Holiness in the Church

My goal and God’s command is holiness in the church.

II Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Luke 1:74-75 That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.
Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
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 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.
Titus 2:11-14 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior 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.
I Peter 1:15-16 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
I Peter 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
I Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:

This holiness means:

First, it means doing what God has given us to do. Not some of what God has commanded, not most of what He has said, but all His commands – we are not to leave out any of them. If we are neglecting any of God’s positive commands, we need to correct this sinfulness immediately.

Second, it means not doing what God has told us not to do. God has called us to refrain from murder, and it is of paramount importance that we do not murder. God has told us not to covet – we are not to covet, at all costs.

Thus, at the very least, holiness in the church means that the actions taken by the church and its members positively fulfill the commissions of the Lord, and in no way violate them, and taking great care to abstain from all of our Lord’s prohibitions.

Thirdly, holiness in the church affects the church’s actions in the “gray areas” – when there is no scriptural command for or against a given activity – here, several scriptural principles must guide the church in her decisions:

(1) Does it have any appearance of evil
(2) Does it edify the brethren
a. In knowledge of God and the truth
b. In Grace – the gift given to us whereby we are made new creatures, created for good works in Christ
(3) Are any of the brethren encouraged (whether overtly, or in effect) to engage in an activity that would go against their conscience, or lead them into a situation that their conscience would become compromised?
(4) The church should ask – in doing the activity, whose interests are being served: the “self” of the church, or God’s interests?

All these guidelines simply serve as a more thorough explanation that in all things, the two greatest commandments are the hanging point of all God’s law. We as a church must first of all love God with all our heart, our soul, our mind, and our strength; any action, decision, or choice that in any way weakens, reduces, or interferes with our love toward God ought never to be allowed. Second, we as a church must never forget that we are to love our neighbour as ourselves; this commandment has two implications: (1) that we do love ourselves, and (2) that we extend this love to all those we interact with. (John 13:35, Gal. 6:10) This is the way that we, the church, are to be "blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation," this is how we are to "shine as lights in the world." (Philippians 2:15)