Enduring Beauty

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  “Beauty is the quality which makes to endure. In a house that I know, I have noticed a block of spermaceti lying about closets and mantel-pieces, for twenty years together, simply because the tallow-man gave it the form of a rabbit; and, I suppose, it may continue to be lugged about unchanged for a century. Let an artist scrawl a few lines or figures on the back of a letter, and that scrap of paper is rescued from danger, is put in portfolio, is framed and glazed, and, in proportion to the beauty of the lines drawn, will be kept for centuries. Burns writes a copy of verses, and sends them to a newspaper, and the human race take charge of them that they shall not perish.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson. (1803–1882).   Essays and English Traits.

The BIG question is . . .

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What do the following verses teach about our holy standing before God?

  • Romans 5:19: we are made righteous by the obedience of Christ.
  • Hebrews 10:10: we are made holy by the offering of the body of our Lord Jesus Christ.
  • 1 Peter 3:18: our Lord Jesus Christ died for sins in order to bring us to God.

What do the following verses teach about holy living?

  • Ephesians 4:1, 30: walk in the manner consistent with our calling, holy; do not grieve the Holy Spirit through inconsistency, which is disobedience.
  • 1 Thessalonians 4:7: God did not call us to be impure, but holy.
  • Titus 2:11-12: salvation teaches us to deny ungodliness, worldly lusts and teaches us to live sensibly, righteously and godly.

Why is holiness not optional for the Christian?

  • Psalm 66:18: Holding on to the sin from which He saved us shows how serious we are about our walk in holiness--God will not hear us when we pray!
  • Romans 8:13-14: Die if you want to live. Be led by the Spirit of God, as a child of God does.
  • 2 Timothy 2:21: to be useful to our Master, we must be clean.
  • 1 John 1:6: God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.

Here's the big question for your discussion: if God "just forgives," can He demand holiness of the unrepentant, one who will not turn from their sin?

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