How does the Bible make you holy?

Folks, I have to apologize. My computer died, and living in Mexico, I needed two weeks to get it fixed. I'll continue to post about twice a week, and I appreciate your patience.

We've seen that holiness is obtained by reading God's Word. How and why?

1Th 2:13 ¶ For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.

This next part is important, so please pay close attention. When you practice obedience to man-made rules NOTHING HAPPENS. When you read the Bible, it WORKS EFFECTIVELY in you. God uses the Scriptures to deal with specific problems in your life. He uses His Word to make you grow as a Christian. Reading the Word of God produces results in your life. Following man-made rules does not produce results in your life.

How to Become Holy

There are sincere Christians who strongly believe in man-made rules, insisting that we need these rules in order to know how to live holy lives. Yet Colossians 2:20-23, clearly states that these rules will not make you holy.

In John 17:17, Jesus prayed "Sanctify them through your truth. Your word is truth." The passage could also be correctly translated "Separate them through your truth," or "Make them holy through your truth."

Now we see that God's Word (which does not contain man-made rules) does make you holy. The next question is "How?"

Holiness=Separation

We have seen that holiness cannot be obtained by obeying a list of man-made rules. So, how do you obtain holiness?

The words "holy," "sanctified," and "separate" are all the same words in the Greek and Hebrew. "Holiness" means "separation." It does not mean "spiritual" or "religious." The Bible uses these three words in only two ways: separation from sin, and separated to God. To become holy, you need to separate from sin.

Okay, how does this happen?

Do Man-Made Rules Make You Holy?

Is it possible to obtain holiness by obeying a list of man-made rules?

Col 2:20 Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations--
21 "Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,"
22 which all concern things which perish with the using--according to the commandments and doctrines of men?
23 These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.

Paul explains that these man-made rules only appear to have wisdom, because they cause you to sacrifice. But they do not improve your flesh or keep you from sin.

Why Fundamentalists Accepted the Rules

"Modernists" are people within Christianity who seek to turn their church or denomination away from Christ. In the early twentieth century, they were opposed by the "fundamentalists," who believed the fundamental Christian doctrines. The fundamentalists were not a new group; Christianity had always believed in the Deity of Christ and His virgin birth, the literal Second Coming of Christ, His literal resurrection from the dead, salvation by faith alone, and the total innerrancy of the Bible.

Having rejected Christ, modernists also rejected holy living, which is a natural product of the new birth (which they also rejected). Fundamentalists over-reacted, preaching holy living (which the Bible commands) but adding man-made rules that dealt with the current situation.

They preached against movies, cards, women wearing slacks, and various other offenses. At one time, some of these rules might have made some sense. But as the decades rolled by, the "current situation" that had produced these rules changed. Fundamentalists found themselves stuck with obsolete rules that their own people did not want to obey. Their response? Preach heavily on these rules; it was the only way to keep them in force.

How the Rules Began

It helps if you understand where, when, and how today's bunch of man-made rules began. In the early part of the twentieth century, Hollywood found that movies provided a lucrative method of introducing immorality, glamor, and worldliness to the general population. At a time of strict government laws against indecency, Hollywood fought for sin, and wealthy producers made a fortune doing so. A small number of rebellious women began wearing pants in public. Playing cards provided opportunities to gamble, drink, and neglect families.

A small number of churches objected, but these objections were not well-organized....yet.

When Strict Rules Fail

A successful Ruckmanite pastor would post on the internet, insisting that Christians had to obey a list of man-made rules in order to live holy lives. The list included various dress codes, restrictions on music, places where Christians were not allowed to go, and others.

Another pastor, who had graduated from a strict Bible college that had commanded those same rules, wrote in to ridicule him. He had turned against those rules, and he now practiced scorn and ridicule on those who obeyed them. Later, it turned out that the second pastor was having an affair while still pastoring his church.

The first pastor went on in triumph, until his wife caught him having an affair that had lasted nine months. A few weeks later, he was back on the internet, teaching with authority, as if nothing had happened.

While there have always been scandals in the ministry, Ruckmanites (people who believe that the King James Version IS the Word of God, and it is sinful to use any other translation) have had a far heavier share than most; yet they have stricter rules than most.

In the next few weeks, we'll be discussing how to live a holy life without obeying a list of man-made rules.