Christians must not underestimate or ignore this aspect of our holy God, upon which the redemptive plan of God, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and fellowship of the Spirit of holiness, are founded.
Consider the severity of punishment under the grace of Jesus Christ if we go on sinning voluntarily after receiving the knowledge of the truth.
Hebrews 10:26-31
For if we go on sinning willfully [“hekousiōs” or voluntarily] after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.” And again, “THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.” It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
With great grace comes great responsibility.
We must take great pains not to regard Spirit of grace with unholiness.
Indeed, for those who set aside the holiness of God through continuous sinning (or unholy behaviours) after receiving the knowledge of the truth, the “righteous judgment of God, who WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS” (Romans 2:5-6), will be even more terrifying than setting aside the Law of Moses.
Verily, do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God with unholiness (or uncleanness), God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are by the grace of God through the Son of God (c.f. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17; Leviticus 15:31).
So, though the mercy of God is “longer suffering” under the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ than that under the grace of the Law of Moses, yet it will be more severe in punishment, be it now or at the judgment seat of Christ, if we continuously insult the Spirit of grace through our behaviours that are not conforming to the image of the Son of God (c.f. Romans 8:29), “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him” (Ephesians 1:4).
Therefore, let us not trample underfoot the Son of God, regard as unclean the blood of the covenant by which we are sanctified, and insult the Spirit of grace, through our continuous sinning. “Let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1), for it is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
This is why striving towards perfecting holiness, being holy and blameless before the holy God, was the only way forward for Apostle Paul.
Philippians 3:12-17
Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as are perfect [or mature], have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you; however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained. Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us.
Paul was passionate and disciplined in his pursuit of sanctification, which was to be perfect just like Christ Jesus was perfect in the holy image of the Father, so that he would not come short of the holy grace of God in Christ on account of continuous sinning; for he knew the God who said, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” and again, “THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.”
Perfecting holiness in the fear of the holy God is the Spirit of the grace of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ the Son of God. Do not trample underfoot the Son of God, regard as unclean the blood of the covenant by which we are sanctified, and insult the Spirit of grace, by our continuous sinning.
May we imitate Paul, as he imitated the holy image of Christ (c.f. 1 Corinthians 11:1). Even more pertinently, like Jesus who walked on earth, “be imitators of God, as beloved children” (Ephesians 5:1), because “you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).
Selah.
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The Father’s Discipline: An Act of the Mercy of God?
What Holds the Promise for the Present Life and the Life to Come
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