Bringing Holiness to Completion

2 Corinthians 7:1 ESV

“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.”

What promises did they have? Well, these words fall right after what Paul taught them in 2 Corinthians 6:14-18, where he told them that they were not to be unequally yoked (joined) together with unbelievers. They were not to be in partnership and fellowship with the ungodly, which in reality includes many people who profess faith in Jesus Christ, and even some (or many) pastors of what are called “churches.” For the ungodly and the unbelievers are all those who are walking in sin and not in obedience to the Lord.

And there he counseled them to go out from the midst of the ungodly and to be separate from them and to touch no unclean thing. And what is unclean? It is anything that is contrary to the will of God and to his holiness and righteousness and to the truth of his gospel. So, it includes false gospels and lies and deceptions and teachings which tell you that you can believe in Jesus, have heaven secured you, but that how you live does not matter for eternity. So, we must not participate in what is contrary to God’s will.

And if we do separate ourselves from what is contrary to the teachings of Scriptures, and what is lawless and wicked and deceitful, and if we refuse to be in partnership and in fellowship with those who are walking according to the flesh and not according to the Spirit, and we choose, instead, to follow our Lord in obedience, and to partner with him in his work that he is doing, then he will welcome us, and he will be a father to us, and we will be his sons and daughters. These are the promises spoken of here.

Therefore, if we are going to be able to claim these promises as our own, since they are conditional, then we must cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit. We must no longer be those who are walking in sin, according to the flesh. But we must now be the people of God who are walking according to the Spirit, in walks of holiness and righteousness, in obedience to our Lord and to his commands under the New Covenant, thus bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

And to be holy is to be separate (unlike, different) from the people of the world (the ungodly), again which includes anyone professing faith in Jesus Christ but who is still walking in sin and not in righteousness. And this is because, as God’s holy people, we are being made into the likeness of Jesus Christ, if we are following the Lord with our lives and if we are no longer walking in the ways of sin and the flesh. And to fear God is to honor him with our lives, and it is to obey his commands and to not walk in sin.

2 Corinthians 7:1,8-10 ESV

“For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.”

Now, I am not going to go into the history of what this situation was then, but what I believe the Lord wants me to focus on here is what it means to repent of our sins and why we must repent of our sins. For repentance is not just having a change of mind about something, but that change of mind should also result in a change of behavior. For true biblical repentance involves us dying with Christ to sin and us being raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer living as slaves to sin but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness.

True repentance involves this cleansing ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, so it means dying to sin and living to God and to his righteousness. And this can only be done in the power of God, by his Spirit, but as we cooperate fully with God in our heart transformations in obedience to our Lord and to his commands (New Covenant). For this is the working of God in our lives, but it requires us submitting to Christ as Lord and us surrendering our lives to Christ, and us doing the will of God in his power and strength.

And this repentance is not just feeling badly that you sinned, nor is it just feeling guilty that you sinned. For many people may feel some tinge of guilt and sorrow when they know that what they have done is evil. And they may even say that they were sorry that they sinned, but then they go on living in deliberate and habitual sin against God and against other humans, even against those they claim to love and are commanded to love. And some (or many) of them do this without conscience and without compassion for those they are hurting, and then they keep repeating the same sins.

So, true repentance is also not just admitting guilt or verbalizing a confession of sin, but it is like making a U-turn in a road. You were going one direction, and then you turn, and you go the opposite direction of what you were going. You were walking in sin, and now you are walking in holiness and righteousness. You were a liar, and now you are a truth teller. You were an adulterer, and now you are faithful to your spouse, and you are living in moral purity, and now you are treating your spouse with love. So, true repentance involves a true change of heart and behavior.

So, our salvation from sin is not just about forgiveness of sins and a promise of heaven when we die. For Jesus died that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. He died that we might now live for him and no longer for ourselves. And he shed his blood for us to buy us back for God out of our lives of sin (to redeem us) so that we would now honor God with our lives by submitting to him as Lord and by walking in his power and strength in walks of obedience and of holiness and righteousness, and no longer living in deliberate and habitual sin.

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15] 

Songs in the Night  

An Original Work / December 18, 2013

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” Acts 16:25 NIV ‘84

Lord, I praise You forevermore.

You, my Savior, I now adore.

Hope in heaven awaiting me,

Because You died at Calvary.

I have been forgiven,

And I’m bound for heaven.

Jesus set me free from

All my sin, I say.

I will praise Him always!

Lord, I love You for all You’ve done:

Overcame death, my vict’ry won!

Jesus saved me, and now I’m free!

I rejoice in His love for me.

I will walk in vict’ry!

My sin is but hist’ry!

I am free to please Him

With my life today.

I will love Him always!

Lord, I thank You for giving me

A new life bought at Calvary.

Loving Jesus, I meet with Him.

Tender mercies now flow within.

Lord, I am so thankful;

Through my Lord, I’m able

To sit at His table;

Fellowship with Him.

I will thank Him always!

https://vimeo.com/379484387