HOLINESS: AM I HOLY AT SALVATION OR DO I MATURE INTO HOLINESS?

Well, both are true.

When I was saved the Holy Spirit invaded my spirit-man, (my inner most man), and took up residence  and ownership. In my spirit-man holiness is not personal character slowly attained over years of self-denial. Holiness was a result of that instant spiritual union with the Lord Jesus Christ at the point of salvation.

In my spirit-man I do not have to climb a long spiritual mountain of painful denial to ascend the heights of holiness. When we received by faith the gift of salvation from our Lord Jesus Christ all the holiness of God the Father filled us and lifted us up to be able to sit in heavenly places with our Lord filled with His grace. The Holy Spirit dwelling in our spirit-men is HOLY.  We have the righteousness of Christ at the moment of salvation.

We come as we are to Christ and to the work of the cross without our self-righteous works. Our part is not to struggle to attain holiness by our own methods and works but to receive Him. In so doing, His own character, the character of the Father, floods our inner-most man and declares us to be HOLY.  In the spirit-man I am as holy as my Lord Jesus Christ is holy because at the point of salvation I was robed with His righteousness and His holiness.

Now let's speak about our soulish-man. The soul is the inner man. I am a spirit, I have a soul and I dwell in a body. My soulish man is my mind or thoughts, my heart or emotions, and my will or choices. Years after salvation, I am still filled with STINKING THINKING, DYSFUNCTIONAL EMOTIONS, and ROTTEN CHOICES. In my soulish man, I am commanded to be holy as He is holy. It is a personal daily walk filled with choices to walk in the Spirit and not to fulfill the desires of the flesh.

THE GAP is the difference between who I am in my spirit-man and how I live in word, deed, and thought in my soulish man. As I grow in Christlikeness I close that gap, whereby it truly is less of me and more of Him until there is none of me and all of Him. Therefore, I am holy and I am being made holy. Both are true.

Titus 2:11-12 ESV For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, (12) training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,

The new covenant includes the grace that will help us overcome sin and become the slave of righteous behavior.

Romans 6:22 ESV But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.

Romans 6:22 reveals that eternal life is a result of freedom from sin, becoming a slave to God, and practical holiness of personality and behavior. This is different from what is commonly taught in churches today?

I hear comments from Christians and Pastors like, "Well, we are human." We use this as so to justify certain sinful lusts and behavior that is not like the character of the Father. Then the most common statement is "well, no one is perfect." This is true, however we are commanded to be perfect as God is perfect. We cannot use cute little clichés to excuse behavior which opposes the God-called life of holiness.

Matthew 5:48 ESV You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

1 Peter 1:15-16 ESV but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, (16) since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy."

The new covenant includes all the commandments of Christ and His Apostles. These are to be obeyed until the eternal moral law of God is inscribed on our mind and heart. There are approximately 1,050 New Testament Commands. Therefore, it is imperative that we understand that we cannot live a Christian life. It takes Christ in us to live the Christian life. We cannot will-power ourselves into obeying 1,050 commands. No man could obey the 10 Commandments much less 1,050 commands. It takes Christ in us to do so. We choose to die to self and live the Christ-life. In so doing He writes His Word on our hearts.

Hebrews 8:10 ESV For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

The end result of obeying all of the New Testament commandments is deliverance from sin and the growth of Christ in us.

Many Christian churches in America are in a state of lawlessness. This is because we do not realize the goal is to overcome sin and grow in the image of Christ. Instead, we as Pastors allow our churches to be filled with sin and we excuse it for the sake of numbers and money. As a result, when we do not eat from the right tree, we eat and encourage others to eat from the wrong tree.

We are called to eat from the tree of life. We are not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The tree of life is the righteousness of Christ. The tree of knowledge of good and evil is morality. The good on the tree of knowledge is just as evil as the evil on the tree of knowledge. God did not call us to be good or moral, He called us to be righteous. In fact, the Word teaching there is no one good but God.

One of the main emphasis of the Gospels, the Epistles, and the Book of Revelation is on the behavior in word, deed and thought of God’s people. This seems to be the one area that is neglected today in favor of novelties and entertainment. We call someone who comes to church more than once a week committed and dedicated. What are they committed and dedicated to? It is a life of righteousness or is it to a Pastor or church building?

We need to escape being deceived by the false spirits and false doctrines of man that are at work in our day and make a Biblical choice. WE DON'T HAVE TO SIN.

Oh God, how we need this in the Body of Christ today...Lord start with me.

Leviticus 10:10 ESV  You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean,

Leviticus 20:26 ESV  You shall be holy to me, for I the LORD am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.

Deuteronomy 26:18-19 ESV  (18)  And the LORD has declared today that you are a people for his treasured possession, as he has promised you, and that you are to keep all his commandments,  (19)  and that he will set you in praise and in fame and in honor high above all nations that he has made, and that you shall be a people holy to the LORD your God, as he promised."

Titus 2:14 ESV  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.

You are set apart for the Lord. Don't let the world form her hands around you and leave its mark.

A great part of the conquest of breaking the habit of sin has to do with our determination to do so. The Bible commands us to be holy as He is holy. We speak a lot about the 10 Commandments of the Old Testament, however have you noticed the hundreds of commands in the New Testament? There are 1,050 commands in the New Testament. We are commanded to love one another. We have been commanded to be cheerful givers. The list could go on and on. The reason we are commanded these things in the New Testament is because as believers under grace we are more likely not to do them. Pick a New Testament book, maybe start with a smaller book first like James or Philippians and make a note every time the Word tells/commands you as a believer to do something. Our Christian life is filled with decisions about how we walk out our lives.

What if we can a hurt and confess that there is someone we cannot forgive. The ability to forgive can come only through the blood of Jesus Christ. But we have to do our part and choose to forgive. Our emotions and thoughts will always tell us "no" when it comes to forgiveness, but God's Word, God's Spirit and God's character say yes we can, by a choice to do so.

Our part is to confess to God clearly that we have sin in our heart. Then we are to renounce it with all the faith and strength we have. We do not struggle against it, we confess it and renounce it as sin, fit only for the Lake of Fire. We resolve in the future to draw near to God and to resist this sin, not struggle against it, just not give it any more place in our life. Then we rest in the Word of God and the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Why is it that Jesus and the cross is always enough for victory when dealing with someone else's sin, but never seems to be enough for ours?

Often such clear confessing and renouncing, followed by a determination to resist, is all that is needed. In other words we make a decision against that sin and that settles it. Other times we need to declare war and have a series of battles and a prolonged decision making process until the habit and stronghold in our mind and body has been broken and replaced with the Word of truth.

Remember what I said in earlier posts. I am not in debt to my flesh. I do not owe my flesh anything that I should obey it.

Romans 8:12-13 ESV So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. (13) For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

We must choose to die daily. We put to death the misdeeds of the body.

1 Corinthians 15:31 ESV (31) I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day!

Galatians 2:20 ESV I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

We are not in athletic contest against sin, we are in a war against sin and our enemy. Sin is an evil, vicious, subtle, cunning, wicked monster that dwells in our flesh. We are to kill it! crush it! strike it until it is dead!  This means we are in the offensive mode and charging after the sin within us. Paul says the God of peace will crush Satan under our feet. 

We cannot treat demons gently. We cannot coax them. Demons love to reason and are more than happy to have you talk to them by the hour. Jesus did not let the demons speak. He did not have the time to listen to their endless arguments.

We have to decide once and for all that whatever we are doing that is condemned by the Word of God must leave. You can yell at it if you like. Anything that will prove to you, the enemy, and the stronghold of sin that you mean what you are saying.

If you say to your dog, “Honey, wouldn’t you like to get off Mother’s bed? There’s a darling.” What do you think the dog will do? He will lay there and look at you. If you frown at the dog, advance on him or her in a threatening manner, and say, “Get off my bed now!” the dog will do what you command. Now dog lovers, this is an illustration, stay calm.

It is the same way with the stronghold of sin. You cannot address sin with loving endearment sweet phrases. Neither can you say, “I know I shouldn’t do this, but.” You have to treat your sin like a dirty muddy dog on your new clean sheets. It is learning by communion with the Father to hate the sin in us as much as God hates it. How much does the Father hate the sin in me? The sin in me cost the death of the Son of God as a sacrifice to pay the price of sins penalty over me, sins power in me and sins presence throughout me.

1 John 1:7 ESV But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

We must keep in mind the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb slain for us. As long as we are moving along in this thing we call life, the blood of Jesus keeps covering us. We remain righteous and holy in God’s sight.

What some principles about the New Covenant that we need to understand?

First of all, we must be clear that the new covenant does not permit our continuing in a lifestyle of sin. There are numerous statements of this fact in the New Testament.

Galatians 5:19-21 ESV Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, (20) idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, (21) 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.

1 John 3:5-6 ESV You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. (6) No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 ESV  Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,  (10)  nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.  (11)  And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

“Those who live in a lifestyle of continual sin will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

“No one who lives in Christ Jesus keeps on sinning.”

If we say we are in Christ we do not keep on sinning. It is as simple as this. Sometimes I ask people, “Can Jesus Christ deliver someone from lying?” Usually they affirm He can. “Can Jesus Christ deliver someone from stealing?” Usually the answer will be, “Yes, He can.” Then I ask, “What sin is too great for Christ to overcome?” Usually the answer is, “There is no sin too great for Christ to overcome.”

How come we know this to be true in theory, yet not in practice and in reality? Have we allowed Satan and the world to convince us that our sin is not so bad, or that we have sinned so much it is useless to start overcoming our sins one at a time? God calls us overcomers for a reason.

When we think about victory over sin the first thing we need to settle is "whose the boss?"

Romans 6:14 ESV For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

Most of the time before we can receive a blessing from God we have to know the promise of the blessing in the Word. This is not always the way it works, but for the most part we need to know the promise of the Word before we can get the blessing of the Word. My people perish because of lack of knowledge. Remember that verse?  

Hosea 4:6 ESV My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.

We don't know what we don't know.  Once we know God has given the promise we can choose to believe and pray until we receive. The same is true of victory over sin. Once we see such victory is scriptural we can choose to believe and pray until we receive.

You may have heard this or even said or thought this yourself: “No one ever told me before that you could get victory over sin. I always thought that we just had to live with it. I thought we just had to grin and bear it when it comes to sin habits."  After this teaching you will know that you can have faith for victory over any sin that has had a hold on you.

 It really is so simple and practical.”

In my early Christian life I had been taught that all of us are sinners and Christ came to forgive us and bring us to Heaven. As Christians we cannot keep the commandments in the New Testament because of our sinful nature. The Commandments in the New Testament were written to show us our need of a Savior. As long as we are in this world we have to sin. After all no one is perfect.

After hearing this hopeless message for years I began to dig into the Word of God for myself on this topic just to see what it actually says about my nature and inability to stop from sinning. To my amazement it was plain that the New Testament didn't teach what I had been taught. There was a great deal in the Word of God about having a righteous behavior.

Then when I was in Florida teaching in the Holy of Holies ministry and on the 7 feasts I saw something very unique about the Day of Atonement. There were two goats used on the Day of Atonement. The one goat was slain and its blood sprinkled in the Holy of Holies, typifying the blood atonement made by the Lord Jesus on the cross, for the forgiveness of my sin.

However, the second goat which was also a goat of atonement was left alive and led away into the wilderness. This was a picture or typified the removal of my sin.

Now the sixth chapter of the Book of Romans makes sense. We are no longer under the law therefore we are no longer a master to sin or a lost sin nature.
​TO BE CONTINUED...

​YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE TRAPPED IN SIN!

Romans 6:14 KJV For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

It typically is true that before we can receive a blessing from God we have to know the promise is in the Bible. This is true of the blessings of being saved. It is true of the blessings of the gifts of the Spirit. It is true of the blessing of Divine healing. Once we know God has given the promise we can choose to believe and receive, or doubt and reject.

The same is true with the blessing of victory over sin. Once we see the victory which we have in the Scriptures we can choose to believe and receive that victory or live as a defeated victim of our flesh.

I have had people tell me “No one ever told me before that I could get victory over sin." Many believe that because we are 98.6 and breathing we just had to live with the fact that we are going to sin each day.

Some believers live their whole life with sin. Let me pick one: Anger issues. Every time they get angry and lose their temper they have deep regrets because of the people they hurt verbally or physically. They would feel deep conviction about the anger, but did not know they could get victory over it. We can have faith for victory over anger or any sin that hinders us from walking Christ-like.

The Cross Is Enough For Victory.

That’s just Bible... It is right and so simple and practical!

Years ago in the 1990's I was involved with a ministry called "The Holy of Holies". I taught on the 7 Biblical Feasts and the Holiness of the Tabernacle.

In my early years as a new believer I had been taught the conventional Christian wisdom that all of us are sinners and Christ came to forgive us and save us in order to bring us to Heaven.

This teaching told me that we could not keep the commandments in the New Testament because of our sinful nature. The commandments were written to show us our need of a Savior. We are saved by grace and not by works. This is the difference between the new covenant and preceding covenants. This was all true when I was lost.

But after salvation I was taught that as long as we are in this world we have to sin and there was nothing we could do about it. 

But upon searching the New Testament to see what it actually stated, I was amazed to find that the New Testament did not teach this. I had been taught very little about imputed righteousness and righteous behavior. God would not have commanded me in the New Testament to "Be ye holy" if it were not possible.

Then in teaching the 7 Feasts I found out some things about the Day of Atonement. The two goats of the Day of Atonement came to my attention. The one goat was slain and its blood sprinkled in the Holy of Holies, typifying the blood atonement made by the Lord Jesus on the cross, the forgiveness of sin.
The second goat, also a goat of atonement, was left alive and led away into the wilderness, typifying the removal of sin.

Once I realized the truth about the 2 goats, Romans chapter 6 made more sense. Now I am preaching more about our spiritual position called the “state of grace.” We can live each day without being bound by the law of sin. I am no longer a slave to sin, therefore I no longer serve sin.

There are certain attributes of God which we will call MORAL ATTRIBUTES, because they are shared to a limited degree with redeemed man, and pertain to character, and conduct.

The Moral Attributes of God speak of the GOODNESS and RIGHTEOUSNESS of God. And to think, all of this dwells in us and is now our character as believers.

For more study read these Scriptures: (Leviticus 11:44-45; Isaiah 6:1-7; 1:1-20; Romans 1:7; 6:19-22; 12:1-2; 2 Corinthians 7:1; Ephesians 4:24; 1 Thessalonians 3:13; 4:7; Titus 2:3; Hebrews 12:10-14; 1 Peter 1:15-16; 2 Peter 3:11)

Leviticus 11:44-45 ESV For I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground. (45) For I am the LORD who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy."

God is a Holy God and He requires holiness of His people. But what exactly is Holiness?

Holiness: “Dedicated to religious use, belonging to or coming from God, consecrated, sacred, spiritually perfect or pure, untainted by evil or sin, sinless, and saintly.”

Holy: The Hebrew word is “quadosh:” and means "Those things which in any way pertain to God, or His worship. Things declared sacred, free from defilement of vice, idolatry, worldly compromise, and other impure and profane things."

Holy: The Greek word is “hagios:” and means "Those things such as our lives, talents, gifts and resources, which are dedicated to God, holy, sacred, reserved for God and His service, pure, perfect, worthy of God, and consecrated.”

The basic idea of Holiness, as applied to God, is that of separation and exaltation, absolute perfection of character.

Far more mention is made in Scripture of God's Holiness than of His Power, Wisdom and Omnipresence combined. The Scriptures establish the Holiness of God long before they picture His Love.

Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers repeatedly portray the God of Holiness. It is not until we come to Deuteronomy 4:37 that we find an outright declaration of His Love, and that is given in a context of awe-inspiring Holiness.

Deuteronomy 4:37 ESV  And because he loved your fathers and chose their offspring after them and brought you out of Egypt with his own presence, by his great power,

As applied to men or things, the primary meaning of holiness is dedication and consecration, the quality of being separated to God. Things are holy that are DEDICATED EXCLUSIVELY to God or His worship and service. Anything is holy which wholly belongs to God, as His temple with its utensils and furnishings.