Holiness

Holiness is word spoken of so many times in God’s word, but not so spoken of in our many churches. What is holiness? And how does it pertain to us as Christians. What does God except from us as his children? As we read God’s Word we see many times the subject of holiness and its extreme importance in our walk, as followers of Jesus Christ. In Hebrews 12:14
Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.
As we see holiness is very important if we wish to someday see the Lord. But how can man reach a state of holiness, or even can he? For those that know their bible they know that in Old Testament times people lived by the law, and gave sacrifices to atone for their sins. But how do we live a holy live today? The answer to that is simple his name is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was God in the flesh as we read in: John 1:1-3, 14: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. ... And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."
Jesus Christ laid down his life to become the ultimate sacrifice to atone the sins of his people. It is through his sacrifice we can say we are forgiven for we are indeed saved by the blood of the Lamb of God. When we give our hearts to Jesus, and strive to live a life as he spoke of in his walk on earth Jesus not only forgives us, but we become a new creation, laying down the sins of the old, and walking in a new understanding. But Jesus says this also: John 14; 15 If ye love me keep my commandments. As Christians of course we love the Lord, and we want to strive to live by the words he spoke of. To do this we must be a student of the Christian faith first. Listening to our elders in the Lord, Our pastors, and as it says in 2 Tim. 2:15 “Study to show you approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth. We need to study, so we know how Jesus wants us to live. But Jesus did one more thing for us as well to help us in our lives, and guild us into holiness, he is the Holy Spirit. In John 16:7 Jesus says nevertheless I tell you the truth; it is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. The comforter is the Holy Spirit, he is the gentle voice within the storms of our life that speaks peace to us, and he is the one that reveals truth to us as we study and walk. Holiness comes from the laying down of our self and abiding in Jesus Christ, beginning each day with a determination to follow his words. Walk in grace, but do not use grace as an excuse to be able to sin. It starts by developing a relationship with the savoir, and not simply a religion. If we do this the fruits of holiness will begin to be seen in our lives. Not by the effort of ourselves but rather by God’s own hand working in our lives, and the full submission to the will of our great God in Heaven.
Richard A. Kent