Title: Follow Peace and Holiness!
Contents
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Leviticus 19:1-4
1. The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
2. Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, Be holy, for I, the LORD your God, am holy.
3. Each of you shall fear your father and mother and keep my sabbaths, for I am the LORD your God.
4. You shall not do it for vain things, and you shall not make for yourselves idols poured out;
Hebrews 12:14-17
14. Seek peace and holiness with all men, without which no one will see the Lord.
15. Look around and fear whether there are any who fall short of the grace of God, and fear that a root of bitterness will grow and cause trouble, and that many will be defiled by it.
16. Fear the fornicator, and perhaps there is no one who is in vain like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal.
17. After that, as you know, he sought with tears to inherit the blessing, but was rejected, and had no opportunity to repent.
Content
Title: Follow Peace and Holiness!
Text: Leviticus 19:1-4, Hebrews 12:14-17
“Follow (follow) peace and holiness with all men. Without this no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). There is disagreement as to whether the scope of ‘everyone’ refers only to the saints or encompasses faith and distrust, but the latter seems to be more consistent with the original meaning (Rom. Because the suffering of the cross that Christ suffered was for all mankind. Therefore, believers should imitate that love and wisely seek peace with those who oppose Christ and persecute Christians. Although it is a burden, it is clear that this is the way to practice the love of Christ. That is why the “if possible” in Romans is comforting (Romans 12:18). But it cannot be avoided. Because there is a life “in Him who gives strength” (Philippians 4:13). This is the reason we must make the decision to obey and live. It is a life that cannot be avoided using weakness as an excuse.
However, “peace with all people” also has conditions. It is not to lose the character of the saints, that is, holiness. The character of God's people is to resemble God's holiness (Leviticus 19:1-4). In order to be friends with the world, we cannot forsake God and become friends with sin. Make peace with people, but in holiness. Of course, this is by no means easy. But it's not impossible either. This is because it is a life that can be achieved by putting aside the lusts of the flesh and walking according to the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-24). Because “without this no one shall see the Lord” is not the law, but the gospel. The new heavens and new earth will only enter those who have attained holy character (Revelation 21:1-8). Crossing the Red Sea does not mean that all of them have set foot on the Promised Land. There can be no harmony between Christ and Belial (2 Corinthians 6:14-18).
The following words are cautions. The word ‘fear’ is repeated three times. He asks, “Look and see, is there anyone who does not come close to the grace of God?” ‘Look around’ means ‘to look carefully’. When crossing the street, keep a close eye on both traffic lights and vehicles. “The grace of God” is the grace of salvation through Christ. Failure to reach this grace will result in tragedy. Because judgment and curses follow. This should not be the case, but it is saying that there may be people who say they believe in Jesus but deviate from grace. In 6:4-8 and 10:26-31, I have warned against those who have already received the knowledge of the truth but are excluded from salvation. Verse 17 is the same. The ‘root of bitterness’ is poisonous and has a sinful nature that is subject to terrible judgments related to idolatry (Deuteronomy 29:18-21). It is the sin of the wrath of God.
The reproduction of sinful nature should be taken care of anytime, anywhere. It means “a root of bitterness will arise and cause trouble, and many will be defiled by it.” He tells us to be on the lookout for the most representative sins of those who follow the flesh, “fornicators” and “wraiths.” It is the same content that the Lord, who taught us to pray, was wary of ‘prayer like a hypocrite’ and ‘prayer like a Gentile’. All prayers are good. Just as there are prayers that we should be wary of and avoid (Matthew 6:5-8), it reminds us that there are aspects of life that deviate from the norm in our religious life. There may be some mistakes in the life of faith. However, when those mistakes go beyond the limit and the opportunity of repentance is lost, we follow the example of Judas who sold Jesus (Matthew 27:3-5). That is why we need a life centered on the Word without bias. “Josiah did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and he walked in all the ways of his father David, and did not turn aside to the right or left” (2 Kings 22:2).