Holiness

“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh, and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead,”

Romans 1:1 – 1:4

What a powerful set of verses! I want to focus on the topic of holiness. We’re given the Spirit of holiness, who allows us to see that Jesus was declared to be the Son of God and who resurrected Jesus.

I’m not sure where you’re coming from, so this Gospel message (which I pray will be the real Gospel message –  but how it’s presented I pray would not cause it to differ from the one true Gospel. And I say this because there may be a way that I present it that may have different “flavor” (way it is presented) depending on what verses or “sprinkles” (creative elements) I use in its presentation, but the core message of the Gospel will not change. There are 4 Gospels in the Bible, but each of them are different accounts of the same story. This is NOT a book of the Bible, but it is a Christian’s recount/presentation of what I believe the Gospel to be and how I would present it (with several people groups in mind: people who are trapped in the idea of lawlessness, Muslims, and Jewish people and each of which are an umbrella in themselves. 

 

The Gospel is that He died for our sins (provided the ransom for them so that we could be reconciled to the Father. He was crucified despite being sinless (being the Spotless Lamb that was needed for such a sacrifice), and He was raised from the dead physically after 3 days, proof that He was the Messiah from the Scriptures- Luke 1:26-31, Hosea 11:1/Matthew 2:14-15, Deuteronomy 18:15/Acts 3:20-22).

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” Ephesians 2:10 

Yet, this isn’t all we were created for. Psalms 139, one of my favorite passages in all of Scripture, indicates King David praising God for being fearfully and wonderfully made – and for His works! We also, are made by the Creator for much more than just good works but should recognize the care that went into our design! I would say much of what I write on these blog posts are not entirely me but God working in and through me to present things/ideas, but sometimes give into my desires of what I want when writing – so it’s a little bit of both my design and God’s design, but what if we gave God our all?

There is wisdom: “The words of a man’s mouth are like deep waters, but the foundation of wisdom is a bubbling brook”. But there is also God’s voice. (Do you have discernment as to what parts here are Him speaking?). “The words of a man’s mouth are like deep waters, but the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook”.About being fearfully and wonderfully made .. read Psalm 139:14.  

 

 

 

There is no other way to come to the Father – not by self sacrifice, false humility, our own merit, but by Jesus’s blood alone – and THEN, once we have been saved, … God leads us and empowers us to walk in a manner that is worthy of Him – not by our own strength and goodness but. I.e., He places His seal on us – the Holy Spirit – a guarantee of our salvation – and then not to earn or hold onto that salvation but for many reasons, several including: to be able to use the gifts He’s given us and to again, for us to walk with Him throughout our lives, bearing fruit (some small acts can be very fruitful)! 

In a previous blog post- I had this verse in a photo. “And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you maybe filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. ” 

 

The verse after this however, says:

“so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” 

 

 

Holiness – “Strive for peace with everyone and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord” Hebrews 12:14

A huge incentive for being holy is so that we can “see” the Lord! We want to have a clear picture of Him and behold His glory! 

 

“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 7  — for slight context, this is in a letter in which Paul is boasting about the Corinthians and his joy in them!!! Paul says “beloved” here before saying “let us”