10/14/07 – 41LAW - “PERFECTION“ - Part 2
Victory Ministries International presents:
Awesome Truths and Amazing Facts
Treasures of awesome truths from God’s Word
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Hello!  This is Richard Vaughn

Today’s message is “Perfection – Part 2”

Before we begin, let us seek God’s guidance, “Heavenly Father, as we continue this most important subject regarding the real truth about the perfection of character, I pray that You bless those listening today with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, so that we may understand that every Christian can attain to perfection and why we need to know that. We pray for wisdom, knowledge and understanding so that we may live in the center of Your revealed will, as we ask in Jesus Name, Amen.”

Right now, I continue to keep my pledge, to cry aloud and spare not, to lift up my voice like a trumpet and to show God’s people where they are transgressing God’s law.

Last week we started looking at this important subject of attaining to perfection of character and the promises from God to make it possible. Here are more of such promises, Jude 24 “Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, …” To imply that you can’t live without sinning is to say that God’s promises don’t apply to you. Believing is a faith issue that requires an action on your part. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth …” Listen, the devils believe and tremble. But they’re lost without hope. Believing requires obedience born out of love.

Titus 2:13, 14 “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” (Do you understand this verse? Jesus gave Himself that He may redeem us from some iniquity? No, ALL iniquity and in the Vaughn dictionary of Biblical terms all means ALL. Amen?) We are to be a peculiar people in dress and diet and in conversation. Peculiar to God? No, not at all, we are to be peculiar to the world. But looking at most nominal Christians today you can’t tell them from the world. They, like the ancient Israelites, love the world’s fashions and idols.

Paul had a correct understanding of perfection as evidenced in the following scriptures. 2 Corinthians 10:5 “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” 
2 Corinthians 7:1 “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” Again all means all filthiness.
Galatians 2:17, 18 “But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid. For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.” 
Paul believed in deliverance as we read in the gospel:
2 Timothy 4:18 “And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
2 Corinthians 2:14 “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.”
1 Corinthians 15:34 “Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.”
Paul saw that Christ would provide the victory in the following two beautiful promises: Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
1 Corinthians 10:13 “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, …” (God is what?) “…who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” Is that a promise we can trust?  Yes! Why? Because God is faithful.

Character perfection is not the basis or merit of salvation. Salvation alone comes through Jesus Christ. But it is the primary basis of our fitness for heaven, evidencing that Christ is truly reigning in our lives.
 
Ephesians 5:25-27 “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it (that He might sanctify, which of course means to set apart for Holy use, and cleanse it) with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” (A glorious church, and we’re not talking about the building, rather the word church is derived from the Greek word “ekklesia” which means “called out ones”) And notice in that verse it says not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. Can we attach ourselves to the world’s ways and idols, and be without spot or wrinkle?

What was one spot or wrinkle that we oftentimes struggle with, that was not a characteristic of Jesus? See if you can recognize the preferred characteristic in the next verse, 1 Peter 2:21, 22 “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:  Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:”

Listen to this, “We are counseled to let no corrupt communication proceed out of our mouth; but a corrupt communication is not simply something that is vile and vulgar. It is any communication that will eclipse from the mind the view of Christ, that will blot from the soul true sympathy and love. It is a communication in which the love of Christ is not expressed, but rather sentiments of an un-Christ like character.” (Letter 43, 1895).  {6BC 1117.16}

We read in 1 Peter 1:15, 16 “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all (How much? All) manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” According to the Richard Vaughn’s spiritual dictionary ‘all manner of conversation’ means ‘ALL manner of conversation’. A true, consecrated and surrendered Christian will not use inappropriate language whether it is the swear words or even the slang.

{YI, August 24, 1893 par. 8} “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth,…” (How much corrupt communication? NO corrupt communication) Well let’s see what the communication should be, “…but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."  {YI, August 24, 1893 par. 8} 

“The sin of evilspeaking begins with the cherishing of evil thoughts. Guile includes impurity in all its forms. An impure thought tolerated, an unholy desire cherished, and the soul is contaminated, its integrity compromised. "Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." If we would not commit sin, we must shun its very beginnings. Every emotion and desire must be held in subjection to reason and conscience. Every unholy thought must be instantly repelled. To your closet, followers of Christ. Pray in faith and with all the heart. Satan is watching to ensnare your feet. You must have help from above if you would escape his devices.”  {5T 177.1}

Let me ask you, could evil speaking include gossip? How do we know if we are into gossip? We need to examine whether or not it is edifying and if it is ministering grace unto the hearers. Are we lifting up this person who is unaware they are being talked about, or are we communicating the negative characteristics of this person. Do we attempt to rationalize our statements by prefacing our remarks with a justification? I have a friend who is a pastor in Illinois, his name is Jan Marcussen. He will never directly say a negative thing about another person and if you approach him with a negative report about a brother or sister he puts his fingers in his ears, looks at the ceiling and whistles a gospel tune. We just read “…be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.” We want to be forgiven by God. How is it then that we could possibly engage in the murder of another believer’s character, through gossip, a fellow human being that Jesus died to save? In such an engagement, how could we possibly think that we must be more holy?

Turn to 1 John 2:6 “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.” You see, we would like to believe that we abide in Jesus, but do we? Are we walking as Jesus walked? From the testimony of Jesus we read, {FLB 114.5} “Those who walk even as Christ walked, who are patient, gentle, kind, meek and lowly in heart, those who yoke up with Christ and lift His burdens, who yearn for souls as He yearned for them--these will enter into the joy of their Lord. They will see with Christ the travail of His soul, and be satisfied. Heaven will triumph, for the vacancies made in heaven by the fall of Satan and his angels will be filled by the redeemed of the Lord.”  {FLB 114.5}

The Testimony of Jesus in (Letter 31a, 1894) “True religion is the imitation of Christ. Those who follow Christ will deny self, take up the cross, and walk in His footsteps. Following Christ means obedience to all His commandments. No soldier can be said to follow his commander unless he obeys orders. Christ is our model. To copy Jesus, full of love and tenderness and compassion, will require that we draw near to Him daily. O how God has been dishonored by His professed representatives.” (Letter 31a, 1894)  {7BC 949.3}

And this in {COL 332} “A character formed according to the divine likeness is the only treasure that we can take from this world to the next.”
{SC 62} “The condition of eternal life is now just what it always has been,--just what it was in Paradise before the fall of our first parents,--perfect obedience to the law of God, perfect righteousness.”

1 John 3, verses 3, 6 & 9 “And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” “Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.” “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”

Well time is up for this week. Next week we will conclude this very important study in God’s Word, Perfection – Part 3.
If you would like to worship with seventh day Sabbath-keepers, come to the Victory Everlasting Gospel Church at our new location at the Hampton Inn Conference suite in South Hill, VA at the exit 12 interchange of Interstate 85. We meet at 9:30 am each Saturday the Lord’s Day and will be meeting there until out new building has been completed. Look, if you have been listening to these broadcasts for any length of time, you know Saturday is God’s Sabbath and He’s calling you to start keeping it holy. Why not begin this week?
Until next week, Jesus said in John 5:39, “Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me”. Even so, come Lord Jesus.