Quick now, saints. Which of these two statements are spoken more frequent in the circles you travel within Christianity?
“We’re just sinners, and we’ll never arrive. Paul in Romans 7 says he’s just a wretched man like we all are.”
Or…
“Praise God we’ve been saved from our sin. Just look at Paul as he described how he behaved devoutly, uprightly, and blamelessly.”
Hands down it’s the first one, right? Yes..but what does the Biblical record proclaim?
1 Thessalonians 2:10 You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers…
Let’s slowly recount that again: devoutly, uprightly, blamelessly. Paul called the saints at Thessalonica, and even God Himself, to recall that this was true.
This is a main theme here at Walk Worthy. Holiness. Since Jesus Christ and Paul, if they said anything, said we’re to be a reflection of God Himself – set apart from the world’s ways of the flesh.
Without practicing holiness, no one will see the Lord.
Paul also declared that his practicing holiness led to his exhortation of them in the very next verse…
1 Thessalonians 2:11 just as you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his own children…
Exhorting…encouraging…imploring…why?
1 Thessalonians 2:12 so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.
In order to be counted “worthy” of His kingdom, actual eternal life, a life of holiness is absolutely required. It’s God’s response to us of His Son’s prefect life, death sacrifice, resurrection, and Sprit led leadership in our hearts.
Any so-called intimate relationship without ongoing and increasing holiness in our lives is destined to failure…no matter what modern day teachers tell you.
So…as Paul…behave devoutly, uprightly, and blamelessly.
Do you believe this? For Romans 7 was Paul’s past life as a blasphemer.
Be it done to us according to our faith. Walk in the knowledge that this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus through the Holy Spirit who lives within you.
“Our Father, You desire a pure heart. You command it. Help our intimacy with You to be the intimacy of behaving devoutly, uprightly, and blamelessly.”
Please comment on this post right below. Feel free to write and proclaim your leadings in the Spirit in an honorable fashion.
See also:
HOLINESS IS NEVER LEGALISM – BY JOHN WESLEY [AT THE BATTLE FRONT 57]
Your friend and brother in fighting the good fight,
Marc
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Saints, we’re one day closer to Home, and Him! Love Him wholeheartedly!
You may view our Archives here: FRIDAY FIRE – ARCHIVES; Complete Archives; feel free to write and proclaim your leadings in the Spirit in an honorable fashion. May our Father richly bless you with His grace, through Jesus Christ our Lord, in order to walk worthy of His name.
Please comment on this post right below. Feel free to write and proclaim your leadings in the Spirit in an honorable fashion.
Ian Williams says
Interesting. A while back I asked God to define for me what holiness means – I heard “separation unto Me”. Jesus said that we should be perfect, even as our Father in heaven is perfect. How may we be perfect or perfected or perfectly please the Father, as Jesus did? We are made perfect in LOVE – and in LOVE is the fulfillment of every righteous requirement of the Law. Paul wrote in Romans 8 that there is therefore now NO CONDEMNATION (the law of condemnation) to those who are IN CHRIST – and in verse 9, “However, you are NOT IN THE FLESH if so be that the Spirit of God dwells in you”.
12. And we testified to you that you should strive according to what pleases God, He who called you to His Kingdom and glory. Victor Alexander Aramaic Trans.
So, what is it that “pleases” God? It is our fulfillment in Love and His fulfillment in us. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased – which is the original idiom is “In whom I am fulfilled”. Jesus perfectly pleased the Father by HAVING THE FAITH OF GOD and DOING NOTHING EXCEPT THAT HE FIRST SEE THE FATHER. He imitated His Father, as we ought to imitate Him as children.
To put it simply, this type of faith is not made manifest except by prayer and fasting – and prayer is NOT communication WITH God, it is the communication OF God and the expression and manifestation of His will. If our will is fully submitted to God’s will, then it is God’s will which shall be done, as in heaven, so in the earth, and we shall ask what we will (which is God’s will) and it shall be done, having already been done in heaven.
The joy of the Lord is our strength or our fulfilment – our strength is the joy of the Lord – and in our weakness or yielded-ness, we are made most potent, as he fills us with Himself as we become conformed to His image.
Only Jesus is able to make all stand before Him, and all shall be made to stand before the podium of Christ. The way we read the scriptures is so often conditioned by culture, by tradition (and we know what that does to The Word of God) or by doctrines of devils. The only safe way is to ask Jesus where we have been leavened by conditionality and burdened by Pharisees and diverted from the simplicity which is in Christ and prevented from entering in to the kingdom. Did you get that? It is the burdening of believers with conditionality which prevents them entering in and seeing God, and without separation from this, no man shall see or perceive God – you are the blind led by the blind, stumbled by the Sanhedrin. Oh foolish Galatians, this is what Paul was talking about! It is the leaven of the Pharisees which is hypocrisy – Paul was saying be single-minded and not hypocritical and do what is pleasing to God the Father, which is to do nothing except that you see Him do it first. What pleases God is that we should love, one to another, even as he first loved us, from the beginning, a New Commandment, not graven in tables of stone by in our hearts. And that is good preaching.
Mark 10:22-26
22. And Jesus replied and told them, “You should have faith in God.
23. “For, amen, I am telling you, that whoever tells this mountain here, ‘take
up and fall into the sea,’ and he does not doubt (divide) in his heart, except he believes
that what he says shall happen, he shall have what he says.
24. “Because of this, I am telling you, that whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you will receive, and it shall be given to you.
25. “And when you stand to pray, forgive (release) what you have against people, so that your Father in heaven shall also forgive your foolishness.
26. “However, if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive (release) your foolishness.”
marc says
thx brother Ian – as always, a well thooguht out post from the heart! we love the fact you turn to the scriptures to make your points. He did do what He saw and heard from the Father – was in John 8 this very AM…Prayer is communication with God as well – ie give us this day our daily bread, forgive us our sins, etc. be blessed dear one – one day closer to Home and Him!
Marc