Thanks so much for joining us on the line of fire as we talk about the beauty of holiness. Before you change the station, can I remind you that sin in your spirit is more deadly than cancer in your body? And if I can help you through the Word of God and the Spirit of God and the grace of God to overcome sin, to get rid of sinful fleshly habits, to embrace the beauty of holiness, it would be better than a cure for cancer. That's how deadly sin is. Michael Brown, so glad to be with you today, here to infuse you with faith and truth and courage to help you stand strong in the Lord.
And I encourage you to take in every word that we share today. Our textbook is the Bible. We want to help you stand strong on the front line. That's why we are here on the air with you five days a week. And as you listen, as you breathe in and take in the living word of God from our living God, I believe.
You will be transformed. I get blessed sharing these things with you because the word is so rich and beautiful. I pray that the riches of the word will penetrate your heart and mind as well. Hey, one more reminder before we dig into the scriptures together. If you're not getting my inspirational, impartational, informational, life-changing frontline newsletter, sign up today.
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You name it. Go to thelineoffire.org. Thelineoffire.org. Give us your name, email, and we will be in touch and let you know all the resources we have to serve you, to equip you. Let's see what the word tells us to do, focusing on New Testament scripture in terms of how we are to live.
In ourselves we can't do it, but by the Spirit living in us. by the word of God being in our heart and our mind, and with God's empowering grace, we can live these things out. I'm going to start in Colossians chapter 3, verse 1. If then you You have been raised with Christ. Seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Set your mind. on things that are above not on things that are on earth. For you have died. And your life is hidden with Messiah and God. When Messiah, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Put to death, therefore. Because we have been raised up with Jesus. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you. Sexual immorality. Notice he doesn't say slow it down.
Hinder it. No, no. Put it to death. By God's grace, we can put it to death. Put to death whatever is earthly in you, sexual immorality.
Impurity. passion. evil desire and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these, the wrath of God is coming on these you once walked when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away, anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.
Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its Creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free, but Christ, Messiah, is all. and is in all. All right, let's look at some more scripture. Let's go over to 1 John.
Chapter 2. 1 John chapter 2. Verses 15, 16. Many of you have memorized these verses. Don't love the world.
neither things that are in the world. because everything that's in the world is not of the Father. Right? It's of the world. What is in the world?
The lust of the flesh? The lust of the eyes. and the pride of life. What does the word say? Don't love those things.
We must be crucified to them, dead to them. Let me read to you from Ephesians chapter 5. Ephesians chapter 5. Just be bathed with the word of God. Rather than trying to figure out how.
Right now, let this word bathe you. Let this word wash you. Let this word cleanse you. Let this word seep into your innermost being. Whether you're at home cooking, whether you're jogging and listening with earphones, whether you're driving in your car, whether you're working from home but able to multitask.
Let these words bathe your very spirit. Let them be deposited within you. Remember what the psalmist said? I've hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin. Against you.
Ephesians chapter 5, beginning in verse 1. I'm going to read an extended passage. Therefore, be imitators of God as beloved children. And walk in love. As Messiah loved us and gave himself up for us a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
But sexual immorality? and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you. As is proper among saints, every time Paul has a list of sins in the New Testament, be it here or Galatians 5 or Colossians 3 which we just read Or 1 Corinthians 6, when he has a list of sins, he puts sexual immorality first. This indicates how pervasive it is in the world. This indicates how strong a pull it can be on our human nature as we've been made sexual beings, but there is a moral and an immoral use of sex and sexuality.
There is that which is based within the covenantal love of marriage and that which is outside of it. Everything that is outside of it is immoral and destructive. And When Paul wrote, Human beings were human beings. We're the same human beings today. Human nature hasn't changed, but what has changed is the availability of porn, the availability of unclean things.
The almost infinite amount of possible sin that can be committed just through online apps, through cell phones, that eight-year-old kids can access things that I didn't even know existed when I was shooting heroin over 50 years ago. I didn't even know these things existed.
Now a little kid can access them on a cell phone.
So the danger is there. And we will take time in our teaching on holiness all this month. We will take time to give practical helps as to how do we overcome. How do we live holy lives? We're not going to find perfection in this world, but how can we live lives that are substantially different?
That's what we want to talk about.
So sexual immorality. and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness, nor foolish talk, nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. Picture this for a moment. Picture that you're painting a house and the walls are beautiful, rich white, and someone comes and just starts throwing mud on those walls and starts throwing dirty paint.
Paint filled with mud and junk into the white paint. And now, as you're painting, it's, yeah, it's a mess. Or picture beautiful bride in her. Gown just shining and radiating as she walks down the aisle in that beautiful white gown. And now, just picture pouring all kinds of refuse and junk and people relieving themselves.
I know it's an ugly picture. That's what sin does. That's what sin does to your being. That's what sin does to your spirit. That's how polluting it is.
That's how destructive it is. We're not trying to follow the legalistic way of externally imposed religion and trying to change people from the outside in. We're saying that through the gospel, were changed from the inside out. Please hear me. No matter what your addiction is, no matter what your struggle is, no matter what your.
Besetting sin might be God can make you into something beautiful. God can set you free. God can change you. And right now, if all you can say is, Lord, I need help. I acknowledge that I need help.
Maybe you don't even know him personally. Lord, forgive me and cleanse me. I've made a mess of my life. I need your mercy. I need your grace.
Forgive me. If you believe Jesus died for your sins, if you believe he rose from the dead, and from here on you're willing to follow him as Lord, he'll meet you right where you are, right where you are. And for all of you who know the Lord, who are believers, and are walking with him, I encourage you to take hold of the fullness of his grace and promise. He doesn't command us to do what he will not empower us to do. For you may be sure of this, Paul writes.
That everyone who is sexually immoral Or impure, or who is covetous, that is an idolater, has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. I mean, friends, we didn't even mention the wrath of God anymore. We've gotten so far away from old-fashioned hellfire and brimstone preaching. Yeah, maybe some of it was too condemning.
Maybe preachers preached hellfire to believers. Instead of preaching the goodness and promises of God, they tried to scare believers.
So we swing from one extreme to the other where God's just like a nice grandpa, kind of like a nice toothless grandpa. Oh, it's so good to see the grandkids and you give them what they want and cater to their every woman desire and you never discipline them. That's not God. This is not the character of God. He's not going around with a whip to who did something wrong today.
I'm going to get you. I'm looking for you. He's watching for every little sin. That's not God. Nor is God, oh, whatever you do, I'm so happy.
I just love you so much. No, neither of those are a picture of God. As Paul says in Romans 11. that we should look at the kindness and the severity of God.
So this is a strong warning from Paul. Don't let anyone deceive you. Don't let anyone tell you that no matter how you live, no matter what you do, it's all fine. He says this. Therefore, do not become partners with them.
Meaning, don't partner together with those who are living in this kind of sin. Don't join your life sinfully together with theirs. For at one time you too were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. For the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true, and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.
Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible. For anything that becomes visible is light, therefore it says, awake. O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine.
on you. Are you taking this in? Are you feeling a holy challenge and encouragement from the Lord? We're going to continue bathing you with scripture on the other side of the break. We've got an important announcement.
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Okay, let's go over to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. And I'm reading these verses from the New Testament so that you realize this is not just Old Testament law. This is not Sinai covenant. This is not. commandments written on stone.
This is the word of God written for us and now by the Spirit written on our hearts. Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus. that as you receive from us how you ought to walk and to please God just as you were doing, that you do so more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. Verse 3 of 1 Thessalonians 4.
Are you ready? Paul, can you make it plain? Can you tell us directly, sir? Can you not hold any punches? You got it.
He won't pull any punches. For this is the will of God, your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual immorality. That means adultery? That means fornication. That means porn.
That means whatever other sexual sins we can commit, All sexual acts outside of marriage would be in that category. For this is the will of God. Your sanctification. That you abstain from sexual immorality. That each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God.
That no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity. But in holiness. God has not called you. He has not called me for impurity, but rather he has called us in holiness.
Therefore, Paul writes, Therefore, whoever disregards this disregards not man, but God, who gives His Holy Spirit to you. Oh, this is highly significant. The Holy Spirit has been given to us. Therefore, with the Spirit living within us, we are called to live holy lives. Here, let's listen to more of Paul's words.
And I think it's so significant that Paul spends so much time on this because Paul is the grace preacher. Paul is the one who brings the fullness of the revelation of grace to the body and has divine insights in grace that are now ours in the scriptures. And look at what Paul says here. 1 Corinthians chapter 6, verse 9. Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?
Do not be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed. You were sanctified.
You were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, and by the Spirit of God.
Now let's skip down. A little bit later in the same chapter, 1 Corinthians 6, Paul. Could you make yourself plain? Could you not pull any punches, please? Could you just tell us plainly we want to understand the will of God?
Here we go. First Corinthians chapter six, verse eighteen. Flee. from sexual immorality. Flee from it.
It's there. You gotta run from it. flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body. But the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you? whom you have from God, you are not your own, Paul writes, for you were bought with a price.
So glorify God in your body. You were bought with a price, my brother, my sister.
So glorify God in your body. This is what Paul writes. 1 Corinthians chapter 6. Verses 18 to 20. Let's see what he says in 2 Corinthians.
Again, one of the gloriously beautiful passages on holiness in the Bible. 2 Corinthians chapter 6. We're going to start. in verse 14. Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers.
For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness. What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement as the temple of God with idols.
For we or the temple of the living God, now speaking of us as the corporate body. As God said, I will make my dwelling among them. and walk among you. And I will be their God. And they shall be my people.
Therefore go out from their midst. And be separate from them, says the Lord. He's quoting Old Testament verses, and touch no unclean thing, then. I will welcome you. And I will be a father to you.
and you should be sons and daughters to me. Says the Lord Almighty. Sinst. We have these promises, beloved. This is chapter 7, verse 1.
So, in light of these promises, that God will be a father to us, will be his sons and daughters, that he'll dwell among us, that he'll live in our midst, that we ourselves will become a temple. Built up in which God dwells by His Spirit. We are the living stones. We have been made a priesthood. These are extraordinary concepts from the worst sinner.
I mean, think of it when we're in the muck and mire of sin. Maybe some of you were terribly promiscuous before you knew the Lord. Maybe you were alcoholics. Maybe you were violent people. Maybe you were drug addicts.
Maybe you were thieves. Who knows what perversion may have been in your life or my life before we were saved? God looks down and says, I'm going to make them into a living stone. I'm going to make them into a living stone in my temple. I'm going to make them into a priest.
I'm gonna dwell in their midst by the Spirit. That's the transforming power of God. Therefore, Paul writes, since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion. in the fear of God. In other words, we're growing.
We're growing. We're becoming more and more and more like Jesus. That's the goal. Let's go to the end of the Bible, the book of Revelation. chapter 21, Revelation 21.
And look at what John writes there. Revelation 21 verse 7. The one who conquers will have this heritage. Of the Lord saying, For the thirsty, I'll give them the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God, and he will be my son.
But as for the cowardly... Not just meaning someone who has a fear of heights, but those who deny the Lord rather than stand. But as for the cowardly, cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, Sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death. This is for those who reject the gospel. And then it says this in chapter 22.
Chapter 22 of the Book of Revelation.
So we've got the picture of the new heavenly Jerusalem. And it says this. Verse 14, Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and that they may enter the city by the gates. Outside are the dogs, and sorcerers, and the sexually immoral, and murderers, and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. This is Dr.
Michael Brown. Thanks so much for tuning in. Just a reminder that we are listener supported. If we have been a blessing to you, if you're being enriched in the word and prayer and your own walk with God through this broadcast, then stand with us so that we can reach many, many more and bless many, many more. Together, friends, we're making a difference.
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Okay.
