HOLINESS (Positional holiness is not a substitute for practical holiness)

[LightShinesInTheDarkness]

POSITIONAL HOLINESS IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR PRACTICAL HOLINESS

 

All Christians (every one who is in Christ) are positionally holy in terms of being consecrated. But being positionally holy is not the same as being practically holy: A man can be sanctified and consecrated but practically unholy. And God desires our practical holiness (without which no one will see the Lord, Hebrews 12:14). We were made holy to be holy. 

As it says in 1 Peter: As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy." (1 Peter 1:14-16)

For we are indeed a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that we may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9)---not just by what we say, but by how we are, which the world observes, as does God who saved us.

Therefore, having been sanctified by God and purified by the blood of Christ through faith, and having been made vessels for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the Master of the house, ready for every good work (2 Timothy 2:21),

let us build ourselves up in our most holy faith, by applying the teachings of the New Testament to our lives with diligence and care. The more of God's truth we apply to our lives, the more practically holy we are; for it is the teaching that gives us the understanding of how to follow the Lord by conforming our conduct and attitudes to His and pursuing His desires, and it is the increasing knowledge of Him that renews our minds to be more like His own.

As the Lord said, "Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth." (John 17:17)

So apply the teachings of the New Testament to your life, and live by them---collectively and not selectively---and keep in step with the Holy Spirit, and you will be holy. Neglect to do this appropriately and you will not be. And without holiness, no one will see the Lord.

 

"You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet." (Matthew 5:13)

 

"In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions."

...But you, beloved, build yourselves up in your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. (Jude 18, 20, 21)

 

"If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love." (John 15:10)

[LightShinesInTheDarkness]

Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. (Romans 6:13)

 

Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 

If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. (Galatians 5:19-25)

 

Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness.

Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.

Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled.

...For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce unGodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and Godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession who are zealous for good works. (Titus 2:2-6, 11-14)

[LightShinesInTheDarkness]

For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,

"I will make My dwelling among them

and walk among them,

and I will be their God,

and they shall be My people.

Therefore go out from their midst,

and be separate from them, says the Lord,

and touch no unclean thing;

then I will welcome you, 

and I will be a father to you,

and you shall be sons and daughters to Me,

says the Lord Almighty."

Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

(2 Corinthians 6:16-18; 7:1)

 

...Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that He might present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

(Ephesians 5:25-27)

[Wayne222]

Sanctification is very important.  God makes us holy when we become saved. We then walk in it. Our behavior is to be holy and righteous. Put on the new man created in righteousness. Like John wrote let us not love in word but in deeds. To love our brother or sister is to be righteous. Peter said as you see all these works on the earth is going to be Burnt and on fire. We should be holy and godly. 

[frienduff thaylorde]

God truly knows what is best for us .    Every saying JESUS ever spoke, the comforter which reminds us of this ,  all things , the very pattern JESUS set

the same pattern the apostels taught are for the good of our soul .    The Spirit itself bears this witness into our hearts and minds  , that we live

by the power of His grace , walking by the Spirit , obeying His unctions to do those things well pleasing In His sight .  And its done by faith In Him.

What wonderful love the Holy Ghost has shed upon our hearts , that creates in us a heart that truly desires to walk worthy of Him.  Knowing full well

we are not earning salvation , but simply following the ONE who has earned salvation for us , to the end .    

And what a God of marvelous love towards us , that He indeed did Send the Son to be the savoir of our soul and that all who call upon him and confess him

are saved.    Let us each remind , stir up , encourage , exhort daily lest any do become hardned through the deceitfulness of sin.

Keeping the hope and conversation and all affections above on Him, who cares for us .   Let us be ever thankful for this great gift bestowed upon us

By His grace.   let us walk as obedient children and follow the Spirit , feast on sound biblical doctrine .  

Be quick to correct any who does err .   Be walking Holy as it is written Be ye holy for He is Holy.   Obey His spirit , which if indeed it is HIS SPIRIT

it would be unctioning us to do those things that are well pleasing in His sight , to be exhorting through reminders ,

being grave , being compassionate .  Having real mercy that if one is in need we give ,  if one is in error we pull them out

Feeding from Sound doctrine and speaking sound doctrine by the Spirit .   Feast upon His words daily,   feast and learn the true pattern that was set.

Start fresh and anew in Him .   Test all things , test all spirits and do so by the examples , sayings and pattern that Christ set and the apostles taught .

Its such a pure walk , and the reigns of our heart are joy filled and happy is the one who keeps His sayings , that pattern .

And if we are OF HIM we have not been left alone , we have HIS SPIRIT which reminds us and gives us the abilty to do those things pleasing In His sight.

Praise the LORD peoples ,   yes , raise those hands and praise the Lord .   And be on guard against the wiles of darkness

stand firm on the ROCK and dig deep , hear and do His sayings , let the house be planted on the ROCK of our salvation .    

[4LdKHVCzRDj2]

1 hour ago, LightShinesInTheDarkness said:

But being positionally holy is not the same as being practically holy

I like holiness but...

"But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one." - Matthew 5:37

 

The reality is that many people flee from it, and they do not know that by doing so they are rejecting the Lord. They flee from the Holy Spirit.

"Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
    Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’
And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’" - Matthew 7:21-23

 

Repent, and surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ. Before it is too late!

"For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness.
    Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit." - 1 Thessalonians 4:7-8

[frienduff thaylorde]

45 minutes ago, Wayne222 said:

Sanctification is very important.  God makes us holy when we become saved. We then walk in it. Our behavior is to be holy and righteous. Put on the new man created in righteousness. Like John wrote let us not love in word but in deeds. To love our brother or sister is to be righteous. Peter said as you see all these works on the earth is going to be Burnt and on fire. We should be holy and godly. 

Them he called them he justified , them he justified them he santicifies .

I think the problem is  simply this .    What you said their IS TRUE .    And I have by grace long know this is true .

But due to the fact I come being grave , or warning and reminding ,   it seems to cause people to THINK I am works earned based salvation , when in fact

I am just exhorting and reminding , because the truth is many do become hardned through sin.    Every pattern the Christ and apostles set

IS for our good  ,that we are careful to maintain good works ,  and to do those things pleasing IN HIS SIGHT.

And if we read in revelations,     Allowing people to be seduced by false leaders , IS NOT pleasing in HIS SIGHT , it angers HIM to allow such a thing .

It angers GOD when we allow false doctrines to be taught , when we allow other gods to be honored for whatever reason .

When we allow sins to be left unchecked and uncorrected and if we ourselves live in that , this all angers God.

Leaving the first love is deadly.    God said all things for our benefit , that we who heed HIS SPIRIT may have the real HOPE

and to correct and also remind to not do what is pleasing n Gods eyes and to be doing what IS pleasing in HIS SIGHT .

Therefore as I asked yowm.  WHY don't we start over .  Start with both warnings and encouragings.    We need to examine and exhort .

If we remain calm and don't get upset if a error is spotted , but rather examine what is said by another for ourselves , this can be done quite quickly.

IF not just arguing and strife .  

[4LdKHVCzRDj2]

11 minutes ago, frienduff thaylorde said:

Them he called them he justified , them he justified them he santicifies .

Then they use passages that show people being saved at last breath, like the thief at the cross.

Someone that is facing death and is going to hell knows better than most who are alive that living for the flesh is just useless indeed, thus a sincere repentance is more likely.

 

And I am quite sure they would proceed to their sanctification, receiving and embracing the Holy Spirit in their lives if they remained alive. Why?! Because they REPENTED!

"being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;" - Philippians 1:6

 

They would simply heed and obey the Spirit. Simple.

People today like to make excuses to be saved then ignore sanctification to living as they please; but God is not mocked and waits for sincere repentance.

"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
    For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption,
but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life." - Galatians 6:7-8

 

How many times I have repented and believed in vain in my life...

But thanks to God who made me see that the flesh profits nothing, and it is the Spirit that gives life indeed.

Then that is it, when real repentance takes place... We go to the end, by grace through faith; with no excuses.

 

Glory to God! Amen.

Edited March 21, 2018 by 4LdKHVCzRDj2

[LightShinesInTheDarkness]

13 minutes ago, frienduff thaylorde said:

Them he called them he justified , them he justified them he santicifies .

I think the problem is  simply this .    What you said their IS TRUE .    And I have by grace long know this is true .

But due to the fact I come being grave , or warning and reminding ,   it seems to cause people to THINK I am works earned based salvation , when in fact

I am just exhorting and reminding , because the truth is many do become hardned through sin.    Every pattern the Christ and apostles set

IS for our good  ,that we are careful to maintain good works ,  and to do those things pleasing IN HIS SIGHT.

And if we read in revelations,     Allowing people to be seduced by false leaders , IS NOT pleasing in HIS SIGHT , it angers HIM to allow such a thing .

It angers GOD when we allow false doctrines to be taught , when we allow other gods to be honored for whatever reason .

When we allow sins to be left unchecked and uncorrected and if we ourselves live in that , this all angers God.

Leaving the first love is deadly.    God said all things for our benefit , that we who heed HIS SPIRIT may have the real HOPE

and to correct and also remind to not do what is pleasing n Gods eyes and to be doing what IS pleasing in HIS SIGHT .

Therefore as I asked yowm.  WHY don't we start over .  Start with both warnings and encouragings.    We need to examine and exhort .

If we remain calm and don't get upset if a error is spotted , but rather examine what is said by another for ourselves , this can be done quite quickly.

IF not just arguing and strife .  

It's sad that there are Christians who view exhortations to love the Lord by being obedient to Him, just as His word says---in order to please God, reap the benefits of doing so and avoid the consequences of not doing so---as the Scriptures themselves do, as an unwelcome threat to and attack upon their personal happiness and opinion of themselves. But if our personal happiness is not in the Lord and in doing what is pleasing to Him, but rather in doing what pleases ourselves or in what is not pleasing to the Lord, then we should not be happy as we are. And if our opinion of ourselves does not agree with God's perspective, it needs to be adjusted.

If we feel attacked and threatened by the conviction of the Holy Spirit and the word of God, and the teachings of the New Testament "interfere" with our life rather than directing it, then neither our life nor our heart towards the Lord are as they should be.

The Bible is not merely something to be read to make us feel better about ourselves and what we desire to do or are choosing to do; it is supposed to instruct and convict us, and to encourage us to do what is right. Christians who only want to pluck choice bits out of it are not reading it sincerely or correctly and are doing themselves a disservice. They only want to hear what they want to hear in order to do what they want to do and believe what they want to believe, and not what is true and right and what God knows they need to hear and wants them to hear.

To such Christians I say, "Consider your ways." God surely does; and you are only fooling yourself, to your own shame, loss and harm, by pushing away the truth in order to have your own way. You don't think the Lord knows why you're doing what you're doing?

There are two ways to respond to the conviction of the Holy Spirit and of the word of God:

1. Repent, submit, and obey

2. Run, hide, and make excuses

Those who make a habit of responding in the first way will do well. Those who make a habit of responding in the second way will not.

And that's not according to me, but according to the word of God---regardless of how anybody picks through it to take only what he wants out of it.

 

[LightShinesInTheDarkness]

By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before Him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and He knows everything. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do what pleases Him. (1 John 3:19-22)

 

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

(1 John 4:18)

 

For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.

Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?

For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is Mine; I will repay."

And again, "The Lord will judge His people."

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10:26-31)