hebrews 3:7-19).

The book of Hebrews was written specifically to Jewish Christians who were about to go back to the Temple to continue in the sacrificial system intermixing the Old (Mosaic) Covenant practices with New Covenant faith. Its application for today’s Christianity is directed to anyone who makes a religious ritual or ceremony necessary to salvation or maintaining a holy relationship with God. Legalism focuses on the letter of the law and applies it externally rather than focusing on the spirit of the Law and yielding inwardly to the will of God. Today’s Christian seems to struggle with either legalism or libertarianism. They either think themselves spiritual because they keep a set of rules or they ignore God’s commandments and take all kinds of carnal liberties.

Up to this point in the book of Hebrews God has shown the complete superiority of the New Covenant in Christ and the total inferiority and abrogation of the Old (Mosaic) Covenant. Now He begins to give some very hard and serious warnings to these individuals and to anyone refusing to completely abandon Old Covenant types, rituals and practices. God equates what they are considering doing, what they are doing or what they might have done with some historical instances every individual familiar with the wilderness wanderings should be familiar with as well as the consequences of their failures.

These Jewish Christians were being careless about their beliefs. That in itself is a dangerous thing to do. What “the Holy Ghost” is trying to convince them of (Hebrews 3:7) is that if they in any way abandon the New Covenant for the Old Covenant they also abandon salvation itself showing their profession to be false.

The first thing we want to notice is the repetitive use of the term “today”. It is used in v.7, v.13, v.15 and twice in 4:7. The word “today” brings us out of the past and into the present. To God, obedience is always a “today” thing. Today is the only day of which we can be sure. Anything else presumes on a future that is unsure. The seriousness of the “today” admonition lies in the warning against abandoning a practical New Covenant faith for some externalistic form of Christianity. To do so constitutes apostasy and manifests a false profession of salvation.

These Hebrew believers were under enormous peer pressure and persecution by Apostate Israel to return to the Apostate beliefs and practices. They could believe in this Jesus if they wanted, just keep tithing to the Temple and keep offering sacrifices. This persecution and the threat of it, the loss of life, family and confiscation of all possessions was taking its toll. However, Scripture emphasizes that the kind of faith that saves is like gold when tried by fire. Trials only purify a real Christian.

“⁶ Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: ⁷ That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (I Peter 1:6-7).

There is always a temptation to compromise. Compromising truth may be backsliding, but it also may be a simple revelation that your faith is not able to stand the test of trial by fire and that it isn’t real.

“¹ We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. ² (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) ³ Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed: ⁴ But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, ⁵ In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings; ⁶ By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, ⁷ By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, ⁸ By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true; ⁹ As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; ¹⁰ As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things” (II Corinthians 6:1-10).

The “harden not your hearts” admonition of Hebrews 3:8-9 is a serious warning to the professing Christian who refuses to acknowledge the reality of the God of the Bible and His involvement in their lives. This admonition tells those professing Christians to “today. . . hear his voice” (3:7). There is an urgency in it all. God’s patience is not without end. When a professing child of God compromises his Father’s commandments, he is walking on dangerous ground. When a professing child of God is willing to compromise with this world to avoid temporal persecution in exchange for present comfort, he may just find out that he will end up with eternal misery.

Have you ever known anyone who refused to stand apart from the world because he did not want to be ridiculed or socially ostracized for identifying with this radical Bible believing Christianity? They are everywhere. The question and warning of Scripture challenges the reality of their faith.

How does this type of professing Christian manifest his unbelief? He hardens his hearts like a flint against what he deems to be radicalism or fanaticism. Having to read his Bible all the time, praying before meals (even in public) and talking about Jesus all the time, my goodness that’s just too much to ask. God does not ask a person to do those things to be saved, but He expects it of those who say they are! God says we had better not harden our hearts to that. We had better listen to what the Spirit of God has to say to us today.

“When (in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness, v.8) your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years” Hebrews 3:8-9). This account is found in Exodus 17:1-7

“¹ And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink. ² Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the LORD? ³ And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? ⁴ And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me. ⁵ And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go. ⁶ Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. ⁷ And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not (Exodus 17:1-7)?

Because there was no water where Moses had led them, they were dying of thirst. They came and chided (complained) with Moses. They were angry, complaining and, according to v.4, they were ready to kill Moses. Moses (v.2) rightfully equated their complaining with tempting the Lord. Why? Because in their unbelief they (v.3) were accusing God (by accusing Moses). They said the only reason God brought them out of Egypt in the first place was to annihilate them with thirst.

Therefore, Moses renamed the place Maccah (Mas-saw'), which means temping or proving and M@riybah (Mer-ee-baw'), which means strife and contention. The heart that is harden against God often does foolish things. The heart that is hardened against God is not sensitive to the purposes of the trials He brings into our lives to test our willingness to trust Him and come to Him with our needs. The hardened heart sees God’s trials and commandments as interferences with our own personal goals in life or our own pursuit after the ambiguity of something called happiness.

God viewed this hardness to His working in their lives as trying Him. Real faith does not test God. Real faith trusts God. God wanted to see if they had real faith. Their actions revealed they did not. Their question, “Is the LORD among us or not ?” (v 7) revealed their lack of faith. Instead of appealing to God‘s grace in prayer and living in dependence on His will, they seek to manipulate God.

Their lives were more important to them than their relationship with God. That fact reveals just how temporal and earth bound their thinking was. Real faith takes our thinking outside the boundaries of this life. Real faith sees every trial and difficulty in life as another stepping-stone to eternity each bringing us one-step closer to God. When we cling to this life with whited knuckles, it only reveals how little faith we have in the eternity that is ours in Christ Jesus.

The warning of Hebrews 3:8-9 is that if you decide to try God by proving Him, you better be prepared to see His works. That generation did. God proved Himself and they saw His works for the next forty years as they continued to wander in that wilderness. For forty years God proved Who He was to them. Everything they could have had by continuing in faith was just across the river Jordan, but instead they wanted God to prove Himself. That was not faith that was unbelief.

Hebrews 3:10 tell us that God “was grieved with that generation.” The Hebrew word for grieving (this verse is quoted from Psalm 95:10, quwt [koot]) means to have a sense of loathing because of what they did. They disgusted God. It was at this point that God determined that this generation would not enter into His promised land.

Hebrews 3:12 continues the warning to every professing believer in all generations. The key word again is “departing.” It is from the Greek word aphistemi (af-is'-tay-mee). It means to withdraw yourself, to move away from or to be standoffish. Doing such a thing to God does not show faith, but rather “an evil heart of unbelief.” God is not talking about moral delinquency but spiritual rebellion. Why is it that some people just never get on board and live for Christ? Why is it that some people always walk on the edge? Why is it that some people think they can pick and choose which Scriptures they are willing to obey and which Scriptures they think are just too old fashioned? The answer is simple. They have “an evil heart of unbelief”!

“¹⁸ Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. ¹⁹ They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us” (I John 2:18-19).

Hillary’s $5,000 A Head Answer to Liberalism’s Dilemma

Since the 1973 Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court Decision, it is estimated that almost 45,000,000 (forty-five million) babies have been murdered through a consenting partnership of slaughter between the Federal government of the United States of America, pregnant women and, the liberal medical practitioners with the audacity to still refer to themselves as “doctors.” One out of every four deaths in America is the outcome of this partnership of slaughter (http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Evils%20in%20America/Abortion%20is%20Murder/number_of_abortions.htm).

This partnership of slaughter came to the American public wrapped in a package labeled Women’s Rights and Women’s Liberation. This certainly should have given some credibility to such a horrendous practice as a mother actually deciding to kill the innocent baby growing in her womb. This all sounds very noble, but the reality that drove the necessity of legalized abortion was the ever-increasing outcomes of liberal philosophies upon the American culture and the cost to the country in welfare dollars. It was rapidly becoming apparent that the country could not afford the bulging growth of Socialized welfare programs due to the pandemic growth in the number of teen pregnancies, especially among the poor within the nation. This led to high school dropout rates increasing. It also bred a continuum that was expanding at an unimaginable rate by the early 1970’s.

The prevention of a single birth of one of these unborn babies would save the government hundreds of thousands of dollars over that child’s lifetime. It would also end the continuum of production of these welfare babies for generations in the future. In short, liberalism could not afford the culture they had created and abortion was their solution.

However, a larger problem was looming on the horizon. There was a problem the liberal socialists did not plan for. The constituency that elected them to the offices they held did so because of the Entitlements the welfare system created. Every baby that was aborted also decreased the production of a new voter for future elections. Secondly, it was from this group of people that the majority of working class (Minimum Wage) people came. Not only were the liberal socialists decreasing their voting base, they were also helping eliminate the uneducated lower class upon which they depended. Liberal socialism needs a lower class so they can appear to ride in on their white horses and rescue them with Entitlements.

Now the scenario advances into the 21^st century. The lower class was rapidly vanishing out of the American culture while religious and political liberalism was growing. However, conservativism was growing more rapidly as the uneducated lower class began to get educated and move up in social status. This brings us to the issue of why our government must allow the millions of illegal aliens to cross over the borders of Mexico into the United States almost unhindered and why, once they are here, there is almost no effort to remove them. The simple fact of the matter is that we need them! They fill a vacuum created by the murder of millions of babies over the last 35 years. We need these uneducated people to take the millions of minimum wage jobs that we do not have anyone to fill.

Nonetheless, this is a short-term solution to a growing long-term problem; hence, the Hillary Abortion Hiatus. Since liberalism could never abandon one of its foundational legal premises like Roe versus Wade, they must find an alternative to increase the production of babies from the lower class. The Hillary Think Tank of socialist propaganda has finally found a solution. LET’S HAVE THE CONSERVATIVE TAX PAYERS (the only people really paying taxes) PAY THESE PEOPLE TO HAVE BABIES!! All problems solved. “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1:22).

Holiness: What Is A Sanctified & Consecrated Priesthood?

“⁵ Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. ⁶ Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. ⁷ Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, ⁸ And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed. ⁹ But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light” (I Peter 2:5-9).

Unlike the O. T. Temple, each local church of Christ is a “spiritual house” made up of living “stones.” The word “spiritual” is translated from the Greek word pneumatikos (pnyoo-mat-ik-os') and refers to someone filled with and governed, or controlled, by the Spirit of God. Only a pneumatikos Christian is a spiritual Christian. A person is “spiritual” because his life is filled with and governed by the Spirit of God. Spirituality is the overflow of the Spirit of God in our lives. The filling of the Spirit always results in the overflow of the God-life with the “fruit of the Spirit” being manifested. Therefore, a “spiritual” person or a “spiritual” local church will always be visible through the evident realities of the “fruit of the Spirit.”

“²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, ²³ Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. ²⁴ And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22-25).

When we try to pour a five-gallon bucket of water into a one-gallon bucket we get overflow. However, what happens when we try to put an infinite supply of water into a one-gallon bucket? We do not just get overflow. We get a flood! That is what happens when the infinite God overflows in the life of a believer. A flood of spirituality happens. We call that revival. Why is it we do not regularly see these spiritual floods in our local churches? Notice that the word “and” in Galatians 5:24 confirms that true spirituality or holiness not only produces the “fruit of the Spirit,” it also dies to both the “affections and lusts” of “the flesh.”

Although the Aaronic Priesthood and the Priesthood of the Believer are considerably different in their “work of the ministry,” they are equal in their responsibilities to personal holiness. When we think of the Priesthood of the Believer two words should come to mind. These two words are sanctified and consecrated. The word sanctified describes what we are to be before God. The Believer Priest is to be separate from worldly pleasures and ambitions and separated unto God. Consecrated defines the reality of a life given to the Lord for doing the “work of the ministry. Both are essential before God can use a believer for His purposes. Although the function of the Old Testament Aaronic Priesthood was considerably different from the present Priesthood of the Believer, the requirements of being sanctified and consecrated continues.

“⁴⁰ And for Aaron’s sons thou shalt make coats, and thou shalt make for them girdles, and bonnets shalt thou make for them, for glory and for beauty. ⁴¹ And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office. ⁴² And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach: ⁴³ And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons, when they come in unto the tabernacle of the congregation, or when they come near unto the altar to minister in the holy place; that they bear not iniquity, and die: it shall be a statute for ever unto him and his seed after him” (Exodus 28:40-43).

The word translated “consecrate” in Exodus 28:41 is the Hebrew word male' (maw-lay'). It means to fill or to overflow. The Priest who was consecrated was to be filled spiritually. His was to be fully given to God; body, soul and spirit. All of him was to be under God’s control. In the New Testament, we call this being “filled” with the Spirit.

The word translated “sanctify” in Exodus 28:41 is the Hebrew word qadash (kaw-dash'). It refers to someone that is sacred. This means someone completed dedicated for God’s use. Being sanctified in the Old Testament involved certain purification rituals. Without going into elaborate detail regarding these purification rituals, purification involved three basic things:

1. Clothing to cover their nakedness (“linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs shall they reach” (Exodus 28:42)

2. Ritual purification with water (Exodus 29:4)

3. The offering of sacrifices to “cover” their own personal sins before God (Exodus 29:10-33)

Note: the Hebrew word translated “atonement” in Exodus 29:33 is kaphar (kaw-far'). The word “atonement” is not an accurate translation of this Hebrew word. The kaphar did not reconcile the individual to God. It could only cover over sin until at which time Messiah would propitiate God. “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God” (Romans 3:25). The eating of the kaphar implied that the participating priest acknowledged both his sin before God and the just penalty of condemnation for that sin. In doing so, he accepted God’s grace in covering his sin and providing forgiveness.

Under the New Covenant the Believer Priest is already clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. However, he is commanded to “put off” worldliness and to “put on godliness.”

“²⁶ For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁷ For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:26-27).

“⁸ But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. ⁹ Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; ¹⁰ And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: ¹¹ Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all. ¹² Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; ¹³ Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye” (Colossians 3:8-13).

The other two items (ritual purification with water and eating the kaphar) are fulfilled in Christ. Under the New Covenant, these two parts of sanctification involve the confession of sin whereupon God acts and cleanses the repentant Believer Priest of all unrighteousness.

“⁷ But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. ⁸ If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:7-9).

“Fellowship” is the partnership with God in the “work of the ministry” that comes when the Believer Priest is consecrated and sanctified to God. “Fellowship” is from the Greek word koinonia (koy-nohn-ee'-ah), which refers to a joint participation. The best English word I can think of that accurately translates the meaning of this Greek word is the word synergy. It refers to the combined energy of two or more people in a cooperative work. Synergy with God and other Believer Priests is not accomplished until sanctification and consecration are spiritual realities in a believer’s life.

What Peter is talking about in I Peter 2:5 is this synergy or “fellowship” that comes when the living “stones” come together as the “spiritual house.” They are by regeneration a “spiritual house” in that God has saved them and made them part of His New creation in Christ Jesus. They are a “spiritual house” by the fact of the impartation of the “Divine Nature” in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

However, this positional reality is useless in this world if it does not become a practical reality in our lives. Believers must be sanctified and consecrated to the Lord. It is the individual responsibility of every Believer Priest to separate himself from worldly ambitions and pleasures and to dedicate his life to doing the “work of the ministry.” Any believer Priest failing to maintain a sanctified and consecrated life destroys the synergy of the “spiritual house” of living “stones.”

Secondly, sanctification is practically useless apart from consecration. Of what value to God is a holy vessel that never does the “work of the ministry”? The purpose for personal sanctification is to prepare one’s self to be a vehicle of God’s grace. Sanctification without doing the “work of the ministry” is like getting up in the morning, putting on our work cloths and then sitting around the house all day doing nothing. Sadly, that describes exactly the concept most Christians have of sanctification.

Thirdly, consecration is practically useless apart from sanctification. Of what value to God is a dirty vessel that He cannot fill with His divine power for the “work of the ministry”? Many Christians rush into the Lord’s work without giving careful consideration to the spiritual preparation that is essential to doing that work. They think they are doing God a favor. The reality is that they are just spinning their wheels. Nothing will come of their efforts

Maintaining our “fellowship” with God involves sanctification and consecration. When these two truths become the practical realities of our lives, we can honestly say we “abide in Christ” and can expect all the promises that come from that reality. Abiding “in Christ” means to live in constant fellowship (synergy) with Him through continual sanctification and consecration.

“⁴ Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. ⁵ I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. ⁶ If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. ⁷ If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. ⁸ Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples” (John 15:4-8).