Wrestling with the Holiness of God

Well, we’re going to continue our series this morning on wrestling with God as we have our first Sunday of the month before us. And this morning, we’re going to be talking about the holiness of God, wrestling with the holiness of God. But let’s just recall the topic and think about the idea of wrestling.

1 Corinthians 9 and verse 25 says, “And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.” The idea here behind the word “compete” is this Greek word that we were introduced to a month ago, agonizomai, which means to wrestle or to struggle or to agonize. The idea here in this context is that the Christian life is like a wrestling match. And just as Jacob wrestled with the angel in the Old Testament, today we wrestle—and we wrestle with God in certain ways in the sense of… We want to live up to God’s standards. And yet at the same time, there are within our lives certain draws, certain temptations, certain problems that crop up that take us away from God. And we’re always wrestling to get back to God. And that’s kind of what Jacob did. And that’s kind of what we do as well.

Now Paul talks about this in Philippians chapter 3 and verses 12 through 14 when he says, “Not that I have already attained or am already perfected, but I press on that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended, but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” And that sort of epitomizes the struggles that we have on a daily basis to be faithful to God, to love God, to include God in our lives and not get distracted by the many things that are going on in the world around us.

And so Paul had that struggle. Jacob had that struggle. We have that struggle as well. Paul said, “I’m not perfected yet. There’s still a ways to go. I’ve still got things I need to work on in my life.” And so I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call. And that’s what we’re doing as well—pressing toward the goal.

Now, as we press toward that goal, we’re going to find there are many challenges that we face. And one of the great challenges that we wrestle with in this life is the holiness of God. You know, God is holy. And what does that mean? It means that he’s perfect, that he’s pure, that he’s set apart, that he’s undefiled, that he’s not touched by the things that we’re touched by. And at the same time, we must reach that goal—that God is our goal. And in a lot of ways, when we think about this goal of God within our lives, we fall short. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t keep on trying. And so let’s talk about wrestling with the holiness of God this morning.

First of all, we wrestle with the holiness of God when we struggle with the goal of God. Secondly, we wrestle with the holiness of God when we struggle with the practice of purity. And then finally, we wrestle with the holiness of God when we struggle with the direction of distinctiveness. So three things: the goal of God, the practice of purity, and the direction of distinctiveness. Let’s think about those three things this morning as we think about wrestling with the holiness of God.

First of all, there is the goal of God. And you know, that should be our goal. Every one of us should want to be growing closer and closer to God every day. And the trouble is, there are a lot of things that get in our way from doing that. We just sang this wonderful song, “Nearer, Still Nearer, Close to Thy Heart.” And, you know, that’s something that we desire, and it’s a lofty goal. It’s a high standard, that high calling that Paul talked about there in Philippians chapter 3. And we fall short, but yet we must continue to try.

You know, when we think about this calling, we find it in 1 Peter chapter 1, verses 15 and 16: “But like as he who called you is holy, be yourselves also holy in all manner of living, because it is written, you shall be holy for I am holy.” Now that’s a high standard, but it’s a standard that we’ve got to reach toward.

And we’ve got to ask ourselves, you know, when we think about the closest relationship maybe that we have on earth to our relationship with God—a father and a child, right? And we think about as children, we wanted to be like our parents. I remember when I was a little kid, my dad worked at a tool shop. He managed a tool rental shop. And I always loved to go down to the tool shop. Of course, the tools were kind of interesting themselves, but I always thought, you know, “Dad works at a tool shop; I want to work at a tool shop,” something like that. And, you know, I think that’s a very common feeling that young children have. “My father is this; I want to be this. My mother is this; I want to be this.” And as we develop those feelings within our lives and grow up, you know, sometimes that’s the way things work out. They just work out so that we do the same thing that our parents do because there’s that desire within us, that identity within us that we affiliate with our parents.

Well, God is our heavenly Father and he wants us to be like him, and we should want to be like him. And so, there’s the ultimate end of our spiritual being—to be like God.

Think about Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 10, and talking about earthly parents and the relationship with their children, it says, “For they indeed—that is, our earthly parents—indeed chastened us for a few days as it seemed good to them, but he—that is, God—for our profit, that we may be partakers of his holiness.” So this is going one step further, right? If a child expresses an interest in something, what do we do? We try to develop that interest. We try to move them along. If they’re interested in welding, let’s say, let’s put a welding rod in their hands. See how they do. See if they can develop that interest. Maybe they’re interested in teaching. Okay, well, let’s get them in a situation where they can lead a group discussion or something. You know, all of these—we want to encourage our kids to develop the things that they have interest in. And so here we see we instruct, we teach, we discipline, and God is doing the same to us because he wants us to be partakers of his holiness. Just like when we instruct our children so that when they grow up, they’ll be able to do the things that they express an interest in, they’ll be able to accomplish those things. Well, that’s what God is doing for us also—that we can be partakers of his holiness. He wants to share his holiness with us, and we want to be more like him.

In 1 Peter 2 and verse 9, we read, “But you are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may show forth the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” And so God is developing us. We are growing so that we can be more and more like him every day. And this is the challenge. This is the goal of God—that we’re growing more and more spiritually, hopefully that we can be with him one day and that we can be a people of his possession.

Ephesians 1 and verse 4—in the book of Ephesians in general—pictures God’s relationship through his Son Jesus Christ, specifically, as a relationship of a husband and a wife, right? And when we read here in Ephesians 1 and verse 4, it says, “Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love.” And so a husband wants his wife to be for him and for him alone. And that is a right way of thinking. And the wife wants her husband to be for her and her alone. That’s a right way of thinking. That’s holiness. And that’s what God wants for us as well as his people—that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love.

And so, when we wrestle with the holiness of God, we wrestle with the goal of God. It’s a high standard, but it’s something that we must work on. It’s something that we must work toward and something that God will bless us with as we continue to grow closer and closer to him.

But then secondly, wrestling with the holiness of God means struggling with the practice of purity. And purity is something that we each need to work on within our lives because the world is impure and the world is out there and it’s a constant distraction and it’s always placing things before us—placing things before our thoughts and placing things before our minds and the entertainment that we watch and even in commercials. You may be watching a very wholesome program, but then a commercial comes on that just is completely base and in a way that’s going to create distracting thoughts within your mind. And, you know, that’s something that we don’t want to have happen. And so there’s the practice of purity. Holiness has to do with purity. If we’re going to be holy, then we’re going to be pure, and our purity needs to be both in mind and in body.

So let’s think about that for a minute. First of all, let’s look at Matthew 5 and verse 8: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” And that’s another standard that God is placing before us—being pure in heart. And again, this is a high calling. It’s a tough thing to live up to, being pure in heart, because there’s always something that’s going to distract us and pull us away from the Lord. But we need to keep our hearts pure, because it’s from the heart that so many things develop and so many things come. Nothing happens in my life without my heart first thinking it or experiencing it in some way. And so that’s the important part—to take control of our thoughts, to take control of our hearts.

Think about what James chapter 4 and verse 8 says: “Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” Purify your hearts. Our hearts need to be purified. If we’re going to wrestle with the holiness of God, part of that is purifying our hearts—getting out of our thoughts all of those things that don’t need to be there. And there are many things that we think on a weekly basis that don’t need to be in our hearts. And so we’ve got to work on that. We’ve got to struggle with that. We’ve got to wrestle with that every day. It’s a wrestling match. And God wants us to win. And we win by humbling ourselves before him.

Think about 2 Corinthians 7 and verse 1: “Let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” So once again, this is the goal: cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit. And let’s remember that in 1 Corinthians 6, the Apostle Paul made it clear that our bodies and our spirits belong to God. They don’t belong to us. We can’t just do anything that we want to do with them. They need to be used as God would have us to use them. And so then, having that in mind, think about this verse here: “Let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit.”

So there are defilements that we have, that we experience, and we have the blood of Christ to forgive us when those defilements come into our lives and they take us. Well, we pray and we ask God’s forgiveness and he forgives us and we cleanse ourselves. And we’ve got to do that on a regular basis. We need to turn to God in prayer regularly and ask for forgiveness of those sins that are in our minds and in our hearts. Cleanse ourselves from all defilement, both of flesh and spirit. So there’s a relationship there. Defilement can be of the flesh—it can be something that we use our bodies to do that we shouldn’t do—or it can be of the spirit, our mind, and focusing and engaging on things that we shouldn’t focus and engage on. We’ve got to cleanse ourselves from those things and perfect holiness in the fear of God. And the fear of God then leads us to perfect that holiness, understanding that we want that relationship with God more than we want anything else within our lives. That then guides us to perfect holiness.

Think about 1 Thessalonians 4 and verse 7: “For God has not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.” Holiness is something we are called to and God wants us to incorporate into our lives.

And so there is the practice of purity. We need to be pure in our hearts. We need to be pure in our bodies. And we need to be pure in our lives and our example to others and how we live every day.

In 2 Peter 3 and verse 11, we read this: “Seeing that these things are thus all to be dissolved”—that is, he was talking about the end of the world and the destruction of all physical things—”seeing that these things are thus all to be dissolved.” Now here’s the question he wants us to ask in light of the fact that everything in this world is going away one day. Here’s the question: “What manner of persons ought you to be in all holy living and godliness?”

In other words, he’s asking us to think about the future. When everything goes away—no more church building, no more earth, no more McDonald’s, no more school, no more city of New Boston—all of that’s gone. And whatever it is that we’re engaged with on a regular basis, that we are involved in, it’s all going away one day. But what can we hang on to? What is it that will be there and that doesn’t go away? All holy living and godliness.

So if we want our lives to mean something for all eternity, we need to wrestle with the holiness of God and bring into our lives that holy living and godliness which will persist forever. That’s what Peter is asking us to think about here.

But then also 1 Peter 1 and verse 15 says, “But like as he who has called you is holy, be yourselves also holy.” Notice this last prepositional phrase here: “in all manner of living.” In all manner of living. In everything that you do, it needs to be characterized by holiness.

And so we have, when we wrestle with the holiness of God, we struggle with the practice of purity within our lives.

But then finally, wrestling with the holiness of God means struggling with the direction of distinctiveness. We need to be distinct from the world. And that’s what holiness is about also—being different from everyone else in the world.

You know, I know that the draw is a lot of times that we want to be just like our friends. You know, those friends of ours who, down the road, go, and they have a good time at their parties and at their various different events that they go to. And it seems like, you know, you see their lives on Facebook and they’re having such a good time. They’re having so much fun. And then what is it? You want to be part of that too, right? That’s what we all feel. Every one of us has that feeling within us.

And yet God wants us to be holy. And that means we need to be distinct. And that means that we can’t participate in a lot of the things that the world does because those things draw us away from God and away from his holiness.

Remember what John said in 1 John 2 and verses 15 through 17: “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is of the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the vainglory (or pride) of life is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passes away and the lust thereof. But he who does the will of God abides forever.”

We don’t want to be like the world. We want to be different. We want the world to look at us and to say, “Don’t ask him to go to the bar because he’s not going to go. He’s a Christian. Don’t ask her to go to the gambling casino because she’s not going to go because she’s a Christian.” That’s what we want the world to look at us and say. And if the world is looking at us and saying that, then we’re distinctive. If it’s not, then maybe we need to think about how we can be more distinctive within our lives.

God wants us to come out of darkness and into light. And that’s what being holy is about—1 Peter 2 and verse 9: “But you are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may show forth the excellencies of him who did what? Who called you out of darkness and into light.” There’s no greater distinction between darkness and light, right?

I’ve been in several caves in my lifetime. And I remember one time when they cut off the lights entirely in the cave. And I tell you what, that’s darkness right there. And I was glad when they turned the light back on. And there’s a great distinction between those two. Because when they turned the light back on, I could see again. That’s a distinction.

Well, God is calling us out of darkness and into light. He wants us to be distinct. He wants us to be holy.

Think about Ephesians 5 verse 8: “For you were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.” Let others see the light that is within you. Don’t be afraid to be distinct from them. We don’t want to put our lampstand under a basket, right? Hide it under a bushel? No. I’m going to let it shine. That’s what we want to do. Let our light shine so that others may see the distinctiveness within us.

2 Corinthians 6 and verses 17 through 18 puts it like this: “Wherefore, come you out from among them and be you separate, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing and I will receive you and will be to you a father. And you shall be to me sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”

And that’s what God wants. He wants us to be like Him. Not like the world. Not like someone who you can’t tell a difference between him and some person who’s so caught up in sinful activities that you wouldn’t know that they’re separate. No, we want to be separate. We want to be distinct. Not so that we can tout our goodness or our holiness or somehow be triumphalist in our attitudes, but that we can be more like God. That’s the goal. And that’s what we’re seeking.

Romans 12 verses 1 and 2 says this: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service. And be not fashioned according to this world, but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

Wrestling with the holiness of God means struggling with the direction of distinctiveness. And that is something that each one of us can work on within our lives.

How are you doing in your wrestling match with God? We’re not always perfect. We don’t always do the right things. But hopefully, we’re still working on it. And we’re still wrestling with it.

And as we wrestle with God this year, we’re going to find that God has some challenges for us. And that we need to step up to meet those challenges.

Have you been wrestling with the goal of God, the practice of purity, and the direction of distinctiveness? We need to wrestle with those things if we’re going to wrestle with the holiness of God.

Maybe this morning you’ve been wrestling with the holiness of God within your mind and you’ve come to realize that God needs to be leading you. And humbling yourself before him is the way that you can do that.

Remember Jacob. It was when he humbled himself before God, that’s when he won the battle. That’s when God let him win that wrestling match. And you can win as well by humbling yourself before him this morning. Hear his word and believe it. Repent of your sins and confess Jesus as Lord. Be baptized to identify with Jesus Christ and begin to walk a faithful Christian life. That’s just the beginning. And you will be wrestling with God to improve your life each and every day as you study his word and you let it come into your life and transform you into something more like him and less like the world.

Do you need to make that change this morning? We’d be happy to help you while together we stand and while we sing.

End of transcript. Thank you for reading along!