Many a justified one might describe his experience in words like this: I fully recognize, and rejoice in the fact, that I am righteous before God according to Christ risen; and this being so, nothing but Christ can be my standard of holiness or rule of life.
But that is the error of holiness by faith.' The objective (position) is that we are clear before the Father; the subjective (condition) is that we are cleared from ourselves by the growth ministry of the Holy Spirit.
Man’s Deep Need
Another deep craving of the believer is HOLINESS. There is no art or make-up that can restore the human soul to moral beauty. No restoration can restore to original nobleness, a soul ravaged by the fires of life: there is none righteous, no, not one.
Rom.3:8 – yet through His Spirit, Christ satisfies the hungry heart that aches for holiness.
He builds up anew with holiness and beauty the loveliness that sin destroyed.
How to Know Christ
Are you longing after God – desirous of His presence? Do you seek to be filled with His Spirit and overwhelmed by His Love? Do you yearn for forgiveness and holiness and assurance? Do you call out with Paul “That I may know Christ – that I may know Him?
Christ our Righteousness
Because we trust in Christ, He is our righteousness, our holiness and redemption. We have nothing at all to boast about, except in the blood of Jesus Christ our Lord. Far be it from any of us who are His children to boast except in the cross of Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me – and I to the world. Galatians 6:14.
The believer must never lose sight of this fundamental truth: that the basis of his fellowship with the Father is not his own personal holiness, or what the Lord Jesus is in him, but his judicial position before the Father, or what the Lord Jesus is for him.
through the manifold wisdom of God. Creation alone would never have brought out the nature and character of God. There was infinitely more than the power and the wisdom reflected in creation. There was LOVE, MERCY, PATIENCE, TENDERNESS and GENTLENESS. There was HOLINESS, GOODNESS, GRACE and LONG-SUFFERING.
Whatever may have been our experience of holiness, and the measure of spiritual attainment in the past, we can never get beyond the need of abiding in Christ and the continuous reckoning of faith. -R.W.
Call to Holiness
The Word of God goes to many lengths to emphasise the need for purity… Be holy for I Am holy 1 Peter 1:16– occurring and reoccurring as a call to come and wash and be cleansed.
Step to Holiness
Man of himself remains dead in trespasses and sins… unless and until he is washed, cleansed, and forgiven in the blood of the Lamb.
Isaiah tells us, though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow Isaiah 1:18 – but that is not the final product of holiness – but it is the first step towards purity.
John 15:5 and ‘nothing’ means nothing. If I seek purity and holiness through my own efforts, I will not succeed.
The Saviour
Jesus Christ has many wonderful names, many beautiful titles, many eternal qualities but perhaps the most excellent and precious of all is that of Saviour – Redeemer. The sin of one man separated the race of humanity from the holiness of God for we are told in the Word of God that sin had separated fallen man from a righteous God, and without a Saviour to save us from our sins – that separation is eternal.
Pursue Holiness
To try to sanctify ourselves ends up as ‘works of the flesh’ produced by our sin nature. It is by grace that we are sanctified, as we submit to the work of the Spirit within.
We are exhorted to pursue holiness – to press towards godliness as life’s priority.
Rest in Christ
But how can striving towards godliness harmonise with the Spirit’s work in us? How can the diligent pursuit of sanctification be compatible with resting in Christ? How can striving towards holiness be rooted and grounded in the passivity of grace?
The earnest pursuit of holiness seems to be at odds with 'letting go and letting God'.. but unless our striving and pursuit of holiness is anchored in His grace, we will fail.
The pursuit of holiness is only achievable if secured by God’s transforming grace.
Love of Christ
How can we diligently strive to holiness without becoming legalistic in our thought? Well, it seems that Paul answers the question – and it is all summed up in love: for the love of Christ constrains us ..
We do not diligently pursue holiness out of duty, but because of deep love for Him.
Love was the motivating factor behind Paul’s pursuit of holiness and must be ours too.
When we comprehend that depth of the riches of His grace towards us, the love of Christ will constrain us towards the earnest pursuit of holiness... and so we will prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God..
Deep Entrapments
And these warnings are burning embarrassments for the one who seeks holiness. The things that can easily entrap us are listed as the excesses of careless living.. lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting /dissipation /excess.. lest at any time your heart be overwhelmed with drunkenness – lest at any time your heart be overwhelmed with the cares of this life. We would do well to keep in mind this warning of the world’s is deep entrapments.
Incarnate God
His love is measureless and scoops into its skirts boundless mercy and eternal grace. His immeasurable holiness acts in absolute righteousness and unquestionable justice. The fullness of God has been manifested in the self-revelation of Himself, in Christ. And in Him are hidden all the treasures of God’s eternal wisdom and knowledge.
After months, even years of deep darkness and soul struggle to realise more life, more holiness, more power in his soul, I finally come in utter self-despair to “rest upon the Faithful One.” The sweetest part, (if one may say of one part being sweeter than another) the sweetest part is the rest which full identification with Christ brings.
If God has declared us discharged from the law, we are discharged and are hereby God's free children, new creatures,' created after God in righteousness and true holiness.'
He may have to correct His saints for their sins, and where there has been no failure He may chasten (child train) them for their profit, that they may become partakers of His holiness; but all this is in love, not in wrath.
He is educating us for a blessed and eternal rest, free from evil and all that could cause it, and He is bent on the blessing of His children; and moreover He is bound by His holiness to purge us suitably (though most graciously) for the place He has called us to.
If He chastens us, it is always for our profit, that we may be partakers of his holiness.' And all things work together for good to them that are called according to his purpose.' What good?
Far from being a delivering power, it can only condemn such; far from being a means of holiness, it is, in fact, and according to Paul, the strength of sin' (1 Cor. 15:56). -W.K.
Put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.Ephesians 4:24
God wants us to put on the new self, which, in the likeness of God, has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
Put on the New Life
He reminds us we did not learn Christ in this way, if we were correctly taught. He continues in reference to our former manner of life that – you are to lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
Godly Nature
Our new life has been created in Christ’s righteousness and holiness of the truth. And the old sin nature does not want to be superseded by the new godly nature.
We have all been given a new nature in Christ – a new life in Him - Put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. Ephesians 4:24.
We are to put on the new self... which, in the likeness of God, has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
Step to Holiness
Too often we regard obedience as a limit to our freedom or a restraint on our liberty, but this is to misunderstand what freedom and liberty means in God’s economy.
for God knows that obedience is a vital, first-step on our way to holiness.
In Hebrews 10:14 we read: For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are sanctified, while in Hebrews 12:14 we read: Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.
Future Prophecy
But Zacharias trusted God to fulfil His promises – to raise up a horn of salvation in the house of His servant David… to save His people from their enemies and from the hand of all who hate them… to show mercy promised to the fathers and to remember His holy covenant, which he swore to Abraham… that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him, all the days of our life – and that day is coming… very SOON.
Look not upon a life of holiness as a strain and an effort, but as the natural outgrowth of the life of Christ within you.
And let ever again a quiet, hopeful, gladsome faith hold itself assured that all you need for a holy life will most assuredly be given you out of the holiness of the Lord Jesus.
The power of sin and death in the lives of all believers was broken forever at the cross, and so we are enabled to live a life of holiness – a life that is “set apart unto God”.
The reason we so often fail in the pursuit of holiness is that the old life, the flesh, in its own strength seeks for holiness as a beautiful garment to wear and enter heaven with.
Holiness to the Lord
We are to be examples of lives that are holy and characters that are godly.
We should live holy lives- for holiness unto the Lord means sanctification – a transformation into the likeness of Christ through willing submission.
Myths About HolinessHoliness does not mean unquestioning adherence to a denominational view. It is not linked to the canonization of saintly people, who died in the distant past.
Entire Surrender
The most needful thing for a spirit-filled believer is our utter, total submission to Christ.. our entire surrender to Him. For every virtue we possess, and every conquest won, and every thought of holiness, are to be His alone. But the most needful thing is what most Christians shun..
How blessed it is to know, and at the same time how solemn to realize, that the sin of the child of God is against his Father, and that it is the love of relationship that is called into exercise about it - love which acts towards us for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness' (Heb. 12:10).
Ah, He was taking all the risks necessary about this because the reality, the awful reality of this: you CANNOT, you cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven while you cling to this kingdom inimical to God, in any way.... How much the New Testament has to say about this, a walk in holiness that is separate unto God in heart, in spirit, in life, from this world.
Dear friends, the secret of power is holiness!
The secret of power is holiness.
The secret of power is holiness; whatever you forget, remember that!
Victory Versus Defeat
Apostolic teaching implies the possibility of Christian holiness and joyous living – championing the justification that the life of heaven has already begun on earth!! But while the pages of scripture emphasise an ideal Christian walk – actuality can be very far removed.
The work of God in the lives of His people is designed to make them partakers of His holiness.' He undertakes their training in His school with the intention that, however difficult in practice the course may be, it will yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness' in the lives of those who undergo it.
of the reflection, of the glory, of His holiness, as they whisper in harmonious unison - Holy, Holy Holy is the Lord God Almighty, Who was and Who is and Who is to come.
Set Apart
Holiness unto the Lord.
Holiness – the very essence of the nature of God. But why are we – we who are formed in His image… why are we encouraged and commanded in the written Word to be holy? And why are we instructed by the sweet and quiet yearnings of the Holy Spirit..
The gracious Spirit of holiness gently leads the seeking, consecrated soul through the gentle, yet agonising process, of being conformed into the very image of the Son of Righteousness.
but also a life dedicated to Him; a life submitted completely to Him and His will; a life of total consecration to Him; a life that produces purity of heart and holiness of life; a life, utterly in love with the Son of His love; a life that kneels at His feet in brokenness of spirit; a life that washes His feet in humility of heart – a life that can say without reservation:
The common conception of sanctification is that every area of the life should be holy; but that is not holiness, it is the fruit of holiness: holiness is the Lord Jesus Christ.
We are to remember that at the point of our salvation we were declared righteous in God's eyes, through faith, and have a duty to continue in holiness of heart, by standing on the truth of the gospel and allowing our conduct to reflect the character of Christ - through the power of the indwelling Spirit.
Let us pray that their hearts would be also established in the Lord and blameless before Him and that they would walk in holiness before our God and Father, encouraging one another as they look for the any-day appearance of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
May we take these warning to heart and seek to pursue holiness in our own lives and fellowships, so that we may be presented to Him as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but a holy and blameless bride - for His honour and glory.
David authored this majestic Psalm, calling on mighty men of the earth and great heavenly beings, to worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness and ascribe to Him the honour and glory He is due.
Should we not honour the Lord in thought, word, and deed, and adore Him in spirit and in truth? Should we not worship the Lord in the beauty of His perfect holiness, knowing that He alone is worthy of our worship and praise?
Godliness should be the objective of a believer - where a practical holiness honours the Lord our God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength - but godliness should manifest love.
As we walk in spirit and truth and submit to the Spirit's leading, we discover that we will grow in every facet of grace and virtue, faith and love, holiness and understanding, wisdom and obedience - but there's more!
And only by faith in that cleansing flood are we born of the Spirit, placed into Christ, and identified with His perfect holiness - even though we don't deserve it.
It is by walking in spirit and truth, applying God's Word in our lives, worshipping Him in the beauty of holiness, and trusting His living Word, that keeps us pure and prevent us from gratifying the evil desires of the flesh.
He reminds us that we were once corrupted by the deceitful desires of our old, fleshly self, but now are to put on the new self, which is created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
And so we are called to live in spirit and truth with our Christian brethren, to walk in holiness all the days of our life, and to live godly in Christ Jesus.
We do well to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the Word of God, and to guard it within our hearts, for it is a lamp to our feet, a light to our path, and it brightens up every corner of our lives - for it is God's instrument to lead us into holiness and to guide our feet into His way of truth.
Let us refrain from the unrighteous anger that lodges in the hearts of fools and worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness - and may it be the deep desire of our heart to do all to the honour of His name.
Paul demonstrated a deep desire for their spiritual growth and maturity, praying for opportunities for them to serve the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
How necessary to hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering and to pursue peace and holiness, for our God and Saviour Whose promises are faithful and true.
Peace and holiness are to be our spiritual condition as well as our spiritual position.
It is as we turn the eyes of our heart upon Jesus and fix the thoughts of our minds on Him that His peace, like a river, will flood our heart, and His holiness will become a practical reality in the life that is consecrated to Him.
But now that we have been saved by grace through faith in Him, we are to strive to live in peace with all people and to pursue godly consecration and holiness of heart - without which we are told, no one will ever see the Lord.
We are instructed to be holy in all our words and in all our ways – we are directed to be holy and blameless in His sight, and to pursue after peace and holiness - in love.
It is only through the empowering of the Holy Spirit that we can, Pursue peace with all, and holiness, without which no one shall see the Lord.
There are many perils and dangers for the one that fails to pursue peace and rejects Christ's call to holiness.
Psalm 97 is a worshipful song that emphasises God's glory, together with His holiness, His eternal righteousness, His blameless justice, and His sovereign authority, but it also speaks of His awesome judgement and justified wrath.
The One Who convicts of sin is the same Holy Spirit Who saves and sanctifies our souls, guiding us along the path of duty, pointing out the road of righteousness, instructing us on the highway of holiness and bearing us up on eagle's wings through times of exhaustion.
Malachi was one of God's final messengers who identified the same problems that concerned Nehemiah, including ingratitude towards God, the sacrilegious behaviour of priests and people alike, the practice of divorce, mixed marriages with pagans, and the denial of God's holiness and justice.
He is Jesus, Who has been made to us 'the power of God and the wisdom from God' - and righteousness, and holiness, and redemption, and salvation, belong to Him.
However much we mature in the faith, grow in holiness, walk in the spirit and live righteously before God, there are always more lessons to learn, greater heights to reach and a deeper knowledge of Scripture to discover.
He was to be a descendant of the great king David, as foretold by prophets of old, and He would bring salvation to His people, Israel.Zechariah quoted many Old Testament verses in his beautiful song of thanksgiving, which pointed to the Lord Jesus Who would bring salvation to Israel, deliverance from their enemies, and freedom from the hands of all who hated them.He rejoiced that God remembered His holy covenant with Israel and gave thanks that the Lord had not forgotten the oath which He swore to his forefather, Abraham, that He Himself would rescue His people from the hand of their enemies and that they would serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness, all the days of their life.Zechariah proclaimed that the One to come would give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.
and it was the Triune Godhead Who continued to ask, and who will go for Us? It was the awesome vision of Divinity's glory, in that holiest of all places that met Isaiah's startled eyes, for when he saw the Lord, high and lifted up, in His lofty, heavenly place and seated upon His magnificent throne of grace, Isaiah recognised his own sinfulness and realised he was not worthy to stand in the presence of such holiness.
May we come to a deeper understanding that the self-contained, eternally existent LIFE of Christ which is poured into the hearts of all who are redeemed by His blood, declared righteous through faith, indwelt by His Spirit, and made into a new creation so that we can walk in His eternal light, wisdom, holiness, and love.
Paul's challenge to those that insisted on strict adherence to any law was: Tell me... you who are demanding that believers try to attain holiness by strict adherence to legalistic practices, rules and regulations, meritorious works of the flesh etc - tell me... whether it be through the broad principle of 'law' or the specifics of the Mosaic Law.
From the very beginning, man was given clear and incontrovertible knowledge of his holy and righteous Creator, for Paul tells us that man was created in righteousness and true holiness.
The main theme in Leviticus is holiness and a life that is consecrated to God, and the Lord designed the duties and office of the Levites and priests to emphasise their sacred ministry and mission.
He touches on mysticism, with its emphasis on dreams, visions, feelings, and one's personal experience of the spiritual realm rather than on Christ, and in this verse Paul cautions against asceticism, where holiness is acquired through severe self-discipline, self-denial, the renunciation of pleasures, or austere religiosity, rather than through faith in Christ.
May we thank God that He works all things together for His good purpose and may we worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness and live a life that honours Him, for His greater praise and glory.
The love of God must never be disconnected from His righteousness, His holiness, His goodness, and His perfect nature, for to do so is to reduce God to a figment of man's imagination.
BUT herein is God's LOVE (as well as His righteousness, holiness, goodness, and grace), not that we loved God (for we were dead in our sins and at enmity with Him), but that HE loved us so much that He sent His only begotten Son into the world to be the propitiation for our sins so that ALL who believe on Him, would not perish but have everlasting life.
and the significance of light being the very first thing that was spoken into being on that first days of creation, points us back to God, for light symbolises His holiness, His presence, His favour and His grace.
Man was made in the image and likeness of God, but that image became distorted and marred when sin reared its ugly head and man chose the path of disobedience over the pathway to peace, the highway to holiness, the road of righteousness.
He lovingly addresses these brothers and sisters in Christ as 'brethren', but in his capacity as an authoritative apostle, Paul insisted that they strive even harder for personal holiness, so that they may have a sanctified life that is consecrated to God.
Paul’s pressing message was a practical exhortation to walk in holiness, brotherly love, and humble obedience before God, because the return of Christ for His church was drawing closer.
When His children are called to 'bless the Lord' we should kneel in humble reverence before His glorious majesty and worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
There are certain characteristics and identifying marks of the believer who is walking in spirit and truth, and a changed life that is exercising the gifts of the Spirit and producing the fruit of holiness, is a testimony of the inner workings of the Holy Spirit of Christ which is transferred into the outward actions of the individual life.
Isaiah was one of many prophets who called for Israel to renounce their apostate ways and return to following the Lord in the beauty of holiness, but they refused to see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts.
Paul points out that before we were saved by grace, we did not walk in holiness but were like the pagans who walked the lust of the flesh and who used their bodies dishonourably, to satisfy their carnal passions.
With every new disclosure, God communicated a deeper understanding of His attributes, His character, His holiness, and His wonderful plan of salvation.
However much the Lord unveiled His attributes, character, holiness, and plan of salvation in days gone by, we who live in this dispensation of the grace of God have been given the fullest and most complete revelation of the Triune God through Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son.
Although the unregenerate man can gain much value from reading the book of Proverbs and applying its wisdom in their lives, the underlying principle that should govern our acquisition of knowledge and understanding, and which should impact our entire life, is to reverence of the Lord in the beauty of His holiness... for doing so will not only influence the lives we live today in a positive way, but will enable us to reap glorious rewards in the eternal ages to come.
May we worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness and present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to the Lord, for this should be our spiritual worship and eternal delight.
But humility is not only a great grace that needs to be developed in those that are young in years or young in the faith, humility is a fruit of the Spirit that should be the goal of all Christian men and women, however mature in the faith they have become, or however young they are in the Christian life, for God gives grace to the humble as well as wisdom, faith, understanding, and holiness, but He resists and opposes all those that are proud.
The people in this section are reminded that in this world there will be times of great trouble and tribulation - for sin must be punished by a God of holiness. Nevertheless, the consoling thought is that God loves those he chastens and scourges every son whom He accepts.
No wonder that, without exception, those of us who are His blood-bought children rejoice to sing forth His praises - not only with our lips but in our lives, by giving ourselves up into His services and by walking before Him all the days of our life, in holiness and righteousness through Jesus Christ our Lord, our God and Saviour.
The most frequently used attribute of God found in the Old Testament refers to His holiness.
Similarly, in the New Testament we find the holiness of God the attribute extolled by the four living creatures, who cry day and night, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, Who was, and is, and is to come.
Let us worship the Lord in the beauty of His holiness and bow down in awe and wonder before our glorious, thrice holy God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit Who loved us so much that He sent the Lord Jesus to die in our place.
May we cleanse ourselves from all defilement of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God, and may we prove ourselves to be blameless and innocent children of God, above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, and appear as lights in the world.
Only days before Christ's spectacular transfiguration, where the majesty of His holiness and the brightness of His glory shone out from the Lord Jesus on that holy mount, we discover Him telling His followers that a day was fast approaching when He would come in His Father's glory to set up His promised kingdom.
The young man may have kept the letter of the Law but he certainly could not keep the spirit of the Law for all men are sinners, all people have a sin nature, and all fall short of the glory, the perfection, the goodness, and the holiness of God.
The one who reverences the Lord is a wise man indeed, for wisdom and prudence are rooted in godly fear and the one who worships the Lord in the beauty of holiness is he or she who discovers spiritual knowledge and godly discretion, which is beyond the limited understanding of the natural man.
The transforming description John gives of Christ's face is breathtaking, presenting a picture of Christ's divinity, His awful holiness, His noble preexistent virtue, His penetrating wisdom, His perfect righteousness.
Paul tells us that the Lord Jesus was declared to be the powerful Son of God at His Resurrection from the dead according to the Spirit of holiness. It was at His glorious Resurrection from death the Christ was legitimately able to declare, The LORD hath said unto Me, 'Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten Thee.'
Let us accept this truth in righteousness and true holiness by faith, and in everything we do, let us do ALL, to His praise and glory, from this day forward - even forevermore.
He prayed earnestly for the Thessalonian believers: That the Lord may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father – at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.
Despite their obvious growth in the faith, Paul knew that all Christians, however mature they may be, must press on to the next level of faith, and so he encouraged them by writing: I pray that God the Father Himself and Jesus Christ our Lord would direct our way to visit you… and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you, so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.
He would come in holiness and righteousness to bind up their wounds and heal His people from the sin and the suffering that has plagued this world since the fall of Adam.
The world seeks to draw us away from our rest in the Lord, but we have been given the Word of God, and in Him we have everything needed that pertains to holiness.
Having been given a breathtaking description of our privileged position in Christ and the astonishing benefits of trusting His finished work on the Cross for our salvation, Paul outlines the importance of being spirit-filled and walking in holiness.
The spirit-filled believer should be a reflection of the holiness and love of the Lord, and should walk as children of the light in His wisdom and grace.
But only when these relational principles are put into place by God's grace and carried out in practice, will these vital relationships reflect the holiness, love, wisdom, and grace of God.
This call to worship in the 'Old Hundredth' is a call for every Christian to worship our Saviour in the beauty of holiness, for we have been saved by grace through faith in Christ.
The Lord Jesus came into the world as the incarnate WORD of God, to reveal to the depraved mind of man, the truth of God's eternal love and His perfect holiness.
Like so much of the Church today, these Christians in Corinth were not living the life of holiness and humility to which we have all been called, but had allowed the standards, morals, and attitudes of the world to infiltrate their position in Christ.
God has not finished with His chosen people, and part of their grand future will occur when Israel, as a nation, serves the Lord their God in the beauty of holiness.
Only as we abide in Him and remain connected to Him, can we draw from His wisdom and strength, His power and grace, His truth and holiness, His peace and His joy.
God has kept the oath which He swore to Abraham our father - that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness all our days.... The Messiah has come to give to His people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God - and to guide our feet into the way of peace!
Because of their new birth and position in Christ, their future inheritance, their identification with Christ's holiness, and their Christian standing in the community, these elders in the Church are exhorted by Peter to take care of their brothers and sisters in Christ.
Whereas his first epistle concentrated on God's grace and our great salvation, our priestly calling, living a life of holiness, and carrying out our Christian responsibility, he spends considerable time in his second letter, warning of the devastating influence of false teachers and exhorting us to watch out for their destructive heresies - while urging us to grow in grace and to develop a sound knowledge of the Lord Jesus as we press towards spiritual maturity.
That brand new life was given to us directly from God's Holy Spirit when we were born-again, and that brand new self, which is in the image and likeness of God, has been created in the righteousness and holiness of God Himself.
We were released from the bondage to sin and death, which was fed by gross deceitfulness and lustful living, and changed into a new-life of true righteousness and godly holiness.
From the rising of the sun to the going down of the same, may we worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness and bow down before Him, for His name is greatly to be praised.
He is the Rock of our salvation - our Defence and our Deliverer, but the enemy has set traps on the left and laid snares for us on the right, as he pummels our ears with doctrinal falsities and entices us away from the highway of holiness, with tempting ‘treats’, deadly doubts and ungodly desires.Let us learn to listen to the Word of the Lord and hearken to His voice behind us - leading us, guiding us, directing us, and telling us which is the way that we should go, so that we are not tempted to turn to the right hand nor to the left – but keep our eyes on Jesus and our ears ever open to His still, small voice of love.
We have a positive responsibility to obey His Word and apply it in our everyday life, for when we walk in the unity of the Spirit and live in holiness of heart, we mature in the faith, grow in grace, and produce the fruit of humility, patience, gentleness, and love.
Once Mary has praised God for all that He has done for her and exalted Him because He is, God my Saviour, she continues to glorify Him for His power and holiness, His mercy and compassion.
All those that have been born from above and have been clothed in the righteousness of Christ our Saviour, are called by our great Creator God, to worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness, to sing joyful praises to Him with our lips and in our hearts.
We have the indwelling Spirit of God establishing us in the path of His holiness and conforming us into the likeness of Christ - in every good work and in every good word.
It is only as we glorify the Lord in the beauty of holiness that we will not wander from the way we should go.
The man who fears the Lord and shows reverence for His name has come to an understanding of what God's holiness, justice, peace, love, goodness, and grace really means in relation to sinful humanity and this fallen creation.
The man who reverences the Lord is the one who esteems His holiness, regards His justice, experiences His peace, and rests in His love.
He is the one who rejoices to keep His commands, for His yoke is easy and His burden is light.The man who fears the Lord and trusts in His love is blessed indeed, for he is a sinner saved by grace. He will never be disappointed for God will guide him in the way he should take and teach him the path that he should choose and set His feet on the highway to holiness.
We are to live as Christ lived... in holiness and righteousness all the days of our life... and we are to love and serve one another in the same way that Christ loved us and gave Himself for us.
During our sojourn on earth, we are called to mature in the faith and to grow in grace, and God takes all the circumstances of life as an opportunity to develop our trust in Him so that we may discover a little more of His gracious character, His omnipotent power, His omniscient wisdom, His unfailing righteousness, His unapproachable holiness, and His unconditional love.
Christ had finished the work of salvation that the Father had given Him to do in every aspect of His life as God incarnate; glorifying the wisdom of God, the faithfulness of God, the holiness of God, and the love of God.
As bond-servants of Christ, we are given a valuable list of how we should live, having put off our old selves and put on the new self created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. We are exhorted to put off falsehood and speak truthfully; steal no longer but instead work and share; speak helpful and wholesome words; get rid of bitterness, anger, and slander and in their place put forgiveness, kindness and compassion.Paul rejoiced to be a prisoner of the Lord, not for any wrong that he had done, for all sin and every sin was forgiven at the Cross, but for the sake of the Lord Jesus Who loves us and gave Himself for us.
Then as now, Judaisers insisted that holiness depended on participation in external ceremonies and customs relating to clean and unclean food, together with the keeping of a multitude of other man-made traditions which were entrenched in a myopic misunderstanding of God's purpose for the Law.
No surprise that we are exhorted to worship the Lord in the beauty of His holiness, for even the trees of the forest sing for joy and clap their hands together because the Lord is coming to judge the world in His righteousness and His people in His faithfulness.The Church is His Body, and we are now the holy temple of our faithful Lord, for we were created in Christ as a new creation, sanctified as His peculiar people, set apart as His representatives on earth, and we have been given a glorious song of grace to sing of the One that shows forth the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness towards us, in Christ Jesus.
Rather, he humbly worshipped the Lord in the beauty of holiness and offered his sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving to God for His grace and mercy in revealing the truth and saving their lives in the process.
Though it is often ridiculed by those that have not read it, or misunderstood by those who do not have spiritual discernment, Leviticus is a book that concentrates on holiness - the holiness of God and the need for the nation of Israel to be holy. You shall be holy, God informed His chosen nation through Moses.
The call to holiness still stands for the Christian in this dispensation of the grace of God.
Praise GOD that as Christians we are not under the BONDAGE of the Law of Moses, but are under the LIBERTY of the Law of Grace - the Law of the Spirit of Life.... and as such are called to walk in spirit and truth, to live as Christ lived and to remain in fellowship with our heavenly Father - in the beauty of holiness and to the glory of God.
Hannah's song of praise affirms the holiness of God, exults the character of God, rejoices in the uniqueness of God, and attests to His gracious wisdom: For the Lord is a God of knowledge and with Him our actions are weighed.
Jesus was the exact image of His Father's essence - in holiness and purity, in goodness and grace, in compassion and mercy, and in every godly attribute forever and ever. And yet, He was rejected by this unbelieving crowd, who were more interested in their next meal than their eternal life in the kingdom to come.
He also is the author of life, the well-spring of life, the fountain-head of life, and He is one with the Father in character and attributes, in holiness and power, in truth and in essence, in majesty and great glory.
But like her Gentile neighbours, apostate Israel lacked the standard of holiness required to be accepted by God, and to stand in His awesome presence and be accepted into fellowship with Him.
While the first 39 chapters of Isaiah emphasis the holiness, righteousness, and justice of God, the final section underlines His incomparable glory, everlasting-mercy, and immense grace.
Paul had to come to the shocking truth that within his very being was an inherited sin nature that was far removed from the holiness that God required of everyman, and only the precious blood of the perfect God-Man, the Lord Jesus Christ, could cleanse his heart and wash away the blackness of his sins.
He was to come in the Person of the gentle Spirit of holiness. He is with you and He will be IN you, were their Saviour's comforting words to His confused disciples, the night before He was betrayed.
These saved saints:a) choose to place themselves back under law to retain their salvation.b) do this in an attempt to become a super spiritual Christian.c) believe it will achieve the holiness God requires.
But we also have the assurance that even if we are walking in holiness, as was Jeremiah, and are called to suffer for righteousness' sake, we KNOW that He will never leave us nor forsake us, for He is true to His Word.
May we trust our Heavenly Father in all things and not lean on our own, limited understanding, but give Him the glory and praise to which He is due - and worship Him in the beauty of holiness.
When we consider our wonderful Creator, our heart is filled with awe and wonder at His mighty power and the vastness of His great wisdom; but when we consider the nails that pierced His hands and feet, the crown that tore His head, and the sword that thrust His side all for love of His own, and when we consider that Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her to sanctify her, to make her holy, to cleanse her with the washing of water by the Word, is it not our glorious privilege to worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness, bow down before Him with our whole body, soul, and spirit, and praise our mighty Saviour and King for ever and ever?
May we seek to honour everyone in truth, love our brothers and sisters in Christ, fear the Lord in the beauty of holiness, honour the emperor and those in authority, be on our guard against the enemy, stand firm in the faith, be strong and very courageous, and trust in the Lord with all our heart without leaning on our own limited understanding.