WE SHOULD LIVE AS HOLY AS WE CAN

PROCLAMATION

“Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see The Lord.”?Hebrews 12:14 (KJV)

“Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see The Lord.”?Hebrews 12:14 (NIV)

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EXPLANATION

These words were written by an unknown human author under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God to the Hebrew believers and indirectly to all believers.?In this twelfth chapter, the author begins by telling them to throw off sin and everything which hinders them as the run their Christian race and to focus on Christ. (Hebrews 12:1-2)?Then he tells them that in their struggle against sin that they have not yet experienced the worst of things. (Hebrews 12:4)?He reminds them, as he quotes Proverbs 3:11-12, that no matter what they are going through or what is to come, that God disciplines His children because He disciplines those that He loves. (Hebrews 12:5-6)?The author then goes on to encourage them to live as holy as they can. (Hebrews 12:14)??Then he tells them of the mountain of fear, Mount Sinai (Hebrews 12:18-21), and the mountain of joy, Mount Zion. (Hebrews 12:22-24)??He ends the chapter by warning them not to refuse to listen to God, or refuse to obey Him. (Hebrews 12:25-29)

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APPLICATION

Some people will not let you live in peace with them because they are not at peace with themselves.?It is better for us to avoid those people. (Proverbs 21:9 and 21:19)?While none of us is perfect, we should strive to be as Christ-like and as holy as we can.?We should all strive to be holy because The Christ which is within us is holy. (1 Peter 1:16)?We should treat people as we would like to be treated (Matthew 7:12) and not as they treat us. (Romans 12:17)?When we know better, we should do better. (2 Peter 2:21)?Striving for peaceful living is a good thing, however striving to live holy is even better and much more important.?For without holiness no man shall see The Lord. (Hebrews 12:14)