True Worship Is Holy

Introduction: Called to Be Holy

"But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, 'Be holy, for I am holy.'" -- 1 Peter 1:15-16

There is much talk today about worship, and music is a major part of church life. But worship without holiness is not worship -- it is not true worship.

We are the temple of the Living God. When you have trusted in Jesus and you are born again of the Spirit of God, you are the temple of the Living God. The Holy Spirit dwells in you. And not only does the Holy Spirit dwell in us individually, but when we come together, we are the temple of the Living God -- and the temple of the Living God is holy.

In the Old Testament, the temple had the holy place, the holy of holies. It was set apart by holiness. And we are set apart to be holy. This one word -- holiness -- separates the true church from the false church.

Separated from the World

"God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom I am crucified unto the world, and it unto me." -- Galatians 6:14

The same cross that saves us from our sin and brings eternal life through the resurrection of Jesus Christ -- that same cross separates us from the world. We cannot be the disciples of Christ and walk hand in hand with the world. As First John tells us, friendship with the world is enmity with God. You cannot be both the friends of the world and a child of God. We are separated from it. We are dead to it. Crucified to it.

The word "church" is the Greek word ecclesia -- two Greek words: ek meaning "out" and kaleo meaning "called." We are called out of the world. But ecclesia is more than that. It means that we have been called out of the world to be brought together as an assembly, as a congregation, as a people, as a holy nation, as Peter writes. We have been brought out of the world to come together as God's people, God's family, one in Christ -- and we are totally separated from the world.

Holiness and Sexual Morality

God calls us to be holy, and that one word -- holiness -- totally wipes out any way that the church can accept sexual immorality. We reach out to people and we tell them to turn from their sin and to come to Christ. But they cannot come to Christ if they love their sin. And that is true of other sins as well -- if you love your sin, it will stop you from coming to Christ.

It is all or nothing. We have to come to that place where we want Christ and we do not want the world. But it is only the Holy Spirit who can bring us to that place. It is only the Holy Spirit who can open our hearts, because we are born in sin, born dead in sin, and we have this natural attraction to sin.

Somebody said that if people knew what would happen after they die, they would all be running to get saved. But no, they would not -- because sin will keep them. They love their sin, they are dead in their sin, and that sin will stop them from ever coming to Christ. It is only the work of the Holy Spirit in a person's heart that will draw them to Christ -- where they can come to that place where they see that Jesus died for them, that their sin is nailed to His cross, is buried with Christ, and that we are raised a new creation in Him.

A New Creation in Christ

And that is the wonderful thing about the gospel -- that we are not sent out to live the Christian life in our own efforts. It is Christ living in us. We are a new creation in Christ. We are not trying to be a Christian, because we have a new nature, and that new nature loves to do the things that God wants us to do. It loves to do God's will.

But we still have that carnal nature hanging on like a dead corpse, and we have to reckon ourselves dead to that and not allow those things to influence us. We are to put off the old man and put on the new in Christ and walk in newness of life.

I am longing for the day when Jesus comes and that horrible thing -- that part of us that wants to do everything that God hates -- will be gone, finished. And I will be in His presence without any influence of sin, totally taken out of the presence of sin. Oh, what a wonderful day that will be! Being holy will just be so natural, with no influence of a sinful nature. That will be a wonderful day.

But right now, I have the power to live a Christian life because Christ lives in me. And I am to put on that new man, as the Bible calls it -- the new nature -- put it on daily and walk in newness of life, walk in love, and stay free from that bondage. Because when you walk in sin, you walk in bondage, and when you follow the world, you walk in bondage. We as the church are to stand and walk in holiness and righteousness.

Dead to the Law: Holiness Is Not Legalism

So when you go to a church and you see things that just remind you of the world -- then it is the world, because the church is holy. The true church of Jesus Christ walks in holiness, preaches holiness, and preaches separation from the world.

But not only are we dead to the world -- we are also dead to the law. Romans 7 says that we are dead to the law. So holiness is not legalism. Legalism is everything that is opposed to new life in Jesus, because legalism is me trying to be holy, me trying to be righteous -- all in my own efforts. And I cannot do it.

People who say you have got to keep the law to be saved -- you cannot do it. The only way you can keep the law and fulfill the law of Christ is by putting on the new nature and walking in newness of life. You cannot do it by trying to keep the law. The law just condemns us, but in Christ there is no condemnation. Put on that new man.

And also the fact that we are dead to the law means we are dead to the curses of the law. There is nothing in the New Testament about blessings and curses in the way some preachers teach. The New Testament says put off the old man and put on the new man. Preachers that talk about generational curses, or that if you do this or that then curses come upon you, and then others go further and say you get demon-possessed and need deliverance -- that is false teaching, devilish teaching. Have nothing to do with those kinds of teachers.

Because in Christ you are a new creation. The Bible says resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Put on the whole armor of God. You have every weapon you need to stand in the Christian life when you are born again of the Spirit of God.

The Sufficiency of Scripture

Oh, it is a wonderful life, because we do not trust in our own strength. Stop trying to be a Christian and put on the new life you have in Christ. Learn to grow in new life by reading the Scriptures, listening to Bible teachers who teach the Word of God, who go through the Scriptures -- not ones who come with fanciful ideas and foolish teachings and new revelations. There is no new revelation. New revelation is false revelation. All that we need is the Scriptures -- the 66 books of the Bible.

But I am living in the New Testament, not in the Old. The big preachers, the false preachers -- they love to live in the Old Testament. They will tell you they have got this anointing and that anointing. They will tell you to give money to them because then you are giving it to the Lord. They will make money out of you. They are false teachers.

In the New Testament, we are the body of Christ, and the body of Christ builds itself up. We are one body in Christ. There is not a hierarchy, not one person with some great anointing. Joel said, talking about the day in which we live, that the Lord will pour out His Spirit upon all believers -- and your sons and your daughters will prophesy, and your old men will dream dreams. We are the body of Christ. This is the New Testament age, and it is not for big preachers with some special anointing. No -- we are all anointed, we are all God's people, and we are to walk in that new life and fulfill the ministry that God has called us to.

Walk in His Will

God has not called you to be some big star in the Christian church. God has called you to be the person that He has made you to be -- to walk in His will. That is all God wants you to do: to walk in His will.

There was a Pentecostal preacher, Howard Carter, who had on his desk these words: "May I never forget the all-important truth -- that to be in Your will is more important than success, and to always love You more than Your service."

That is what it is about: to be in His will and to love the Lord with all of our heart. Just to do what He wants us to do. That is the wonderful thing about being a Christian -- we do not have to do anything more than that. Just do what He wants you to do.

Conclusion: True Worship Glorifies Christ

So we are dead to the world, dead to the law, because Christ lives in us -- and we are to walk in new life. And if we walk in new life, then we are walking in holiness and doing the things that are pleasing in His sight.

If we are true worshippers, then we will be walking in holiness and righteousness and not following the way of the world. True worship is holy worship. You cannot have true worship without holiness. People who say they are worshippers and put on stage acts that are just like the world -- that is not worship. True worship is holy, and it will always glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. True worship glorifies Him because of who He is and because of what He has done.

Charles Wesley said these wonderful words: "Oh for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer's praise!" What he is talking about is a wonderful choir of a thousand people glorifying the Lord. Oh, how wonderful that is -- when you have a whole crowd of people singing wonderful hymns of praise to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Hallelujah, that Jesus died for us! He gave His life. The Son of the Living God became like us so that He could rescue us from our sin, separate us from the world, and bring us in to be part of His family -- the church -- and send us out with a message that will bring life to whosoever believes.

But if you are in Christ, you are separated -- separated to be holy.

God bless you.