TEXT: I Peter 1:16

INTRODUCTION

1. Read Text and ask, "What does it mean to be holy?"
   
2. Recall West End College Class where question was asked, "What does it mean to he holy?" None of us knew.
   
3. Holy, Sanctified and Saint all come from the same word. It means "Set apart to God, Special."
   
4. This is one of the greatest challenges you will ever face: to be holy.

DISCUSSION:

1. Abraham and Hagar (Gen. 16)
   1. God forgave him: justified by faith and works when he offered his son Isaac, but the consequences of his sin are still with us.
      
   2. His great grandson Joseph was sold into slavery by his other great grandsons the Ishmaelites.
      
   3. If Abraham had not slept with Hagar, there would be no Islamic jihad’s
      
   4. Mohamed would have never been born.
      
   5. Middle East strife is between the descendants of Isaac and Ishmael.
      
   6. How could Abraham have done such a thing The Nuzi Tablets tell us that in Abraham’s culture it was considered normal for wealthy men with unfertile wives to do exactly what Sarah and Abraham did.
      
   7. Syncretism syn·cre·tism (singÆkri tizÅÃm, sinÆ-), n.

   1.	the attempted reconciliation or union of different or opposing principles, practices, or parties, as in philosophy or religion.

2. The Golden Calf (Exodus 32)
   1. The Israelites had lived for generations surrounded by people who worshipped the Egyptian pantheon. Now that they are in doubt about their situation they revert the gods of the culture in which they had lived.
      
   2. This is another example of Syncretism. Aaron was trying to get them to combine the worship of the pagan Gods of Egypt with the worship of Jehovah through the golden calf.

      (Exodus 32:4-5 NKJV) And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, "This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!" {5} So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, "Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD (JEHOVAH [hebrew])."

   3. How could they have done such a thing? It just seemed natural to them. That’s the way things were done in Their world.
      
   4. God’s opinion of the people not keeping their worship different than that of the world:

   (Exodus 32:28-29 NIV) The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died. {29} Then Moses said, "You have been set apart to the LORD today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day."

3. Jereboam

   (1 Kings 12:28 NIV) After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt."

   1. The consequence of his failure to be holy in his worship: Assyrian captivity
4. Judah

   (Jeremiah 32:35 NIV) They built high places for Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molech, though I never commanded, nor did it enter my mind, that they should do such a detestable thing and so make Judah sin.

   1. How could they possibly do something so evil? It just seemed the natural thing to do. That was what religious people all around them were doing.
      
   2. The consequence of Judah failing to be holy in worship:

   (Jeremiah 25:11 NKJV) 'And this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

5. Our century.
   1. In prior decades many professed Christians practiced segregation. How could they do such a thing? In their culture, it seemed to be the natural thing to do.
      
   2. Abortion today like the Judah’s worship of Moloch
      
   3. Premarital sex. It just makes sense to today’s people.
6. In the Church
   1. In the first century, Jewish converts tried to combine observianse of the Law of Moses and the Gospel (Legalism). The Greek converts tried to combine Platonic philosopy and the Bible (Gnositicism).
      
   2. In the last century, when instrumental music became popular among protestant churches, some wanted to bring it into the worship.
      
   3. Some are encouraging us to accept homosexual conduct as normal
      
   4. The Woman’s role in the church. Some, among us, are trying to ignore new testament teaching about he role of men in the worship service and bring our leadership more into line with present cultural norms (1 Cor. 14:14-37; 1 Tim. 2:8-12).
      
   5. Inspiration of Scriptures.

      CONCLUSION:

   6. Have you permitted some culture idol to creep into your heart next to Christ? Be he holy.

Sermon History:

May 5-24-98-AM Waterford Church of Christ

Cor. 9:16 For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!

David E. Parks

dave@wcofc.org

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