I mentioned last month, as we settle into our new facilities,
it is timely for us to remind ourselves of who we are, why we
exist, where we are heading, as a Congregation. Jesus mentioned
six characteristics or marks that should be found among his followers.
Last month we considered the characteristic of Joy. This month
we want to look at the second mark of the Church that Jesus mentioned:
Holiness.
In John chapter 17, he prays for those who believe on Him, that
they may be "sanctified" or made
"holy." The word "holy" is used interchangeably
with words such as "saint" or "sanctify."
A saint is not a person who has achieved a certain level of goodness,
but rather one who has been set apart by God for God. And it
refers not to a special class of Christians, but to all Christians.
The saints are the "called out ones," who make up the
Church of Christ.
The same idea is present, when in Exodus chapter 40, the Bible
refers to the sanctification of objects. In that chapter Moses
is instructed to sanctify the altar and laver in the midst of
the tabernacle. That is, he was to separate them apart for a
particular purpose. And that is what Christ was praying for,
that we might be put aside, separated unto God, for God, so that
we might be completely His.
Jesus knew what hinders this from happening. He prays, "My
prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you
protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even
as I am not of it" Our problem is that we assimilate the
Satan inspired wisdom, standards, goals, theology, priorities
and methods of the secular world. Instead of the Church changing
the world, the world under the influence of Satan has changed
the Church.
Our problem is the same as the members of the Church in Thyatira
of the first century. Christ commended them for their good deeds,
their love of him, their perseverance in faith and truth, and
their patient endurance through many trials. But Christ also
offered this criticism: "Nevertheless I have this against
you. You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess.
By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality
and the eating of food sacrificed to idols." A member of
the Church encouraged others to join trade guilds, where idols
were toasted with a glass of wine, where food offered to local
gods and goddesses was eaten, where parties involving drunkenness
and sexual immorality were the order of the day. The problem
for the Christian was that belonging to a trade guild was the
way of protecting his business interests and ensuring his livelihood
and material prosperity. And the Congregation at Thyatira tolerated
the position held by Jezebel and those who sided with her.
We can quickly condemn the Christians of the Congregation of
Thyatira for caving into the influence of the secular world.
But we have to be careful that we do not do the same thing. I
am fearful that we too easily accept the world's wisdom, priorities
and beliefs. You can see it in almost every direction, our emphasis
on material wealth, sexual immorality, our belief that it doesn't
matter what you believe, as long as you believe something, our
willingness to remove with violence anything that is unwanted,
from unborn babies to opposing nations.
The answer to our lack of holiness is not easy but it is clear.
Christ reminded the members of the Church at Thyatira who were
not swayed by Jezebel, to "hold fast what you have."
They knew the will of God through the Word of God. And they
were to hold fast to the known truth.
This is the way to holiness in our lives and in our Church: to
know the truth, God's revealed truth in
Scripture, and then to hold fast to it. May this be our mark
and the mark of Parkwood.
In Christ,
Floyd McPhee 
