2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
The Lord directs me to continue writing about Jehovah Mekaddishkem, “God Who sanctifies us.” The word, “sanctify,” comes from a common Hebrew root, “Qadash” or in Greek, “Hagios.” It means to set apart for holiness or to become a saint. This process doesn’t happen overnight. It is an ongoing effort that makes us, from the time we become believers, a work in progress. The opportunity for this work to be done is a product of God’s grace. It cannot advance unless our response to that grace is willingness to make changes in our lifestyles and work through challenges to our faith that move us toward conforming with God’s will for us. The only ways we can know God’s will are to be “in His word,” or should I say, “in His Word” [JN 1: 1-4] and to have an active two-way prayer life. Out of His love for us and His most excellent grace, our Lord offers us superb help in the form of the Holy Spirit, our congregations, and the opportunity to participate in “koininea” relationships. These are special supernatural bonds that exist between ourselves, other believers, and the Lord. These are relationships that are based on the love Jesus Christ modeled for us.
When the Lord commanded the Jews to keep the Sabbath holy, He did that because He wanted His children to establish a lifestyle in which they could be sanctified. EX 31: 13-14a, “…Keep the Sabbath , My day of rest, because it is a sign between you and Me for all time to come, to show that I , the Lord [Jehovah Mekaddishkem], have made you My own people. You must keep the day of rest, because it is sacred.” In the beginning this message was just for the Jews with a few exceptions, like Rehab, Ruth, and the people of Nineveh during Jonah’s time, for example. However, from the time of Paul’s ministry, it has been made available to all Gentiles. God knows that a certain number of Gentiles will come to faith, but we don’t know exactly who is in this group. Thus, we have been commanded to take the Gospel message to all who will listen to it. We know there is a finite number from what is said in RO 11: 25, “There is a secret truth, my brothers, which I want you to know, for it will keep you from thinking how wise you are. It is that the stubbornness of the people [traditional Jews] of Israel is not permanent, but will last only until the complete number of Gentiles come to God.”
When one looks at the system that Jehovah Mekaddishkem has devised, it is logical to assume that the purpose of our redemption is to make us holy, i.e. to enable us to be sanctified by God. HE 12: 14, “Try to be at peace with everyone, and try to live a holy life, because no one will see the Lord without it.” I would be remiss if I didn’t include another citation spoken by Jesus at this point, JN 14: 6. “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, but by Me.” Further light is shed on this issue with the words of HE 10: 10-14. “Because Jesus Christ did what God wanted Him to do, we are all purified from sin by the offering that He made of His own body once and for all. Every Jewish priest performs his services ever day and offers the same sacrifices many times; but these sacrifices can never take away sins. Christ, however, offered one sacrifice for sins, and offering that is effective forever, and then He sat down at the right side of God. There He now waits until God puts His enemies as a footstool under His feet [PS 110: 1; AC 2: 35]. With one sacrifice, then, He has made perfect forever those who are purified from sin.”
When we understand the details of Christ’s attitude toward sanctification, we have a better knowledge of just how important this is to us and how much of God’s exquisite love goes into it. JN 17: 15-19 helps us to this goal. This passage is an intercessory prayer Christ offers for His followers. “I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but I do ask You to keep them safe from the Evil One. Just as I do not belong to the world, they do not belong to the world. Dedicate them to Yourself by means of the truth; Your word is truth. I sent them into the world, just as You sent Me into the world. And for their sake I dedicate Myself to You, in order that they, too, may be truly dedicated to You.”
When Paul wrote his epistle to the Thessalonians, he included a passage on a life that pleases God in 1 THESS 4: 1-11, which I hope you will read. A key part of that passage is 1 THESS 3: 3-8, “God [Jehovah Mekaddiskem] wants you to be holy and completely free from sexual immorality. Each of you men should know how to live with his wife in a holy and honorable way, not with a lustful desire, like the heathen who do not know God. In this matter, then, no man should do wrong to his fellow Christian or take advantages of him. We have told you this before, and we strongly warned you that the Lord will punish those who do that. God did not call us to live in immorality, but in holiness. So then, whoever rejects this teaching is not rejecting man, but God, Who give you His Holy Spirit.” There are so many practical reasons for being faithfully monogamous. One only needs to look at the problems the opposite behavior brings to see that. Yet, we know that there are people with governmental power, celebrities, and even men of the cloth as well as ordinary people who don’t take this teaching seriously. Consider all the societal chaos and breakdowns of family units that are caused by this. While men were targeted in the words of this passage, the same teaching applies to women. Satan takes away one’s conscience. That is why so many unfaithful people accept fornication, adultery, homosexuality, and lesbianism as “acceptable alternative lifestyles.” That is not the way of Jehovah Mekaddishkem. While it is not our place to judge these people, in the name of Christ, it is our responsibility to pray and pray constantly for them. Where possible, we are called as people in the process of sanctification to take God’s message of love and salvation, the Gospel, to them.
PRAYER: O Lord, from the time You established the Jews to be a nation set apart for holiness, You have wanted us to know that we are to keep Your will as Jehovah Mekaddishkem in mind. You have made Your desires clear by asking us to remember the Sabbath, keep our lives pure, and so many things that advance our sanctification. The decision to sacrifice Your only Son on the cross gave us choices for righteousness that we never had before. The Holy Spirit which You caused to be indwelt in us helps us to understand Your will, have righteous attitudes, make Godly decisions, and take apostolic action. You have called us to lives of holiness and piety not to make us self-righteous or judgmental, but be beacons for Your light which shines from us. You call us to lives of holiness and purity, so that we might encourage others to walk through the door marked “faith.” When we serve You, Jehovah Mekaddishkem, we not only bring others to faith, but we encourage strength of faith in each other and advance the sanctification process. These things wouldn’t be possible without the love, compassion, and patience You have for us. We humbly offer You our adoration, worship, trust, obedience, loyalty, honor, glory, praise, and thanks. In Christ’s name, we pray, amen.
The Lord leads me to go on with more citations that clarify what it means to live in holiness tomorrow. We should not be bored hearing their messages for us over and over again. That is because these matters are important to our Jehovah Mekaddiskem and thus, important to us. They are also palpable demonstrations of the love He has for us. How can we not love a Deity Whose greatest desire is that we should live for eternity in close proximity to Him, drawn to His bosom, in joy and fellowship? Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn