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14. Holiness

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In Your Bible Read This

1 Peter 1, 3-25; Psalm 15

Here Is Your Memory Verse

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Psalm 51, 10-12.

Afterwards Talk About This

Where do you feel that laws made by yourself or others are touching your life?

Something To Do Before Next Time

Be holy just as God is holy by doing what he does, loving others by living for them. Be a saint by freely doing something good for some undeserving people.

Written Diploma Work

Examine the issues of law and grace. Write a page about ‘laws’ you can find and give some alternative attitudes of grace.

Meditate Word By Word On This Passage

2 Corinthians 6.17 – 7.1.

Spend a Minute to Change the World

Pray For Palestinians – Nearly 2,000,000 Muslim Arabs. Tragic history of loss and war, Christians have ancient roots of faith.

Be sure to teach this lesson to others. Always pray and prepare well adding your own verses and stories to bring it to life.

What Is Holiness?

The answer is very simple, holiness means separated unto God our Father, living for him, in a way pleasing to him. Holiness reflects the perfect character of Jesus, and the character of the Christian who is growing towards perfection. It is the life that God wants for his people who he calls holy ones, holy brothers or saints.

Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty

Did you know that God is not just holy, but as three persons in one he is three times holy. In heaven and on earth that is how he is praised, Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 4:8.

Jesus said, “Holy Father.” John 17.11.

Jesus is Holy and Righteous. Acts 3.14.

God’s Spirit is the Spirit of holiness. Romans 1.4.

Be Holy, Because I Am Holy

Like Father, like son, that’s the call of God to everyone in his family. People should know who our Father is just by looking at us. 1 Peter 1.15, 16. We are ~

  • Chosen to be holy, Ephesians 1.4.
  • Called to be holy men and women, 1 Thessalonians 4.7.
  • Called to be a holy church, 1 Cor. 1.2
  • Given grace to be holy, 2 Tim. 1.9.

Two Kinds Of Holiness

First of all, there is Christ’s own finished work on the Cross in forgiving our sins and cleansing us which alone makes us holy and acceptable in Gods sight. This holiness does not come from anything we do or do not do. We have been made holy because in his grace Jesus has taken our entire un-holiness on himself and given us his own holiness, otherwise we could never enter God’s presence. Hebrews 2:11, 13:12, 10:10.

Progress Not Perfection

But although we have been made holy in God’s sight, in life and living we are still being made holy. The struggle with sin, self and Satan and the journey towards perfect holy living continues for as long as we live, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. There will be many falls and failures en route. Hebrews 10.14.

We Want To Be Holy, But How?

Is it a case of determining ourselves to think better thoughts, to speak kinder words and to do good more often? All such resolutions are doomed to failure as most people know.

The Battle Of Legalism And Grace

From a desire to be pure and holy, generations of believers have become legalistic in regard to how Christians should live, subjecting themselves and others to more and more laws to keep. And of course break, and thus fail.

Law

A legalistic believer considers what to do or not do by asking himself whether something, usually like dance, wine, money, fashion, cinema and make-up is evil or irrelevant in a Christian context. He decides and then by sheer will power disciplines himself and encourages others to keep his new law. The result is that Christians have often failed to be salt and light in many public activities, and left the unbelievers to decide its direction and tone.

Grace

Grace says that none of these things are evil in themselves, or irrelevant in a Christian context, its what we decide to do with them that really matters. For example, grace says that it is the abuse of alcohol not alcohol itself which is wrong; it is the love of money not money itself which is wrong; it is what dance is sometimes used for not dance itself which is wrong.

One Way Forward: More Holy Spirit

Whether you choose law or grace as a lifestyle, true holiness only comes from one person and that is from Holy Spirit. his very nature is exactly as his name -holy.

Being filled every day with Holy Spirit means that a believer’s body, soul and spirit is continually saturated by a holy person who filters every thought, word and action and perseveres to bring forth a living holiness from deep inside that conforms to every word of God’s law but is not dependent upon human effort. He will soon make his presence known, and when you make a wrong step or say a wrong word, there is his witness in your heart.

A Highway Of Holiness

Our own will and decisions are important in the highway to holiness. Scripture will guide us. Here is just one challenge from Deut. 22, 9-11.

Do not plant two kinds of seed in your vineyard; if you do, not only the crops you plant but also the fruit of the vineyard will be defiled.

Do not plough with an ox and a donkey yoked together.

Do not wear clothes of wool and linen woven together.

Say No To Unholy Mixed Seeds. Seeds when planted and watered bring forth a harvest of their own kind. So plant only one seed of the word of God, truth, and never mix God’s truth with the wisdom of this world or you will surely reap a confused and useless harvest.

Say No To Unholy Mixed Partnerships. Only two people who love God and believe the scriptures can ever become one in marriage or business. Read what Paul has to say about being yoked together in 2 Corinthians 6.14-17

Say No To Unholy Mixed Garments. Our God given clothing is a robe of righteousness and a covering of power from on high. If we wear God’s clothes one day and the world’s clothes another day we will never be holy or like our Father wants us to be. Isaiah 61.10, Luke 24.49.

Come ‘Holy’ Spirit to fill us and help us.

To Close Pray for the World’s Most Unreached Peoples by Name

Taken from the Joshua Project Unreached Peoples List these people have no church and as yet no cell, church or mission has committed themselves to prayer, adoption or church planting among this people.

Indonesia

People Name Language Population
Kikim Melayu Kikim 15,000
Krui Krui 30,000
Pasir Pasir 160,000
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