TITLES OF GOD: JEHOVAH M’KADDESH
DR. JIM DIXON
EXODUS 31:12-17
OCTOBER 22, 1989
“I am Jehovah M’Kaddesh, the Lord who sanctifies you.” This morning I want to speak to you on the subject of sanctification. I have two teachings and the first is this. Sanctification means separation from the world. Greek word for sanctification is the word “hagiasmos.” The Hebrew word is the word “kaddesh.” Both of these words are built on words which mean holy or saintly. Both of these words literally mean “to separate,” because sanctification is separation.
You see, in our passage of scripture for today, the Sabbath was called sanctified. The Sabbath was called holy because it was separated – separated from the other six days of the week and separated unto the Lord. It was a sign for the people of Israel, a sign of their new covenant like circumcision. For those of us who are Christians and who have come into the new covenant, we understand that we now are separated every day of the week. We are separated, separated from the world, separated unto the Lord called to be holy. “I am Jehovah M’Kaddesh, the Lord who sanctifies you.” Separates you from this world.
If you’re Christian, God is trying to separate you from this world. And he’s not talking or thinking of monasticism or monastic seclusion. I know you’ve all heard of monasteries. The word monastery or monasticism comes from the Greek word “monos”, which means “alone.” And the beginning of Christian monasticism was in 271 A.D. when Saint Anthony of Thebes went into the desert to live a life of pious solitude, separated from the world, alone. And Christian monotheism took a different form, a new form, shortly after 300 A.D. when another man named Saint Pachomius took a group of Christians into the desert to collectively live a pious life apart from the world, separated from the world. And from these movements came monasteries and monks who separated themselves from the world and lived in monastic seclusion.
I know most of you have probably heard the joke regarding the Trappist monk who entered a monastery, took a vow of silence and he in accordance with this vow, was only allowed to say two words a year at the end of the year to the Father Superior. And so, at the end of the first year, he came to the Father and the Father said, “You may say any two words.” And the Trappist monk said, “Food bad.” And the father nodded his head, said, “We’ll look into it.” Then the second year, the Trappist monk came to the Father Superior and the Father said, “You may say two words.” And he said, “Bed cold.” And the father nodded his head and said, “Well, we’ll see what we can do.” The end of the third year, the Trappist monk came before the Father and he said, “You may say any two words.” And he said, “I quit.” And the Father Superior said, “Well, good riddance, you’ve done nothing but complain since the moment you got here anyway.”
Well of course, that’s simply a joke and kind of a dumb joke. But in a sense, it’s true because there really are Trappist monks. It’s an order which grew out of an older order, which began with Saint Robert of Molesme over a thousand years ago. And Trappist monks take their name from a monastery in La Trappe, France, and they really do take vows of silence and they take vows of fasting and most of all vows of separation from people, separation from the people of this world that they might live as all monastics in monastic seclusion.
And I don’t care this morning to really evaluate monasticism. Certainly, it’s had its place in Christian piety, but I want to make sure you know that when God speaks of sanctification and separation from this world, God is not referring to monasticism. When God speaks of sanctification and separation from this world, he is not referring to separation from people, but rather he is saying that the Christian was is separation from the WAYS of this world. He wants to separate you from the ways of this world because the Bible says this world is fallen. The Bible says, “The ruler of this world is Satan.” The Bible says, “The way of this world is the way of sin.”
He is Jehovah M’Kaddesh. And if you’re a Christian, he longs to separate you from sin. He longs to separate you from the way of this fallen world. This is a world riddled by sin, the creation raped by sin, a world struggling with sin. And nowhere is this any more evident than in the struggle with drugs today and particularly right here in the United States of America.
In the October 3rd issue of Financial World, we are told that the federal government of the United States has increased anti-drug spending six-fold over the past decade, $7.9 billion annually. And yet today a kilo of cocaine costs 80% less than it did 10 years ago. And there’s 10 times as much cocaine on the streets of America today as there was a decade ago. And some would say we’re losing the battle with drugs.
46% of the federal prisoners in this country are in prison because of drug related offenses. And the United States taxpayers pay $30 billion a year on criminal court costs for illegal drug trafficking. Hospital costs for victims of drug dealer wars have now reached 1 billion a year in this country.
According to Financial World, American business loses $60 billion every year because of absenteeism and injury and loss of productivity in the workplace because of illegal drugs. All in all, drugs and alcohol abuse in this nation cost $150 billion a year according to the National Institute of Drug Abuse. That’s twice, $150 billion a year, that’s twice what this nation spent annually on the Vietnam War at the height of the Vietnam War.
And this struggle with drugs is a war not centered in Southeast Asia. To some extent in South America where Columbian drug lords become billionaires selling addiction on the streets of America. According to the most recent Gallup poll, 53% of the people in the United States would now be willing to send American troops into Cambodia to fight this war.
And on September 5th, President Bush announced to a national press conference, the new $7.9 billion get tough anti-drug policy here at home. He said he’s going to increase the number of police, increase the number of jails, increase the severity of penalties. But, you see, most experts agree, we’re never going to stop the drug problems in this nation or in this world by force because in this country there are 14.5 million people using illegal drugs, many of them addicted. We would virtually have to become a police state to stop the drug problem rampant here.
And how did it happen? How can it happen? How did this happen in our nation, in the United States of America? And the problem, the reason, really goes back to sin. A world fallen sin has tainted the creation and it taints people and we see the effects of sin all around us. And drug use is not simply the sin of hedonism and the lust of the flesh and the desire for pleasure. Drug abuse is the sin of materialism and the lust of the eyes and the longing for wealth. Because, you see, an ounce of cocaine, which costs $130 on the streets of New York, been marked up 12 times since the point of entry and 43 times since processing in Columbia. Quick money and there’s just a lot of people in this fallen world who can’t resist quick money.
A fallen world, and it’s so bad that today more and more experts are saying the only solution is the legalization of drugs. And some people present pragmatic arguments for the legalization of drugs that makes some degree of sense. And I’m certainly no expert on drugs and I don’t know how to solve the drug problems today, but I’ve got to say that in my heart personally I’d be opposed to the legalization of drugs just by way of principle.
It shouldn’t surprise us that we live in a world where what once was illegal can be called legal because that’s happening all the time. See, we live in a world that’s constantly changing and things once called illegal become legal and things once called immoral become moral. The Bible says homosexuality is sin. The practice of homosexuality, self-avowed practicing homosexuals are sinning. God loves homosexuals, God loves all people, but homosexuality is sin. And you see, in this nation, it used to be illegal, but now it’s legal. It used to be considered immoral, but now it’s considered by an increasing number of people to be moral, a viable sexual alternative, part of the beautiful diversity of God’s creation.
Premarital sex used to be considered immoral by this world. But now, you see, this world says premarital sex is moral and normal. But the Bible says sex prior to marriage or outside of marriage is sin. “Pornos” is the Greek word used in the Bible sometimes translated fornication, sometimes translated simply immorality, but the word “pornos” referred to any sex outside of the context of marriage, sex before marriage, sex outside of the marriage. And the Bible clearly says it is sin. And the Bible says it again and again and again and society used to agree it’s immoral, but now society says, the world says it’s okay. But he is Jehovah M’Kaddesh, the Lord who sanctifies you and if you call yourself by the name of Christ, he says, “Come out from among them and be ye separate.”
And it’s not easy. It’s never been easy for a Christian in any generation. Do you live by the ways of the world or in accordance with the standards of Christ? His laws do not change. They are the same yesterday, today, and forever. See, the Bible says that if you love yourself more than you love others, that’s wrong. The world says if you love yourself most, that’s okay. That might even be healthy. The Bible says if you want to be greatest in God’s sight, you need to be the servant and slave of all. The world teaches ascension. I shall ascend above the stars of God. I’ll set my throne on high. I’ll elevate myself above others. The world has its philosophy.
And if you’re a Christian today, God’s asking you to make choices. “I am Jehovah M’Kaddesh. I am the Lord who sanctifies you. I want to separate you from the ways of this world. I want to separate you unto myself so that you might truly be my people.”
It is said that in the 1990s as we approach the consummation of this millennium and perhaps the consummation of the age, perhaps the second coming of Jesus Christ, it has said that in this upcoming decade, God is going to purify the clergy. He’s going to sanctify the ministry. He’s going to remove those ministers who have compromised with the world. He is going to purge those ministers who have lived lives of hypocrisy. And indeed, I believe that is true, though there will always be iniquity in all places.
But you see, God wants you to know that he doesn’t simply want to purge and cleanse the clergy. He wants to purge and cleanse the laity. He wants to purge and cleanse you because he’s Jehovah M’Kaddesh, the Lord who sanctifies and he brings circumstances into your life and people and events into your life that are designed to sanctify you and separate you from the ways of this world. And he sent his Holy Spirit within you if you believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and he sent his Holy Spirit in you to convince you that you might repent when you have not separated yourself from the way of the world and to empower you to begin to have victory over sin in your life.
It’s not an easy call, the call of Christ…easy to pause in your life journey and ask Jesus to be your Savior, your Lord, but living for Christ, that’s not an easy call.
When we were in Turkey, we saw a lot of ancient cities, saw the ruins of scores of cities. It’s a common thing in Turkey for a city to be 2,000 to 4,000 years old. We saw the ruins of biblical city pillars just scattered about on acres and acres of land. Cities where once Christian churches thrive. We saw the ruins of ancient temples built to Roman and Greek deities, and ancient temples erected in honor of fertility goddesses and gods, and ancient temples erected in honor of Roman Caesars and used for emperor worship where people fell down on their knees and said, “Caesar is lord.” We saw temples where people would go and eat food sacrificed to pagan deities and practice immorality with temple prostitutes. It was common in the ancient world.
To that world, the gospel of Jesus Christ came, and it wasn’t an easy gospel, it wasn’t an easy call. It said, “Come out from among them and be ye separate.” Separation from sin. It wasn’t convenient then. It’s not convenient today and never will be in any generation. I am Jehovah M’Kaddesh, the Lord who sanctifies you. “Do not love this world or the things that are in this world,” the Bible says. “If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him, for all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life, not of the Father but is of the world. And the world passes away and the desires of it. But he who does the will of God abides forever.” Jehovah M’Kaddesh.
Well, secondly, and finally, I have this teaching concerning sanctification. If you’re a Christian, if you believe in Jesus Christ as Lord of life and Savior from sin, then one day your sanctification will be made complete. You can know it. If you’re a man or a woman who believes in Jesus Christ, one day you will be made utterly holy, totally separated from sin and from the way of this world at the consummation of the age, at the dawn of the new age to come. As you enter the gates of heaven, you will be made holy, sanctified. I am Jehovah M’Kaddesh. I am the Lord who sanctifies you.
The Bible tells us judgment is coming. God’s going to judge this world. Now I know you’ve all heard of mushrooms, you’ve heard of mushrooms. You probably don’t know a whole lot about mushrooms. I don’t know a whole lot about mushrooms, but I know that in the World Book Encyclopedia, I’m told that there are 38,000 varieties of mushrooms, 38,000. And I’m told that only 1000 of these varieties are edible. 37,000 varieties of mushrooms are poisonous. 1000 edible.
Now you see, scientists, botanists, they do not distinguish between mushrooms and toad stools. A mushroom is a toad stool and a toad stool is a mushroom. And these 38,000 varieties of mushrooms are all toad stools. And the 38,000 varieties of toad stools are all mushrooms. But, you see, among common people like you, like me, we distinguish, and we say those mushrooms that are edible are mushrooms and the ones that are poisonous are toad stools. So, we say there are 37,000 toad stools and 1000 mushrooms. But you see, the problem is most of us really can’t tell the difference. And we wouldn’t go out and pick a mushroom out of a field and just eat it because we can’t tell whether it’s a mushroom or a toad stool. We’re not experts.
Well, the Bible is telling us that’s kind of how it is with Christians. I mean it shouldn’t be that way, but it is that way. You just can’t tell who the Christians are. The Bible says, “By their fruits you will know them.” But, you see, the problem is sometimes it just isn’t that evident. And some non-Christians act more Christian than some Christians do. And that’s why the Bible says, “Judge not that ye be not judged.” But, you see, one day judgment is coming, and God knows the difference. He knows who’s Christian, he knows true Christians from false Christians. I’m sure not everyone in this room is a Christian. There’s some non-Christians here today, but I’m not the judge. God’s the judge. And he knows, he knows which of you truly believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. And he knows if you long to be separated from the way of this world, he knows if you long to be rid of sin and you long to be made like the Son of God, he knows, and you know.
One day there’s going to come judgment. And if you’re a non-Christian and you live till the second coming of Jesus Christ, you’ll be judged at what the Bible calls the judgment of the nations described in Matthew Chapter 25. If you’re a non-Christian and you die before the second coming of Christ, you’ll be judged at what the Bible calls the judgment of the great white throne described in the Book of Revelation. But if you’re a Christian, if you’re a Christian, you’ll not be at either one of those judgments. You’ve already passed out of death into life. And you’ll be at another different judgment called the “bema” in the Bible it’s called the bema, which means “judgment seat of Christ.” As Christians, you’ll all be judged at the judgment seat of Christ and at that judgment, he will have to burn away everything that is unholy in you. You can’t get into heaven unless you’re holy.
Now, I know you’ve all heard of astronauts. Astronauts are, of course, American scientists and pilots who travel and work in space. The Russians call their spacemen and space women “cosmonauts.” The word astronaut comes from two Greek words, literally meaning “sailor of the stars.” The word “cosmonaut” literally means “sailor of the universe.” Yuri Gagarin was the first human being to travel in space when he orbited the earth on April 12th, 1961. Alan Shepherd was, of course, the first American in space, and John Glenn, the first American to orbit the earth, which he did three times on February 20th, 1962. Of course, on July 20th, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Edward Aldrin actually stepped foot on the moon and then came back to earth.
Now, when astronauts or cosmonauts come back to earth, they have to go through detox, decontamination. In science fiction movies, this is when the alien life forms are scraped off the body. But, you see, in real life, detox or decontamination is little more than a shower and a physical. And even though most of us will never be astronauts or cosmonauts, we understand detox and we understand decontamination and we understand certain environments need to be kept pure. You can’t enter those environments unless you’ve been purged of impurities. And that’s what heaven is like. When you leave earth as a Christian and you go to heaven, God wants you to understand you can’t enter heaven if you’re impure, you have to go through detox, decontamination. And that’s what the bema is, the judgment seat of Christ, when you will be purged of everything that is sinful in you.
Now, the Roman Catholics call detox purgatory and we’ve examined that before. The Roman Catholic doctrine of purgatory teaches that you must be purged of sin through torture before you can enter heaven. And for some of you that will take a thousand years. And for others of you, one second. For most of us, somewhere in between. Of course, the Bible doesn’t really teach this doctrine of purgatory, but the Bible does teach the necessity of detox, decontamination at the bema, the judgment seat of Christ. And it says clearly in 1 Corinthians chapter three, that “some Christians will be saved, but only as through fire.” And it says in 1 Corinthians chapter three that “many Christians are going to have to have much burned away that is in their heart and in their mind.” All that is of this world and the ways of this world is going to have to be burned away before you can enter heaven so that you might be made utterly holy.
And you see, much is at stake because it also says in 1 Corinthians chapter three that “some Christians are going to suffer loss of reward”- saved, but only as through fire – loss of reward. And the Bible makes it very clear. Rewards are going to vary in heaven. We’re all going to receive the same basic package. We all get resurrection bodies indestructible and not subject to decay. And we’re all going to inhabit the new heavens and the new earth. But we will have different rewards, the Bible says. The Greek word “mestos” as we reign and rule with Christ forever, he has different roles and different rewards for each and every one of us. And the Bible makes that clear.
And you see, the issue is sanctification at the bema, at the judgment seat. What’s going to need to be purged? What’s going to need to be cleansed? And have you been sanctified in this life? It’s serious business. And you know, if you’re a Christian today, you know, and God knows and how serious are you about sin? You know if there’s some habitual sin that’s going on with you, you know that you know if there is some sin in you that you’ve never really taken seriously and God grieves and the Holy Spirit within you grieves because he’s Jehovah M’Kaddesh, the Lord who sanctifies you and he says, “You shall be holy for I am holy.” He means business.
You know, in conclusion, I had mentioned that a few weeks ago, I went to a movie called Casualties of War with Michael J. Fox. And he played the part of an American soldier who was a Lutheran and a Christian, an American soldier who had a conscience. And because of his conscience, he was grieved and appalled at the atrocities of war that he saw in Vietnam. And he was grieved and appalled as he saw other American soldiers rape and murder innocent villagers. Because he was grieved, he took a stand and because he took a stand, he suffered much because he stood up. He said a very brilliant thing. He said, “You know, sometimes in the midst of war, soldiers think that because war is hell, suffering is common, and death is near. Sometimes they think because of all that and because death is so near, they can do anything they want. It doesn’t matter anymore. Life is a zoo. We might as well all behave like animals.” But he said, “You know, maybe just, maybe it’s the other way around. Maybe because death is so near, maybe because death is so near, we need to be extra special careful how we behave and what we do. Maybe more is at stake than we know.”
God wants you to understand that if you’re a Christian, you’re at war, you’re at war with sin, and death is near. Death is very near. You need to be extra special, especially careful how you live. “You shall be holy for I’m holy. I am Jehovah M’Kaddesh, the Lord who sanctifies you.” He would separate us from sin, from the way of this world. One day, he reminds us, we will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Let’s close with a word of prayer.