2 Corinthians 7 1 NKJV Therefore having these

2 Corinthians 7: 1 (NKJV) Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Perfecting Holiness • Last month we looked at a lesson that is foundational as well as a part of the verse under consideration • We spoke of what drives us or motivates us in our quest to bring our holiness to completion • Our verse begins by saying, “Therefore, having these promises…

Perfecting Holiness • Those promises are what motivates or drives us • Based upon that motivation, action begins as we read, “…let us…” • It’s this next part that we want to concentrate on today

Perfecting Holiness • The best commentary on perfecting holiness will come from the Bible itself • When we look at the verse itself, it guides us in the direction of perfecting holiness • So we read, “…let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit”

Purity • The idea of purity and cleansing ourselves is not a foreign concept in the Bible • This is not the only place we see the idea of keeping ourselves pure and unspotted • Even in the Old Testament we see the idea of keeping oneself pure from

Purity • The Israelites were to separate themselves from the nations around them lest they be pulled away from God (Deut. 7: 16; 20: 17 -18) • Solomon told his son to keep himself pure (Prov. 4: 20 -27) • Job thought purity important enough to make a covenant with his eyes

Purity • Jesus said we cannot serve two masters (God and mammon – Matt. 6: 24) • James said that one who is religious is one who keeps himself unspotted from the world (Js. 1: 27) • Paul reminds us that we are not to be conformed to this world (Rom. 12: 2)

Our Dirt • It is difficult to be pure when we have sin and filthiness in our lives • Paul states that this had occurred in the life of all (Rom. 3: 23) • God’s plan to bring Christ into the world was a plan to cleanse us from our sins (Heb. 9: 14; I Jn. 1: 7; Rev. 1: 5)

Our Dirt • There were those in Corinth who had some of this filthiness in their lives • Paul names a list that is not only lengthy, but contains some sins that most would regard as grave sins (I Cor. 6: 9 -10) • “And such were some of you. But you were washed…” (v. 11)

Our Dirt • We too were those who had dirt in our lives • We were sinners just as Paul states in Romans 3: 23 • However, through the blood of Christ we were cleansed from our sins and we had that filthiness washed from us

Dirty Again? • So what can hinder us from perfecting holiness? • It is possible for a cleansed Christian to return to the filthiness that they came from • It could be that there were those in Corinth who were washed and cleansed who now had returned to

Dirty Again? • Understand that we cannot complete the process of holiness unless we decide to get rid of the filthiness in our lives • Sin is a defilement and one with sin cannot enter into heaven to be in the presence of God (Rev. 21: 27) • We must work to cleanse the dirt and keep it out of our lives

Dirty Again? • “Be holy, for I am holy” cannot be followed if we continue in sin (I Pet. 1: 16) • God is perfect and therefore we must strive to be perfect • Therefore we cannot continue to wallow in the dirt if we are seeking to be holy

Cleanse Yourself • In a very real way, we must remove the filthiness from our lives and lives of purity • That means I must guard my temper and control my anger and emotions (Eph. 4: 26 -27) • That means I must learn to talk like a child of God and not as the world

Cleanse Yourself • That means I should keep my eyes from “lust” or looking again (Job 31: 1; Matt. 5: 28) • That means I am not to covet but rather be content in my life (Heb. 13: 5) • That means that I can no longer live like the world lives, but rather follow