2 Corinthians 6:16-7:1 (NKJV)  16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” 17 Therefore “Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.” 18 “I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the Lord Almighty.” 7 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Perfecting Holiness Perfecting Holiness is about separating ourselves from sin and setting our lives apart for service to God Our studies have pushed us to understand what God expects and how to accomplish it This lesson is on the practical side of how to perfect holiness

Perfecting Holiness In our context, Paul quotes from Isaiah where it reads, “Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord” (6:17) Here is one of the keys to holiness Remember holiness is separating ourselves from sin to God for His service

Perfecting Holiness So separation is the key to our being holy Separating ourselves is often times easier said than done, especially when we live in the world In what ways should be seek to separate ourselves from sin and the world?

Mind/Attitude Jesus indicated that everything we say and do derives from the heart Jesus spoke of this in Matthew 15:18-19 as well as Matthew 12:34-35 He even made references to this in the Sermon on the Mount (ex. Matt. 5:28)

Mind/Attitude “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” (Rom. 12:2) Transformation from the world begins with our mind, according to Paul We must have the proper mindset if we are truly going to achieve holiness

Mind/Attitude We must be of the mind that we are not friends of the world (Js. 4:4) We must be of the mind that we do not love the world because it is only temporary (I Jn. 2:15-17) We must be of the mind that this world is not our home (I Pet. 1:4)

Mind/Attitude Our minds must be fixed upon the things above, not things of the earth (Col. 3:1-2) We must think like Christians who are merely passing through this place, so that we have no wishes to get too attached When we set our minds on the spiritual, it is the beginning of holiness

Behavior When our hearts change and become what God wants, it will have an affect on the rest of our being Again, Jesus tells us that from our heart will come our behavior When there is a change of mind, there must be a change of behavior

Behavior Paul speaks to Christians about “putting to death your members which are on the earth…” (Col. 3:5-10) Again Paul talks of the way that the church in Ephesus used to walk (Eph. 2:1-3) Paul echoes this again later in Ephesians 4:17-24

Behavior Notice what Peter says in I Peter 1:14-16 concerning holiness and holy conduct Peter comes back to speak later in 4:2 and speaks of this transformation of behavior Our behavior must change to reflect God’s will and stand in contrast to the world

Speech When a change of heart takes place it will also change our speech Jesus said that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Matt. 12:34-35) Paul included what we say in his words on what we discard in Colossians 3:5-10

Speech It’s not just about what we no longer say, but what now takes it place Ephesians 4:25-31 Our speech should be reflective of a servant of God who has separated himself from how the world speaks