Monday, November 3, 2025
Heb
12:14-17
14 Follow peace with all men, and
holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
15 Looking diligently lest any man
fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you,
and thereby many be defiled;
16 Lest there be any fornicator, or
profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.
17 For ye know how that afterward,
when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no
place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.
The word holiness is from two
Greek words, ho
hagiosmos. The first little word is a definite article and is
equivalent to our word “the.” The other word is literally “purifier.” Once we
learn the meaning of the words, we can read it this way: follow the
purifier. Now I see that I am not being commanded to produce
holiness but to follow the one who is able to make me holy.
A holy life is no accident. We do not carelessly or casually
stumble upon holiness. We pursue it as a goal! Following peace with all men,
and holiness, is intentional. This means that we make the pursuit of holiness a
conscious aspiration. It requires diligence to run the race successfully lest
we "fail of the grace of God" (Heb 12:15). God's grace does not fail,
but we can fail to take advantage of His grace.
Esau certainly failed to act
on God's grace. The
account is given in Gen 25:27-34;
27:30-45. Esau was "a profane person," which means "a common
person, one who lives for the world and not God." (Our English word
literally means "outside the temple," or not belonging to God.) Esau
despised his birthright and sold it to Jacob, and he missed the blessing
because it was given to Jacob. Afterward, Esau tried to get Isaac to change his
mind, but it was too late. Even Esau's tears availed nothing. (Warren Wiersbe)
The lives of individual
Christians; even
the worship of modern churches; have become more common than holy. Common
pursuits give rise to common themes and produce only common results. Because
personal holiness is a product of gradual development, the Bible
is always encouraging us to be holy.
Eph
4:22-24
22 … put off concerning the
former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the
deceitful lusts;
23 And be renewed in the spirit of
your mind;
24 And that ye put on the new man,
which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
I Lay
My Sins On Jesus
I lay my sins on Jesus, the spotless
Lamb of God;
He bears them all, and frees us from the accursed load;
I bring my guilt to Jesus, to wash my crimson stains
White in His blood most precious, till not a stain remains.
Holy God, I am not holy! Please make
me so by Thy grace. AMEN
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