Friday, March 30, 2012

What Do You Know About The Day Of The Lord?

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE DAY OF THE LORD?
Relatively new Christians might not exactly comprehend this, but it is that period of time when the Lord will allow His apocalyptic judgment to rain on the earth. This is one of the prophetic themes of Isaiah the prophet. I believe you will find he uses the term "In that day" during his picture painting of how it will be during this yet to be fulfilled prophecy.
Isaiah's first brush strokes are found in Isa. 2:10 - 22, and Paul referred to this day in Thess. 1:7 - 10; "And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power;" (2 Thess. 1:7 - 9) Truly this will be a day of punishment for the heathen, the pagan, the false teacher, and the atheist! Note at the beginning of the passage, Paul tells the believers to rest in Christ's return, the rebels are the ones with the eternal problem! John in Revelation also referred to this picture Isaiah began to paint; "And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, 'Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?'" (Rev. 6:12 - 17) Note the wicked, who are in power on the earth, have great fear within them!

Jeremiah foretold that Jesus would come with judgment and justice; "Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth." (Jer. 23:5) "And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, 'We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.' In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel." (Isa. 4:1 - 2) During that time, the wars will be so intense, men will be slaughtered so much that women will want to be self-supporting, wanting to be married, even to the same man, to escape being childless. Isaiah's paint brush continues to paint an ugly picture for those who do evil, and there's more...

"Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir. Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger." (Isa. 13:9 - 13) Signs in the heavens and the scarcity of men are again spoken of here, and Joel got in on it; "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come." (Joel 2:31) Our Lord Jesus also spoke on this astrological phenomonae; "
Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." (Matt. 24:29 - 31) (Mark 13:24 - 26, Luke 21:20 - 27 are similarly worded)

Isaiah continues to illustrate the apocalypse in chapter 24 of his book of the Old Testament. He describes how the coming judgment will occur worldwide, no place of escape, and no class of people will be uncathed, all pleasures of any kind vanish, with only a small survival rate. Believers will rejoice that God is executing justice over the evil, treacherous, and perverse.

"Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? This that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat? I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me. And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth." (Isa. 63:1 - 6) Here Isaiah describes Christ's second coming in His wrath and paints it as a crushing of grapes in a winepress. "And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs." (Rev. 14:20) Armageddon will be bloody, indeed, over 4 feet deep in blood! Isaiah's picture in this last reference paints a grim crimson picture of Jesus' judgment on the wicked in His day!

So be wary of His day's coming, because who can know it?  Who will be able to stand?  It is as Jesus said, "
Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come." (Matt. 24:42)

Monday, March 26, 2012

HYPOCRISY


HYPOCRISY

A hypocrite; everyone has been one at some time during their lifetime, save Christ Jesus. There's no denying it; life is a complicated thing. We may say one thing, and then find ourselves in a situation where we feel forced to do that which we spoke against! It's part of our human make up; it's part of our sin nature.

Let us see what Paul has to say about the root of hypocrisy. "For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin." (Rom. 7:14 - 25)

What a unique perspective Paul has of the hypocritical nature of man. He points out that man's (and woman's) personality has sin as a steering mechanism, directed by the human ego to selfishness rather than to serving God. While only real Christians would delight in the law of God after the inward man, yet Paul noted that while with his mind he served the law of God, yet, with the flesh, the law of sin. And so it is, that anyone, try as they might not to sin at all, knowing as much as they do of all God's laws, yet their flesh will force them to sin, and therein hypocrisy is born. I can't stop from sinning, try as I might, and you can't stop from sinning, try as YOU might!

Consider Adam and Eve. The first human couple. Only one way given that they could possibly sin. One commandment to obey. Even only one tree with which to be able to disobey! "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat." (Gen. 3:6) Eve was deceived with Satan's lie, true, and Adam knew not to eat, and did it anyway, but the root of the sin was placing their desires ahead of God's. In other words, they rebelled against God's commandment. Another name for this root of hypocrisy could be: pride.

Isaiah also spoke of the hypocrite as a vile person whose heart works iniquity; "For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the LORD, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail." (Isa. 32:6) Here is a good place to make a point of the Pharisees and Saducees; Isaiah says that hypocrites utter error against the Lord. Let us visit the most grievous error of the Pharisees of all their utterances. "But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, 'This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.'" (Matt. 12:24) And in answer to this that the Pharisees uttered, Jesus said, "
Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come." (Matt. 12:31 - 32)

Jesus proclaimed 8 woes against the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and scribes in the Gospel of Matthew: "Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to His disciples, saying, 'The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, and love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, "Rabbi, Rabbi". But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, "Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!" Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? And, "Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty." Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by Him that sitteth thereon. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. 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. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. 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. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, and say, "If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets." Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?'" (Matt. 23:1 - 33) Sorry about the length, but in order to show the scathing tongue lashing Jesus gave concerning their hypocrisy, it was necessary.

As if this warning concerning religious hypocrisy were not enough, Jesus spoke yet more to have all who believe in Him strive to be as little one who practices hypocrisy as possible; "Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." (Matt. 5:19 - 20)

Is it any wonder why it is written, "My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation." (James 3:1) It means that teachers will be judged more strictly, since they instruct others, and therefore know better! Paul, too, wrote this of hypocrisy to the Romans; "And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law. Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? Thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? Thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege? Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God? For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written." (Rom. 2:19 - 24)

Herein let us strive because we know these things about hypocrisy, not to be as the Pharisees and scribes. For Paul also said, "(For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified." (Rom. 2:13) Let us obey the commandments Jesus gave us. "Jesus said unto him,
'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.'" (Matt. 22:37 - 40) In obeying these two great commandments, we avoid hypocrisy as much as we humanly can!

Thursday, March 22, 2012

WHEN CHRISTIANS MISINTERPRET, ARGUE, DEBATE, OR TRY TO REASON WITH EACH OTHER

When Christians Misinterpret, Argue, Debate, Or Try To Reason With Each Other
I have read comments by a number of Christians now saying that arguing is not from God, and thus insinuating that if someone disagrees with another to the point there is debate, one of those will be considered unChristian, and that to some degree is true, but which one are they going to judge ungodly, since they are setting themselves up to judge a brother or sister? God's people have been arguing, misinterpreting, reasoning and debating one another throughout the entire bible, and if I need to cite instances, I'm fully prepared to do just that!
Let's start with Joshua; Joshua and the tribes. "And when they came unto the borders of Jordan, that are in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by Jordan, a great altar to see to. And the children of Israel heard say, 'Behold, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh have built an altar over against the land of Canaan, in the borders of Jordan, at the passage of the children of Israel.' And when the children of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered themselves together at Shiloh, to go up to war against them." (Josh. 22:10 - 12). You can find this in your bibles and read the entire chapter and understand what I'm saying is true. 9 1/2 tribes on one side of the Jordan heard a rumor, made up the worst in their mind of the 2 1/2 tribes who built the altar, and created a misunderstanding of the intent of the altar to the detriment of the entirety of God's people. Talk about bearing false witness against your neighbor! The 9 1/2 tribes were ready to kill the 2 1/2 tribes without even getting the whole story! Fortunately, the investigation headed by Phinehas resulted in the truth being made known that the altar built by the 2 1/2 tribes was not for idolatrous purposes! But to the point, would you call ready to go to war worse than an argument, and this was between God's people! Is it any different than two Christians today arguing over a biblical issue? I think it's worse! It seems no different to me than one Christian going over the another Christian's house with gun in hand because they think the other Christian committed a serious crime against God! Anyway, this is a case of godly people misinterpreting each other.

Hannah and the priest Eli had an exchange of words, and it was as a mild misinterpretation of Hannah's behavior; "And she vowed a vow, and said, 'O LORD of hosts, if Thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of Thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget Thine handmaid, but wilt give unto Thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.' And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli marked her mouth. Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken. And Eli said unto her, 'How long wilt thou be drunken? Put away thy wine from thee.' And Hannah answered and said, 'No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD. Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto.' Then Eli answered and said, 'Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of Him.' And she said, 'Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight.' So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad." (1 Sam. 1:11 - 18) Note how the priest was quick to trust her answer and cover his misjudgment of her with well wishing for her petition to God. I would that I should be the same as he, should I find myself to misjudge a brother or sister like this.

Paul, Hymenaeus and Alexander had an uglier disagreement. It was so bad, that Paul mentioned it in both letters he wrote to Timothy, so great was his concern that Timothy not make the same mistake! "This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme." (1 Tim. 1:18 - 20) "And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some." (2 Tim. 2:17 - 18) It would appear from these two pieces of Paul's letters that Hymenaeus was puffed up, and took two others with him, Alexander and Philetus, not only declaring their misinterpretation of scripture, but refusing to bow to Paul's correction! These three were as stiffnecked as the Israelites of old, and Paul was forced to break fellowship with them because of it. Paul states further in his 2nd letter to Timothy why he turned away from these three. "Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." (2 Tim. 3:4 - 7) They were traitors to his fellowship, heady and highminded of themselves, no better than Korah of the book Numbers!

Moses and Korah, Dathan, and Abiram also had an ugly disagreement, a rebellion against Moses and Aaron's leadership! For brevity I won't write the whole Chapter of Num. 16, but in a nutshell, Korah and his group charged that Moses and Aaron took on too much authority over the group, citing that the whole congregation was holy. In their short-sightedness, they failed to recognize that Moses and Aaron were God-appointed leaders, and this was, in effect, rebellion against God! The final word from God was their swallowing up into the earth!

Jesus, the Pharisees, scribes and lawyers always had disagreements, even arguments, and to the hurt of all against Jesus, because they were all blind to the fact He was the holy Son of God! Jesus often rebuked these religious leaders, if not for erroneous statements, for malevolent badgering and complaining that He violated Scripture in some way, not realizing they were judging the Son of God! By now you may have noticed any time there is a disagreement between two who believe in God, one is blind, and the other truly sees. Problem is, God is not around in person to tell which one needs the seeing eye dog, so the one goes off into their ditch, while the other continues on the path!

Jesus said He brought not peace but a sword between family members; "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me." (Matt. 10:34 - 37) And this was also spoken of prior to Jesus! "For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man's enemies are the men of his own house." (Micah 7:6) Jesus knew that the Gospel and the bible and interpretations of it, and even the very belief in it, would cause tension and persecution between family members, and for some, even death! An example of death would be a Muslim accepting Christ as Savior and trying to witness to their family. An example of tension/persecution would be a nonCatholic Christian trying to explain their interpretation of doctrine as correct over the doctrine of Catholicism.

Then there's Apollos; "And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus. This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly. And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace: For he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publickly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ." (Acts 18:24 - 28) Now THIS is the CORRECT way to reason with someone about their faith and the differences we all will have. To have this method of difference about doctrine worked out among Christians in this manner is about as rare as finding fangs on a chicken! I recently saw someone leave a comment on the Facebook social website asking for prayer for someone who had died, and I meekly apologized, and explained it is not logical to pray for the dead. If someone went to heaven, can you pray for them some extra bliss? And if someone is in hell, their judgment is over, you cannot pray them into heaven, and I know many Catholics who have told me they believe in reincarnation, and I mention they should open their bibles and read this piece of Scripture; "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:" (Heb. 9:27) The Catholic bible has this, but few Catholics are aware of it, and sadly, most priests don't teach this, nor many other important pieces of Christian doctrine, so many Catholics are ignorant of this. Don't think I'm belittling all Catholics, for I once was one, and ignorant, too!

Church discipline is somewhat rarely brought to bear against heretical babbling, but it happens. The heretic, unfortunately, in this day and age, often has the "luxury" (if you could call it that) of simply going to a different denomination church that agrees with their disputed doctrine! For example, a Baptist who would agree with Jehovah witness doctrine would certainly soon become a reject if they stuck to it, but would feel little hurt of the Baptist rejection, because they would simply waltz into the doors of the Jehovah witness church, and be treated right at home! "But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain. A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject; knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself." (Titus 3:9 - 11) Now we who believe the truth, that Jesus Christ is the only way to receive salvation, born in the flesh to be our sacrifice for all our sins, that washed in His precious blood, our sins are all gone, would never accept the doctrine that doorknocking is another way to get you into heaven, yet there are churches out there that consider this the truth, and so is it any wonder that we are warned to reject people spouting such false dogma!

My family in Christ, let us not be in a hurry to condemn and argue with one another about various interpretations of the word of God that are indeed unprofitable and vain, and not only that, constitute a disruption in fellowship with one another. Agree to disagree on the little stuff, but the important doctrine hold true in your heart, and follow scripture as the Spirit leads you. Remember what Paul said in his 2nd letter to Timothy; "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works." (2 Tim. 3:16 - 17) Reprove and correct meekly with lovingkindness; treat one another as Apollos was treated where there is a mistake in doctrine. Vinegar never attracted any houseflies, nor bellicose disagreement won over against errant thinking. How is it loving one another if we strive and contend one against another? "Honour thy father and thy mother: and, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." (Matt. 19:19)

Saturday, March 17, 2012

IMPURITY AND SANCTIFICATION


IMPURITY AND SANCTIFICATION
What is impurity? The American Heritage Dictionary defines it as "Contamination or pollution, lack of consistency or homogeneity; adulteration. A state of immorality; sin." Shall we explore the ways a person can be spiritually impure?

1. In The Mind. - Did you note how the dictionary said, "A state of immorality"? That's not just with the body, that's also in the mind! See what Jesus said about a dirty mind, and this can apply to a woman's mind, but here Jesus was talking of a man's mind; "
Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, 'Thou shalt not commit adultery': But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." (Matt. 5:27 - 28).

2. In The Heart. - The godly men and women are those who obey the command to love God with all their hearts; but the unglodly person rebels against God with all their heart, and that heart is full of impurities! "And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." (Gen. 6:5) "And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in His heart, 'I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.'" (Gen. 8:21)

3. In The Flesh. - Paul wrote of the problem he had between his flesh and his mind. He found that he wanted to obey God in the spirit, but the flesh was weak! He wrote how he wanted to be obedient in all thigs to God, yet his body was causing him to do and say and think things that lent to impurity, while really he wanted to obey God. He found this to be a wretched state! "But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members." (Rom. 7:23)

The Battle Between Impurity And Sanctity - Many Christians know that when we accepted Christ as our Savior, we got involved in a war, a war between good and evil. A war between being impure and sanctified. "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law." (Gal. 5:17 - 18)

So what must we do to win his battle between impurity and sanctity? There are things we can do to help us, and living by the Spirit, God is willing to help us! First, let's look at what sanctify means.

What is the meaning of sanctify? The American Heritage Dictionary defines it as "To reserve for sacred use; consecrate. To make holy; purify." So how can we sactify ourselves, and even keep ourselves sanctified to the Lord? The bible, of course, has answers!

1. By Separating Ourselves From Defiling Things. - In the Old Testament, Moses was told by the Lord to be sanctified in this manner according to Num. 5:1 - 31. In this day and age, it would apply to a sort of spiritual housecleaning. We do not live communally as the Israelites did then, but we can sanctify our house. Focus on the concept of "If Jesus came into my house to visit, what would I be embarrassed/ashamed for Him to find?" Going room by room, you may find yourself in a house clearing mode for who knows how long! What a good way to get rid of unneeded things though, yes?

2. By Separating Ourselves From Bad Company. - Ever hear of "Tell me who your friends are, and I'll tell you who YOU are."? The same applies to the godly and ungodly. If you have ungodly friends, you will tend to slip and do/say/think ungodly things. Consider this out of the book of Proverbs: "My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause: Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit: We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil: Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse: My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:" (Prov. 1:10 - 15)

3. By Separating Ourselves From Evil Locations. - When we have accepted Christ as our Savior, we realize we cannot go to certain places when we enjoyed our worldly ways, either. No more bars, wild party places, brothels, casinos; those kind of places. Proverbs has a sample of what I mean. "For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell. Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them. Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth. Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house:" (Prov. 5:3 - 8) Here is good advice to stay away from the house of an adulterous woman!


THE SANCTIFICATION PROCESS

Now let us remember that we will still sin. We will still have the sin nature contaminate us with a sin of some sort, some of us still daily, but there is a resolution for that, one that sanctifies us. We have faith that if we confess our sins to God, He faithfully forgives us of them, each and every one, and thus we are sanctified by our confession and His forgiveness! "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it." (1 Thess. 5:23 - 24) "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9) This is a joint work, you may notice, for us to sanctify ourselves. First we have to confess to God that we see what we have done as sin the same as He does. We have to agree that what God says in the bible is sin is sin indeed, and that we have committed an error. Then, as the loving Father He is, He forgives us our sins, and by faith we are sanctified by His forgiveness! "For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear Him." (Psa. 103:11 - 13)