Holy Living

THE CHRISTIAN CALLING

HOLINESS

Writing to believers in Christ who were experiencing extreme persecution at the hands of pagan culture, Peter advocated holy living. Seven times in Peter's first letter, we find the word holy (hagios in Greek) used in reference to conduct or behavior. And even when the word is not explicitly used, pure conduct is called for again and gain.

Holy implies sacredness, being consecrated to God, or being worthy of God. In order to qualify for this label, a person or thing has to be free from impurity. There can be no hint of moral pollution or spiritual defilement. To be holy is to be free from anything that would offend a perfect God.

This state may seem impossible to achieve. After all, how can imperfect, fallen creatures like ourselves live up to the command to "be holy in all (our) conduct" (1 Peter 1:15)? The answer is found in the opening sentence of Peter's letter. Sanctification, the process by which we are made holy, is "of the spirit" (1:2). The Holy Spirit of God, who indwells us at the moment of salvation, is able to transform us. By the power of the Spirit we find the ability to "abstain from fleshly lusts which was against the soul" (2:11). As we yield ourselves to God, and as we soberly and vigilantly resist the devil (5:9) and all his temptations, we will find that God is able to "perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle" us (5:10).

Holy living should be our goal not merely because God commands it, but also because it befits our true identity. In Christ we are no longer citizens of a sinful world, but the "people of God" (2:10). We are "sojourners and pilgrims" in this world, on our way to our true home which is heaven (2:11).
Furthermore, holiness serves an evangelistic purpose. It is a "holy nation" and "special people" who are able to "proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light" (2:9). It is our "honorable" conduct and "good works" that cause evildoers to glorify God (2:12).
Finally, Peter speaks of the day when we will stand before God and give an account for the way we have lived. Those who have maintained a lifelong fear (reverence) of God resulting in holy living will be best prepared for the day of reckoning (1:17).

Posted by Bob Archer

Reach for Holiness Before Happiness

Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord Hebrews 12:14

Holiness is a higher priority than happiness. It should rank higher in our scale of values than happiness, and maintaining its presence in our lives should be a matter of more pressing concern. The pursuit of holiness should be what we're known for.

To say that anything is more important than happiness sounds absurd to our modern ears, of course. The very idea flys in the face of popular philsophy. Even when it comes to religious philosophy, most people nowadays take it as their basic premise that God "wants us to be happy." We even use that benchmark to decide what God's will is in the first place. Faced with various interpretations of scriptural teaching, we choose the one that we think would make us the happiest. And if someone challenges the correctness of our decision, our reply is often predictable: "Well, I just can't believe that God wouldn't want me to be happy."

But while the "pursuit of happiness" may be a social and political priority, it does not rank at the top of any scriptural list of criteria by which our conduct is to be decided. Although long-term joy, properly defined, was His objective (Hebrews 12:1,2), Jesus often choose the difficult over the easy, and the painful over the pleasant: "Not My will, but Yours, be done" (Luke 22:42).

None of this is meant to imply that happiness is unimportant. It certainly is important, to some extent. But to whatever extent happiness matters, the way to achieve it is not to make it the main objective in life, as many people do. Happiness comes mostly to those who are willing to be unhappy, if need be, while they work on goals of greater significance. God, our Creator, is a better manager of our happiness than we are, and in the long run, we'll be happier if we seek Him first and let Him decide how much happiness we can handle without forgetting Him. If we had to, we could survive the loss of any amount of happiness, but no one can survive the absence of holiness. So that's the thing most worth pursuing . . . and if we don't do that, then death will be our doom.

Posted by Bob Archer

Grateful for the Work God Gives Us

If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole
were hearing, where would be the smelling? But now God has set the
members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased.
1 Corinthians 12:17,18

The kingdom of Christ is a realm where definite work is done. To be a Christian is more than an honorary status conferred upon us; it is a manner of living, a way of life. If we have the idea that "being" a Christian involves no more than the passive enjoyment of being saved, we have a thing or two to learn about the New Testament. There, Christians worked and served, actively and energetically. The body of Christ does things!

But just as the body of Christ has work to do, it's also true that the individual members of the body each have a unique part to play in that work. If we're Christians, we don't simply have a generic contribution to make; we have a particular work to engage in that is uniquely our own. Each of us is a one-of-a-kind package of strengths and abilities, and we're going to have to answer for whether those gifts were used in ways that were well suited to us.

Most of us are aware that the church is compared in the New Testament to the human body, a unified organism made up of many different parts, all of which contribute uniquely to the body's activity. Almost humorously, Paul asks, "If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling?" The body simply could not function without having different parts that do different things.

We know this, and yet what do we do? We identify certain types of Christian service as more important, and we spend our lives fretting over who has which ability. In a word, this is sinful.

In the Lord, we need to take three steps:

(1) We need to prayerfully discover what it is the Lord wants us personally to be doing with the abilities we have (or can acquire).

(2) We need to get comfortable in our own skin and accept the role that is ours to play, regardless of where it ranks on any worldly scale of values.

(3) We need to rejoice in our role and be grateful for the work God gives us. After all, God has set us in the body "just as He pleased."

Posted by J.E. Manuel

Continence

Praise the Lord everyone. I thank God for holiness, the only valid religion that was authorized by my God, the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank the Lord for revealing to me that He does not consist of three persons, but rather three ways of making Himself known to humanity.

The God I serve is One, and His name is One. In St. John 10:30, He said it plainly, "I and my Father are one." Not three, but One. I know by the Holy Ghost there is no trinity. There is only Oneness in the Godhead. Notice how the scripture uses the term "Godhead", signifying that is a singular Being, not plural.

I praise God. That is not even the main topic of this post. The topic I want to express is continence, or self restraint. You see, about five and a half years ago God delivered me from sexual immorality, or fornication. I didn't went to see a "shrink". I did not underwent mind control to have the problem abolished. No multiple step program. No help or power from man whatsoever. I went to God for deliverance.

I hear many fake Christians today make excuses for committing that wicked sin. Some say things like, "The flesh is weak." "God knows I can't help it." "I get lonely." "I do the best I can", and on and on and on... I even had one person tell me that after he allegedly received the gift of the Holy Ghost, he was still committing fornication. I will tell you right now, that was not the Holy Ghost he received.

The Holy Ghost, the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ, is a real living powerful Spirit. The Holy Ghost gives a person the power to resist the devil, and power to say no to sin. Just as the Lord protected the children of Israel when they were exiting Egypt. The Lord stood between them and their enemies, when Pharaoh went chasing after them to bring them back to bondage.

Read the book of Exodus. Since godly sorrow worked repentance in my heart, and after God filled me with the gift of the Holy Ghost, He has always stood between me, and the temptation of sin the devil would bring my way, attempting to bring me back into bondage. If a person has the genuine Holy Ghost, or shall I say if the genuine Holy Ghost has them, He will keep that person from going back to Egypt (spiritually).

Have I been tempted since I've been in this way? Yes indeed. "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it" (I Corinthians 10:13). The Lord Jesus will never allow His children to be so tempted to sin that they cannot resist it. God will either give you the strength to resist that temptation, or if you're not yet strong enough, He will give you the unction to run away from it. "Flee also youthful lusts..." (II Timothy 2:22).

But in order for a person to have such power to resist the devil (James 4:7), one must be truly born again of the water and of the Spirit (St. John 3:5). First, repentance must take place (Matt. 3:8, 9:13, Mark 2:17, Luke 3:8, 5:32, 15:7, 24:47).

Here is the definition of repentance. Repentance: The act of turning away from the practice of sin, disobedience, or rebellion and a turning back to God. So, if you have repented of something, there is no way you will ever do such a thing again, because repentance is the turning away from the practice of sin.

After repentance has been given to you through godly sorrow (II Cor. 7:10), water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ must be conducted on you. "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost" (Acts 2:38). Water baptism in Jesus' name (not Father Son and Holy Ghost titles) is the birth of the water.

Once repentance (death) and water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ (burial) is performed, God will fill you with the gift of the Holy Ghost (resurrection). When God fills a person with the gift of the Holy Ghost, they will speak in other tongues as the SPIRIT gives the utterance.

The Holy Ghost will keep you from the practice of sin, if you want to be kept. But if a person does not have the real genuine Holy Ghost, they will not be kept from living sinful lifestyles, even if they utter some unknown language and claim to be Apostolic.

There are so many groups who claim to be Apostolic, when in reality they are not. They are either Pentecostals, or Charismatics. Do not confuse me with many other individuals who call themselves Apostolic, but they allow Jezebels to preach behind the pulpit. Fake Apostolic Ministers preach for filthy lucre, by exacting tithes from the people who sits under their ministry.

I am not a Jew under the law of Moses, but I am a Gentile saved by grace. I give as God prospers me, and as I purpose in my own heart. Not grudgingly, nor out of my necessities (II Cor, 9:7). I am happy about what I give, and I give out of a willing mind.

The Apostle Paul didn't allow women to teach nor usurp authority over men (I Tim. 2:12). Neither does the Bishop I sit under allows it, because he stands on the Word of Truth, without compromises or deviations. I thank God for my Bishop and Apostle. He is truly a man after God's own heart.

In conclusion, continence in accordance to the Word of God can be done. It can only be done through the power of the Holy Ghost. It takes power to keep something alive and in good condition. Consider what you put in your refrigerator. With the power your refrigerator generates, food you store is kept from spoiling anywhere from days, weeks, and even months. But without that refrigerator, your food would utterly rot quickly.

Even with the power of that refrigerator, your food will still go bad if you leave it in there long enough. That is similar to the Spirit of Jesus Christ (the Holy Ghost), but with the exception that God has all power. With the power of the Holy Ghost in a person, that person would be capable of living in this world without practicing sin for days, weeks, months, years, decades, and even throughout eternity.

The power of the Holy Ghost is not limited. It will never run out. You will never spoil or go rotten with the power of the Holy Ghost. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Almighty God.

That is about all I have to say for now. Until next time if the Lord will, may God bless and keep you in Jesus' name. Praise ye the Lord.

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