Salt Guide to Practical Holiness

SALT GUIDE TO PRACTICAL HOLINESS I KINGS ____________________________________________________________ Read I Kings 7; 10:14 through 11:8 You may have enough to finish building your Solomon tower, but not have enough sense to keep from Collusion falling off of it. A man can do a splendid work in the Lord, build churches, and like Solomon, even build a kingdom, but Solomon didn't have the wisdom to preserve his own soul from gold, from women, and from power Character alliances with heathen nations. Like Job's story, Solomon's story reveals yet another reason why good men go wrong. He received great portions of God's wisdom to establish a great kingdom, and still lacked the wisdom of Wisdom moral character to save his own soul. It takes a different kind of virtue to build a social structure, an organization, than it does to cultivate personal spiritual character. In Deuteronomy 17:14-20, God told Israel the time would come when they would want a king and would have the desire to be like other nations. The Lord gave four commandments to the king that they would set over them. 1. Multiplying of horses was forbidden. Precept/Promise 2. Multiplying of silver was forbidden. 3. Multiplying of wives was forbidden. Law 4. The king of Israel was to write and copy Commandments the law that was before the Levites. We do not find that Solomon regarded any one Holiness of these four commandments, but to the Solomon Error contrary, flagrantly violated them. He was Resources so busy building a super-nation, he ignored the moral commandments and ended up Faith destroying Israel (by corruption) and possibly losing his soul. There are several questions that come to mind Delusion here that bear upon holiness of the Christian Materialism life. 1. That Solomon had received a special wisdom from God to govern the nation of Israel. 2. That in spite of this anointing from God, he was guilty of disobedience to the Word of God, which finally resulted in causing his own moral corruption.

SALT GUIDE TO PRACTICAL HOLINESS I KINGS ____________________________________________________________ 3. By the wisdom of God he built a kingdom and guilded it with gold; then by his disobedience to the Word, sowed the seeds of decay that destroyed the very kingdom he built with God given wisdom. Draw a parallel between this coexistence of Good, Evil Coexisting good and evil with the Laodicean church recorded in Revelation 3, and with the life of Samson, who was a strange combination of good and evil coexisting. Balaam was another, David, Saul, Judas - these all Anointing experienced anointing and sin simultaneously. While there is the truth that the gifts of God are without repentance, there is also such a thing as a point in the disobedient life when God departs. Judges 16:20 Note the following: 1. All three of the forbidden things which God commanded of Israel's kings were forms Politics of political power. 2. Horses and chariots speak of military Worldly System power. 3. Silver and gold speak of monetary power. 4. The marrying of wives speak of political alliances. Ancient kings married into the Evil Influence families of other regal families to insure personal dialogue and thus create al- Nepotism liances between their nations. Solomon, in spite of the wisdom God gave him for Israel, displayed a horrendous arrogance toward the Word of God. Solomon reverted to the "might" and "power" (Zechariah 4:6) of worldly alliances and military strength utterly disregarding the principles of personal purity and righteousness to pre- serve Israel. We note worldly philosophy being embraced by a changing and pompous Solomon. He made the mistake of regarding God's commandments as simplistic and not of too great importance as he became exalted and powerful. God did prosper Solomon - no doubt about it - but it is a stupid mistake to think of my prosperous

SALT GUIDE TO PRACTICAL HOLINESS I KINGS ____________________________________________________________ state as God's approval when I am quite cognizant that I am not really obeying the commandments He gave me. 5. Those who are anointed by the Spirit oftentimes disregard the Word. 6. The key word to faith is, resources. Solomon prostituted his wisdom by seeking Faith his resources in the world to establish the security of the nation of Israel. There is a strange spiritual chemistry Resources fomenting in Solomon as it does in all Christians who claim faith in God but employ the world's resources to accomplish kingdom goals. To use the world's resources to promote personality in the name of spiritual faith is folly! Success is no substitute for holiness. It's possible to be; 1. Capable and not qualified. 2. To be competent, but not anointed. 3. Educated, but not dedicated. True faith has all of its resources in God. It may not be big, it may not be prominent, but it has this confidence; all of its re- sources are in God. See Zechariah 4:6 11:9 AND THE LORD WAS ANGRY WITH SOLOMON, BECAUSE HIS HEART WAS TURN- ED FROM THE LORD GOD OF ISRAEL, WHICH HAD APPEARED UNTO HIM TWICE. "God has favorites, but He does not favor His Favoritism God's favorites." *1 Psalm 15; 24:3-6 He overrelated to his material environment. Environment Evil I Kings 10:26-11:4 In 2 Chronicles 1:12, God promised Solomon wisdom, knowledge, riches, and wealth. Deuteronomy 17:14-20, God gave guidelines for ========================== *1 COX, Ralph SALT GUIDE TO PRACTICAL HOLINESS I KINGS ____________________________________________________________ all the kings of Israel to follow, including Solomon. He should have related more heavily to the commandments than to his material state. God didn't cancel the kingly commandments when He promised him riches and wealth. That would still be required. No matter what material state we find ourselves in, we must still keep the Word of God in a proper perspective, even more so when we know fully well that materialism is diametric to so many spiritual principles. Moderation is a different value than extravagance. Wealth genders pride in many - hardly ever humility. We are never warned against poverty, but "the love of money is the root of all evil." Wealth heeds sophistication and high-minded- ness, not spiritual virtue. Jesus said it's very hard for the rich to enter the kingdom. If the rich are to avoid the error of Solomon they must stay in close proximity to the Word, letting everything revolve around it! Solomon failed to do this and lost holiness of life. 15:5 BECAUSE DAVID DID THAT WHICH WAS RIGHT IN THE EYES OF THE LORD, AND TURNED NOT ASIDE FROM ANY THING THAT HE COMMANDED HIM ALL THE DAYS OF HIS LIFE, SAVE ONLY IN THE MATTER OF URIAH THE HITTITE. Avoid mistakes in life that put something on the record that cannot be removed or for- gotten. God commended David here for having a special love for His commandments. 15:14 BUT THE HIGH PLACES WERE NOT REMOVED: NEVERTHELESS ASA'S HEART WAS PERFECT WITH THE LORD ALL HIS DAYS. Although there were some reforms that Asa might have inaugurated, but did not; and although there may have been some glaring faults in his management of his kingdom; yet the Bible asserts that his heart was perfect

SALT GUIDE TO PRACTICAL HOLINESS I KINGS ____________________________________________________________ with the Lord all his days. So also, in spite of our ignorance and infirmities and other natural or circumstantial disabilities, it is possible for us to have a heart like Asa perfect with God all our days. *1 21:20 AND AHAB SAID TO ELIJAH, HAST THOU FOUND ME, O MINE ENEMY? AND HE ANSWERED, I HAVE FOUND THEE: BECAUSE THOU HAST SOLD THYSELF TO WORK EVIL IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD. FRIENDLY ENEMIES Jezebel was Ahab's darling, but when he saw Elijah, he called him his "enemy." Selfish- ness, pride, and sin twists our thinking and values until we don't know our true friends from our real enemies. See Psalm 141:5. 21:25 BUT THERE WAS NONE LIKE UNTO AHAB, WHICH DID SELL HIMSELF TO WORK WICKEDNESS IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD, WHOM JEZEBEL HIS WIFE STIRRED UP. ========================== *1 THOMPSON, PEPPER, Daily Holiness Textbook Desire for body pleasures will overrule conscience again and again until conscience loses its authority in governing the moral direction of the soul. A Christian given to (non-biblical) pleasure and who seeks pleasure (and sometimes innocent and Pleasure legitimate forms of pleasure) can do so until the lust for pleasure begins to play a part in how we make our decisions. Conscience acts upon what is right and wrong, while the body appetites function on the basis of pain Pain and pleasure. The Christian perfecting holiness in the sight of God must never allow his conduct to be dominated by decisions based upon pain and pleasure. We do err when we relate things of pain to evil. And things that are pleasant as good. See philosophy, Hedonism. Israel lusted for the "leeks and onions." Humanistic religion is programmed for pleasure. Holiness makes its decisions on the basis of right and wrong and not on