All our Ministers and Members.
I would love to share with you an article I read and it has touched me deeply. Since we are the Lumber River HOLINESS Methodist Church, I would love to share this article with you:
The Holiness of God and Contemporary Christianity.
The holiness of God is not simply a doctrine to which we give assent. Rather, the doctrine of the holiness of God should guide and govern our lives.
1) The holiness of God should guide and govern our thinking on “God’s acceptance.”
I often hear Christians use the expression “unconditional acceptance.” It seems this term is first applied to God and then to the saints. “God unconditionally accepts us,” they reason, “and so we must accept others unconditionally.” My difficulty is that this is not a biblical expression. Perhaps even worse, it does not appear to be a biblical concept. God does not “accept us regardless” of what we do. Look at the nation of Israel, because of their persistent sin, God said they were no longer His people (see Hosea 1). God did not accpet Cain or his offering (Genesis 4:5). God accepts us only through the shed blood of Jesus Christ so that even Christians are not unconditionally accepted, regardless of their attitudes and actions. The holiness of God indicates God does not accept what is not holy, in reality, all God accepts from us is that which He produces in and through us. To speak too glibly about unconditional acceptance appears to encourage careless and disobedient living.
The church cannot “accept” those who profess to be Christians but live like pagans (1 Corinthians 5:1-13). We must discipline and remove those who refuse to live like Christians. The church is to be holy, and this means purging out the “leaven” from its midst. Let those who emphasize unconditional acceptance ponder these words:
“And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this: I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I would that you were cold or hot. so because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:14-16).
This is a thought for you and me to ponder.
Pray for me to be worthy of “God’s Acceptance.” May we continue to strive for holiness.
Elton Hunt
