If you haven't read the previous articles on Rising to the Call of Holiness, I want to encourage you to read them by going to www.spiritofelijah.com and clicking on The Chariot of Fire link. In the previous articles on holiness, we've covered the following points:

* We all have a holy calling.

* Holiness is a way of life.

* God treats His children as holy.

* We are to be holy in our lifestyle.

* We are to treat God as holy.

* If believers do not treat God as holy and walk faithfully according to the light they have in God's Word, they may not inherit all the blessings for which they had hoped.

Last month I asked you to think about what Paul wrote to the Philippians, "Work out your salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12-13).I would like to revisit the questions I asked at the end of last month's article: Why did he say we have to work out our salvation if we've already been saved? And if salvation is by grace apart from works, why should this salvation be done with fear and trembling?

Holiness is motivated by a true understanding of judgment.

John the Baptist, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the apostles Paul, Peter, and John encouraged believers to live in light of their final judgment. Let's discover how these men motivated their disciples to rise to the call of holiness.

John the Baptist foretold Jesus' baptism of fire.

"As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. And His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire" (Matt. 3:11-12).

Although some people think that the baptism of fire was a reference to the gift of speaking in tongues and others interpret John's reference to fire as the eternal damnation and destruction of unbelievers, I think the context and the rest of the New Testament revelation offer another possible consideration. Every believer will be subjected to the refining fire of the word of Christ. That which is chaff (flesh = deeds not done by the Spirit of Jesus in us) must be destroyed. How is the flesh of our lives destroyed? It will either be destroyed in this life as we put to death the deeds of the flesh and treat God as holy or it will be done at the judgment seat of Christ when He comes. When we stand before Christ to give an account of our lives, the fire of His Word will search our motives as well as the results of our words and actions. We will suffer loss for the fleshly deeds done after we came to Christ. In the present, we understand this to mean that we are to let the fire of the Word of God lead us in putting to death the deeds of the flesh (the sinful habits of our lives that were developed before we were born again).

Although we won't ever be able to completely eradicate all of the deeds of the flesh from our souls as long as we live in these earthly tents, we know if we have thirsted for righteousness and put to death the deeds of the flesh by the leading of the Holy Spirit, we will inherit what Jesus called life. If, however, we are careless during this life, we believers have something to fear when Jesus comes as Judge.

Lose it now or lose it later.

Jesus told His disciples about this fiery judgment of believers numerous times. Here's one of those times of which most of us are familiar.

Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life [psuche = soul] shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it. For what will a man be profited, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and WILL THEN RECOMPENSE MEN ACCORDING TO THEIR DEEDS. Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who shall not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom" (Matthew 16:24-28).

What was Jesus teaching His disciples? The Day of Judgment was clearly in His mind. Apparently the practice of holiness now impacts what occurs at the judgment. What strikes me about this passage is that the believer will lose his life! The New American Standard Version footnotes that the word life is the same word for soul. Jesus' words indicate that the soul/life has something to do with one's self. He'll either lose it now as he puts to death his selfish desires and self-ambitions by crucifying them daily, or he'll lose his soul when he comes to judgment before Jesus. The last sentence referring to those who shall not taste death was prophetic. I take it to mean that some won't put the deeds of the flesh to death until the Day of Judgment when the fire of Jesus' Word consumes their selfish souls. When that occurs, there will be no profit to their carnal living. On the other hand, those who put to death the deeds of the flesh by taking up their crosses daily will profit greatly: they will find their lives!

Die now or die later.

The apostle Paul affirmed this teaching about dying to ourselves now in this life. Writing to the Romans, the apostle Paul encouraged them to live according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh. In Chapter 8 he affirmed that believers cannot be "in the flesh" but are "in the Spirit" when he wrote,

"However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. And if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness (Romans 8:9-10)."

If Christ is in you, then your eternal destiny is secure; there is no condemnation, and you belong to Christ. But as Paul continued he warned them not to live unholy lives according to the flesh. If they did, they would die. Then he encouraged them with the reward of holy living: they would live.

"So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh--for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God (Romans 8:12-14)."

Paul wrote to the Corinthians, "I die daily." To the Galatians he penned, "Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." Later he warned believers, "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap eternal life" (Galatians 6:7-8). The bottom line is this: die to self now or die to self when Jesus comes! If you are a believer in Christ, sin must be judged, and you must be separated (made holy) from it. He has separated you from sin positionally by virtue of your union with Him in His death. Now it is to be worked out daily in real life resulting in holiness or what is often called sanctification.

Paul taught of a judgment of fire for careless believers.

"For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds upon the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it, because it is to be revealed with fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. If any man's work which he has built upon it remains, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire (1 Corinthians 3:11-13, 15)."

Clearly these are believers who are saved, but notice the suffering of loss at the judgment as a result of the fiery test. What determines the reward or loss is how we live our lives today! If we build on Jesus Christ with obedience to God's Word, then we may expect a reward. When the Word of Christ judges us, it will be revealed that we have treated His Word as holy and obeyed it. However, if we do not treat His Word as holy and as a purifying fire now, we may expect to suffer loss as the fire from the Holy of Holies consumes the corruption.

How shall we then live?

Rick Warren, in his book The Purpose-Driven Life, emphasizes that life is not about us. It's about Jesus. Furthermore, since it is about Jesus, life is a test. The apostle Paul encouraged the Corinthians to test themselves to see if Christ was in them. How can you tell if Jesus is in you? By the way you live and for whom you live. Understanding that you will give an account to Jesus Christ for your life should motivate you to rise to the call of holiness.

* Believers should be holy to their God and their Lord, Jesus Christ.

* Husbands should be holy to their wives.

* Wives should be holy to their husbands.

* Parents should be holy to their children.

* Children should be holy to their parents.

Why? Because a Day awaits us all when we will stand again with those to whom God called us. On that Day, with Jesus as our Guide and Judge, our words and actions in every encounter in each relationship will be seen in truth. Loss or gain will be assigned. Grief or joy will be experienced. What we do today in our relationships with others matters now and will matter most in eternity.

Next month will be the final article on "Rising to the Call of Holiness." Until then, may I encourage you to discuss together as a family how holiness is being applied in your daily lives? Perhaps you might envision yourselves at the Day of Judgment when you will all stand together before Christ. What will you say to each other then? How will teenagers explain to Jesus their words and actions? How will you explain your lifestyle, family leadership goals, and responsibilities neglected to our Lord? What do you think Jesus will say?

Life may also be viewed as a race to be run. I want to encourage you to run your race of life to win the prize. May we run our race with a view to the imperishable crown for the glory of Jesus Christ. Our children and youth need constant encouragement in this regard since the entire culture surrounding them lives for temporal gain. It demands that we live as if there were no race, no finish line, no judge, and no future in eternity. However, we shall not live that way! Let us live for an eternal reward!

            Norm Wakefield
            Elijah Ministries
            PO 377
            Bulverde, Texas 78163
            www.spiritofelijah.com