OUR GOD IS HOLY AND WITHIN US THEREFORE WE SHOULD BE HOLY

Proclamation:

“But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.”  1 Peter 1:15-16 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written by the apostle Peter, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God, to the believers who scattered after the crucifixion of Christ. (1 Peter 1:1-2)  After introducing himself and greeting them, Peter offered praise to God for giving them a new living hope through the resurrection of Jesus, The Christ. (1 Peter 1:3-5)  He told them that they may suffer for a little while but their joy was coming. (1 Peter 1:6-7)  Then he told them to be holy, and keep their minds on things which are good and on Christ Jesus. (1 Peter 1:13-16)  God is holy so they should be holy.

Application:

Here Peter quoted from The Old Testament Scriptures when he told them, and believers today, to “be holy” because our God is holy. (Leviticus 11:45, 19:2, 20:7, and 20:26)  We need to be careful with our thoughts.  We should keep our minds on things which are holy, good, and Christ-like, and not on the evil desires that we had before we were saved. (1 Peter 1:13-14)  We may suffer for a while during this life but our day of rejoicing is coming. (Psalm 30:5, 1 Peter 1:6, and Revelation 21:4) 

WE SHOULD THINK BEFORE WE SPEAK

Proclamation:

"He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin."  Proverbs 13:3 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words of King Solomon, the wisest man to ever live, were written under the inspiration of The Holy Spirit of God to the people of God to share his insights on human behavior and how believers should conduct themselves.  His point here was that believers should control their tongue, and not speak everything they think.  Harsh and rash words will not produce anything good.  Those who refuse to engage their brain before they speak will do more harm than good.  They will usually end up creating a far worse situation by speaking without first thinking.

Application:

There is a very familiar and popular quote which says, "Think before you speak." (Unknown)  We should engage our brain before we engage our mouth.  Most of us would be better off if we would put this into practice.  However, there is another quote based upon a similar principal which takes this to a somewhat higher level.  “If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." (Thumper, the rabbit, in the Disney animated film entitled "Bambi".  He may not be the original author, but that was the first time that I heard it)  As believers before we speak we should ask ourselves these three questions. One, is it truthful?  Two, is it helpful?  Three, is it kind?  If what we were going to say is untruthful, we should forget it.  If it is not going to help the person, or the situation, we should keep it to ourselves.  If it is not kind, or is insensitive, it is better left unsaid.  We should always let our speech be filled with the grace of God. (Colossians 4:6)  Some of the things that we say just do not need to be said.  We need to pray and ask God to help us control our words and our thoughts as well as our behavior.

We Should Think Before We Speak

"He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin."  Proverbs 13:3 (NIV)

These words of King Solomon, the wisest man to ever live, were written to the people of God to share his insights on human behavior and how believers should conduct themselves.  His point here was that believers should control their tongue, and not speak everything they think.  Those who do not engage their brain before they speak, will end up worse off for doing so.

There is a very familiar and popular quote which says, "Think before you speak." (Unknown)  Most of us would be better off it we would practice this.  However, there is another quote which says, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." (Thumper, the rabbit, in the Disney animated film entitled "Bambi")  (He may not be the original author, but that was the first time that I heard it)  Before we speak, we should ask ourselves these three questions. One, is it truthful?  Two, is it helpful?  Three, is it kind?  If what we were going to say is untruthful, we should forget it.  If it is not going to help the person, or the situation, we should keep it to ourselves.  If it is not kind, or is insensitive, it is better left unsaid.  We should always let our speech be filled with the grace of God. (Colossians 4:6)  Some things just do not need to be said.

A Man's Heart Reflects The Man

"As water reflects a face, so a man's heart reflects the man."  Proverbs 27:19 (NIV)

King Solomon provides this profound saying, just like still water shows the reflection of a man's face, so his heart reflects who the man really is.

That which is within us will eventually come out.  Just as that which is within us will show forth in the fruit that we produce. (Matthew 7:17-18)  Just as the words that we speak reflect the issues that are within our hearts. (Matthew 12:34 and Luke 6:45)  For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. (Proverbs 23:7)  It may be possible to put on an academy award winning performance and fool some of the people some of the time, but it is not possible to fool all of the people all of the time, and it is impossible to fool God any time.  God knows our thoughts. (Psalms 94:11, 1 Corinthians 2:11, and 1 Corinthians 3:20)  We may hide our feelings, thoughts, and intentions from others, but God sees the heart and He knows who we really are. (1 Samuel 16:7)  We need to transform our reflection and renew our mind and heart. (Romans 12:1-2)  We need to pray that God will create in us a clean pure heart and a right spirit. (Psalms 24:4-5 and 51:10)  We want our reflection and our heart t be Christ-like.

Be Careful What You Look At

"The eye is the lamp of the body.  If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness."  Matthew 6:22-23 (NIV)

As part of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said that ones eyes are the lamp and light to the body.  If ones eyes are good and look at good, then the whole body is filled with light.  However, if the eyes are bad and look at that which is bad, then the whole body is full of darkness.

Physically, the eyes allow light to enter the body if they are functioning properly.  If they do not function properly and do not allow light to enter, then we live in darkness.  Spiritually, that which we look at and see enters our mind through our eyes.  If what we see is good, then good thoughts are produced.  However, if what we see is bad, evil, or sinful, then that is what we think about.  Philosophically, our eyes are the windows to our soul and we are what we think. (Proverbs 23:7)  So, be careful what you look at, look at good things, read The Good Book (the Bible), think good thoughts, and do good.

Rules For Holy Living

"Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things ... Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other ... clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." Colossians 3:2-14 (NIV)

The Apostle Paul wrote this letter to the Christians in Colosse while he was in prison in Rome to warn them about heresy that threatened the Church, and to encourage them to exhibit good Christian conduct in their lives. They were to think heavenly thoughts, put aside their earthly nature, and act Christ-like.

We also must put off our sinful nature and put on "Christ-likeness". We must pray for God's help and work at being less sinful each day. Doing good is not hard, the hard part is avoiding sin. That requires our constant conscious effort and commitment. We know the difference between right and wrong, we just need to choose to do and say the right thing more often.