What Is Biblical Holiness?

What Is Bibical Holiness part one  View the video from February 19 2012.

1 Thessalonians 4:3
³For this is the will of God, your sanctification:

• In the ordinary acceptance of these words, they simply mean that among many other things that God has willed, sanctification is one; it is something in accordance with His will. This thought contains teaching of great value. God very distinctly and definitely has willed your sanctification: your sanctification has its source and certainty in its being God’s will. We are ‘elect in sanctification of the Spirit,’ ‘chosen to be holy;’ the purpose of Gods will from eternity, and His will now, is our sanctification.

Ephesians 1:4
⁴just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,

• “To be one with God’s will is to be holy. Everything in a life of holiness depends upon our being in the right relationship to the will of God.” (A. Murray)

The design of the Gospel is to teach men not only what they should believe, but also how they should live. It is God’s will that all His should be holy. The Lord calls none into his family to live unholy lives, but that they may be taught and enabled to walk before him in holiness. Some make light of the precepts of holiness, because they hear them from men; but they are God’s commands, and to break them is to despise God.

Let us look at some basic dictionary definitions for context.

“SANCTIFICATION: The act of making holy; the state of being sanctified or made holy. Theologically—The act of God’s grace by which the affections of men are purified or alienated from sin and the world, and exalted to a supreme love of God.” Webster’s Dictionary

SANCTIFY: To make holy or sacred; to consecrate or set apart; … to purify from sin,… SANCTIFICATION: Technically, an operation of the Spirit of God (Rom. 15:16; 2 Thess. 2:13; 1 Pet. 1:2) on those who are already in Jesus, i.e., are united to Him by faith (1 Cor. 1:2), by which they are rendered increasingly holy, dying to sin and living to God, to righteousness, and to holiness (Rom. 6:6, 11, 13, 19; 1 Thess. 5:23; 1 Pet. 2:24). American Dictionary

HOLINESS: “1. Perfect moral integrity or purity; freedom from sin; sanctity, innocence. 2. State of being hallowed or consecrated to God, or His worship. Webster’s Dictionary

The Bible has much to say about this key doctrine. Sanctification occurs in various forms some 300 times in the New Testament and 760 times in the Old Testament for a total of 1060 in the Bible. The basic meaning in all these instances is “to set apart.” It is a lifelong process of growing in grace and spiritual maturity.

If regeneration has to do with our nature, justification with our standing, and adoption with our position, then sanctification has to do with our character and conduct. In justification we are declared righteous in order that, in sanctification, we may become righteous. Justification is what God does for us, while sanctification is what God does in us. Justification puts us into a right relationship with God, while sanctification exhibits the fruit of that relationship—a life separated from a sinful world and dedicated unto God.

The characteristic life pursuit in which the Christian is to live is that of sanctification, separated unto holiness. We cannot forget that the new man has a renewed will. This new will delights in the will of God because it is born of it.

There are three key aspects of sanctification taught in the Bible. The following is a brief review.

1. Instantaneous Sanctification

• 1 Corinthians 6:11
• ¹¹And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.
• Hebrews 10:10
• ¹⁰By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
• Hebrews 10:14
• ¹⁴For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.

By the death of Jesus Christ the sanctification of the believer takes place at once. The very moment a man believes in Christ he is sanctified, that is, in this first sense: he is separated from sin and separated unto God. For this reason all through the New Testament believers are called saints (1 Cor. 1:2, Rom. 1:7). If a man is not a saint he is not a Christian; if he is a Christian he is a saint. We can see that in 1 Cor. 6:11 “sanctified” is put before “justified.” The believer grows in sanctification rather than into sanctification out of something else. By a simple act of faith in Christ the believer is at once put into a state of sanctification. Every Christian is a sanctified man. The same act that ushers him into the state of justification admits him at once into the state of sanctification, in which he is to grow until he reaches the fullness of the measure of the stature of Christ.

THE WRONG VIEW OF SANCTIFICATION

THE WRONG THEORY OF SANCTIFICATION AND HOLINESS EXPLAINED: CHRISTIAN PERFECTIONISM AND THE PRINCIPLE OF COUNTERACTION
What is the Biblical Pattern for the Christian Life?
Charles e Whisnant, February 11, 2012

INTRODUCTION:

1A       For our understanding of the actual teaching of Paul, this enables us to follow his argument as he works it out in this whole section. It is not enough to note his doctrine; Paul always wants to apply it. Paul wants to make sure that you don’t fall into what is called “antinomianism” which is not putting into practice what you claim you believe. We must more than just understand the doctrine, we must apply the doctrine to our daily lives.

2A       These two verses have an important place in the New Testament doctrine of sanctification. These two verses will help us understand what sanctification is.

Paul is going to give us some practical application to the doctrine of justification. We have thus been given a description of a Christian – his character and his position..

Just as a footnote: It is the responsibility of the preacher not only to give a positive exposition but also to oppose wrong teaching.

Paul constantly exposes the false, warns again it, then pleads with the believer to avoid it, and at the same time he gives the positive truth.

If the teaching of the Word of God is not going to affect your living and your conduct and your mind and soul, what have we done in our preaching?

My reason for presenting this portion of our study is not to attack or belittle what others teach

about holiness, but to encourage you to understand, pursue, and experience true holiness

INTRODUCTION:

1A       For our understanding of the actual teaching of Paul, this enables us to follow his argument as he works it out in this whole section. It is not enough to note his doctrine; Paul always wants to apply it. Paul wants to make sure that you don’t fall into what is called “antinomianism” which is not putting into practice what you claim you believe. We must more than just understand the doctrine, we must apply the doctrine to our daily lives.

2A       These two verses have an important place in the New Testament doctrine of sanctification. These two verses will help us understand what sanctification is.

Paul is going to give us some practical application to the doctrine of justification. We have thus been given a description of a Christian – his character and his position..

Just as a footnote: It is the responsibility of the preacher not only to give a positive exposition but also to oppose wrong teaching.

Paul constantly exposes the false, warns again it, then pleads with the believer to avoid it, and at the same time he gives the positive truth.

If the teaching of the Word of God is not going to affect your living and your conduct and your mind and soul, what have we done in our preaching?

My reason for presenting this portion of our study is not to attack or belittle what others teach

about holiness, but to encourage you to understand, pursue, and experience true holiness

unhindered by theological confusion. Unfortunately, in getting to the truth of the matter, it will be necessary to address some errors.

FALSE TEACHING TODAY ABOUT HOLINESS

Over the decades several contradictory and confusing holiness theories have been introduced, including “eradication,” “counteraction,” and “identification,” Second Blessing, or Christian Holiness Perfection. Or “the baptism of the Holy Spirit.” Or Higher Life movement.

Pentecostalism has developed a distinctive view of the Christian life too. That stands to reason. Doctrine and life, principles and practice, always go together. What one teaches by way of Christian doctrine will always produce a certain way of life, a form of practical Christianity.

FALSE TEACHING TODAY ABOUT HOLINESS

Over the decades several contradictory and confusing holiness theories have been introduced, including “eradication,” “counteraction,” and “identification,” Second Blessing, or Christian Holiness Perfection. Or “the baptism of the Holy Spirit.” Or Higher Life movement.

Pentecostalism has developed a distinctive view of the Christian life too. That stands to reason. Doctrine and life, principles and practice, always go together. What one teaches by way of Christian doctrine will always produce a certain way of life, a form of practical Christianity.

Second Timothy 3:15 God’s Breath Series Outline/Notes

“Given by Inspiration” — the implication of theopneustos

Charles e. Whisnant  ( Gleaned from Jon Gleason)      February 05, 2012  #5

The fifth on Bibliology (the study of what the Scriptures are, and how they came to us) dealt with the inspiration of the Scriptures, from II Timothy 3:16.

Now I’d like to consider two additional pieces of evidence as to its meaning.

Form — Adjective

Theopneustos is an adjective, used to give information about (or describe) a noun (“Scripture”).  “Breathed by God” or “Given by inspiration” may sound like a verb (an action of God), but it isn’t.

• Paul didn’t use the verb pneo, “to breathe”, to describe action – the Holy Spirit rather guided him to use an adjective, describing the Scriptures.  Though an action (breathing) is in view, the focus is not on the action of God, but on something about the Scriptures.
•  If Paul wanted to draw our attention primarily to the action, he almost certainly would have used a verb.
• The “adjectival discussion” by saying that theopneustos (“Breathed by God” or “Given by inspiration of God”) is an adjective describing the A) source B) nature and/or C) effects of the Scripture.  The adjectival form gives no evidence as to whether one or more of these are in view, which one(s), or to what extent.

Connotations: (1) in logic, the characteristic or set of characteristics that makes up the meaning of a term and thus defines the objects to which a term can be applied. (2) the implying or suggesting of an additional meaning for a word or phrase apart from the literal or main meaning.

• What is “connotation”?
• We might say it is an idea or meaning suggested by or associated with a word or thing, generally related but not identical to the explicit meaning of the word or thing
•  A connotation is something that the word brings to mind, even if it isn’t what the word means — and often, that is intentional on the part of the speaker or writer.  He wants you to think, not just of the meaning of the word, but of the connotations, that other idea which the word brings to mind.
  • A few months ago, if you were on Wall Street in New York and heard someone talking about “99%”, they may have been talking about a great return on investment.  Today, with the advent of the Occupy Wall Street crowd, if you heard someone on Wall Street call out ”99%” you would recognize it as probably being a political statement

 In the Bible, when God breathes, things happen

• ·       Genesis 2:7, Job 33:4; Psalms 33:6; 104:30, John 3:6-8, John 20:22, Hebrews 4:12
  •  When God breathes into man, man begins to breathe (and goes on breathing).  The same general sense is seen in the famous “dry bones” passage in Ezekiel 37.

The Word of God is living!  It is not an empty, dead book.  It is powerful, heart-exposing, living and life-giving and life-changing.  It is a fire and a rock-crushing hammer (Jeremiah 23:29). Faith (and thus life) comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17).  The Bible has been breathed into by God, and it lives, and gives life.  So I’ll say this, and I’ll set it off so no one misses it:

• ·       Those who translated theopneustos for hundreds of years using the words “inspired” or “inspiration” weren’t just making stuff up.  There was a very real basis in the connotations of the breath of God for the translational choice they made.

I’ll quote Arthur Pink, speaking just down the road in Falkirk in 1936:

• The word “inspire” signifies to in-breathe, and breath is both the means and evidence of life; for as soon as a person ceases to breathe he is dead. The Word of God, then, is vitalized by the very life of God, and therefore it is a living Book. Men’s books are like themselves—dying creatures; but God’s Book is like Himself—it “lives and abides forever” (1 Peter 1:23).
•  There are life-giving connotations to the breath of God.  There is an indisputable link between God’s Word and life, both as to the nature of God’s Word and its life-giving power (effect).  II Timothy 3:16 (and specifically the Greek word theopneustos) stands beside Hebrews 4:12 and I Peter 1:23, a trio of towering monuments to the continuing, living, ever-enduring nature and power of God’s Word.
• 2 Peter 1:20-21

God breathed the Scriptures into existence and God breathed life and vitality into the Scriptures. 

“That Book in Timothy’s Hand”?

• It was a living, powerful Book, with life breathed into it by God Almighty.  He was not being challenged by Paul to preach a “dying creature”, to use Arthur Pink’s words.  He was to preach the rock-crushing hammer of God, the life-breathing words of the Spirit, the enduring fire of God’s Word. It is the same, living, and life-giving, and life-changing.
  •  If connotations mean anything, this is what theopneustos means for the Book in your hand.