WEBVTT 00:00:01.260 --> 00:00:04.759 We all know that even the very best of Christians 00:00:04.759 --> 00:00:08.060 mess up and sin sometimes. Well, if that's true, 00:00:08.259 --> 00:00:12.160 how do we obey God's command, be holy because 00:00:12.160 --> 00:00:15.660 I am holy? How does that work? Well, stick around. 00:00:17.600 --> 00:00:19.920 Thank you for being with us for this edition 00:00:19.920 --> 00:00:22.960 of Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. Chip 00:00:22.960 --> 00:00:25.399 serves as our Bible teacher for this global teaching 00:00:25.399 --> 00:00:27.820 and discipleship ministry, helping Christians 00:00:27.820 --> 00:00:31.079 develop an authentic faith. In this program, 00:00:31.300 --> 00:00:33.960 Chip picks up in his series, The Real God, as 00:00:33.960 --> 00:00:36.960 he continues examining God's most essential characteristics 00:00:36.960 --> 00:00:40.200 that paint a clearer picture of His nature. Last 00:00:40.200 --> 00:00:42.500 time, he underscored the importance of God's 00:00:42.500 --> 00:00:45.659 holiness and provided a precise definition from 00:00:45.659 --> 00:00:48.299 Scripture. Today, he'll continue explaining how 00:00:48.299 --> 00:00:51.320 God chooses to reveal the wonderment of His holiness 00:00:51.320 --> 00:00:54.079 to His people. So if you're ready, grab your 00:00:54.079 --> 00:00:56.520 notes and Bible as we settle in for the remainder 00:00:56.520 --> 00:01:00.280 of Chip's talk. I'd like you to open your Bibles, 00:01:00.320 --> 00:01:02.859 and I want to walk through a familiar passage, 00:01:02.960 --> 00:01:05.359 but I want you to see the pattern. I'm sure most 00:01:05.359 --> 00:01:09.159 of you are familiar with Isaiah chapter 6. But 00:01:09.159 --> 00:01:14.980 Isaiah chapter 6 is the pattern of what happens 00:01:14.980 --> 00:01:20.700 to a man or a woman who gets a glimpse of the 00:01:20.700 --> 00:01:24.060 holiness of God. As I read it, I want you to 00:01:24.060 --> 00:01:27.379 begin thinking about... Three views. One, an 00:01:27.379 --> 00:01:32.540 upward view. Two is an inward view. And three 00:01:32.540 --> 00:01:35.959 is an outward view. And in the context, I want 00:01:35.959 --> 00:01:39.879 to suggest that this is a deep, deep crisis in 00:01:39.879 --> 00:01:42.819 Israel. And if you're a prophet in Israel and 00:01:42.819 --> 00:01:45.579 the world is falling apart and the political 00:01:45.579 --> 00:01:48.140 situation is unstable, does this sound familiar? 00:01:48.319 --> 00:01:50.319 And you're not sure what the future is going 00:01:50.319 --> 00:01:53.390 to be like, does this sound familiar? And everyone's 00:01:53.390 --> 00:01:56.489 fearful and you have a moral responsibility as 00:01:56.489 --> 00:01:58.510 a spokesman for God to know what's going on. 00:01:58.709 --> 00:02:00.969 You go meet with God in the midst of a crisis. 00:02:01.049 --> 00:02:05.450 And I'm going to suggest that your personal crisis 00:02:05.450 --> 00:02:11.129 or the one that one of your kids have might be 00:02:11.129 --> 00:02:14.330 the doorway where God leads you to get a glimpse 00:02:14.330 --> 00:02:18.490 of his holiness. In the year that King Uzziah 00:02:18.490 --> 00:02:21.310 died, that's the crisis. I saw the Lord sitting 00:02:21.310 --> 00:02:23.939 on a throne. He goes into the temple and he gets 00:02:23.939 --> 00:02:26.219 this vision. High and lifted up, and the train 00:02:26.219 --> 00:02:28.939 of his robe filled the temple. And above him 00:02:28.939 --> 00:02:32.479 stood the seraphim. Each had six wings, and with 00:02:32.479 --> 00:02:34.539 two he covered his eyes, and with two he covered 00:02:34.539 --> 00:02:36.960 his feet, and with two he flew. And one called 00:02:36.960 --> 00:02:39.780 out to another, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord 00:02:39.780 --> 00:02:41.699 of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory. 00:02:42.419 --> 00:02:45.599 And the foundations of the threshold shook at 00:02:45.599 --> 00:02:47.960 the voice of him who called, and the house was 00:02:47.960 --> 00:02:51.259 filled with smoke. And I said, here's the inward 00:02:51.259 --> 00:02:55.550 look. Woe is me. He's the most righteous guy 00:02:55.550 --> 00:03:00.509 on the planet. He's the prophet. For I am lost, 00:03:00.710 --> 00:03:03.469 for I'm a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in 00:03:03.469 --> 00:03:05.710 the midst of a people of unclean lips, for my 00:03:05.710 --> 00:03:08.849 eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Then 00:03:08.849 --> 00:03:10.710 one of the seraphs flew to me, having in his 00:03:10.710 --> 00:03:13.129 hand a burning coal that he'd taken with tongs 00:03:13.129 --> 00:03:15.289 from the altar, and he touched my mouth and said, 00:03:15.349 --> 00:03:17.330 Behold, this has touched your lips, your guilt 00:03:17.330 --> 00:03:21.550 is taken away, and your sin is atoned for. And 00:03:21.550 --> 00:03:23.449 I heard the voice of the Lord saying, whom shall 00:03:23.449 --> 00:03:27.349 I send and whom will go for us? And then I said, 00:03:27.449 --> 00:03:32.009 here am I. Send me. Did you see the pattern? 00:03:32.909 --> 00:03:36.069 By the way, God always speaks. I think God really 00:03:36.069 --> 00:03:39.389 speaks to us in ways often that are unique to 00:03:39.389 --> 00:03:43.129 our personality and how we hear. And this prophet, 00:03:43.289 --> 00:03:46.330 he's living in a world of kings and the train 00:03:46.330 --> 00:03:49.810 of his robe. If you were a pretty important king, 00:03:49.990 --> 00:03:52.449 you know, X amount of armies, X amount of wealth, 00:03:52.569 --> 00:03:54.629 you might have a train that's four or five feet 00:03:54.629 --> 00:03:57.310 long. If you were like a super, super powerful 00:03:57.310 --> 00:04:01.629 king and you were like the big kahuna king and 00:04:01.629 --> 00:04:03.969 you had big armies and you were in really big 00:04:03.969 --> 00:04:06.210 control, you might have a train that's 20 feet 00:04:06.210 --> 00:04:08.150 long and there might be seven or eight or nine 00:04:08.150 --> 00:04:12.129 or 10 attendants behind you. The length of your 00:04:12.129 --> 00:04:16.149 train was the evidence of your status and your 00:04:16.149 --> 00:04:20.839 power. So when we read this, we think the train 00:04:20.839 --> 00:04:26.540 of his robe filled the temple. It's looping, 00:04:26.540 --> 00:04:28.779 looping, looping, filling, filling. In other 00:04:28.779 --> 00:04:31.000 words, it's overwhelming. What it's doing to 00:04:31.000 --> 00:04:35.360 Isaiah is of any king ever he's ever heard of, 00:04:35.399 --> 00:04:40.040 in his mind, it's going. And he just realizes, 00:04:40.300 --> 00:04:46.199 woe is me. He's undone. And he's a righteous 00:04:46.199 --> 00:04:50.300 man. Here's the thing. Isaiah, compared to probably 00:04:50.300 --> 00:04:54.560 everyone else, is here. Compared to God, he's 00:04:54.560 --> 00:04:58.079 here. And for some of you with a really sensitive 00:04:58.079 --> 00:05:00.579 conscience, you have to be careful that in your 00:05:00.579 --> 00:05:02.360 moments with God, you don't just go completely 00:05:02.360 --> 00:05:05.100 introspective. Because some of you can just, 00:05:05.360 --> 00:05:09.439 oh yeah, my motives are bad. And I'm bad. In 00:05:09.439 --> 00:05:11.579 fact, I'm really terrible. In fact, I'm a worm. 00:05:11.759 --> 00:05:15.199 I'm worse than a worm. I don't even know. Got 00:05:15.199 --> 00:05:19.019 you, right? There was an era of what I call worm 00:05:19.019 --> 00:05:22.480 theology. And people felt really, really good 00:05:22.480 --> 00:05:25.300 about feeling really, really bad. Here's the 00:05:25.300 --> 00:05:28.139 deal. When the Holy Spirit convicts you, it's 00:05:28.139 --> 00:05:31.819 for a very specific reason. You are the object 00:05:31.819 --> 00:05:34.819 of His love, and He will tell you very specifically 00:05:34.819 --> 00:05:37.980 where you don't measure up so that you can say 00:05:37.980 --> 00:05:40.660 to Him, I am so sorry, and the blood of Christ 00:05:40.660 --> 00:05:43.879 covers it to restore you to fellowship. When 00:05:43.879 --> 00:05:46.480 the enemy wants to discourage you, he doesn't 00:05:46.480 --> 00:05:50.220 convict. It's called condemnation. And condemnation 00:05:50.220 --> 00:05:53.560 is vague and general. I mean, when I go through 00:05:53.560 --> 00:05:55.060 this, I mean, everybody does, but when I have 00:05:55.060 --> 00:05:57.779 my bad condemnation moments, it's like, I'm a 00:05:57.779 --> 00:06:00.819 terrible dad. I'm a terrible pastor. I'm a terrible 00:06:00.819 --> 00:06:05.300 husband. I bet 97 .3 % of all my motives are 00:06:05.300 --> 00:06:07.279 wrong, even when I'm teaching. And you know, 00:06:07.300 --> 00:06:09.120 blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And 00:06:09.120 --> 00:06:11.000 you know what it makes me feel like? I don't 00:06:11.000 --> 00:06:14.899 want to pray. I don't want to get near God. Condemnation, 00:06:14.899 --> 00:06:17.379 what's Romans 8 say? There's no condemnation 00:06:17.379 --> 00:06:20.360 for those of us in Christ Jesus. So that's when 00:06:20.360 --> 00:06:22.379 you do spiritual warfare. You say, I don't believe 00:06:22.379 --> 00:06:24.660 any of that. This is who I am in Christ. I'm 00:06:24.660 --> 00:06:26.939 the son, I'm the daughter of a living God. I 00:06:26.939 --> 00:06:29.019 have his righteousness. I'm robed in righteousness. 00:06:29.279 --> 00:06:31.660 I'm accepted by the beloved. Get out of here. 00:06:32.379 --> 00:06:35.160 But when he says, you were rude to your wife. 00:06:36.879 --> 00:06:42.579 Hmm. You, uh. kind of left the channel on and 00:06:42.579 --> 00:06:45.579 you started with, I don't believe that's on primetime 00:06:45.579 --> 00:06:51.120 TV. This is terrible. I wonder how much they're 00:06:51.120 --> 00:06:55.240 going to show. I should probably investigate 00:06:55.240 --> 00:06:59.000 to make sure. And then one of the kids or someone 00:06:59.000 --> 00:07:02.259 walks in the room, click. And then you realize 00:07:02.259 --> 00:07:05.860 you were sucked in. Or 68%, I don't know where 00:07:05.860 --> 00:07:07.540 they get these statistics. I hope they're all 00:07:07.540 --> 00:07:10.720 wrong. But all these people who do these things 00:07:10.720 --> 00:07:15.360 say 68 % of Christian men are on triple X porn 00:07:15.360 --> 00:07:19.480 sites regularly. I don't know if you saw Time 00:07:19.480 --> 00:07:23.279 Magazine and Esquire in the epitome of biblical 00:07:23.279 --> 00:07:29.439 journals, in my opinion. Has done research recently 00:07:29.439 --> 00:07:34.600 on pornography. Independent research. Basically 00:07:34.600 --> 00:07:37.459 said that a man who watches pornography has a... 00:07:37.720 --> 00:07:39.740 four times the probability of divorce. When a 00:07:39.740 --> 00:07:42.120 woman begins watching pornography, it's six times. 00:07:42.279 --> 00:07:45.079 And basically what they're discovering is that 00:07:45.079 --> 00:07:48.000 it's a complete rewiring of the brain that is 00:07:48.000 --> 00:07:52.779 absolutely akin to cocaine use. When God wants 00:07:52.779 --> 00:07:58.680 us to be pure and holy, it's not that old thinking 00:07:58.680 --> 00:08:00.939 of there's probably something really fun and 00:08:00.939 --> 00:08:06.990 he's like a cosmic killjoy. He is a loving Father 00:08:06.990 --> 00:08:12.829 who knows the implications. Every command of 00:08:12.829 --> 00:08:17.949 Scripture is given by an absolutely holy God 00:08:17.949 --> 00:08:23.290 who in His kindness and tenderheartedness wants 00:08:23.290 --> 00:08:27.170 to prevent you from being hurt or damaged. Holiness 00:08:27.170 --> 00:08:31.419 is wholeness. Holiness is for your health. And 00:08:31.419 --> 00:08:35.960 Isaiah has this picture of upward and then inward. 00:08:36.480 --> 00:08:39.799 And then notice when that happens, your priorities 00:08:39.799 --> 00:08:41.700 change and you say, God, what do you want me 00:08:41.700 --> 00:08:45.299 to do? It's just the opposite of our day. God, 00:08:45.399 --> 00:08:47.480 what can you do for me? God, how do you make 00:08:47.480 --> 00:08:49.740 my life work out? How can I be more fulfilled? 00:08:49.960 --> 00:08:52.120 How can I get more of this? How can I do some 00:08:52.120 --> 00:08:54.019 of that? How will you change? We're always asking 00:08:54.019 --> 00:08:56.059 God to change everything. Try this one. God, 00:08:56.159 --> 00:09:03.350 change me. Just change me. Now, the next place 00:09:03.350 --> 00:09:08.149 where God reveals is 1 Corinthians 6. And sort 00:09:08.149 --> 00:09:10.909 of time permitting, all I want to do is read 00:09:10.909 --> 00:09:15.169 the passage. It's interesting because of what 00:09:15.169 --> 00:09:19.629 the deep bonds that occur in the realm of sexual 00:09:19.629 --> 00:09:22.049 activity. It says, flee from sexual immorality. 00:09:22.509 --> 00:09:26.169 All other sins a man commits are outside his 00:09:26.169 --> 00:09:29.049 body, but he who sins sexually sins against his 00:09:29.049 --> 00:09:33.460 own body. We now have the evidence in our day 00:09:33.460 --> 00:09:35.879 and our world long before this was written about 00:09:35.879 --> 00:09:39.559 what happens. Do you not know that your body 00:09:39.559 --> 00:09:41.539 is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, 00:09:41.639 --> 00:09:45.940 whom you receive from God? You are not your own. 00:09:46.000 --> 00:09:48.799 You were bought with a price. Therefore, honor 00:09:48.799 --> 00:09:52.480 God with your body. Now, I just want you to, 00:09:52.539 --> 00:09:55.659 it's hard, but just pause, and I want you to 00:09:55.659 --> 00:09:59.440 go back to that mountain with the smoke and the 00:09:59.440 --> 00:10:03.720 lightning. The earth shaking. And then I want 00:10:03.720 --> 00:10:07.600 you to sort of semi -visualize this temple filled 00:10:07.600 --> 00:10:11.379 with this train of this robe and these bizarre 00:10:11.379 --> 00:10:14.720 looking creatures with all these eyes chanting 00:10:14.720 --> 00:10:17.480 holy, holy, holy as your face down on the ground. 00:10:18.600 --> 00:10:22.860 And then I want you to try and even ponder that 00:10:22.860 --> 00:10:25.860 the temple that God has chosen in the new covenant 00:10:25.860 --> 00:10:29.919 where he wants his presence manifested is your 00:10:32.279 --> 00:10:37.960 He owns you. He bought you. You know, we read 00:10:37.960 --> 00:10:40.879 of these Old Testament characters and David empowered 00:10:40.879 --> 00:10:42.960 by the Spirit and the prophet empowered by the 00:10:42.960 --> 00:10:46.600 Spirit and Elijah doing this. Even Matthew, Mark, 00:10:46.740 --> 00:10:50.940 Luke, John, Peter, you know, Transfiguration. 00:10:51.080 --> 00:10:57.120 We, New Testament believers, have a more intimate 00:10:57.120 --> 00:11:00.980 relationship and access. to the God of the universe 00:11:00.980 --> 00:11:05.919 than any of them did. Because the Spirit of God 00:11:05.919 --> 00:11:07.899 would come in the Old Testament at times and 00:11:07.899 --> 00:11:10.200 anoint with power and manifest His presence. 00:11:10.830 --> 00:11:13.289 And Jesus that last night said, there's a new 00:11:13.289 --> 00:11:16.029 covenant. A covenant is an agreement that people 00:11:16.029 --> 00:11:18.649 make that on the basis we will shed blood to 00:11:18.649 --> 00:11:20.909 demonstrate that we will give our lives before 00:11:20.909 --> 00:11:23.049 we will break the covenant. And he said, this 00:11:23.049 --> 00:11:26.509 is my body given for you. And when he shed his 00:11:26.509 --> 00:11:30.950 blood, when a person repents of their sin, turns 00:11:30.950 --> 00:11:35.159 and says, Oh God, I believe Christ died to pay 00:11:35.159 --> 00:11:38.179 for my sin and as my substitute, will you come 00:11:38.179 --> 00:11:41.879 into my life? The Spirit of God literally pulls 00:11:41.879 --> 00:11:46.559 you out of the kingdom of darkness. places you 00:11:46.559 --> 00:11:49.679 into the kingdom of light. The Spirit then enters 00:11:49.679 --> 00:11:52.480 your mortal body. You're sealed with the Spirit. 00:11:52.740 --> 00:11:56.179 Spiritual gifts are deposited. You're engrafted 00:11:56.179 --> 00:11:58.600 into a supernatural family called the church, 00:11:58.779 --> 00:12:03.789 and the Holy Spirit lives in your body. And now 00:12:03.789 --> 00:12:06.549 God's game plan to take his message to the world 00:12:06.549 --> 00:12:09.490 is not to get people to come to a temple in Jerusalem 00:12:09.490 --> 00:12:12.909 to see the glory and the power of God and a nation 00:12:12.909 --> 00:12:15.610 that's been transformed, but to take you and 00:12:15.610 --> 00:12:19.360 I sort of decentralized distribution. And now 00:12:19.360 --> 00:12:23.360 we go forth and in your home, you are the ambassador 00:12:23.360 --> 00:12:25.659 of the living God with his spirit living within 00:12:25.659 --> 00:12:28.419 you. And your job is to reveal God to your family. 00:12:28.580 --> 00:12:31.259 Then you go in your driveway to reveal God to 00:12:31.259 --> 00:12:33.340 your neighbors. And then you go to work to reveal 00:12:33.340 --> 00:12:35.720 God. And not only to reveal God, but then because 00:12:35.720 --> 00:12:38.100 you are part of a new kingdom, you bring the 00:12:38.100 --> 00:12:40.240 kingdom. And you bring the kingdom love and the 00:12:40.240 --> 00:12:42.779 kingdom life and the kingdom values. And so instead 00:12:42.779 --> 00:12:46.690 of ego and pride, You champion humility. Instead 00:12:46.690 --> 00:12:48.870 of who are the powerful people to get close to, 00:12:48.990 --> 00:12:51.330 you care for the marginalized. And you become 00:12:51.330 --> 00:12:55.230 this living temple that begins to impact like 00:12:55.230 --> 00:12:58.309 salt and light or leaven in bread transforming. 00:12:58.690 --> 00:13:02.389 That's how the world got changed. And nothing 00:13:02.389 --> 00:13:04.669 has changed in terms of God's agenda. Have you 00:13:04.669 --> 00:13:07.250 ever thought? So ask yourself, so what do you 00:13:07.250 --> 00:13:10.710 put in this temple? What does this temple view? 00:13:11.570 --> 00:13:16.470 Where do these hands go? How do you treat this 00:13:16.470 --> 00:13:20.289 temporary temple? You're listening to Living 00:13:20.289 --> 00:13:22.710 on the Edge, and we'll get back to Chip's message 00:13:22.710 --> 00:13:25.350 in just a minute. You know, we love to hear how 00:13:25.350 --> 00:13:27.409 you are deepening your relationship with God 00:13:27.409 --> 00:13:30.049 as you study His Word with us. But another way 00:13:30.049 --> 00:13:31.950 we want to support you in that is through our 00:13:31.950 --> 00:13:34.730 free resource called Daily Discipleship with 00:13:34.730 --> 00:13:37.549 Chip. Let me encourage you to stick around after 00:13:37.549 --> 00:13:39.870 this message as Chip will tell you more about 00:13:39.870 --> 00:13:42.590 it and how to sign up. But for now, let's get 00:13:42.590 --> 00:13:45.870 back to the remainder of his talk. If we would 00:13:45.870 --> 00:13:49.750 ever grasp that, wouldn't there be a set of very 00:13:49.750 --> 00:13:53.490 logical implications? And again, it wouldn't 00:13:53.490 --> 00:13:55.870 be some legalistic, I can never do this, I can't 00:13:55.870 --> 00:13:57.529 watch this, this is bad, I don't wear lipstick, 00:13:57.669 --> 00:13:59.049 I don't go to movies and I don't play cards. 00:13:59.690 --> 00:14:03.570 I don't think that got us very far. But you, 00:14:03.629 --> 00:14:05.590 like the psalmist, would say, oh God, I will 00:14:05.590 --> 00:14:09.759 put no worthless thing in my mind. You would 00:14:09.759 --> 00:14:13.000 say, I want only holy thoughts. You wouldn't 00:14:13.000 --> 00:14:15.220 be asking questions like, I wonder how close 00:14:15.220 --> 00:14:18.779 to sin can I get without falling in? You would 00:14:18.779 --> 00:14:21.279 be asking, how close can I get to righteousness 00:14:21.279 --> 00:14:25.539 and holiness to be pleasing to my God? It's just 00:14:25.539 --> 00:14:29.860 a completely different paradigm. Well, God's 00:14:29.860 --> 00:14:32.240 holiness raises a couple questions, and we touched 00:14:32.240 --> 00:14:35.169 on them earlier. I think it's important that 00:14:35.169 --> 00:14:38.090 we at least address them here. If God is so holy 00:14:38.090 --> 00:14:41.210 that he can't gaze on sin, how can sinful people 00:14:41.210 --> 00:14:44.090 like us have a relationship with God? Right? 00:14:45.330 --> 00:14:48.149 This is the greatest news in the world. It's 00:14:48.149 --> 00:14:52.750 the gospel. It's the gospel. Guess what? You 00:14:52.750 --> 00:14:56.350 can't. But Jesus made it possible. Romans chapter 00:14:56.350 --> 00:14:58.490 five, verses six through 10. For while we were 00:14:58.490 --> 00:15:01.549 still helpless at the right time, Christ died 00:15:01.549 --> 00:15:04.230 for the ungodly. Notice it's not when we cleaned 00:15:04.230 --> 00:15:06.210 up our act. It's not when we got it together. 00:15:06.429 --> 00:15:08.730 It's not when we got religious at the right time 00:15:08.730 --> 00:15:11.409 when we were helpless, when you bring nothing. 00:15:12.429 --> 00:15:14.490 And then he says, for one will hardly die for 00:15:14.490 --> 00:15:16.450 a righteous man, though perhaps for a good man, 00:15:16.570 --> 00:15:19.309 someone would dare even to die. And then underline 00:15:19.309 --> 00:15:21.610 this verse, verse eight. But God demonstrates 00:15:21.610 --> 00:15:25.070 his own love toward us. And that while we were 00:15:25.070 --> 00:15:28.690 yet sinners, Christ died for us and put a circle 00:15:28.690 --> 00:15:30.690 around the little word for. There's two words 00:15:30.690 --> 00:15:33.389 in Greek for for. This is a word that means on 00:15:33.389 --> 00:15:37.029 behalf of and in the place of. He's your substitute. 00:15:37.269 --> 00:15:40.009 Everything that I deserve because of my sin, 00:15:40.169 --> 00:15:43.389 as the just righteous wrath of God would come 00:15:43.389 --> 00:15:46.750 toward me, Jesus steps in front, says, I got 00:15:46.750 --> 00:15:49.990 it. And as we'll learn later, he'll say, I'll 00:15:49.990 --> 00:15:53.580 take the judgment of God. And I will give you 00:15:53.580 --> 00:15:57.620 the righteousness of Christ. Much more than having 00:15:57.620 --> 00:15:59.779 been justified by his blood, we shall be saved 00:15:59.779 --> 00:16:02.580 from the wrath of God through him. For if while 00:16:02.580 --> 00:16:04.500 we were his enemies, we were reconciled. That 00:16:04.500 --> 00:16:07.799 word just means you become friends. Think of 00:16:07.799 --> 00:16:09.440 the juxtaposition of what we're talking about. 00:16:09.500 --> 00:16:13.039 This holy, awesome God. We're undone. And then 00:16:13.039 --> 00:16:18.240 over here, we're friends. I mean, don't get over 00:16:18.240 --> 00:16:21.470 that. If you're just thinking, wow, that's amazing. 00:16:21.529 --> 00:16:26.070 That's far out. I can't grasp it. Good. That's 00:16:26.070 --> 00:16:29.970 not casual. For while we were his enemies, we're 00:16:29.970 --> 00:16:31.490 reconciled to God through the death of his son. 00:16:31.529 --> 00:16:33.549 Much more having been reconciled, we shall be 00:16:33.549 --> 00:16:36.990 saved by his life. The second question then is, 00:16:37.049 --> 00:16:39.710 if trusting God's work on the cross blots out 00:16:39.710 --> 00:16:42.690 our sin before God and we're holy in his sight, 00:16:42.769 --> 00:16:46.480 why do we keep on sinning? And we touched on 00:16:46.480 --> 00:16:48.440 this, but just write in these notes because it'll 00:16:48.440 --> 00:16:50.960 be more clear. The three aspects of holiness. 00:16:52.320 --> 00:16:55.440 There's a point in time, there's a process, and 00:16:55.440 --> 00:16:58.539 there's an end. The moment you put your faith 00:16:58.539 --> 00:17:02.259 in Christ as Savior, you are legally declared 00:17:02.259 --> 00:17:05.599 righteous. So sin's penalty. In other words, 00:17:05.599 --> 00:17:09.779 the penalty for sin. You are forgiven because 00:17:09.779 --> 00:17:13.019 of Christ's work. And as I said before, I love 00:17:13.019 --> 00:17:16.009 this picture. Just had this picture in my mind 00:17:16.009 --> 00:17:20.890 of a computer screen and Jesus and me. And under 00:17:20.890 --> 00:17:23.190 mine is all the sins and thought, word, and deed. 00:17:23.569 --> 00:17:25.829 And under Jesus is the very righteousness of 00:17:25.829 --> 00:17:29.710 God. And I just love this picture. When I trust 00:17:29.710 --> 00:17:33.750 in Christ, I'm justified and it's delete. And 00:17:33.750 --> 00:17:36.670 then the righteousness of Christ is put into 00:17:36.670 --> 00:17:40.349 my account. That's my positional legal standing. 00:17:41.430 --> 00:17:45.779 I've been forgiven. legally of all my sin and 00:17:45.779 --> 00:17:50.619 the power of sin has been broken. But notice 00:17:50.619 --> 00:17:54.180 then sanctification is progressive holiness and 00:17:54.180 --> 00:17:59.059 so the penalty of sin is gone but now I work 00:17:59.059 --> 00:18:04.019 out. I begin in my practice to become holy and 00:18:04.019 --> 00:18:07.640 so I now before I couldn't decide whether I wanted 00:18:07.640 --> 00:18:11.640 to sin or not. Now I can choose to live righteously, 00:18:11.640 --> 00:18:14.059 but since the flesh wages war against the soul, 00:18:14.180 --> 00:18:16.700 and since I live in a world system drawing me 00:18:16.700 --> 00:18:19.660 away, I can still choose to sin. And when I choose 00:18:19.660 --> 00:18:22.180 to sin, it breaks fellowship with my heavenly 00:18:22.180 --> 00:18:25.440 Father. I don't lose my salvation, but the connection, 00:18:25.660 --> 00:18:29.359 the line, they're static. And the more I willfully 00:18:29.359 --> 00:18:32.819 sin, I can over time begin to shut off connection 00:18:32.819 --> 00:18:35.980 and relationship of his power in my life. So 00:18:35.980 --> 00:18:40.119 I confess my sins. He's faithful and just to 00:18:40.119 --> 00:18:45.559 forgive me my sin and keep on cleansing me. Finally, 00:18:45.599 --> 00:18:48.079 the day will come when either the Lord returns 00:18:48.079 --> 00:18:51.059 or I die and I immediately go into his presence. 00:18:51.180 --> 00:18:55.450 And when I see Christ, I'll be transformed. Let 00:18:55.450 --> 00:18:58.049 me give you an illustration. I bought a house 00:18:58.049 --> 00:19:00.029 in California, which is actually pretty miraculous. 00:19:00.670 --> 00:19:05.470 So I put X amount money down and legally that 00:19:05.470 --> 00:19:09.029 house is in my name and my wife's. I own the 00:19:09.029 --> 00:19:12.849 house. It's mine. Bank doesn't own it. I own 00:19:12.849 --> 00:19:19.170 it. However, each month I'm progressively owning 00:19:19.170 --> 00:19:22.990 more. I'm beginning to get in reality what is 00:19:22.990 --> 00:19:28.569 legally true. And it keeps coming down as I pay 00:19:28.569 --> 00:19:31.509 off each month, right? This is where, if you 00:19:31.509 --> 00:19:33.430 really play this out real carefully, it doesn't 00:19:33.430 --> 00:19:35.390 quite work, but just stay there with me, okay? 00:19:35.809 --> 00:19:38.309 And then, at some point in time, at least some 00:19:38.309 --> 00:19:41.130 of you have had the experience, you pay it off. 00:19:42.130 --> 00:19:47.609 It's fully mine. It was mine legally because 00:19:47.609 --> 00:19:52.329 there was a down payment, and I own it. Anybody 00:19:52.329 --> 00:19:54.609 know what the Spirit of God is called in the 00:19:54.609 --> 00:19:59.730 book of Ephesians? Your down payment of the Spirit 00:19:59.730 --> 00:20:02.809 of God coming into your life, the residence of 00:20:02.809 --> 00:20:06.890 Christ. Then you live out and you progressively 00:20:06.890 --> 00:20:10.710 become more holy and it requires, like a newborn 00:20:10.710 --> 00:20:13.009 babe, long for the pure milk of God's Word so 00:20:13.009 --> 00:20:16.589 that by it you might change and be transformed. 00:20:17.740 --> 00:20:20.000 I have to go through the process of putting off 00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:22.920 the old, putting on the new. It's a journey. 00:20:22.940 --> 00:20:25.200 It's a process. I'm not going to be conformed 00:20:25.200 --> 00:20:27.160 to this world. I'm going to be transformed by 00:20:27.160 --> 00:20:29.539 the renewing of my mind so that my lifestyle 00:20:29.539 --> 00:20:32.079 could progressively demonstrate God's will, the 00:20:32.079 --> 00:20:34.279 good, acceptable, perfect will of God, Romans 00:20:34.279 --> 00:20:38.940 12. But at some point in time when I die, that 00:20:38.940 --> 00:20:41.660 which is true of me legally and Lord willing, 00:20:41.700 --> 00:20:45.079 my life has progressively and dramatically changed 00:20:45.079 --> 00:20:48.539 in the last... 35 more years, then I will meet 00:20:48.539 --> 00:20:51.500 Christ and I will be transformed once and for 00:20:51.500 --> 00:20:54.460 all and be holy, glorification. Okay, that's 00:20:54.460 --> 00:20:57.079 the best explanation. And if you, by the way, 00:20:57.099 --> 00:20:58.559 if you can come up with a better illustration 00:20:58.559 --> 00:21:01.720 or fine tune that one, email me. Because the 00:21:01.720 --> 00:21:03.680 middle part doesn't quite work, right? I mean, 00:21:03.700 --> 00:21:05.299 because you're making payments and you could 00:21:05.299 --> 00:21:08.740 read in works and, okay. How must we respond 00:21:08.740 --> 00:21:12.299 to the holiness of God? First, it's a commitment 00:21:12.299 --> 00:21:16.119 that we make. Hebrews 12, 14, make every effort 00:21:16.119 --> 00:21:18.819 to live in peace with all men and to be holy. 00:21:18.880 --> 00:21:23.019 Without holiness, no one will see the Lord. You 00:21:23.019 --> 00:21:25.839 don't slide into holiness either. I mean, it's 00:21:25.839 --> 00:21:31.720 a commitment. Scripture says God hates sin. God 00:21:31.720 --> 00:21:35.579 hates arrogance. A commitment to holiness is 00:21:35.579 --> 00:21:38.680 I want to be holy. Not I'm doing better than 00:21:38.680 --> 00:21:40.519 others or, you know, I think, you know, I've 00:21:40.519 --> 00:21:42.039 had this struggle and I come from this family 00:21:42.039 --> 00:21:44.059 background. So anger is an issue in our family. 00:21:44.119 --> 00:21:46.440 And, you know, everyone I've known in our family, 00:21:46.519 --> 00:21:48.339 well, they've always divorced. And, you know, 00:21:48.400 --> 00:21:50.440 it's really hard and I'll try and do good. But, 00:21:50.480 --> 00:21:51.920 you know, we just don't do relationships well. 00:21:52.000 --> 00:21:54.240 Or, you know, you know, I had this problem with 00:21:54.240 --> 00:21:57.700 my, you know, just stop it. We all have that 00:21:57.700 --> 00:22:02.440 stuff. Be holy even if God is holy. Is it impossible? 00:22:02.700 --> 00:22:06.440 Of course it's impossible. The Christian life 00:22:06.440 --> 00:22:09.400 is impossible. Only Jesus can live it. And once 00:22:09.400 --> 00:22:12.619 he lives in you, that's why surrendering, being 00:22:12.619 --> 00:22:15.480 in his word, doing life in community, together, 00:22:15.579 --> 00:22:19.079 God causes us to be transformed progressively. 00:22:19.819 --> 00:22:22.440 But it starts with, you gotta wanna be holy. 00:22:23.319 --> 00:22:26.519 I remember one profound thought from someone 00:22:26.519 --> 00:22:28.819 I really respected said, you'll be just about 00:22:28.819 --> 00:22:34.299 as holy as you wanna be. Think about it. Be ye 00:22:34.299 --> 00:22:36.400 perfect, even as your heavenly father is perfect. 00:22:36.500 --> 00:22:41.539 The word is mature. Then the command is in 1 00:22:41.539 --> 00:22:46.299 Peter. It's a command to obey. I love it because 00:22:46.299 --> 00:22:48.730 he makes it really clear that. You know, it was 00:22:48.730 --> 00:22:50.509 hard for those early Christians. It's hard for 00:22:50.509 --> 00:22:52.289 us. And it's not about willpower. Therefore, 00:22:52.329 --> 00:22:55.349 prepare your minds for action. Be self -controlled. 00:22:55.690 --> 00:22:58.690 Set your hope fully on the grace that's to be 00:22:58.690 --> 00:23:00.990 revealed. It's that eternal perspective. Set 00:23:00.990 --> 00:23:04.730 my hope on the grace, the line, not the dot. 00:23:05.130 --> 00:23:10.250 Be sober, right? Understand what life's really 00:23:10.250 --> 00:23:13.470 all about. And prepare your... I love the King 00:23:13.470 --> 00:23:15.509 James on this. Does anybody know this in King 00:23:15.509 --> 00:23:18.859 James? Gird your loins. If you were a Roman soldier, 00:23:19.019 --> 00:23:21.700 is you would have a long robe and you would have 00:23:21.700 --> 00:23:24.559 a belt. But when you were ready to go into battle, 00:23:24.759 --> 00:23:27.859 you would gird your loins. And so what you do 00:23:27.859 --> 00:23:30.539 is you would take your robe and you would tuck 00:23:30.539 --> 00:23:33.700 it in your belt. So now you're ready for action. 00:23:34.099 --> 00:23:36.519 And so what he's saying is, you want to live 00:23:36.519 --> 00:23:39.299 a holy life? You got to, you got to. Gotta get 00:23:39.299 --> 00:23:41.039 your game face on is the way we would say it. 00:23:41.059 --> 00:23:43.160 You need to get your mind in gear. You need to 00:23:43.160 --> 00:23:44.920 realize there's all this stuff coming at you 00:23:44.920 --> 00:23:47.220 and you're not gonna slide into it, but here's 00:23:47.220 --> 00:23:48.579 what's gonna be hard, but you're gonna set your 00:23:48.579 --> 00:23:50.640 hope on the grace and then therefore as obedient 00:23:50.640 --> 00:23:53.160 children, don't be conformed any longer to the 00:23:53.160 --> 00:23:54.900 former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, 00:23:55.000 --> 00:23:58.059 but like the holy one who called you, be holy 00:23:58.059 --> 00:24:01.440 also in all of your behavior because it is written, 00:24:01.539 --> 00:24:06.240 be holy for I am holy. And I love that in all 00:24:06.240 --> 00:24:12.539 your behavior. Before we go on in the program, 00:24:12.660 --> 00:24:15.380 I want to stop right now and speak to those of 00:24:15.380 --> 00:24:18.700 you that are followers of Christ. And as you've 00:24:18.700 --> 00:24:21.400 heard this message, you realize there's issues 00:24:21.400 --> 00:24:23.680 in your life that are preventing you from getting 00:24:23.680 --> 00:24:27.019 God's best. He is holy. He cannot bless your 00:24:27.019 --> 00:24:30.539 sin. We can't compromise. You need to repent. 00:24:30.779 --> 00:24:32.880 You need to tell him that you're sorry, and he 00:24:32.880 --> 00:24:36.380 will help you. He wants to forgive you. But I 00:24:36.380 --> 00:24:38.480 also want to talk to some of you that just find 00:24:38.480 --> 00:24:41.000 yourself listening to this and maybe you were 00:24:41.000 --> 00:24:43.920 channel surfing and who knows how you got here. 00:24:44.000 --> 00:24:48.099 But you realize, if God is that holy, I'm in 00:24:48.099 --> 00:24:51.740 big trouble. I don't know what to do. I want 00:24:51.740 --> 00:24:54.099 a relationship with God. I want love. I want 00:24:54.099 --> 00:24:57.519 intimacy. But I have sinned. I want you to know 00:24:57.519 --> 00:25:00.430 that today... May be, in fact, the most important 00:25:00.430 --> 00:25:03.529 day of your entire life on this earth. And God 00:25:03.529 --> 00:25:05.609 is offering you, through the work of His Son, 00:25:05.769 --> 00:25:09.190 forgiveness and peace. Wherever you're at in 00:25:09.190 --> 00:25:12.329 your heart of hearts, acknowledge, I have sinned. 00:25:12.329 --> 00:25:14.930 I have blown it. I've hurt people. I've stolen. 00:25:15.210 --> 00:25:18.410 I've lied. We've all done these things. You admit 00:25:18.410 --> 00:25:20.890 that you've sinned and you fall short of God's 00:25:20.890 --> 00:25:24.259 pure, holy standard. And in your heart of hearts, 00:25:24.319 --> 00:25:26.460 even if you're driving right now, God knows and 00:25:26.460 --> 00:25:31.259 hears. Cry out, oh, dear God, forgive me. Cleanse 00:25:31.259 --> 00:25:34.599 me. I admit my sin. And in this day, at this 00:25:34.599 --> 00:25:37.759 moment, I put my faith in Jesus, his work on 00:25:37.759 --> 00:25:41.420 the cross to cover and pay for my sin once and 00:25:41.420 --> 00:25:45.480 for all. Lord Jesus, come into my life. Cleanse 00:25:45.480 --> 00:25:48.569 me. forgive me. I believe you died on the cross 00:25:48.569 --> 00:25:52.430 for me and that you rose from the dead in my 00:25:52.430 --> 00:25:55.690 place to prove that you're in fact God. And you 00:25:55.690 --> 00:25:58.150 may not have all the answers to this, but pray 00:25:58.150 --> 00:26:01.369 in your heart right now, cry out to God. Our 00:26:01.369 --> 00:26:05.109 heart's desire is to see you connected with your 00:26:05.109 --> 00:26:08.029 creator who loves you. He's got a great plan 00:26:08.029 --> 00:26:11.029 for your life, but the next step is yours. Put 00:26:11.029 --> 00:26:14.400 your faith in him today. If you just prayed to 00:26:14.400 --> 00:26:17.220 receive Christ with Chip, we have a free resource 00:26:17.220 --> 00:26:19.460 we'd like to put in your hands that was uniquely 00:26:19.460 --> 00:26:22.640 created for new believers. This tool will help 00:26:22.640 --> 00:26:24.839 you understand what it means to trust in Jesus 00:26:24.839 --> 00:26:28.079 and what to do next. Request this free resource 00:26:28.079 --> 00:26:34.259 by calling 888 -333 -6003 or by visiting livingontheedge 00:26:34.259 --> 00:26:38.759 .org and clicking the New Believers button. That's 00:26:38.759 --> 00:26:44.480 livingontheedge .org. Or call 888 -333 -6003. 00:26:44.799 --> 00:26:47.200 Let us help you get started in your faith journey. 00:26:47.559 --> 00:26:49.900 Well, Chip's still with me in studio. And Chip, 00:26:49.920 --> 00:26:52.059 for those who just made the decision to follow 00:26:52.059 --> 00:26:54.779 Jesus, or for the many Christians looking to 00:26:54.779 --> 00:26:57.240 deepen their faith, we have two words for them. 00:26:57.420 --> 00:27:01.680 Romans 12. This chapter is so rich with foundational 00:27:01.680 --> 00:27:04.640 truth vital for every Christ follower. So if 00:27:04.640 --> 00:27:06.599 you would take a minute and talk about a special 00:27:06.599 --> 00:27:09.220 study we've developed to help our listeners grasp 00:27:09.220 --> 00:27:12.640 the power of Romans chapter 12. Well, for the 00:27:12.640 --> 00:27:14.720 last several years, you know, Dave, that we've 00:27:14.720 --> 00:27:17.460 produced a resource called Daily Discipleship 00:27:17.460 --> 00:27:20.660 with Chip. It's a free video tool where our listeners 00:27:20.660 --> 00:27:23.299 and I study the Bible together for 20 minutes. 00:27:23.539 --> 00:27:27.079 I do 10 minutes by way of video in a one -on 00:27:27.079 --> 00:27:30.000 -one mentoring environment. And then I ask them 00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:32.799 to take another 10 minutes on their own to study. 00:27:32.940 --> 00:27:35.920 And I've done a number of these. I took just 00:27:35.920 --> 00:27:39.519 classic core passages that I know are just instrumental 00:27:39.519 --> 00:27:42.240 in every believer really growing in Christ. Well, 00:27:42.339 --> 00:27:45.500 as we were preparing these, I couldn't not do 00:27:45.500 --> 00:27:48.400 one on Romans chapter 12 because it talks about 00:27:48.400 --> 00:27:51.200 what it looks like to be truly spiritual, to 00:27:51.200 --> 00:27:55.000 be a authentic follower of Jesus Christ. So what 00:27:55.000 --> 00:27:57.140 I want to invite our listeners to is to join 00:27:57.140 --> 00:28:00.220 me. It's a little bit longer. It's actually 17 00:28:00.220 --> 00:28:04.420 days. But as you do this study, true spirituality, 00:28:05.069 --> 00:28:07.589 How to Become a Romans 12 Christian, I believe 00:28:07.589 --> 00:28:10.509 it'll help you like never before be the man or 00:28:10.509 --> 00:28:13.369 the woman that God really wants you to be. Great 00:28:13.369 --> 00:28:15.789 encouragement, Chip. To sign up for this free 00:28:15.789 --> 00:28:20.009 video resource, go to livingontheedge .org. We 00:28:20.009 --> 00:28:22.289 want to see you grow in your faith. and be a 00:28:22.289 --> 00:28:24.410 Christian who really lives like a Christian. 00:28:24.569 --> 00:28:27.390 And this daily discipleship series from Romans 00:28:27.390 --> 00:28:30.089 chapter 12 will help you get on the right path. 00:28:30.450 --> 00:28:34.069 For complete details, visit livingontheedge .org. 00:28:34.589 --> 00:28:38.650 App listeners tap discipleship. Well, as we close, 00:28:38.849 --> 00:28:40.950 do you want to deepen your connection to God 00:28:40.950 --> 00:28:43.549 amid your busy life? Then take Chip with you 00:28:43.549 --> 00:28:46.769 by subscribing to our daily podcast. With a few 00:28:46.769 --> 00:28:49.089 simple taps on your phone, you can access the 00:28:49.089 --> 00:28:52.130 full -length versions of our latest series. And 00:28:52.130 --> 00:28:54.410 if you're always on the go... Download a handful 00:28:54.410 --> 00:28:57.210 and listen to them at your own pace. Let us help 00:28:57.210 --> 00:28:59.869 you grow your faith. Search for Living on the 00:28:59.869 --> 00:29:03.369 Edge with Chip Ingram today on Apple Podcasts, 00:29:03.369 --> 00:29:05.890 Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 00:29:06.589 --> 00:29:09.250 Well, from all of us here, I'm Dave Drewy, thanking 00:29:09.250 --> 00:29:11.470 you for listening to this edition of Living on 00:29:11.470 --> 00:29:13.990 the Edge, and I hope you'll join us again next 00:29:13.990 --> 00:29:14.250 time.