The book of Hebrews, a very practical book in so many ways, addresses a very common subject among the people of God, and that subject is discouragement. In fact, if you were listening carefully, When I read the passage this morning, you will have heard that very word discourage or discouragement mentioned several times. in the verses leading up to our text for today.
So discouragement. It was a condition. that prevailed among the Hebrew Christians to whom this epistle is written. It is a condition that prevails among God's people from time to time, some more than others, but all of us face discouragement from time to time. And the Hebrew Christians, you remember, were being persecuted primarily by Other Hebrews who were not followers of Jesus Christ and who directed their anger and They're dis disagreement toward those Hebrews who had embraced Jesus.
as the Messiah. And facing persecution, some of them were feeling quite discouraged and weary and were tempted to turn back to the Old Covenant. Why should I place myself in harm's way. Why should I make myself a target for those who do not believe that Jesus is the Messiah. And the writer of Hebrews basically writes this entire epistle to say two words.
Don't Quit. Don't turn back. Don't consider it even for a moment. It's not a light matter. It's the difference between heaven and hell.
Don't turn back from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now that He has come, now that the promises about the Messiah have been fulfilled, now that the old covenant has been removed and replaced by the new covenant, you cannot turn back to the old. There's no salvation there. Don't do it. And that theme continues in our text for today. You remember that the whole chapter of Hebrews 11, the preceding chapter.
Was a listing of Old Testament saints who didn't quit.
Some of them had tremendous trials and discouragements and obstacles. And yet, believing the promises of God, they held on by faith to God's word and they persevered. What wonderful examples they are to all of us. And moving into chapter 12, we have an even greater example. For there we are reminded that the Lord Jesus Christ didn't quit.
He had more suffering, more afflictions than anybody has possibly endured. And yet for the joy that was set before him, he did not quit. He did not consider these trials to be sufficient to make him stop. How grateful we are. If he had quit, we would have no salvation.
But if we quit, We will have no salvation. That's what the writer of Hebrews is trying to show us. He makes a point for us to understand in the immediately preceding verses That the afflictions that the children of God have are not evidences of God's disapproval upon us. We just tend to think that way. And it takes a while to shake those wrong notions out of our minds.
But on the other hand, contrary to what many people think Those afflictions are not evidences of God's disapproval. They are evidences of our sonship. They are evidences of the loving kindness of our Heavenly Father. They are evidences that our Father knows what we need in order to make progress in holiness and to keep persevering to the end. And therefore, the exact opposite is the truth rather than what many people think.
It's not that those who don't suffer afflictions are thereby marking the blessings of God upon their lives. The truth of the matter is, if you don't have discipline in your life, the afflictions of sonship, you're no son at all. It's only those who are the sons of God that have the kind of chastening which purifies us, strengthens us, causes us to grow in grace and knowledge, causes us to become more holy. and causes us to persevere. in the faith.
And so your afflictions are designed to assure you and to strengthen you and to grow you. And therefore, coming now to our text for today, the writer says, When discouragements arise, there are four things that you ought to do, and this will help you a great deal. And we will name them and then we will... You elaborate upon them. What should we do when discouragement comes?
Number one, renew your commitments. Number two, maintain your direction. Number three, develop good relationships. And number four, grow in holiness. When you are discouraged, what should you do?
Don't Let your commitments become weaker. No, renew your commitments. And we're talking, of course, about your commitments to Christ, your commitments to God's Word, your commitments to holy living. Verse 12, therefore When you feel that affliction, when you are wrestling with the chastening of verse 11. Verse 11: Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful.
Nevertheless, afterward it yields a peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore, this follows now, therefore, do what? Strengthen the hands that hang down. and the feeble knees. Renew your commitments.
The writer of Hebrews employs an athletic metaphor that's common in the New Testament. Paul does this frequently. The writer of Hebrews, I'm convinced, is not Paul, but he also does the same. In fact, he already has introduced that earlier in the chapter. Let us run with patience the race that is set before us.
And so When we are running the grace, that's a metaphor for the Christian life. We start at the moment of salvation and we run the Christian life until we've reached the goal, which is to be with the Lord. And as we do that, it's a marathon, not a hundred-yard dash. And as we do that, sometimes we start getting tired. Arms.
Grow weary. Our knees Get tired.
Some of you are runners. You know exactly what this is. When you When you're running, when you start out fresh. Those arms are just pumping, pumping, pumping. They help.
The arms help your lengths to run. You know that, don't you? The arms are just pumping, pumping, pumping, and then you get more tired and tired. And the arms are beginning to drag a bit, and the knees are beginning to wear down. And This is a dangerous time.
This is a time when some renters Quit. But that's not what you want to do, not by any means.
So when you are facing these afflictions, these Disciplines that your Heavenly Father brings into your life for His perfect, wise, and gracious purposes. When you're dealing with them, don't let them make you quit. Yes, you're. Metaphorical arms are getting weary. Yes, your metaphorical legs are growing weary as you are running the waste, but don't quit, don't quit, don't quit.
Don't do it. And this really involves a twofold. Exhortation. That is it. points in two different directions.
Namely, towards yourself, you need to take responsibility to not let your spiritual arms grow weary and your spiritual legs to grow weary. But you also have to take responsibility for your fellow believers, those around you, who also are struggling, and some far more than you are. That's more evident when we realize that the exhortation refers to Not your hands that hang down and your knees that are made weak, but the hands that hang down, the knees. that are feeble. Any of them, all of them, yours and others, in other words, is what it is saying.
So first of all, applying this exhortation to yourself, What it's saying is when you feel this tiredness, this discouragement, this desire to quit. You need to strengthen your arms. You need to strengthen your legs. And the question is how? How do you do that?
I'm on a I'm on a I'm running. I'm feeling tired. How do I strengthen? My arms and my legs. And the answer is by renewed determination.
RENEWED COMMINTMENT The battle's in the mind. If you give way to feelings of discouragement and tiredness and desire to quit, then you'll probably quit. But if you say no, I'm not going to do that. I know it's possible to keep on. I have run like this before.
I know that it that I Always get tired along the way if we're back to talking about a race. I always get tired along the way at some point, but I've also learned, and many racers, runners will tell you. That as they keep going past the point when they feel like they can go any further, it's like they get a new burst of energy. They hit the wall and go through the wall. I'm sure many of you can testify to that.
I'm sure quite a few of you are runners, as I used to be many years ago. Many years ago, but that's another subject. But at any rate, that is the truth. You reach a place where you feel like you can't go on, but if you Determine That you are going to maintain your commitment, you are going to renew your commitment, you are not going to stop, you are going to keep running and Well, what do you know? New energy.
new wind in my sails, new strength comes to my arms and to my legs. And so we strengthen our arms, spiritually speaking, metaphorically speaking. And strengthen our knees by determining that we'll not quit, we'll keep on going, and of course. calling upon the Lord to give us that strength, to renew our strength, They that wait upon the Lord shall what? shall renew their strength, And we call upon the Lord to renew our strength, and in fact, he actually.
does exactly that. And so the battle in this area, as in so many areas, is in the mind. It's in proper thinking. And it is in determining that I'm not going to quit. I'm going to maintain the commitment that I made earlier.
I'm going to renew the commitments that I made earlier. That's how we strengthen our own. metaphorical arms and legs in this race. But that's also how we help others. Others are flagging.
Others are dragging. The others are Apparently dropping by the wayside. We need to get along beside them. We need to encourage them. We need to help them to renew their commitment.
You committed yourself to the Lord Jesus Christ. You committed yourself to a life of faith. You committed yourself to a life of obedience to the Word of God. Don't quit. Keep it up.
Renew your commitment. Think correctly according to the truth. You're discouraged now because of afflictions that you're dealing with, but. Don't forget, these are given to you by your heavenly Father for your good, his glory, and he has good purposes in it. Afterwards, they will yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness.
Don't forget that. Remember that. and renew your commitment. to following the Lord. This is another way of reminding us that first we must have right doctrine before we can possibly have right practice.
Some forms of Christianity seem to emphasize almost always the practical sides to the neglect of the doctrinal side. But you see, proper practice is dependent upon proper understanding. That's dependent upon the truth that God has given. That's dependent upon what we call doctrine, the teaching of God's word. First, you've got to know the truth.
These afflictions are not God's judgments upon you, they are evidences of your sonship, they are marks of his love for you. Know the truth and now act. Upon it. Act accordingly. Believe the truths that you have learned.
Trust God's revelation. that has been so graciously given to you. Renew your commitments to God's promises. And so if you are going to successfully Combat discouragement that we all deal with, you must renew your commitments regularly. Often even daily.
And you say, well, when do you do that?
Well, when you have your time of Bible reading and prayer, I trust you do have a time. carved out in every day for that. When you get along with the Lord and Commit to him. your needs, your problems, your complaints. That's the place to take your complaints, not to those around you, but take them to the Lord in prayer and give them to Him and ask Him to give you help and direction for them, and He will surely do that.
And as you spend this time with the Lord in prayer and are reminded of what He has done for you, then you pour out your. Heart in loving devotion and renewed commitment to the Lord, and your arms are strengthened and your knees are less feeble, and you continue on. The best way to renew your commitments is before the Lord privately, daily. It really should be daily. You're not best served in this way by going to the front of a church sometimes erroneously called an altar.
and making some kind of a fresh commitment that way. I'm sure fresh commitments have been made that way. But there's no Example or instruction for that in God's Word, but there certainly is direction for us to get alone with the Lord and talk to Him and listen to His Word as it is made more plain to you in the place of prayer and fellowship with Him and renew your commitments to Him. And that's the first step to overcoming your discouragements. Renew.
Your commitments. But there's more. Number two, maintain your direction. Verse 13. And Make straight paths for your feet.
so that what is lame may not be dislocated. but rather healed. Mick Straight paths for your feet. We know that Christians, when they are saved, are placed upon a different path. The Bible talks about two paths.
There is the broad way, there is the narrow way. There is the Natural way. that all of us are on by birth. We come into this world. Walking on the Broadway, But there is the narrow way that we are placed upon when we are Born again.
when we are regenerated by the Spirit of God. When we are plucked out of the kingdom of darkness and placed into the kingdom of His dear Son. when we are transformed. we are placed upon a different path. We may call this the path of righteousness.
Now, this path is a narrow way. The other one's the broad way. Lots of people on the Broadway, not as many on the narrow way. The whole Crowd. Making their way on the Broadway.
It's easy to find somebody in the crowd that. That uh matches your desires and to just Go along with them. cheerfully, joyfully. On the Broadway. But the Broadway, where leads to what?
It leads to destruction. But the narrow way leads to eternal life. And if you're saved, you've been placed upon the narrow way.
Now the narrow gway is both defined and difficult. It's defined. The Bible tells us what that narrow way consists of. The Bible tells us what it is and what it isn't. It's defined by the scriptures and it is difficult.
There are There are Rocks and obstacles along the way. There are pitfalls along the way. When we're placed on the narrow path, it's not just a matter of sitting down and coasting till we get to heaven. No, it's a journey, a foot journey. We have to keep.
marching along or running along if we maintain that athletic metaphor. And so it's a place of chronic, of obstacles, rather, and detours. It's a place of stumbling and straying. And therefore we need to be careful. as we are walking the narrow way that we are maintaining Our direction, the direction that we started with when we were saved and placed upon the narrow way.
And there's so many ways to Forget to forsake. the path that we were placed upon, at least in part.
Some people do this by forsaking the assembly of the saints. They started out on the Christian journey with a company of believers. Knew that that was what they were supposed to do, and they joyfully did that. They wanted to do that, but now discouragement has come. And it's so amazing how many times.
When people are f Wrestling with some difficulty in their life, one of the first things they often do is to. Drop out of church, that is, drop out of regular attendance at church. The very opposite of what is most important at this time. They need the assembly of the saints more than ever, and now is the time when they lose that. important Institution The local church that God has given us In order to strengthen us as we wrestle with these difficulties, as we tread this path of righteousness, as we deal.
with the obstacles that are along the way. Oh, there's so many. Detours. I see Christians in our day who are stumbled up by and abuse of alcohol. I can't get into that in any kind of detail, but there's no question.
that the Bible condemns. drunkenness. The Bible condemns addiction to alcohol. The Bible warns us that alcohol is a subtle but very strong danger. Wine is What is it?
Hello. Um it is deceitful. There's another word. A mocker. Why does a mocker and strong drink is raging, and whoever is deceived thereby is not wise.
But I have experienced a number of Christians along the way. who have ignored that instruction from the word of God and have gotten themselves into trouble with alcohol. In other words, they're not making straight paths for their feet. They are. stumbling along the way.
There are obstacles, there are detours. Aberrant doctrine. You have to keep. in the Word of God. You have to stay committed to the truth of the Bible.
But there's something in the minds of many people at least that Are always looking for something that's new, something that's novel. And look at this new thing that has come along. Hey, let me, let me. Consider that for a while. Before you know it, off they go on a detour.
They're no longer walking the straight and narrow way. They are off on a detour of aberrant doctrine, which if they don't get that corrected, they're going to be in serious trouble.
So many things. We have to maintain Our direction, the direction we were going when we were first saved. When we were first placed, upon the narrow way. But This is a personal responsibility primarily. The first one.
Strengthen thee hands, which hang down, and thee feeble knees, mine and others. But this one says, make straight pads for your feet. That what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.
So this one Moves the spotlight to a narrower focus and says, you need to give very careful attention to this personally in your life. But If you don't, you're going to have problems, but if you do, there's a surprising result. You need to know the potential obstacles and learn how to avoid them. You need to mark detours and be careful not to take them. You need to maintain the prescribed path.
the one you began at conversion, the one that the Bible describes. And if you do, here's the surprising result, and this one really is surprising. To me. Make straight paths for your feet, so that. What is lain may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.
Now here's where the Athletic metaphor seems to depart from the normal. physical realm. Because If you have an injured limb, You better get off the track. You better stop walking on it, stop running on it, stop using it. You need a time to get off of it so you can heal.
I've been freshly reminded of that with this. With this painful hip that had to be replaced, and I'm now recovering from. It doesn't get better by continuing life as before. which actually turns out to be impossible, but by trying to, that doesn't. It doesn't speed the healing.
The healing requires a time of recuperation, recovery, of getting off of the injured limb. But this seems to suggest that in the spiritual realm there's something different that takes place. Make straight paths for your feet. In other words, continue. Continue.
on the direction you were on. Make straight paths for your feet so that What is lame may not be dislocated, but rather healed. As you maintain the proper path, the proper direction, your injured limbs are going to get better. Limbs that can be further damaged by the wrong course. As you see.
step into holes and stumble over rocks and are are having difficulty maintaining the path. but limbs that can further be damaged by a wrong course will instead be healed by a right course.
Now I actually did experience something like this in my life. For many years, my primary form of exercise was running. I loved it. I used to run Five miles most days. That was in such a good shape.
That was so...
So good for me. Until... My knees started killing me. I couldn't do it. They just started.
I couldn't. I had to get off my knees. Had to find something else to do. and as I considered other things to do, I decided I'm going to try something that I don't particularly enjoy, but I think it's good for me, and I'm going to take up lap swimming. And so I would go down to the Y and swim laps, even though I've never been a good swimmer.
And after years of doing that, I didn't become a better swimmer, really, but it was good exercise. But the surprising thing was. That my knees healed on their own over time. I thought my knees were headed for knee replacement surgery. My dad had both his knees replaced.
I said, well. I'm the son of Burl Barkman. I'm headed in the same direction, but I'm not going to do it until I have to, so let's. Just swim as long as we can and put off the knee replacement. And I wasn't expecting this, but slowly, over the years, I realized.
My knees don't hurt any more. My knees are better. And that's really true. When I complained a little bit to my surgeon about my hip. Recovery, and I said, I'm having a whole lot more pain with this right hip than I did when I had my left hip.
replaced five years ago. And I said, one of the things is, I'm hurting from... Clear up. Basically, to the base of my spine, all the way down to my knee. Why is my right knee hurting when it didn't have any surgery?
Checked it and felt it and he said, Nothing wrong with your knee. Your knee's good. Your knee's healthy. It's just That's the way this pain works. It expands beyond its territory, it just works that way.
And so you're gonna have to put up with it. But the amazing thing is, By maintaining My course, though I had to change the exact form of my exercise, My What I thought was injured knees that had no. remedy except for surgery. Got better.
So it really does happen sometimes in the physical realm. But of course, the writer of Hebrews is talking about this in the spiritual realm. And he says, when you're discouraged, number one, make sure you renew your commitments. Don't change your commitments. And number two, make sure you maintain your direction.
Don't go on a different route. Don't go in a different direction.
Well, I'm discouraged. This isn't working very well, so I'll find something else. I'll find a different doctrine. I'll find a different church. I'll find a different something.
I'm not doing well on the path I'm in. No, no, no. If the path you're on is a biblical path, the most important thing you can do is to maintain that direction, not change that direction. To overcome discouragement, we must maintain our course. Years ago when I was in school, I used to hear The uh President of the school Say Keep on.
Keep an eye. That sounds pretty simple. But there's a lot of truth in that. Keep on, keeping on. Just keep on going.
If you're on the right path, then stay on the right path. Similar to that, he used to say, do right. Young people do right. If the stars fall, do right. It doesn't matter what happens.
Continue doing right no matter what circumstances you find yourself in. Maintain your course. Renew your commitments. And maintain your course. Don't let anything drag you off the course.
Now, if the course you find yourself on now is not the right one because you've already detoured, then don't maintain that course. Confess that error, get back on the right course, and maintain the course you know to be the right one. And that is the way to deal with discouragement. What else? Number three.
Develop good relationships. Verse 14. Pursue peace. with all people. This also begins with the mind.
It's a matter of attitude. We Development. bad relationships with people when we first develop a bad attitude toward others.
So we need to pursue peace. What's the goal? The goal is peace. Not quarreling. Not broken relationships.
But peace. But peace doesn't come without working at it. Pursue. Peace. It requires activity, not passivity.
Pursue Peace. It's not easy, it's challenging. It occurred to me, and thinking this over, that what this is saying, in effect, is. Quarreling, fighting, wrangling is the normal human condition, but as Christians, we need to find a different path. Why is there so much?
Arguing, fighting, disputing, anger. And yes, even war in this world that never seems to stop. Every generation says, we're going to be the one that's going to bring in peace. We'll have the peace symbol and the peace marches and the demands for peace. It doesn't happen.
With so many people. Calling out for it to happen, why doesn't it happen? I'll tell you why. In fact, James tells us in his book, Why? Where come wars and fightings among you?
Don't they come from your own sinful desires? They come from within, they come from your heart. And so, wrangling and arguing and fighting is the normal human condition because. Sinful hearts is a normal human condition. comes from within.
From the natural man who has not been Regenerated by the Spirit of God.
Now, when we are saved by the grace of God. And we become a new creature in Christ Jesus, and we are no longer dominated by the old man. We are able to do many new things that are Christ-like, and pursuing peace with others is one of them, but it doesn't come automatically. Why? Because we're not in heaven yet.
We have been we are being, I should say, sanctified, but we have not been completely sanctified. And so we're still warring with those old Adamic, sinful. Thoughts and desires and attitudes, and we often find ourselves quarreling with others. Just about as badly as we did before we were converted, and that is not good. It's not honoring to the Lord.
It's not the way it ought to be for Christians. It certainly won't help your discouragement. If you're dealing with discouragement, then deal. With this, you need to develop good relationships with others. You need to pursue peace.
Everyone. Has strained relationships with someone, some have a lot of them, and others maybe not so many. But every one of you if I Got an honest answer from you, went down the pews row by row and said, Do you have a strange relationship with anybody?
Well, yeah, I of course. Everybody has a strained relationship with somebody. But that is the signal to work at developing and maintaining Peace. Christians are, as Jesus told us in the Sermon on the Mount, Christians are to become Peacemakers. Blessed are the peace.
Makers. But again, that makes it clear. It isn't something that happens without Working at it. It's not blessed are Christians because they are now In a place of peace, enjoy your new relationship, enjoy your new peaceful environment. No, blessed are the peacemakers.
You're going to have to work at this. You're going to have to make peace. It doesn't exist anymore. everywhere automatically, even for Christians.
So you're going to have to pursue peace with all men. and make peace as peacemakers. And so we have to work at it by friendly attitudes, not Suspicious. Not hostile, not critical. When you meet somebody for the first time, you don't really know them very well.
What is the prevailing attitude that comes up? Are you? automatically suspicious until you are Proven other It's proven to you that you don't need to be suspicious, or the other way around, do you automatically assume a potential for a good relationship and And only Succumb to the other if it is imposed upon you. Your attitude is so important in this. Don't have suspicions.
Don't Maintain hostilities. We talk about people. who have a chip on their shoulder. That's just the way they are. Every place they go, you can tell.
They just sort of have this automatic Hostility. toward everybody and everything. An attitude, we call it.
Well, what it is, of course, is not an attitude, because there are good attitudes as well as bad attitudes. But what we mean by that is a bad attitude. It just shows forth from so many people. Don't let that be you. Don't let that be you.
Not critical. of everyone else. You're not going to make peace with people that way, folks. Come on now. Recognize this.
You're going to have to deal with that. But peace is achieved by kind and Cordial relationships that grow out of good attitudes toward others. Peace is developed and maintained by wholesome interactions with others. Not avoiding people that you think you have a difference with, or maybe actually do have a difference with. But you'll never make peace, you'll never pursue peace if you don't.
reach out and have a relationship and endeavor to have peace with that one. And how far should we pursue peace? And there are two answers to that question. Number one. The answer is as far as others allow.
The Bible is a very practical book. And it makes it clear. That You can't guarantee. peace with two people if one of them is determined it's not going to happen. If one of them remains determined that it's not going to happen, then folks.
It's not gonna happen. It takes two. And so that's why the Bible says in Romans 12, 18, If it is possible, as much as depends on you. live peaceably with all men. If it is possible, as much as depends upon you.
So, you're not going to succeed in having a peaceful relationship with everyone because the other person may be critical, the other person may be hostile, the other person may be. Have a maintain a perpetually bad attitude. The other person may be unwilling. To Allow Peace to be developed between you. But if that is the case, if you have a relationship that does not seemed to be a peaceable one.
Make sure that's not because of you, in whole or in part. It's easy for us to take an exception like this. And let that be an excuse. I can't. have peace with everybody.
So I don't have to work at this one. I don't have to work at that one. No, that's not what the Bible says. The Bible says, as much as lies within you. As much as lies within you.
Have peace. With all men. That's how far. This piece Should be achieved. And by the way, with whom should we make this peace?
And the answer is with everybody. It says, All men, all believers, church members. Other believers. But Unbelievers as well. And they will be more challenging, but that's what we are to do, to pursue peace with all men.
And how far we pursue peace is number one, as far as others will allow. And number two, as far as truth will allow. Because coupled right together in this verse, verse 14, it says, pursue peace with all people and Holiness. without which no one will see the Lord. As far as truth allows.
Do everything But sin. to prevent a quarrel. Do everything but sin. to maintain peace. Holiness that is truth must not be sacrificed to maintain peace.
But Up until that point, it is our responsibility to do everything possible. Two. establish and maintain Peace. With everyone Else. Here's a place where peace cannot be maintained.
It just came out recently in the last week or two. that the Presbyterian Church USA, did you read about this? How did they annual general conference this year, a proposal. to pass. They were asked to pass.
that it would be understood and required that clergymen in the Presbyterian Church USA. are required to live monogamous lives. See, what does that mean? That's a big word. In other words, they are to have sexual relationships with one person only.
It didn't even, from what I read, it didn't even require that they be married to them. I thought that was quite a weak. requirement, just that they live mono monogamous lives, and it didn't pass. Can you believe it? It didn't pass.
It's been tabled for further study and discussion. We have to study to see if this is really, really what we want to do.
Well, that decision was already made. You don't need to study it. Just read your Bible, believe it, and act upon it. Good night. You're not going to require your clergyman to lead.
Lives of sexual purity. To Have sexual relations with their spouse. And with nobody else, you're going to leave the door open. What is that? Uh I expect True believers are going to have trouble maintaining peace with people that take that route.
You maintain peace as far as truth and holiness. Allow, but when it requires a compromise of truth, it requires a compromise of biblical holiness. You you can't have peace in that situation. But we all need to examine our areas of life to see how we're doing with this matter of peace. Examine your political relationships.
Are you pursuing peace there? Examine your religious relationships. Are you pursuing peace there? Examine your family relationships. Are you pursuing peace there?
Who in your family, immediate or extended, do you have? A A tangle width.
Now, don't tell me. As you know, it comes to mind. Pursue peace. Pursue peace with everyone. How who in your work relationship?
Do you have a problem with? How are you handling that? Are you working at it? Are you pursuing it? Are you trying to be a peacemaker?
And then the fourth thing, and I see our time is going to catch you short as it so often does, but our fourth thing is to. Grow in holiness. That's the last part of verse 14. We are to pursue peace with all men and holiness without which no one will see the Lord. How important is this?
Pretty important. Without this no one will see the Lord. Holiness. Not Phariseeism, but Christ-likeness. Holiness as defined by the Bible.
And I take this to mean primarily those passages that tell you what is, say, the fruit of the flesh as opposed to the fruit of the Spirit. That one in Galatians will help you understand. the opposite of holiness. And there are other passages like that. Christians are to live holy lives, not in, as we've already referred to, sexual promiscuity.
That's for all Christians. If you can't do that for clergymen, for who are you going to require that? It's just unbelievable. We are to pursue peace, we are to pursue holiness. Our eternal destiny depends upon it, without which no one will see the Lord.
And so we must reject worldliness as defined by Scripture, and we must pursue righteousness as defined by Scripture. Holiness is not a branch of Christianity. There's some people that are known as holiness people primarily because of the Strict rules they have regarding women who must wear their skirts down to the ground and so forth and so on.
Well, that's not holiness. That's not biblical holiness. Does the Bible have anything to say about dress and about modesty? Of course, it does. But when you go beyond what the Bible does say and add things to it, that doesn't make you more holy, that actually makes you less so because you are deviating from the Word of God.
Yes, Christians should be concerned about modesty, and it's a shame when they're not, when they don't take that into consideration. But it's also a problem when you start Adding rules on top of what the Bible says.
So, holiness is what the Bible says holiness is. Not what some man added to what the Bible says, but what the Bible says. And there's plenty there to keep us busy, believe you me. Plenty there. to keep us busy.
Now, holiness is not a branch of Christianity. Holiness is not an odd appearance for the sake of visible distinction. Just living truly. In a truly biblical pattern of holiness is going to make us distinct enough from others around us, believe me. There's a great deal of difference between.
A born-again Christian who is living in obedience to the word of God and trying to honor the Lord, and unbelievers who are going in an entirely different direction. Yeah, it's pretty clear to tell who's who and what's what and where all that is headed. True holiness is distinct enough without additions, but holiness is basic Christianity. It's not a branch of Christianity. Holiness is basic Christianity for every Christian.
And that's the fourth element. You're discouraged?
Well check your life, are you? Letting You're leaving the gate open in some of these areas of Christian living? Are you being careless with some of these areas of? of biblical holiness. then you need to address those.
So if you are discouraged. or when you are discouraged. Number one, renew your commitments. Number two. Maintain your direction.
Number three, develop good relationships. And number five. Yeah. What is number four is maintain holiness. And if you do that.
Your discouragement will soon disappear. shall we pray? Father, help us to apply your word to our lives. For the sake and honor of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
