ONLY GOD IS HOLY.
How can we be holy?
Holiness is not only a possibility for the Christian; holiness is a requirement. “Without holiness no one will see the Lord” (Hebrew 12:14).
The difference between God
and us is that He is inherently holy.
While we, on the other hand,
only become holy in relationship with Christ; and we only increase in practical
holiness as we mature spiritually.
The New
Testament emphasizes the pursuit of holiness in this world and
the final attainment of holiness in the world to come.
To be “holy” means that we
are, first of all, “set apart for
honorable use.”
Whereas we
were “once foolish, disobedient,
led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures . . . God our Savior . . .
saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to
his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:3-5; cf. 1 Corinthians 6:11).
The Lord took the initiative
to pull us out of our former lifestyles. He saved us, cleansed us, and set us
apart for righteousness.
If we have believed in Christ
for salvation, we have been washed by the regeneration of the Holy Spirit and
set apart from the world for godliness (see Romans 12:2).
However, the pursuit of
holiness does not end when we come to Christ. In fact, it just begins!
There is a positional holiness that we inherit at
regeneration and a practical holiness
which we must actively pursue.
God expects us to cultivate a
lifestyle of holiness (1 Peter 1:14-16).
And He commands
us to “cleanse ourselves of all
defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting
holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians
7:1 NASB).
Bringing holiness to “perfection” means that we should
We are to consider ourselves “dead to sin” (Romans 6:11).
We must refuse to revert back
to our former lifestyles. In this way we “cleanse [ourselves] from what is dishonorable,” becoming
vessels for “honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master . . . for
every good work” (2 Timothy
2:21).
Holiness is
the mark of every true Christian (1 John 3:9-10).
Cultivating a
lifestyle of holiness does not mean that we must draft a list of do’s and
don’ts to live by.
We are free from the letter
of the law which kills (2 Corinthians 3:6).
And now live according to the
dictates of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:16-18).
We are told, “Work out
your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work
for his good pleasure” (Philippians
2:12-13).
In this verse, we see
cooperation between God and His children in sanctification.
We “work out” what God “works
in” us, because God has a timeline for the virtues that He wishes to cultivate
in our lives.
Our responsibility is to
yield to His wishes, “working out” with focused attention and great care those
things that He is causing to grow in us.
Holiness will not be brought
to completion in our lives with no effort on our part. We are invited to
participate in God’s work in us.
We will not be “carried to the skies on flowery beds of ease,” as the old hymn says.
This is, perhaps, the most
important lesson that we can learn as Christians. God’s ultimate desire for His
people is that we be holy—conformed into the image of His Son, Jesus (Romans 8:29; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4).
Holiness is the will of God
for our lives.
Of course, the flesh is weak (Mark 14:38).
None of us
will reach sinless perfection in this world, but God has made
provision for our sin. “If we confess
our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins, and purify us
from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
Our pursuit of holiness in
this world includes daily confessing and forsaking sin (see Hebrews
12:1-3).
God helps us in our weakness
by giving us His Holy Spirit who reveals the mind of Christ to us and enables
us to carry
When we yield to the Holy Spirit,
we become fruit-bearing Christians, yielding a harvest with which God is well
pleased (Galatians 5:22-23).
On the other hand, when we
suppress the work of the Holy Spirit by rebelling against His will for us, we
stifle the design of God, sabotage our own spiritual growth, and grieve the
Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30).
If God was gracious enough to
redeem us from sin and death and give us new life in Christ, the very least that
we can do is offer our lives back to Him in complete surrender and holiness,
which is for our benefit (cf. Deuteronomy 10:13).
Because of God’s mercies, we
should be living sacrifices, “holy and pleasing
to God” (Romans 12:1;
cf. Deuteronomy 10:13).
One day, in heaven, we will
be free from sin and all its effects. Until then, we “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter
of our faith” and keep running our race (Hebrews 12:2).
Would you want God to
change your life?
God has made it possible
for you to know Him and experience an amazing change in your own life through
a relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ, and have eternal life.
Say the following
prayer:
“Father
God, I confess I am a sinner and my sins have separated me from You.
I
am truly sorry. I now want to
turn away from my past sinful life and live a new life pleasing to You.
Please
forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again.
I
believe that Your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the
dead, is alive, and hears my prayer.
I
invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from
this day forward. Thank You that according to Your Word, I am now born again.
Please
send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of
my life. I promise to study Your Word – the Bible.
Use
me for Your glory.
In
Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.”
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What is the throne of God? Does God
literally have a throne?
What is heaven like? The spectacular
mysteries of our heavenly home.
“When I Look Into Your Holiness”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYyIJtfu2ewClarindLlamas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5S9aK8uuNQTerryMacAlmonLoveUnlimited
lyrics
When
I look into Your holinessWhen I gaze into Your loveliness
Your loveliness
When all things that surround become shadows
In the light of You
In the light of You
When I've found the joy of reaching Your heart
When my will becomes enthroned in Your love
When all things that surround become shadows
In the light of You
Light of You
I worship You I worship You
I worship You worship You
The reason I live is to worship You
I worship You
I worship You (You are my God) I worship You
The reason I live is to worship You
When I look into Your holiness
When I gaze into Your loveliness
Your loveliness
When all things that surround become shadows
In the light of You
In the light of You
In the light of You
When I've found the joy of reaching Your heart
Reaching Your heart
When my will becomes enthroned in Your love
When all things that surround become shadows
In the light of You
It's the reason that I live
I worship You I worship You
I worship You
The reason I live is to worship You
I worship of You with all my heart
I worship You worship You
The reason I live is to worship You
https://gotquestions.org/being-holy.html
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