Hatred For Holiness
Never has "righteousness" and "holiness" been so hated. Iniquity is gripping the world with strongholds and bondage that literally destroys its victims. Sin is loaded with brokenness and sorrow; and every act of sin has the DNA of Adamic death written in its very origin. When we learn that our present criminal justice system can take one strand of hair or one molecule of blood or human remains and convict a murderer or rapist of his horrible deed, we are learning a little about our DNA. Every fiber of our person has the signature of our whole life written by the Creator in our being. If this is true of an individual, then it is true of the entire human family.
That plainly proves that the Adamic nature is an eternal signature written in the human family. The Adamic nature is the root of sin in every living soul, and every act of sin has the Adamic DNA in its deeds. Then, we realize that this Adamic DNA is death in the process. When you live in sin you are living in death; you are death in the making. Every emotional and physical problem has its origin in the DNA of Adamic sin. I do mean that it is always the acts of the personÂ’s present lifestyle. Sometimes, itÂ’s just the fact that we are all living in the midst of this fallen, sin-infested world. Death is everywhere; and if Jesus tarries, every one of us will taste death.
Listen to Apostle Paul teach this very truth to the church at Rome. "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law (DNA) of sin and death." (Romans 8:2) Sin is a law, a principle, or a DNA of death. It is inescapable as long as you live in sin. Those who teach that believers can go on sinning willfully and freely, are fools for the devil. ItÂ’s the lie of the present apostate church. If the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus sets me free from the Adamic DNA of sin, then IÂ’m living by a new law of life not death. Men hate holiness because they are bound to the principles of death. Jesus Christ said, "For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God." (St. John 3:20-21)
Sinners mind the things of the flesh, and converted saints mind the things of Jesus Christ. You cannot live a sinnerÂ’s life and a saintÂ’s life at the same moment. Apostle Paul added the following truth to the one quoted above. "For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." (Romans 8:5-8)
Why do men and women hate holiness of life and separation from the flesh life of this world? There cannot be but one reason; they have never been "born again." The carnal mind is "enmity against God." It is hatred, distaste, rejection, and eventually venom against the great truths of GodÂ’s commandments and holiness of life. It is the Antichrist spirit. Our world is full of it.
The psalmist prophesied of this day in connection with his prophecy of Jesus Christ coming into our world. He began this exceptional prophecy by describing the world into which Jesus would come. He goes further and describes the worldÂ’s response to Christ but also to His saints that would follow Him. David wrote, "Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us." (Psalms 2:1-3) That has been the worldÂ’s response from His coming to the present. Note that He said of the worldÂ’s attitude, "Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us." (Psalm 2:3) The world hates restraints, especially religious restraints. When anyoneÂ’s life is ruled by the Adamic nature, they will be furious at you for suggesting that the Christian life is a pure life of absolute separation from this world. Every commandment of God is the joy of a converted soul but sheer hatred by the lover of sin and the world. Sadly, the majority of the people of the cloth (ministers of the church) have the same rejection of righteousness and holiness that is evident in the church. In fact, they are both teaching the church to love the world and loving it themselves.
It has only been about thirty years since situational ethics broke upon the academic and secular world. The root of liberalism was certainly there long ago, but it broke the surface with a fury. The response was at first an outcry. Religious people cried foul for a while, but slowly the church followed suit. Today, the church is leading the charge of politically correct, openly homosexual, and loose-living acceptance. I was pastoring in Black Mountain, North Carolina, when the local paper reported that the Methodist Conference at Lake Junalaska had removed the restriction against the ministry for using tobacco. That seems trite today but it was big news then. The standards of living are gone from the church. In the whole moral sense, modesty is now a one-piece bathing suit instead of a bikini. It will soon be a bikini instead of nudity.
The transformed heart, converted from the world to righteousness, is still the love of the saint. Practically the only hatred I ever face is because of our Biblical standard of holiness. Very shortly, the Rapture will occur and the godly will disappear. The first revelation that will grip the church world when the saints are gone will be a call back to the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Nothing the world has to offer will console the hearts of the "left behind."
Joseph R. Chambers