 The title of our sermon this morning is Undivided Devotion. Undivided Devotion. And this is part 4, our fourth sermon in this brief series on 2 Corinthians chapter 6 verse 11 through chapter 7 verse 3. Now as we have looked through our study together of 2 Corinthians, it's no mystery to us if you've been here and paying attention to the sermons through 2 Corinthians. It's no mystery whatsoever that there are significant problems in Corinth. Significant problems. Paul realizes that we see it on the pages of scripture. Paul sees this church on a very dangerous and a very slippery slope. In the same way that we find certainly here as examples to us, examples like Corinth in the New Testament, these churches that are on a dangerous and on a slippery slope, we know you and I, don't we, that the genuine Christian can be found at times on a dangerous slippery slope. We need reminders. We need exhortation. We need teaching. We need instruction. We need correction. We need rebuke. We need encouragement. We need comfort. We need the Word of God. We need God working on us to keep us preserved along the path of blessing. But Paul sees this church now on a very dangerous and slippery slope. They've been ravaged by sin, ravaged by division. This church seemingly tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine it would seem. False teachers, opponents of Paul, opponents of the gospel, enemies of the cross of Christ are in the church at Corinth and they threaten to pull the church apart at the seams. Paul had warned of these wolves, warned them night and day with tears, even an emphasis that wolves would creep in after his departure and would seek to distract or just pull away disciples to themselves. So Paul, knowing this in sorrow and anguish, is deeply distressed about the condition of this church. At the same time that these wolves in Corinth are spreading false accusations against Paul, spreading their false doctrine, Paul remains determined and resolved to faithfully preach the Word of God to the church, convincing, rebuking, exhorting with all long suffering and teaching. He doesn't try to appease them or win them with things that they merely want to hear, but Paul demonstrates great love for them by telling them what they need to hear. Sometimes the truths that we need to hear are painful. Often the truths that we need to hear are painful truths. Paul demonstrates great love to them in this, telling them what they need to hear. That patient persevering faithfulness on the part of Paul has now begun in Corinth to bear fruit and that's what it does, doesn't it? When we preach the truth of God's Word, that truth by virtue of the work of the Spirit of God in the heart of every believer begins to bear fruit. The Word of God does not return void, amen? So in Corinth, as you would expect, the Word of God preached among genuine believers, you would expect that as the Word of God is preached among genuine believers, there would be fruit from it. The people of God would heed the Word of God. They would repent and turn from their sin. They would turn to Christ in new obedience. They would worship and praise in joy, in love. You would expect that it would bear fruit. However, through it all, Paul realizes that although the Corinthians are beginning to bear fruit, the Corinthians are beginning to turn a corner, Paul realizes that his relationship with the Corinthian church has been strained. Paul's teaching has taken its toll. The heart of the Corinthians toward Paul has been constrained, been restricted. Where lawlessness abounds, the heart grows cold. Love grows cold. Now, not at all. This did not happen at all upon Paul's part. On Paul's part, his great affection for them is more than evident. It's their affections for him that have waned. So Paul then calls them to restore the relationship. He calls them to reconciliation with himself. And as he calls them to reconciliation with himself, Paul is really calling them to reconciliation with the gospel, reconciliation with the Lord himself. He calls them to open their hearts to him once again in chapter 6, verse 11. Oh, Corinthians, he says, we have spoken openly to you. We've given you what you need. We've told you what you've needed to hear. We've been wide open with you. Our heart, in fact, is wide open. You're not restricted by us in verse 12, but you are restricted by your own affections. Now in return for the same, I speak as the children, you also be open. It's for their good that their relationship with Paul, that their relationship with the gospel, that their relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, that their relationship with the Word of God, so to speak, is for their own good that that relationship is fully reconciled. Paul is preaching the Word of God to them. Paul's an apostle of the Word Jesus Christ. And in Paul, they have apostolic preaching in their presence, so to speak, through his letters, through his words. You and I have apostolic preaching in our presence this morning, don't we? From the Word of God, we hear Paul's words here from 2nd Corinthians chapter 6 to us. He's preaching the Word of God to them, and he's preaching the Word of God to us. As soon as Paul calls them then to open their hearts to him in verse 13, Paul then calls them to holiness in response to that in verse 14. There's no mistaking the clear connection in the Bible here between our love for the Lord, our love for the Lord's Word, our love for the Lord's people, our love for the Lord's apostle, our love for the Lord's text here. There's no mistaking that clear connection in the Bible between love for that and our own personal holiness. If you're here this morning, and maybe this text over the last three sermons, you're arguing with the text, you're arguing with the implications, you're arguing with the applications, you're arguing with the interpretation, you're arguing with Paul in the text of Scripture, that would say more about your own personal holiness, obviously, than it would about anything to do with Paul or God's Word or our preaching here, right? There's a connection between our love for the Lord, our love for God's Word, our love for God's people, and our own personal holiness. I would venture to say that those here who are heeding the Word of God preach, if you love of the Word of God, you love the Lord, you love the Lord's people, then there is a connection between that love for God's Word, that love for the Lord, that love for the Lord's people, and your own personal holiness, where lawlessness abounds, love grows cold. Now remember our twofold definition of holiness. If we think about holiness, one part of that definition is separation from sin, separation from this world, set apart from sin, set apart from this world. The other side of that, two-sided coin, you could say, is set apart to God, set apart to his kingdom, set apart to his cause, set apart to his Word, set apart to him. Now Paul begins in verse 14, after calling us to Godward affections in verses 11 through 13, Paul calls us now to separate from unrighteous influences in this world. He calls us to disunion with the godless. Look at verse 14. Paul says then, do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? What communion has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with volile? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? So by virtue of his new heart, by virtue of God's spirit within him, the desire and pursuit of a genuine believer in relation to sin, in relation to evil, in relation to wickedness, whether it's a person or whether it's a thing, by virtue of his new heart and God's spirit within him, the desire and pursuit of a genuine believer is to separate himself from it, to separate himself from evil, to separate himself from wickedness, to have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness. Now Paul repeats the same exhortation again in verse 17. He says, therefore, verse 17, come out from among them, be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean and I will receive you. With respect to our twofold definition then of holiness, Paul reminds us that we must be set apart from sin because we are set apart to the Lord. Look at verse 16, the second half of the verse there. Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. Why? For because you are the temple of the living God. As God has said, I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God. They shall be my people. Therefore, come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean and I will receive you. I will be a father to you. You shall be to me my sons and my daughters, says the Lord Almighty. So disunion with the Godless, as we've seen, is necessary. Disunion with the Godless is required. Disunion with the Godless is expected considering our communion with God in Christ. God calls us to himself and by virtue of God saving us to himself, we must separate from sin, separate from this wicked world to him. Now that glorious truth that we, God's people in verse 16, are now the dwelling place of God in the spirit, leads Paul then back once again to his call for holiness, his call for separation, and the subject of our study this morning in chapter seven, verse one. Paul calls us to disunion with the Godless. He calls us to communion with God and now he calls us to a devotion to godliness or a devotion to holiness. Look at chapter seven, verse one. Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Now in chapter seven, verse one, I want you to consider with me the motivation and the means through which we are called to devote ourselves to godliness, the motivation and the means through which we are called to devote ourselves to godliness or to devote ourselves to holiness. The title of our sermon is undivided devotion, right? That is an undivided devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ, undivided to the devotion to his kingdom, to his cause, to his purposes, undivided devotion now to godliness. That is the calling upon every Christian believer, every believer, every disciple of Christ is called to an undivided devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ and by implication then and by command from the word of God, an undivided devotion to godliness. Look with me first at the motivation that we have for that in chapter seven, verse one, right? The Lord doesn't leave us without glorious motivation, without beautiful reasons why. We have the best motivations imaginable. In fact, they are apart from his spirit, unimaginable. They're so glorious. We have glorious motivation. The Paul begins by connecting chapter seven, verse one with the verses, but particularly the promises that come before it. Notice the word therefore. Wherever you see a therefore, you got to look back and see what it's there for, right? Chapter seven, verse one, therefore having present tense, present possession. It is ours now, right? Therefore having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves. So according to Paul now, chapter seven, verse one, according to Paul, what's our motivation? These promises, right? These promises. My brother was talking about this morning and the call to worship. These promises are our motivation, glorious motivation. Specifically, it's the promises that we've seen in verses 16 to 18. The pronoun these in chapter seven, verse one refers back to the old testament promises specifically mentioned in verses 16 to 18, verse 16. What's the promise there? God has said, I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God. They shall be my people. We saw last Lord's day. That is a glorious promise, a glorious promise and a glorious hope. Chapter six, verse 17, the promise there, I will receive you. God will gather us to himself. He's already begun that good work. He will gather us to himself. He will welcome us, you could say, as some translations do, I will receive you the promise in verse 18. I will be a father to you and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. So among the many promises of God to those who turn from their sin and entrust themselves to Christ are the promises, verses 16 through 18, that God will dwell with us, that God will receive. He will welcome us to himself and that God will be a father to us. Amazing, isn't it? The last Lord's day, we trace these promises through the Old Testament into the New Testament to see how Paul saw them as ultimately fulfilled in the church. They are promises here dealing specifically with God's presence, among God's presence with or his relationship to his people. Remember with me, we've seen many promises to this effect in the Old Testament, moving into the New Testament. Genesis three mentions how Adam and Eve heard the sound of the Lord walking in the garden in the cool of the day. Can you imagine, right? He met with and spoke with Adam in the garden. An amazing fellowship with God, that amazing fellowship with God broken then by sin, broken by sin. God met with Abraham. Abraham was called a friend of God in James chapter two. In Exodus chapter 13, the Lord goes before the people in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night signifying or symbolizing his presence among the people. In Exodus chapter 33, the Lord, it says there, spoke with Moses face to face as a man speaks to his friend. That's beautiful, right? The shekinah of God's glory fills the tabernacle in the wilderness, in the eyesight of the people of God around the tabernacle. It would later fill the temple as the divine presence is said to dwell among them. In John chapter one verse 14, the word became flesh, Emmanuel, right? God with us, where the word tabernacled or dwelt among us and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. And then when the Lord Jesus Christ departs this earth by means of his cross and he ascends into heaven after the resurrection, he sends the helper, the spirit of God. And God, by his spirit, once again tabernacles or dwells in the midst of his people. How does he do that now? He does that through his church. He tabernacles or dwells in the midst of his people now in his church in dwelling his people. So in 2 Corinthians chapter six verses 16 through 18 then, Paul references God's promised presence from Moses and the law in Leviticus chapter 26 verse 11 where the Lord says, I will set my tabernacle among you. My soul shall not abhor you. I will walk among you and be your God and you shall be my people. Immediate referent point to that promise is made at the construction of the tabernacle in the wilderness. We see a fulfillment of that promise in our age as he builds living stones, a spiritual house, stone by living stone upon living stone, bringing in his elect into the church. And we'll see it ultimately in the new heavens and the new earth in the vision of John, right as John saw the new Jerusalem descending out of heaven as a bride adorned for her husband, needing no temple. Why? Because God and the lamb are its temple. Now he references God's promised presence from Ezekiel 37 also verse 26 where the Lord says this, Moreover, I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. I will establish them and we'll multiply them and I will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. This is the promise of God's presence among his people. He says my tabernacle also shall be with them. Indeed, I will be their God and they shall be my people. The nations also will know that I the Lord sanctify or set apart Israel when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore. Paul also takes these promises and he says in 2nd Corinthians 6 verse 16 that these promises, these promises are given to us. They're given to Israel and they're given to us. They're fulfilled in Israel and they're fulfilled in us. They're fulfilled 2nd Corinthians 6 verse 16. They're fulfilled to us. So why is that, Paul? Why would Paul say that? Because you brother, you sister, are the dwelling place of God in the spirit. You are the temple of the living God. God dwells within his people by his spirit today. God dwells among his church until that day when John hears that voice in Revelation 21 3. Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men. He will dwell with them. They shall be his people. God himself will be with them and be their God in a greater and more glorious way than God was ever with Adam and even the garden. God will be with his people in that day, in that way. And God verse 4 will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death nor sorrow nor crying. There shall be no more pain for the former things have passed away. And considering these promises, right? By repentant faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, if you will turn from your sin and entrust yourself to him following the Lord Jesus Christ by faith, far from placing us under the wrath of hell, the wrath that we deserve because of our sin, rather than being cast out of his presence into outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, God, the Holy One, God, the just one, the one who dwells in unapproachable light promises to his people, I will receive you. That's amazing. God, Holy God, will receive you and I, but he receives you and I in him, in Christ. When your family, when all your so-called friends turn their back on you because you now stand for him, God says to you, I will receive you. I will welcome you. It's like the loving father that stood on the path as the prodigal son is running, the father runs out to meet him. The prodigal son is coming up the path, he embraces him, puts his robe on him, puts a ring on his finger, and killed the fatted calf in celebration. The Lord receives us. When this wicked world rejects you, when enemies of the gospel mock you, when enemies of the gospel deride you, say all manner of evil falsely against you for his name, God says, I will receive you. God says, I will welcome you. When you feel alone, you're never alone. You're never alone. God promises I will receive you. We have that promise. Therefore, having these promises, Paul says, right? That is a present possession. God in Christ receives us. He promises, he promises, I will be a father to you and you shall be my sons and daughters. When you were formerly an enemy of God, you are now an adopted son or daughter of the king. You were made accepted in the beloved, born again by a spirit adopted into the household of God, not mere subjects of the king, though that in and of itself would be glorious just to be subjects of the king, right? Just to be slaves in the household of our God. We are sons and daughters, sons and daughters. Incidentally, these promises, beautiful and glorious promises made to Israel in the Old Testament to Israel. So how is it then? How is it that Paul in 2 Corinthians chapter six, verses 16 to 18, then says that they are fulfilled in the church? How are these promises fulfilled in the church? The church is the temple of the living God. How are these promises fulfilled in us? Paul says in Romans chapter two, verse 28. Listen, he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh, but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, circumcision is that of the heart in the spirit, not in the letter whose praise is not from men, but from God. He would say later in Galatians chapter three, verse seven, therefore, know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. You could say, as Paul does, only those who are of faith are sons of God. Only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. And the scripture for seeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preach the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying in you, all the nations shall be blessed. So then, those who are of faith are blessed, blessed with salvation, blessed with new births, blessed with adoption, blessed with these glorious promises in believing Abraham or with believing Abraham in Christ. So then, we come to grips with Paul's text here. And we consider these promises, we consider Paul's statement that we have them present position, present position. So having these glorious promises, beloved, what do we then do? What is our response? What do we do? The blessings of God are matchless. The riches of God's mercy are exceedingly great. What do we do? Well, Paul tells us, come out from among them, verse 17, be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean. We are to flee to him. We're to follow him. We're to obey him. We're to live for him. Paul says, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Now notice with me, with respect to chapter 7, verse 1, Paul does not say, he doesn't say, cleanse yourselves from all filthiness so that you can inherit the promises. He does not say, cleanse yourself, yourself from all filthiness so that you can become his sons and daughters. No, no, right? Cleanse yourself in order to get these promises. No, since we have them, right? Since these promises, these great realities are true of you, are true to you, therefore then let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. That's what distinguishes Christianity from every other false religion in the world. You're to get something from God, right? It's tragic to think about it, isn't it? The devoted Catholic, the one devoted to his theology, the devoted Mormon, the devoted Jehovah's Witness, the devoted Muslim, pick any false religion. That one labors and works and does in order from God in order to earn these blessings. Blessings so glorious, so matchlessly superlative, can't put enough adjectives together, right? So glorious, I keep coming back to that word, right? So glorious that there's no amount of human effort conceivable that could earn such glory and yet they believe that by doing this and doing that and doing this and doing that, doing the other thing, this work, this sacrament, this mass, this thing, I'm going to earn those promises? No, that's where the glory of Jesus Christ comes. The Lord Jesus Christ is the glorious one who was able to earn those promises, earn those blessings. His own shed blood, his own perfect life is the only merit we can bleed to have them in him. He is the one who earns them, do you see? Just thoughtlessly impossible to think that we could earn favor with God through our works. That's why, why, why Catholicism, Mormonism, Job's witness, that false theology counts the cross of Christ as a common thing, negates the cross because they seek to attain to a righteousness of their own by works of the law. And righteousness will not be attained through works of any law, only through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Since we have these promises, since we have them by faith in Christ, therefore, brother, sister, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness. In the Bible, in the scriptures, right, there's this indicative imperative relationship. We're given commands, but those commands always coming on the foundation of glorious promises. We have imperatives. The Lord certainly gives us commands and he tells us the one who loves me will be the one who obeys my commands, right? We are to obey the commands of the Lord Jesus Christ. But those commands given to us on a bedrock of indicative statements of fact, right? Those imperatives, those commands given to us on a foundation of glorious promises, glorious indicatives. And so we are holy, then we are set apart to him to be holy. Why? Because we have such glorious promises because God himself will dwell with us and God will dwell among us and we will be his people and he will be our God. We are holy. We're set apart to him. So Paul says now, be holy. These promises too are assumed in the text to be more than sufficient to that end, right? Having these promises, we have them. These promises then are sufficient that we should turn from our sin, trust them by faith and pursue sanctification, cleansing ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. These promises are sufficient motivation to be separated from sin. Not, right? That's how it differs also from false religion, not in some cold, heartless, ritualistic way, right? I'm going to crawl up every step to the altar, kissing each step as I go, saying this ritualistic little prayer and believing that as I do these things, I'm going to inherit one day the promises of God and get a reward from him. No. That's not how that works. That's cold. That's this external ritualism. No. It's by virtue of the promise that we have God's spirit dwelling within us. We have the presence of God with us, his people and loving him, right? And cherishing that promise, cherishing that reality, we then turn in love to obey him, to cleanse ourselves, to pursue our sanctification, to obey him, to perfect holiness. It's through fellowship with the living God, not through formalism, not through external ritual, not through bare, cold, heartless obedience, but through loving, heart-faith-filled obedience, right? That's not burdensome to his people because of these glorious motivations. You have these promises, you have these motivations, so in no way, then, is that burdensome to the Christian. That's his delight, right? That becomes our joy because of who he is and what he's done for us, the promises that we have in him. It's our delight. There'll be those often that will characterize, what they're doing is they're characterizing, they're preaching God's word, or they're characterizing God's word, essentially, as a list of do's and don'ts, as a burdensome checklist of do this and don't do that. What a wicked and deplorable impugning of God's holy, righteous, loving, and just commands. We do these things because we love the Lord our God. We do these things because he died for me and rose again. I, therefore, am resolved that I will no longer live for myself. The life which I now live in the flesh, I resolve to live for him because he died and gave his life for me. And yet people want to reduce even Paul's exhortations here to obey the Lord. Pursue your sanctification. Give all diligence to cleanse yourselves. Why? Because of these precious promises. We have these promises. Paul would later say, nevertheless, the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal. The Lord knows those who are his and let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity. God wants his temple holy, which temple you are. Let's connect this, right? This expectation that God's temple would be holy. Let's connect this with an illustration from the Old Testament. Turn with me to Ezekiel chapter 8. Ezekiel chapter 8. And I want you to see in Ezekiel chapter 8 the expectation that God has for his temple, his dwelling place. If God is to dwell among his people, with his people, in a covenant relationship with them, then God has an expectation that his temple will be holy. Now what we see in Ezekiel chapter 8 is a tragic scene as we come to verse one. So it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month of the fifth day of the month, as Ezekiel sat in his house with the elders of Judah sitting before me, that the hand of the Lord fell upon me there. And I looked. There was a likeness like the appearance of fire from the appearance of his waist and downward fire and from his waist and upward like the appearance of brightness, like the color of amber. He stretched out the form of a hand and took me by a lock of my hair and by the spirit lifted me up between the earth and heaven and brought me in visions to God, visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the north gate of the inner court where the seat of the image of jealousy was, which provokes to jealousy. Essentially grabs Ezekiel by the scruff of his neck and takes him into a vision of the temple. And in the temple, the temple of God, the temple where God's presence is said to dwell between the cherubim, there in the temple is the seat of the image of jealousy. What that is is an idol. This is idolatry. An idol is set up, a wicked false idol set up in the temple of God and that idol provokes to jealousy, provokes God to jealousy here. And behold, verse four, the glory of the God of Israel was there like the vision that I saw in the plane. This is a glory, the glory of God's presence that obviously the people entirely ignored. They neglected the glory of God's presence to the point that they then ignored the glory of God's presence. And now to the point where they're doing things, blasphemous things against opposing God's presence, they actually set up an idol in the temple, right? It leads to blasphemous idolatry. So he said, verse five, Son of man, lift your eyes now toward the north. So I lifted my eyes toward the north and there north of the altar gate was this image of jealousy in the entrance. Furthermore, he said to me, Son of man, do you see what they're doing? Do you see the great abominations that the house of Israel commits here to make me go far away from my sanctuary? Notice what he says, to make me go far away from my sanctuary. That sanctuary is to be holy. And through their idolatry, they are in essence forcing God out of the sanctuary, forcing God's presence away from them, so to speak, right? That turn again, he says to Ezekiel, and you will see greater abominations. Verse seven. So he brought me to the door of the court and when I looked, there was a hole in the wall. And he said to me, Son of man, dig into the wall. And when I dug into the wall, there was a door. And he said to me, go in, see the wicked abominations which they are doing there. And so I went in and saw there every sort of creeping thing, abominable beast and all the idols of the house of Israel. These aren't the idols of the nations any longer. These are the idols of the house of Israel. They're portrayed all around on the walls, and they're stood before them 70 men of the elders of the house of Israel. And in their midst stood Jazzaniah, the son of Shaffan. Now, if we understand this correctly, Jazzaniah is the son of Shaffan, the one who read the book of the law to good King Josiah, when great reforms were carried out in Jerusalem to restore the worship of God's people. And here his son, one generation removed, is in wicked, deplorable idolatry. Each man had a censor in his hand, a thick cloud of incense went up. Then he said to me verse 12, Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark? Every man in the room of his idols, for they say, the Lord does not see us. The Lord has forsaken the land. What you think that you do in the dark, God sees. What you think you do within an enclosed room, God sees. What you think you quote unquote get away with. There's no quote unquote getting away with it. God sees. Look at chapter nine verse one. So he called out in my hearing with a loud voice saying, let those who have charged over the city draw near each with a deadly weapon in his hand. Suddenly six men came from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with his battle axe in his hand. One man among them was clothed with linen and had a writer's inkhorn at his side, and they went in and stood beside the bronze altar. Listen to this in verse three. The glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub where it had been to the threshold of the temple is a sign, a harbinger of things to come. He called on the man clothed with linen who had the writer's inkhorn at his side and said to him, go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, put a mark on the forehead of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it. To the others, he said in my hearing, go after him through the city and kill. Do not let your eyes spare nor have any pity. Utterly slay old and young men, maidens and little children and women, but do not come near anyone on whom is the mark and begin at my sanctuary. The Bible says that judgment will begin at the household of God. So they began with the elders who were before the temple, and he said to them, defile the temple, fill the courts with the slain, go out, and they went out and killed in the city. Look at verse nine. Then he said to me, the iniquity of the house of Israel in Judah is exceedingly great. Land is full of bloodshed, the city full of perversity, for they say the Lord has forsaken the land and the Lord does not see. Like Solomon says, because the judgment of God is not exacted against wickedness or against sin immediately, the thoughts and intents of men's heart is only to commit wickedness, to commit iniquity. They presume or assume that he does not see them. As for me, verse 10, my eye will neither spare nor will I have pity, but I will recompense their deeds on their own head. Just then the man clothed with linen, who had the ink corn at his side reported back and said, I've done as you've commanded me. Look at chapter 10, verse four, verse three, verse three. Now the cherubim were standing on the south side of the temple when the man went in and the cloud, this is the shekinah cloud, God's glory, the cloud filled the inner court. Then the glory of the Lord went up from the cherub, paused over the threshold of the temple, and the house was filled with the cloud and the court now was filled with the brightness of the Lord's glory. Look at chapter 10, verse 18. Then the glory of the Lord departed from the threshold of the temple. You see the progression, don't you? Because they weren't sanctifying God's name as holy, because they weren't sanctifying the sanctuary as holy, because they had not cleansed it. In fact, they hadn't only not cleansed it, they had filled it with iniquity. They had filled it with their idolatry, and now that place, which was to be the dwelling place of God amongst them, the dwelling place of God in the spirit, so to speak, became a factory, a house of idols. God's spirit, God, is departing the temple. God's departing the temple. Look at verse 17, chapter 11, verse 17. God understands that apart from his work, apart from his spirit, salvation, redemption, is impossible. It is impossible for there to be any motion, any work on a part of man, to save or to sanctify himself. God must do that work. So he comes to chapter 11, verse 17, therefore say, thus says the Lord God. This is what I'll do, God says. I will gather you from the peoples, assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel, and they will go there and they will take away all its detestable things and all its abominations from there. Then I will give them one heart and I will put a new spirit within them and take the stoning heart of their flesh out and give them a heart of flesh. You see, God's promise of his presence, God's promise of restoration comes with the preaching of the new covenant. I'll take out your heart of stone. I will give you a heart of flesh. I will indwell you with my spirit. Verse 20, so that they may walk in my statutes and keep my judgments and do them. They shall be my people. I will be their God. But as for those whose hearts follow the desire for their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their deeds on their own heads, said the Lord. So verse 22, the cherubim then lifted up their wings with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel was high above them, and the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city and stood on the mountain, which is on the east side of the spirit of the city. Then the spirit took me up and brought me in a vision by the spirit of God into Caldea to those who were in captivity. The spirit of God, the presence of God, departs the temple. God has an expectation. God has an expectation, a requirement that his temple be sanctified, that his temple be set apart, that his temple be holy. So back in 2nd Corinthians chapter 7 verse 2 then, 2nd Corinthians chapter 7 verse 1. Therefore, having these promises, beloved, having the promise of God's presence in us and with us and among us, for we are the temple of the living God, having God's spirit, his presence with us, beloved, let us then cleanse the temple. Do you see? Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness and the fear of God. Why? Because God is holy. Because God is holy. We then are to purify ourselves as the temple of the living God. We do that, beloved, having these promises with the motivation of these promises. So, it makes a connection with me, right? Supported, strengthened, grounded in the promises of God to dwell with us, to be our God, to be a father to us, motivated by those promises, motivated by the current fulfillment of those promises and motivated by the hope of its future and ultimate fulfillment in the new heavens and the new earth. Based upon that indicative, we diligently and earnestly pursue the imperative. Let us cleanse ourselves. Verb there is subjunctive, acting as an imperative. So, while fixing our gaze upon these things, right? While fixing our gaze upon the promises, while drawing strength from them, while drawing motivation from them, while emboldening our faith through them, we are to give ourselves devotedly to a process, a process of sanctification, a process of perfecting holiness and the fear of God. Paul says in 1 Thessalonians, chapter 4, verse 3, that this is the will of God for us, right? This is the will of God for us, our sanctification. The promises are given to fuel action. The promises are given to fire effort, to fire devotion, not to negate our action. We don't have these promises and having them, we say to ourselves, ah, now I can just rest in these promises. Let go and let God, right? If I had the lazy boy, I could lean back and pull the lever, my feet pop up and from here on out, it's just easy, easy, light and breezy. No, no. The promises are to fuel our effort. The promises are to fuel diligent, earnest work and labor until our glorification is complete. The will of God for us is our sanctification. To rest on these promises and presume to do nothing is to turn the grace of God into licentiousness, right? It's to receive the grace of God in vain. It's to have a form of godliness, but to deny its power. Turn with me to 2 Peter, chapter 1, 2 Peter, chapter 1. I want you to see another example of Paul's point in 2 Corinthians, which is 2 Peter, chapter 1, and look there beginning at verse 2, makes the same point Peter does that Paul makes. 2 Peter, chapter 1, verse 2. Peter says grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. Notice there that grace and peace is multiplied in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. So when someone says, when someone says, I'd rather not do this study in the Bible, just tell me what I can do to be a better mom. I'd rather not do this study in the Bible. Just tell me what I need to do to be a better husband. Listen, you're going to be a better mom. You're going to be a better husband by knowing him from his word. Grace and peace multiply to you in the knowledge of God. Where does that knowledge come from? It comes from the word of God and of Jesus our Lord. As verse 3, his divine power has given to us all things, all things that pertain to life and godliness. His divine power has given us all these things. How do we then experience that? How do we experience that? Through verse 3, what? The knowledge of him. We experience that divine power and all those things that have given to us that pertain to life and godliness. How do we experience them? Through the knowledge of him who called us, the effectual call, right, who called us by glory and virtue. Through the knowledge of him. How do I know him through his word? Studying, meditating on, memorizing, thinking about, right, studying his word. The revelation of himself to us, the whole counsel of his word. We grow in our knowledge of him. And as we grow into our knowledge of him, that knowledge or that sight of him, so to speak, in the word of God, transforms us into his image. We become sanctified. We become more like him. We behold his glory on the pages of the scriptures, so to speak, glory as of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth. And as we behold his glory in the word of God, we become like him. That means we become better mothers, better fathers, better husbands, right, better wives. We become better employees, better students. We become more like Christ. So through the knowledge of him who called us by glory and virtue, it's by that glory and virtue, verse four, by which have been given to us. So by his glory, by his excellence, by his virtue, the Lord Jesus Christ secures these glorious promises, says verse four, by which glory and virtue have been given to us perfect tense. They have been given a perfect tense, communicates an ongoing state of reality that is important to us, right. These promises have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises so that through these promises, you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust, partakers of the divine nature. In other words, we share in, we fellowship with the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust, having been set apart from that corruption by his work through these exceedingly great and precious promises. And then here it is, verse five, but also for this very reason, verse five, having these precious promises, having received all things that pertain to life and godliness, giving all diligence, says there, meaning maximum effort toward our sanctification, maximum effort toward living for Christ, he says, add to your faith virtue, add to your faith knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness, brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness, love, with maximum effort, with all diligence. Four, verse eight, if these things are yours and abound, you will neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who lacks these things is short-sighted even to blindness and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. The way that you assure your heart that you are a partaker of the divine nature and have received all things that pertain to life and godliness is by giving all diligence such that these fruits are yours and abound. Do you see? If these are yours and abound, you'll be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is short-sighted even to blindness and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore, verse 10, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never stumble. For so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Interesting, he goes on in verse 12. Notice this with me. For this reason, Paul says, I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things. All I hear is do this and do that. All I hear is work harder, serve more, be more faithful, be more diligent. Do, do, do, work, work, work. And Paul says, for this reason, I'll not be negligent to remind you always, always of these things, even though you know and are established in the present truth. Paul says, yes, verse 13. I think it's right as long as I'm in this tent to stir you up by reminding you, knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me. Back in 2 Corinthians, chapter 7. Chapter 7, verse 1. Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. We've noted the motivation for holiness, for an undivided devotion to godliness. What's the means by which we pursue it? One means by which we pursue it is verse 1 cleansing ourselves. Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. Again, we don't labor to cleanse ourselves in order to get the promises of God, not in order to be accepted in the beloved because we've already, we already have been accepted in the beloved. We already have the promises of God. We cleanse ourselves because we have those promises. We already have been from there in verse 1. Cleanse ourselves from all filthiness, speaks of separation, speaks of being set apart from, to be clear from sin, clear from wickedness. Paul in Romans chapter 13, verse 12 says, the night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore, let us cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light. And what is Paul calling us to in chapter 7, verse 1? This, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness or the word all there communicates exactly what Paul is calling us to. All points to the scope of our endeavor, the scope of our efforts. Entire separation from all sin. Entire separation from all sin. I'm not saying that's possible this side of our glorification, possible this side of eternity, but that's what we're called to. And your maximum diligent earnest effort should show that that's your aim, right? That that's your goal. He's calling for total destruction in the Christian life of all sin. Mortification of all filthiness. The word is malusmos means defilement. Separate yourself from, eradicate and totally destroy anything that defiles. Listen. This is the goal and aim and pursuit of every person who wants to be saved. No, I'm going to do this. I'm going to clean my act up in order to be saved. I just got to go to church. I need to start reading my Bible and need to start doing these things so that somehow I'm going to be right with God and earn some. No, no, no. This is the goal and aim and pursuit of every single genuine Christian, right? Every genuine Christian is never partial. It is all filthiness. Cleanse yourself from all filthiness. That work is never done. It is never done. You don't get to my age and think to yourself, well, now I can take it easy. No. In fact, the labor just feels that much harder the farther you work at it, the more that you go, right? The work is never done. Notice that he doesn't say, notice that he doesn't say, let us wait on God to cleanse us. Let us wait on God to work in us and through us to do and to will according to his good pleasure. He doesn't say that. This is not passive. The Christian life is in no way a passive life. This is active. Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness. The Christian life begins, doesn't it, with a radical and decisive break with sin. When a genuine Christian is saved, when God redeems them, he causes them to be born again by a spirit. The genuine Christian now born again a God spirit is separated from sin set apart to God. The power of sin in his life is broken. He is no longer on a choke chain of Satan, right? He's no longer Satan's lackey. He's no longer a lackey to his flesh. He's no longer under the dominion of sin to do its will. That power of sin has been broken. And now that one who's been born again of God's spirit can do works of righteousness. He can turn from sin and put his faith in Christ. He can stop that wickedness, right? The power of sin has been broken. The penalty for sin has been paid, praise God. And through a process now of sanctification, God separates us more and more each day from the presence of sin in our lives. That's the work being referenced here is that process of separation from the presence of sin. Now that's where we start, right? The Christian life begins there, a radical and decisive break with sin. But the Christian life doesn't end there. That's the beginning. What entails now after that radical break with sin is a radical warfare against all of it that remains. And that radical warfare takes place until the end of your life. You go to Calvary and there you see the Savior hanging between earth and heaven bearing the wrath of God for your sin. And there at the cross you are washed. You are cleansed of all your iniquity. All of those filthy stains cleansed in the blood of the Lamb. The hymn says, Nothing in my hands I bring, Simply to thy cross I cling, Naked, come to thee for dress, Helpless, look to thee for grace, Foul, I to thy fountain fly, Wash me, Savior, or I die. But that same hymn, that same thought then marks the life of every genuine believer. You come again and again to the Lord Jesus Christ by faith. Say, Lord, help me to overcome this sin. Lord, sanctify me. Set me apart more and more and more to your will, to your cause. The Christian life continues with radical warfare against all remaining sin. Paul says that all remaining sin is of the flesh and spirit. Let us cleanse ourselves of all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. In other words, of the whole person, of the whole person, the flesh, things that you do in the flesh, presenting your members as members of unrighteousness that is filthiness in your flesh, using your tongue to say ungodly things, using your members to do ungodly works, we're to cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh, we're to cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the spirit, every sinful thought, every sinful desire, every sinful inclination, every sinful feeling, every sinful imagination, every sinful emotion, every sinful God-denying idolatry, every sinful God-denying discouragement, we're to cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. By considering the glorious gifts that we've been given, considering the glorious promises that we have in Christ, considering the glorious state in which we find ourselves, our glorious position, that effort, that life is the joy and delight of every true believer, every true Christian. So one means we cleanse ourselves. The next means is that we perfect holiness. We perfect holiness. How do we perfect holiness? Paul says here, in the fear of God, the word perfecting there points to the process. We are perfecting holiness in the fear of God. In other words, that work is not done. Philippians chapter 2 verse 12, therefore my beloved, as you've always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling in the fear of God, Paul would say. Why? Because it is God who works in you both the will and to do for his good pleasure, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. More on this as the Lord will allow it another time. Paul, having exhorted us, comes back to his original expectation that we saw in verse 11 and chapter 7 verse 2. And he says, listen, open your heart to us. Open your heart. Heed our loving instruction this morning. Listen, brother, sister, open your heart to God's word. Open your heart to God's correction, God's instruction. Heed Paul's word here. Paul says we've wronged no one. Everything that he's given us is good and for our necessary edification. He says we've corrupted no one. We've cheated no one. Paul here is worthy of more than a mere superficial relationship. God's word worthy of more than a passing superficial relationship. It deserves our entire attention. It deserves our concerted effort. It deserves our full affection. Paul says I do not say this to condemn verse 3. I don't say this because I think you're guilty of these things because I've said before you are in our hearts to die together and to live together. Paul says we're knitted together. Our futures are intertwined, so to speak. Our hearts knitted together in Christ. We share one faith, one baptism, one spirit, don't we? And so for that reason, brothers and sisters exhort one another. For that reason, we stand and we preach God's word to you. For that reason, we take time to study God's word, to study eschatology, to study Daniel or to study Ezra or to study whatever book of the Bible we decided to study during our small groups or on Sunday nights or on Sunday mornings to preach first by verse through the Lord's word to you. Our hearts are knitted together, yours and mine. Our destinies are intertwined, brother and sister. And so heed, let's let us together heed God's word. Let us heed God's instruction. Let us with maximum effort apply ourselves to the diligent pursuit of cleansing ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and the spirit. And let us, brother and sister, perfect holiness in the fear of God. We have glorious promises on which we base this work and glorious promises to look forward to, don't we? I'll praise honor and glory to the one who's given us these promises to the one who calls us out of darkness into his marvelous light. Let's pray.