|
What we believe and teach - Holiness (Sanctification) - |
|
We who
believe in the Lord Jesus Christ were sanctified by the Holy Spirit of God,
that’s why the Scripture calls us ‘the saints’. So, as is fitting for saints,
we must perfect holiness in the fear of God hating and fleeing what is evil and
clinging to what is good. In other words, just as we presented our members as
slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now
we must present our members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. And
since we live in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, which calls
evil good, and good evil, we must take heed to ourselves
and test all things to understand what pleases the Lord and what does not
please Him. We must test all things through the Scripture; the Spirit of God,
who dwells in our hearts, guides us into all truth. |
|
As He who
called us to His eternal glory is holy, we also must be holy in all our
conduct. Therefore we must abstain from the lusts of the flesh and the worldly
lusts of this evil age. Fornication, uncleanness, revelries, drunkenness,
lewdness, envy, debaucheries, sorcery, jealousies, covetousness (which is
idolatry), malice, hatred, murders, contentions, outbursts of wrath, selfish
ambitions, dissensions, heresies, slander, and the like, are all works of the
flesh from which we must abstain (we must not associate with anyone who calls
himself a brother, but is a fornicator or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer,
a drunkard or a swindler; with such a man we must not even eat). Those who
live according to the flesh are dead even while they live, and from the flesh
they will reap corruption. Going to the cinema, to the theatre, to the
circus, to the amusement parks, going to the beach to put oneself half-naked
in order to get sun tanned or to bathe, going to a soccer match (as well as to
a basketball match, a baseball match, etc.), listening to the worldly music, watching
television, wearing indecent clothes or costly clothes, to mention just some
of the worldly lusts, are all things which are not fitting for the saints, so
we warn believers against these things (as far as the television set is
concerned, we exhort the saints not to buy it nor to place it in their
houses). Friendship with the world is enmity with God. |
|
We must be
humble, good, meek, righteous, merciful, patient with all, temperate in all
things, hospitable to one another, full of brotherly love (Jesus said that by
this all will know that we are His disciples, if we have love for one
another), ready to confess our trespasses to one another and ready to forgive
as Christ forgave us, and ready to do all kinds of good works as we have
opportunity. |
|
Without
holiness no one will see the Lord. Fornicators, adulterers, homosexuals,
effeminate, thieves, covetous, drunkards, slanderers, swindlers, idolaters,
liars, murderers, sorcerers, the cowardly, the abominable, and the
unrighteous, will not inherit the |