The Call to Holiness
Christ told them in His letter to continue in holiness, to remain conquerors, more than conquerors over the world, the flesh and the devil. To watch and examine their relationship with God, to prove that their names are still in the book of life and they are still overcomers.
They must have:
- Inner victory and freedom
‘There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God’ (Hebrew 4:9).
‘That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish’ (Ephesians 5:26-27).
‘If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed’ (John 8:36).
b. They must be in unity with other believers
‘For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren’ (Hebrews 2:11).
‘Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me’ (John 17:20-23).
‘Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel’ (Philippians 1:27).
‘Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore’ (Psalm 133:1-3).
- They must have perfect love
‘And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live’ (Deuteronomy 30:6).
‘Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind’ (Matthew 22:37).
‘This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends’ (John 15:12-13).
- They must have inner and outward holiness
‘Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled… Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God’ (Matthew 5:6, 8).
‘That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life’ (Luke 1:74-75).
‘That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children’ (Titus 2:14).
‘For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes’ (Luke 6:43-44).
- They must keep their motives pure and right
‘Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus’ (Philippians 2:5).
‘For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain’ (Philippians 1:21).
‘For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? For if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ’ (Galatians 1:10).
‘I receive not honor from men’ (John 5:41).
The Path to Obedience
Jesus’ word, His letter was pointing to them the way to follow to get to the end and to partake in His kingdom’s final reward. Their lives must be characterized by submission to God, to His word, self-abasement, self-denial, separation, and love and longsuffering. They must be free from partial obedience. Their obedience to God, His word, the ministry and leadership must be complete. The letter was pointing to the end, continually in faith, steadfast in service and obedience.
The Call to Service
To achieve the above:
- They must serve in simplicity and sincerity
‘He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward’ (Matthew 10:39-42).
‘When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? Or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? Or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal’ (Matthew 25:31-46).
‘He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself’ (John 13:4).
‘Then cometh He to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet?’ (John 13:6).
‘Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good’ (Roman 12:8-9).
- They must serve selfless and with self-abasement
‘He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded’ (John 13:4-5).
‘Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross’ (Philippians 2:3-8).
‘Serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews’ (Acts 20:19).
‘For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith’ (Romans 12:3).
‘Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits’ (Romans 12:16).
‘He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?’ (Micah 6:8).
‘But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve’ (Luke 22:26).
‘Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up’ (James 4:10).
- They must serve with seriousness and sensitivity
‘He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded’ (John 13:4-5).
‘And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. 9 Use hospitality one to another without grudging.10 As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God’ (1 Peter 4:8-10).
‘Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much’ (James 5:16).
‘Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently’ (1 Peter 1:22).
- They must serve with sacrifice and satisfaction
‘Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends’ (John 15:13).
‘And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour’ (Ephesians 5:2).
‘Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren’ (1John 3:16).
- They must serve with succor and supply
‘And when the Syrians of Damascus came to succor Hadadezer king of Zobah, David slew of the Syrians two and twenty thousand men’ (2 Samuel 8:5).
‘And they answered the king, The man that consumed us, and that devised against us that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the coasts of Israel, Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, whom the LORD did choose. And the king said, I will give them. But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the LORD’S oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul. But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bare unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite: And he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them in the hill before the LORD: and they fell all seven together, and were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, in the beginning of barley harvest. And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water dropped upon them out of heaven, and suffered neither the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night. And it was told David what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done. And David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the men of Jabeshgilead, which had stolen them from the street of Bethshan, where the Philistines had hanged them, when the Philistines had slain Saul in Gilboa’ (2 Samuel 21:5-12).
‘But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality’ (2 Corinthians 8:14).