Chapter 1 |
Chapter 4 |
Chapter 5 |
Chapter 3 |
Chapter 2 |
Chapter 3 |
Chapter 5 |
Chapter 4 |
I was raised on a farm in the prairies. My father was a hard-working man and always endeavored to teach me what he knew. I was not always the best student, especially when it came to building things. He practically had to give me the blue print, plus build it before I would catch on. My father never showed me his frustration, but one day he said, "My man, you can't put the cart before the horse. It just won't work." As a minister, I have found this in many concerning spiritual matters. Many, including myself at times have started our belief from the wrong end of the horse. By this we tend to do things we simply have no true knowledge of, or try to accomplish or gain things we already have through the redemptive work of the cross. By our traditions, fears and low self worth we have made ourselves gullible to every wind of doctrine. Bringing us to a place of not being free thinkers, something God never intended for us to be. I must confess that over the years of ministry I have at more times then enough found the world to be more open and wiser then us. Please do not take offense but I have been doing this a long time and could write a book on the stupidities of the believers, including myself! Through legalism and a law driven belief system we have been led like cattle to the feed no matter what it taste like. In doing so we have suffered much heartack and pain due to not checking it out for ourselves. Sadly many simple take the words of there leader without question, never searching for the truth of God's word. In turn we have created thousands of different denominations and doctrines to fit our persuasions. The Subject of this Book This brings me to the subject of this book and that is "holy," which can be translated "holiness, sanctification, sanctified, consecrated, saint or set apart ones onto God." Now the doctrine of holiness has not and will never be a popular topic concerning the hearts of men. When spoken of in our traditional church settings most simply cringe with different emotions. If a minister proclaims he is going to teach on holiness, many assume they are about to get straightened out or told how to live. Why? Because of previous teachings and indoctrinations using man made rules and regulations that are set out in Christendom doctrines and laws. Laws or rules that women could not wear slacks, make-up, or cut their hair. Men must not have long hair, play sports or work on Sundays, church attendance, bible reading, tithing, the list is never ending and growing. There are all kinds of "holiness" teachings, which are supposedly geared to improve the believer's outward performance or good works and good Christian living. In this writing, I want to establish right up front that no amount of outer works can make us any more holier than we already are through our identity in Christ as sons by the spirit. Our true holiness is not or will not ever be based on our outward performance or on our merit. It is totally based and built on the foundation of reconciliation given to all men through Christ and the finished work of the cross. Everything we have received from God the Father is based on Jesus and our relationship to Him as Sons. It is virtually impossible for us to be worthy enough or to add anything to this relationship. The only thing we must do is become aware of what we have and appropriate the rights to walk it out by faith, and this is not of works. Our Righteousness as Filthy Rags Remember our righteousness is as filthy rags. Isaiah 64:6 says, "For we have all become like one who is unclean ceremonially, like a leper, and all our righteousness, our best deeds or rightness and justice is like filthy rags or a polluted garment; we all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away far from God's favor, hurry us toward destruction." Everything we have received in Christ from the Father is based solely on Jesus' performance and what He has done through reconciliation on the cross of Calvary! 1 Corinthians 1:30 says, "But it is from Him that you have your life in Christ Jesus, Whom God made our Wisdom from God, revealed to us a knowledge of divine plan of salvation previously hidden, manifesting itself as our Righteousness, thus making us upright and putting us in right standing with God, and our Consecration-making us pure and holy, and our Redemption providing our ransom from eternal penalty of sin." Our life is in Christ, hidden in christ. It is is no longer I that lives but Christ in me!. Because of this we are made holy, righteous, acceptable and pure before God! God Is Perfect The question many ask is if I am holy and pure before God, does God require perfection?" Jesus said in Matthew 5:48 before the cross and a scripture well used, "Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect." If I am really going to take this statement seriously from the Master's lips, I am forced into an undesired dilemma. From a natural point of view, I could be tempted to feel hopeless. As a matter of fact Psalms says, "Thy command is exceedingly great." A command that seems like an impossibility. Now I know that God Himself is perfect. He is the sum total of everything that is perfect. He is perfect love, perfect peace, perfect wisdom, and perfect glory. Everything we know about Him, according to the Word, is perfect and holy. To bring it further, no one has to tell Him He is perfect and holy, He already is! He does not have to try and be good. He created good and is absolute goodness. He will never be less that what He already is, complete perfect Holiness. Simply, no evil can ever or will ever be found in Him. He is a perfectly holy God! Now how can mere man ever attain such a position of perfectness or even be asked to be like God? Man is imperfect in every way because of the fall of Adam. If there was ever a creation that has frailties, it was man! So how can we gain such great perfection? How can we be like the God of this universe? Looking at myself by the flesh and being aware of my limitations pushes me to a point of feeling unworthy and unable to attain this perfection. We might then say, "What's the use? I can't be what this is asking me to be. I might as well go and live as I please and act as I want. I mean, I'm beat before I begin! There's no way I can walk in this command!" This may sound like a quitter mentality but let's get serious and be honest! Being perfect in the flesh is impossible to the natural man. That is why we have so many running from God. All they have ever heard is what they are supposed to be or do. They have never been taught who they really are in Christ or explained properly what their rights are as sons of God Our Holiness Is In Him Our relationship to holiness must be established in our position of reconciliation in Christ. Not by our own personal efforts, works, goodness, merit or performance. As we seek God for this truth about our place in holiness, I believe hope can then be established in our heart which in turn will produce change or the results of our position of holiness in our temporal life. By knowing who we are in Christ, we come to learn that our holiness before God was secured in reconciliation. This holiness received has been credited to us because Jesus lived out a sinless life for us. He went to the cross! He bore our sins and died for us! By becoming aware of the finished work of the cross, we step into the benefits of the cross! One benefit is being perfect and holy in God's sight, again not because of our holiness, but His holiness. By the cross He has credits this holiness to us. Thus David congratulates the man and pronounces a blessing on him to whom God credits righteousness apart from the works he does. Blessed and happy and to be envied are those whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered up and completely buried. Romans 4:6,7. What an incredible gracious God we serve! Dear friend, by receiving the truth of holiness by the spirit, it will create victory in our everyday life. Simply, we will not see God with eyes of inferiority but through the eyes of a son, by the spirit, as holy! The result is the ability to access the very presence of a Holy God! Through the new birth, we are no longer mere humans but have been brought from a lower life as a sinner, to a higher life as a saint. We are no longer in the class of being lost in the dunghill, but brought into a place of sonship, with all its rights and privileges. A place of royalty. Child of God, at this very moment in Christ we are seated with Him in heavenly spheres and places. Seen only as holy, without blame in God's sight. Spiritually we cannot get any holier than we already are in Him. If we think we can become more holy, that would mean Jesus would have to become more holy, but Jesus is already perfect holiness because He is as His Father! So as He is, so are we! In other words, we are in Him, we are holy! This means, that even if we miss it by the flesh, God still considers us holy, as He is! Why? because He does not looks at us by the flesh but by who we are spirit. The difficulty we have in understanding our position is due to how we have been taught in the soul about God. In turn it is easy to misunderstand identity in Him! Simply, we can not see what God sees because we are flesh conscious. We have a difficult time believing and seeing ourselves in a class with God. Yet through the new birth, that is exactly what has happened. Begin to think righteous conscious and believe it |
Copyright Roxy J Nolin 1997 |
Holy, As He Is So Are We By Roxy J Nolin Chapter 2 God is Holy |
The Book Holy, As He Is So Are We |
Chapter 1 |
