In the previous
blog I shared my own personal experience with the holiness of God and the fear
of God. This blog is a continuation of
this important issue. The guest on the
Christian TV show that I recently saw who was talking about holiness and the
fear of God quoted 2 Corinthians 7:1:
Having
therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all
filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
This verse is where
people can start to think that holiness has something to do with what WE do,
and herein lies the danger and
the confusion. If we try to be holy in
the same way that we would try to gain salvation by our own works, we are bound
to fail. It is like us trying to live a
sinless life. We will fail. Only Jesus lived a sinless life. This doesn't mean we are not to live holy
lives, for Scripture exhorts us to do so, as the following testifies:
1Pe 1:13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be
sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the
revelation of Jesus Christ;
1Pe 1:14 As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves
according to the former lusts in your ignorance:
1Pe 1:15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be
ye holy in all manner of conversation;
1Pe 1:16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am
holy.
So what does
this mean to be holy without resorting to our own works that are bound to
fail? When I think back to my own
previous study about holiness when I wrote my book, Victory Over Backsliding, and when I also studied it in Bible School, I learned that
holiness means to "be separate," or, "set apart."
2Co 6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with
unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and
what communion hath light with darkness?
2Co 6:15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or
what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
2Co 6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with
idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell
in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my
people.
2Co 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye
separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive
you,
2Co 6:18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be
my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
How do we separate ourselves? We must be aware of our idols. In my research for the book about backsliding, I discovered that it was
idolatry that was the downfall of Israel time and again. Idolatry will affect our hearts and we will
no longer sense the awesomeness of His presence. When idolatry is present, we must consecrate
our hearts, walk away, and renounce anything in our lives that has taken the rightful
place of God. This can be any number of
things. Idolatry results from taking on
the ways of the world, anything that takes our affections away from God, and
anything that takes His place. We need to regularly and fearlessly be willing to let God take inventory of
our own heart, and by prayer and the revelation of God, let Him reveal to us
what our idols are that are subtly taking His place.
Holiness doesn't
mean asceticism, like physically separating ourselves from the world around us and living in a cave, or wearing
special clothes to differentiate ourselves, or following religious ritual to
show people how holy we are. It has to do with our own heart. God knows our heart already, and if we are allowing Him
first place. He wants to be Lord of us
no matter what the personal cost to us. This
is the true test of a holy
life - are we willing to obey Him?
No comments:
Post a Comment