A few thoughts on living a holy life

 

Holiness.  God cares about our holiness. He cares, because He is Holy, and He calls us to a life of holiness once we turn to Him in trust for our salvation.

“And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” Isaiah 6:3.

It’s repeated three times! Remember, that means really important, really big deal! AND, God’s holiness is the only attribute repeated three times in a row like that in the Bible! His holiness is what He wants to emphasize over all His other attributes!

The Hebrew number 6918 means, holy, sacred, consecrated, set apart as dedicated to God; by extension: pure, innocent, free from impurity; (n.) holy people of God. Saints; as a title of God, “the Holy One,” focuses on God as unique, wholly other:- holy, holy one, saints, saint.

God called Israel to be a holy, set apart nation for Him. He calls the church, His people today, to be a Holy, set apart people for Him! And, not for a season, but for a lifetime of running the race set before us, we are called to pursue holiness before Him.

Please do not think you can live exactly as you please and make it to heaven. God is merciful and gracious, and He will save any soul until the very end who calls upon Him, but… if you are shacking up with your boyfriend or girlfriend, or if you are living in the LGBTQ lifestyle, or if you’re harboring unforgiveness and bitterness and envy and malice and, you know, all those sinful traits, you are in danger of going to hell when you die.

Holiness is hard.  It is the straight and narrow way, and we humans like the easy way, the broad way, more. I wonder if in order to have someone say a prayer of salvation we’ve assured them falsely. We’ve assured them that anyone can be saved from their sin, which is TRUE, but we’ve not closely followed that with the reality that when we are saved we become NEW CREATIONS and are called to live Holy lives in emulation of Christ. Even Jesus said count the cost, and we saw in His ministry as His call to die daily and follow Him became clear, the crowds dwindled away. The opposite effect of a Billy Graham crusade.

People don’t like the thought of giving up pleasures or comforts now, they want to live for themselves now. They do not see the eternal consequences of the choices they make. And many Christians justify their sin and abuse God’s grace. From what I understand, that is grieving the Holy Spirit, when you consistently turn your heart to sin and ignore the Holy Spirit in your life. And that’s what Jesus says is the only unforgivable sin. Which makes sense, it’s a rejection of Him over a lifetime when at one point the person did know Him.

            Is the call to live a holy life an effort to earn your salvation?  No, not at all. It is a right response to your Savior to live into the person He created you to be!  We are meant to be salt and light in this world.  We’re meant to stick out and be different, so people can tell there is a difference in us!  No, I’m not talking about superficial differences like long hair, earrings, tattoos, skirts, although some are convicted about such things, and I pray that if I’m wrong the Lord would reveal that to me. I am talking about things like crucifying your fleshly desires for sex and money and power. I am talking about how you engage with the people in your life. Are you always angry and unforgiving, or are you quick to show grace to others when offended, because God has shown you infinite grace at the cross. Are you trying to get rid of the idols in your heart, or just dwelling with them?  Do you watch filth on TV, or listen to trash on the radio, or do you set your mind on things that are good and Holy and pure?

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, Philippians 2:12

            There is effort to live a holy life, if it was easy everyone would do it!  It’s hard, there’s sacrifice and discipline required. But, almost anything in life worth doing is hard.

            Let’s talk for a minute though about the motivation to life a holy life.

            If your only motivation is a fear of hell, that won’t last long at all.

            If your main motivation is to please the Father who gave up His Only Son to purchase your salvation, to redeem your life, if it is to bring Him glory for your salvation… that’s the kind of motivation that will last through the fires you’ll face.

            Because living a holy life will bring more fires. I actually think, the more pleasing your life may be to the Father, the more intense the attacks of satan will be upon your life.  Just think about Job. He was righteous, and God allowed the worst attacks upon his life!  And, his holiness is what kept him from cursing God through those trials. He certainly questioned God why, but he never cursed God in his suffering. I think holiness empowers you to walk through trials in such as way that God’s glory is manifested uniquely as a witness to the world around you. And, I keep thinking about the fact that many fall away. Those that fall away are the ones who don’t care about holiness. If there’s a jab God says say no to, but the world says you’ll lose your head if you say no, you have to REALLY CARE about holiness to stay pure in that situation.

            I just know, I know, God wants a Holy and Pure Bride, and He will have a Holy and Pure Bride, He will make us Holy and Pure, but, some people are going to be surprised in a bad way when He comes back for His bride. Don’t be one of the virgins without enough oil. Live a holy life.

            And, if you’re thinking how in the world do I do that, remember, You are a new creation and You have the Holy Spirit inside of you empowering you now to live a Holy Life!  You’re not alone!

               This is the message from the Lord to the American Church. 

^{“Tsk Tsk Tsk}

^{Pulling hair out!}

^{I want to bring revival but you won’t repent!}

⁴ You adulterous people,^[a] don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. ⁵ Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us^[b]? ⁶ But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:

“God opposes the proud
    but shows favor to the humble.”^[c]

⁷ Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ⁹ Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

Be Ye HOLY AS I AM HOLY!

Now therefore fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

 

               If I ever say it again, I’m going to practice and memorize it so I don’t slur my words too much. (At least I didn’t burst into tears when I said it, I’ve gotta work on my public speaking abilities…)  My mom told me take the message off Facebook but the word stands. God wants us to follow Him in holiness. Take it seriously, and pray that the American church will get it together, I want to see revival breakout.

               And if you’re reading this blog, you have no excuse at this point to not be pursuing a holy life.