Obedience and Holiness
Focus on Christ
What or who do you focus on in your thinking? Is your mind made up to go your own way, or is your mind made up to only go God’s Way? The accepted posture for a disciple of Jesus Christ is a guarded mind that is sober. If your thinking is not right then your obedience will not be right.
Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy. 1 Peter 1:13-16
How can a person come into the presence of God and not recognize their own sin? How awesome is the Lord? When you have an encounter with God, you are so humbled, ashamed, embarrassed, disgraced, and mortified.
You cannot be holy unless you have the presence of God. Therefore, holiness comes when obedience is your first nature. Personal Holiness is a result of what God has produced in you. It is not what you have attained that made you holy, it is Who you obey that makes you holy. Obedience is holy living. Why would a person refuse to obey someone who is taking care of them? A rebellious heart!
The children of Israel had not forgotten how God parted the Red Sea Their problem was that they chose not to live by faith, holiness, and obedience anymore. They wanted a new kind of life independent of God. Independence from God and His church will cause Holy failure. A refusal to obey God is a refusal to be Holy. Every time you think of doing something your own independent way, you become just like the children of Israel. They wanted their way and God’s provisions. You cannot have both. It is either God’s Way with His provisions, or your way with your provisions.
Prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you in Jesus Christ, and you will see the holiness of God developing in your life. Holiness is the characteristic of a person who is after God’s own heart and is best described as God’s recognized presence. Jesus Christ alone is the source of your holiness. When you recognize God’s presence, you realize that you are not like Him.
If you want to obey Jesus, you must recognize His presence in your life. When you do, you will want to be holy as He is holy.
Focus on Self
Self wants to do things it’s own way but receive all the blessings from God. The way of self is enmity to God. God will not bless sin, He will bless holiness. To live a life of holiness is to submit your life to the Ways of God and you will have everything you need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).
© Copyright 2020, Think LifeChange Institute of Biblical Counseling, All Rights Reserved. Kerry L. Skinner and Alison Veazey