CHAPTER
8
PART 5
PART 5
GOD MAKES YOU HOLY
THROUGH DISCIPLINE
“…WHOM THE LORD LOVETH HE CHASTENETH (DISCIPLINES)…”
(HEBREW 12:6 KJV).
“…be ye holy, for I am holy…” (1 Peter
1:16 KJV).
*
Why? As a
believer you now “……Likewise reckon ye
also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal
body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your
members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto
God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of
righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over
you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then?
shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.!”
(Romans 6:11-15 KJV).
You have died to sin right? So how
can you really live an ongoing sinful life any longer if you are dead to sin
and are a new creation in Christ Jesus? “….[Do] not [use] your liberty for a cloke of
maliciousness, but as servants of God” (2 Peter 2:16 KV).
The believer’s identity has been
changed and his/her “spiritual balloon” is inflated, which enables them to bear
the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:19-21).
He/She can now live free from sin.
God chose you to bear HOLY fruit and if you are one of his true sons or
daughters YOU WILL.
The wonderful thing about this old
and new nature is that the believer is in a relationship with the Living God
and can depend on everything that God has done for him/her in Christ Jesus.
In other words, in the relationship
with God, your ability to live righteous and holy depends totally on using your
“measure of faith” on the finished
work of Christ on the cross. No human effort will ever accomplish what only
Christ can do.
Remember the faith you have was given to you.
God simply wants you to respond “by that faith” to what God has done for you
“in” Christ. To stop living sinful is not something you “do” first, but it is
something you respond to by faith first, and then do. For instance, the bible says, “If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness
:”( 1 John 1:9 KJV).
You respond by
faith by confessing your sins as the word instructs and by also trusting that
God has forgiven and cleansed you from ALL unrighteous. You REST in this truth
and walk in it.
God
is teaching you that you stop ongoing sin when you believe what Christ has done
for you. What has He done for you? “….[You
have been] made free from sin….” (Romans 6:18 KJV). “If the Son therefore shall make you free, you SHALL be free indeed” (John
8:36 KJV). “Now the Lord is that Spirit,
and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (freedom)” (2
Corinthians 3:17 KJV)
Freedom from sin means you are no
longer under the control or power of sin and are now free to live holy. More
importantly your WILL is free to choose holiness. God freed you FROM sin,
not TO sin, but to LIVE holy.
A true believer and new creation in Christ
will not have an ongoing, unconvicted practice of a sinful lifestyle. “No
one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either
seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. “Whosoever abideth in him sinneth
not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. Little
children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous,
even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of
the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son
of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever
is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot
sin, because he is born of God.” (1 John 3:6-9 KJV).
If
you died to sin, you can’t keep on sinning any longer (Romans 6:1-2). God
disciplines you and it causes suffering. Suffering is not necessarily a
negative condition. The bible says, ‘…….he
that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;...” (1 Peter 4:1 KJV).
God
freed you FROM sin, not TO sin, but to LIVE holy.
 |
| 1 JOHN 3:6 |
The enemy will
make you believe the Christian saying, “once saved, always saved” gives you the
right to live as sinful as you please and still go to heaven. There is much
debate over rather a person can lose their salvation or not because you are told
you are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise (Ephesians 1:13, 2 Corinthians
1:22).
I don’t plan to
debate “once saved, always saved” or losing your salvation. I will simply challenge you to come to godly
revelations about your own salvation and relationship with God not based on
your personal philosophy or opinion, or even man’s established doctrines,
but on the study of God’s truth.
Jesus is the way
and the truth and God is not the author of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33). God
wants you to walk in truth according to His Word. God promises that the Holy
Spirit will lead you into all truth (1 John 2:27).
 |
| HOLINESS IS GOD'S STANDARD |
Don’t depend on
your judgement of your behavior, because your judgement of your behavior has
been weakened and flawed by sin and unholiness. God is conditioned for holiness,
perfect holiness, and will not rationalize or condone sin on any level no matter
how small, so don’t expect God to show an exception in your situation.
Holiness is
always an ongoing standard with God. No exceptions, not even YOU. Again, God’s
standard is HOLINESS, no exceptions!! The bible says, “…thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself”
(Psalm 50:21 KJV).
God is not like mankind, God is HOLY. God
hates sin, because sin is destructive, especially for those He loves.
Discipline shows God’s love for YOU and His hate for sin. His desire is for your
absolute holy good.
This God-given
faith is not an idle belief, but an active and purposeful belief. God gave you
an active faith. The WORK of God is to believe in Him whom God has sent.
Faith comes (an action) by hearing
(an action) the word of God. The Holy Spirt will lead and guide you into all
truth. God works in you to give you a desire to do his will. You can do all
things through Christ who strengthens you.
In other words, when you hear the word of God, the
measure of faith, in you, responds to what is heard and the Holy Spirit begins
to lead you into all truth enabling God starts to work in you the desire to do
his will and serve his purpose.
 |
| THE WORK OF HOLINESS IS OBEDIENCE |
EXCERPT FROM THE CHAPTER
"GOD MAKES YOU HOLY" FROM THE
BOOK TRANSFORMING LOVE
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