These are some articles from the John Wimber Power Points on the subject of holiness.
I think these articles are informative.
Note the following verses from Ephesians chapter 4. They end with a reference to "true
holiness" (verse 24). Some of us may have come from "performance based" churches and we have heard of a “false holiness” which emphasized human effort and outward display.
17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,
18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
19 Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
20 But ye have not so learned Christ;
21If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:
22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Ephesians 4:17-24 KJV
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A Call To Holiness
It’s important to review and know the definition of holiness: Its old
Testament Hebrew root means “separate”- denoting separation from the
world and to a divine use. The New Testament’s principle Greek word for
holiness communicates purity of character; character that is perfectly
conformed to God’s law.
Many Christians are confused about holiness because often times
Scripture says we are holy, and sometimes it tells us to work hard at
being holy.
1 Corinthians 15:10 says, “But by the grace of God I am
what I am, and His grace to me was not without effect.” And 1 Peter
1:15-16 says, “But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all
you do, for it is written, Be Holy, because I am holy.”
Notice the apparent contradiction here:
1. First, Paul is saying that holiness is God’s gift
2. Second, Peter says we are to work at holiness
How are we to sort out these seemingly contradictions in God’s Word?
How can we work hard at holiness without confusing our efforts with the
true source of holiness? Over the next few days we will take a closer
look at these questions as well as others.
God as the Source...
To understand holiness and to learn to be holy, we need to understand
that only God can be the source of our holiness. Anything we do is only
in cooperation with Him, allowing more of His life (Jesus) into our
lives.
God is uniquely holy as
1 Samuel 2:2 says, “There is no one holy like
the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock, like our God.”
Holiness is the very fabric of God’s nature.
Moses came into the presence of God’s radiating glory at the burning
bush, and God said, “Do not come any closer. Take off your sandals, for
the place where you are standing is holy ground” (Exod. 3:5). Let’s
look at a few points concerning this: 1. The ground was made holy by
God’s holiness; God used the ground of His holiness to separate Moses
from the world in order to fulfill His purposes. 2. God revealed His
holiness to Moses because He wanted to raise up a holy people, a people
who in their way of life would reflect the very nature of God. 3. the
benefits of holiness would be great: eternal life, forgiveness, joy,
peace, blessing, but there were also requirements as mentioned in
Exodus 19:5-6 “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out
of all nations you will be my treasured possessions. Although the whole
earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy
nation. These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”
Only God's Holiness
The basis for Israel’s holiness was God’s holiness. Eight times in the
book of Leviticus and 60 times in other books of the Old Testament the
Lord said, “Be holy, because I am holy.” The source of Israel’s
holiness was the life of God in them. The only way of obtaining God’s
life was through an intimate, obedient relationship with Him.
If we miss this fundamental point -- that God is the source of holiness--
then we will attempt to make holiness the way to God. But holiness can
never be the way to God, because it’s God’s life in us! When we miss out
on intimacy with God, we miss out on holiness and often times it can
lead us to become legalists!
The Jews tried to make obedience to the law the way to God and failed
to live up to the demands of the old covenant (
Hebrews 8:9). The law,
as good at it was, was incapable of producing holiness (
Romans 7:10).
How many of you are frustrated because as hard as you try, you can
never seem to get holy? Doing things is good for you, and they are the
marks of a holy person, but doing them will NEVER make you holy!
Empowering Us to Obey
God’s grace gives us new hearts and anoints us with the Holy Spirit so
we want to obey God and are empowered to fulfill His commands. The old
covenant was a failure because a more fundamental change needed to take
place in the people’s hearts before they could fulfill the law. They
needed a change of attitude, will and desire -- their nature needed to be
conformed to God’s nature.
Jeremiah prophesied that a time would come in which God would put his
laws in our minds and write them on our hearts (
Jer. 31:31-33). This
relationship would be marked by intimacy…”No longer will a man teach
his neighbor, or a man his brother saying, know the Lord, because they
will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest declares the
Lord.” (Vs. 34). Holiness is God’s transforming power working in us,
not a program to improve out lives! Theologians sometimes call this
truth “positional holiness” by which they mean we are declared holy and
transformed through faith in Christ’s atoning death on the cross.
Positional holiness cannot be earned.
John 1:12-13 “Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His
name, He gave the right to become children of God. Children born not of
natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of
God.”
No Need to Perform
It is in Christ that we are empowered by God’s Spirit for holy living.
2 Corinthians 1:22 says, “He set his seal of ownership on us, and put His
Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”
The truth here is that in Christ you are fully accepted by the Father.
In Christ God forgives us, declares us righteous, and adopts us as His
sons and daughters (
Heb. 9:15). Christ changes us into His likeness-
declaring us a holy people, a people set-aside for His use (1 Cor.
1:2). Because the Father then accepts us in the ‘One that He loves’,
there is then nothing that we can do to be holier because Jesus has
already done it for us!
To know that we are accepted by the Father means we don’t have to
perform for God’s approval. Instead, we obey God because we know we’re
accepted in Christ. This may seem like an insignificant point, but our
motivations in life really do affect how we live.
Make Every Effort
There is always a struggle to live under grace and in the truth of our
new identity in Christ, not under the law and enslaved to our old
nature. Our struggle is a process called, “progressive sanctification,”
in which God separates us for his use and conforms us to His nature.
Positional holiness doesn’t let us off the hook by taking personal
responsibility to cooperate with God in obeying His commands.
Positional holiness qualifies us to live lives that are pleasing to
God. Holiness comes by grace working in us, and holiness is not easy.
In fact, holiness is hard work
Steps Towards Holiness
I have often found that when I have steps that I can see and follow, it
is helpful in following through with what I am praying and working
towards. Here are 5 steps that you can begin taking to cooperate with
God’s grace and its work of holiness in your life.
1. We need to accept God’s truth concerning “positional holiness”.
Before doing anything you have to believe everything that Jesus has
done for you. In Christ, your nature has been changed, and when God
looks at you he sees the righteousness of His Son.
2. Keep short accounts with God (
1 John 1:9)
3. Recognize the difference between temptation and sin (
James 1:14-15;
Luke 22:40;
2 Timothy 2:22)
4. Live in brokenness and dependence on God (
Romans 6, 7, and 8)
5. Finally, remember that holiness is God’s life in you. Delight in
Him, and His holiness will change your life!
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