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Holiness is a sacred place or thing that is consecrated or dedicated to God according to the Hebrew word qodesh. That sacred place used to be the physical Temple building but is now your temple/body that is to be devoted to serving God - a hallowed place - sacred to God. As the Temple building of old was purified or made ceremonially clean, your temple/physical body where God now dwells is to be morally clean or purified - sanctified before The Lord. Church, God's people, you are supposed to be pure - undefiled; you are to be holy. Are you living a life of holiness? Holiness is separation from the world and dedication to doing God's will in your life; doing it the way He calls it, and not the way you feel it should be. Holiness is a clean life that is free from sin because you're living "exactly" the way God has ordained your life to be lived so that He can continue to dwell in you. When you live a life of holiness, you are going to love, serve, praise, worship, and minister unto God exactly as He has made known His desires of His people. Holiness under the New Covenant is no different than under the Old Covenant because of the immutability of God. God has not changed and holiness has not been redefined. Holiness in God's sight is His people who are called by His Name that are walking always in purity, dedicated unto Him alone; consecrated unto Him alone; and morally clean before Him ALWAYS. In His children, there should be nothing resembling "the world" - absolutely no impurities. In His sight, His children are to be a pure temple or sanctuary in which He, The Holy One, dwells. It's not difficult if you truly have the Spirit of God dwelling in you. You will walk according to His Commandments - His Word - His High Holy Standard - THE BIBLE. You will live a holy life. Why The "To-Do" About Holiness
The Lord (Adonay) is Sovereign - The Supreme Ruler. The Lord God is God of
all and is in control of all. "Mikamocha b'elim Adonai" - Who is like Thee
O Lord among the gods? Who? Who? Who? Who is like unto thee, O Lord among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders… (Exodus 15:11). There is no one to be compared to our God; nor to rise above Him; nor to take His place. He is "IT" - glorious in holiness and will take nothing less than holiness from His children. Let's define those adjectives, in Hebrew, that are describing this Holy God that we serve - this Holy God who says His children must be holy as He is holy. Glorious in Holiness:
Fearful in Praises:
There is none like God! God is sooooooo God! Sooooooo pure! He is exquisite! That's why the to-do about holiness. "Like Father like son". As True Christians, we are sons of God and are like Him - supposed to be, anyway. That's why we are called to holiness. The children of God are called to holiness and called to such because we are to be the ones to minister or speak of Him - being fearful in praises, and that can't be done in a state of defilement. It's holiness or hell! Without a pure heart/spirit, you won't see God. We are called to holiness.
God Is Holy And So Must We Be Holy Too
Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy (Leviticus 19:2). Be ye holy; for I am holy (1 Peter 1:16). Be ye holy! God said it once and He said it twice. He spoke it in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. He is serious. This holiness business is one of the things God found necessary to repeat, and it is imperative that His children are like Him - HOLY. "His children are to Follow peace [quietness; rest] with all men, and holiness [pure/clean living], without which no man shall see the Lord..." (Hebrews 12:14). This is spoken to The Church - professing Christians, and not to "the world." You see, this Bible is written to us - not them (those outside of Christianity). It's written to us because we call ourselves Born Again sons of God and we read His Word. As children of the living God, our hearts are to be pure. "Blessed are the pure [holy/clean] in heart: for they shall see God" (Matthew 5:8). The Hebrew word for pure is taher and it means morally clean; clear; purge. The Greek word for pure is katharos and has the same meaning as the Hebrew, which is clean; pure. Holiness, or morally pure, and clean living boils down to this: TODAY'S CHRISTIANITY IS NOT THE CHRISTIANITY PRACTICED IN THE BIBLE. There is no holiness in today's Christianity. Today's Christianity is polluted, and is most displeasing to The Lord. Impure hearts will not see God, and He more than you, doesn't want that, which is why He is calling for holiness, and He's calling for it now! The holiness God is calling for from each and everyone of us is not our choice or brand of holiness, but His - which is all the way holy as described in His Word and nothing less than that. God is holy and so must we be holy too! We Are Called to Holiness! We are called to holiness if the Spirit of God is in our physical tabernacles. Church, YOU ARE NOT YOUR OWN, because you are God's - His dwelling place. Since most of you believe that you house God in your mortal being, how on earth can you, out of irreverence, remain attached to the world and allow sin and disobedience in your life knowing full-well that within you THE HOLY ONE dwells? Knowing that THE HOLY ONE dwells in you and that there is no darkness in Him (He told us so and He can't lie), how can you just do what you want to do and think it is of God? How can you think like that knowing full-well again, that those polluted things you think, do, and say, are nowhere like the God we read about in the Bible?
True Saints of God, true Church of Jesus Christ, you have got to
understand
without a doubt, that THE HOLY GOD OF ALL CREATION dwells in you - those
of you not too far out on a limb. Even the Spirit of truth…ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you (John 14:17).
Jesus told us before He went back to be with the Father, that the Spirit
of God will be in us. Jesus answered and said unto him [Judas], If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him (John 14:23). Abode! This is God The Father and God The Son (the Holy Spirit) taking up residence within Their children. Who are Their children? Their children are those who have separated from the world and are dedicated to loving Them and keeping Their Word - all of it, not just some of it. We are called to holiness. Church, we are to let go of the world for it has no place in The Church of Jesus Christ. Where the world is in The Church, there is no holiness, and God is not there either. The call is to holiness. God's Brand of Holiness God's brand of holiness required of His children is not HOLINESS CHURCH; it's not HOLINESS DRESS; nor is it HOLINESS TALK. This stuff is all superficial and that's not good enough for God. As for a life of holiness unto God, it is no in-between, but holiness all the way (pure-clean-undefiled). God's brand of holiness for His children is a lifetime of holiness living before Him because HE IS HOLY and His expectation of holiness in each true Christian's life is nothing less than directly from our hearts - PURITY/CLEANESS/UNDEFILEMENT that reproduces through to our entire behavior. If your heart/spirit is pure, your flesh won't "act a fool" and sin against the will of your spirit. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak (Matthew 26:41). What is in your spirit is God's will, and it should be that we always want God's will. Didn't you commit to that when you became Born Again? Isn't that what being Born Again is all about? Please, think on that. God's brand of holiness is non-compromising; is non-ecumenical; is non-pagan; and is definitely exclusive of worldly elements. His brand of holiness for His children is a life-time of genuine holiness which is what He has always required, and is today moving toward getting His Church in that state since He is soon returning. The Lord is calling on His Church to let go of the world and walk upright before Him. The call is to holiness. The Church - The Holy Priesthood Anything to do with praising the Lord God must come by way of His chosen priesthood - The Church. As God's priesthood, one first offers "self" in a sanctified state, and then the sacrifices of praise to The Lord. There is no way that God is going to permit any unclean thing or unholy thing in His presence presenting those sacrifices. Children of God that are not walking in holiness cannot enter into His presence to offer those sacrifices because of His holiness. In an unsanctified state praising God, those praises don't reach the throne room but hit the ceiling and bounce right back to the dirty lips from which they left. To praise God we have got to be "some special", that is, morally clean, pure, dedicated, righteous - all summed up to mean sanctified - totally separated from the world. Any old "thing" or "stuff" just cannot enter into God's presence with praise, as He certainly will not dwell in any old "thing or stuff" such as a polluted tabernacle of a so-called Born Again Spirit-filled Christian. The Word from God to the Old Covenant people was:
As it was under the Old Covenant it is so for New Covenant keepers - obey God's voice indeed, and keep His covenant. It's mandatory in order to become and remain a "peculiar treasure" (it's not once saved always saved), that kingdom of priests and a holy nation. (Stop thinking like that! It wasn't just for the Hebrew people. As you read on, you'll see that it was for you as well.) This was repeated in Deuteronomy.
This was holiness for a peculiar people under the Law of Moses with the
Levitical Priesthood. This was holiness for the Levitical Priesthood
that offered the sacrifices to The Lord for the peculiar people. Thou shalt sanctify him therefore; for he offereth the bread of thy God: he shall be holy unto thee: for I the Lord, which sanctify you, am holy (Leviticus 21:8). That was the Lord speaking to Moses regarding Aaron of the Levitical Priesthood, which was not perfected because if it had been, there would not have been need for another High Priest - Jesus.
This priesthood had to change and was changed. Thank God for the change -
we got blessed out of it. This was God's lovingkindness demonstrated - HIS
GRACE. For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law (Hebrews 7:12). JESUS - High Priest of our profession. Profession of what? FAITH (Hebrews 3:1) JESUS - Head of His own house. Us - The Church (Hebrews 3:6) JESUS - Surety of a better testament (Hebrews 7:22) JESUS - Our High Priest seated on the right-hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens (Hebrews 8:1).
We know Jesus is our High Priest forever by way of our faith in Him, and
WE THEREFORE HAVE A SHARE IN THIS PRIESTHOOD. Because of our share in this
priesthood, we are called to holiness. To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious. Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an HOLY PRIESTHOOD, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:4-5). This is God speaking to us - THE NEW PRIESTHOOD - THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST, the High Priest after the order of Melchisedec. We, Saints/Church, are of the new Priesthood! We are called to preside over things relating to our Holy God. That is our job as Saints - AS PRIESTS, and this means we are to be distinguishably peculiar - a "peculiar people" in the eyes of the world. Different! Not looking and behaving like the world. As Priests going before the Lord, with Him dwelling in our tabernacle, we are to be holy. As holy people, we cannot offer "strange fire sacrifices" as did Aaron's two sons, Nadab and Abihu. Strange fire sacrifices are being offered today in The Church of Jesus Christ and it spells unholiness - defilement, which is unacceptable before The Lord. Church of Jesus Christ, NEW PRIESTHOOD, WE ARE TO BE HOLY AS HE IS HOLY Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the FIRST TABERNACLE, accomplishing the service of God. But into the second [tabernacle] went the HIGH PRIEST alone… (Hebrews 9:6-7). Yes, only the priests of the Old Covenant went into the tabernacles, but WE, the New Covenant Royal Priesthood ARE THE TABERNACLE where the Lord's Holy Spirit dwells. The tabernacle was pure then as the tabernacle, our bodies/temples, must be pure. Saints, we must be pure/holy for God to dwell in us and for us to minister to Him. No, Christ our High Priest doesn't have to go in to offer sacrifices for His sins as the high priest of old had to do, for He was, is, and always will be sinless. That's His Holiness and that's why we must be holy like Him. The call is to holiness. The Holy Head Of A Holy Household
Jesus, WHO IS HOLY, is the head of His own house, remember. Jesus, WHO IS
HOLY, is the Cornerstone. Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay[Hebrew word nathan meaning give; appoint, ascribe] The "man of the House" is Jesus and this is what Father God is saying about Him: Zion: In Zion - Jerusalem, the Mountain of God = THIS IS GOD Lay: I am giving/appointing or ascribing Foundation: A beginning Stone: To obtain children - children for this house Tried Stone: This stone will be found WORTHY. Just and True after being tempted/tested and proved. Precious Corner Stone: This stone will come through the test (the persecution, crucifixion/blood sacrificing of Himself) as a precious Corner Stone (Jesus). This Precious Corner Stone will emerge bright-clear-excellent (perfect in every way) and be chief of all or head of HIS HOUSEHOLD which is the Bride of Christ/The Church. Sure Foundation: This precious Corner Stone and the lively stones (Bride/Church - US), will sit down together in the millennium. I repeat, Jesus is the Head of His house and His house is us - The Church, a holy household. Jesus is holy because His Father is holy and we are a part of this holy household. That is how we fit in! Because we are a part of this holy household, we'd better be holy or else there are consequences to be paid that the Word of God warns us about. The call is to holiness. Church, we have got to be holy for God to accept our ministration. Holy! Holy! Holy! We are of His Son's house - a holy house, and this holy house cannot be divided. In other words, God cannot dwell in us and us in Him if our walk is not a holy one. God's house has and can never have dirt (unholiness) in it. Should we become unholy, God will reject us and Ichabod (there is no glory or God is not there) will be written upon the doorpost of our hearts. A sign will go up over our heads reading "Vacant", and a sign of a divided house is a professing Christian with "one foot in the world and one foot in The Church." This kind of divided life brings God to vacate the premises, and the house will be unable to stand. Holiness Standards Have Not Changed It's the same holiness for the "new" as was required of the "old." God intends for His Church to live HOLY. The call is to holiness.
Now you see where God spoke of His Peculiar people in the New Testament just as He did in the Old Testament. The call is to holiness.
The Hebrew word for peculiar is "\cegullah meaning special/jewel
- proper, and one must be special to "show forth the praises of God". You
must be HOLY! HOLY! HOLY! The Greek word for peculiar is periousios
meaning special/purchased - possession. Keep in mind, a
priest is one who presides over things relating to God. Now,
a royal priesthood, which is what we are, means that we are
(1) KINGLY in nature because of our Chief, Jesus being King of kings; and
(2) because
of our faith in Jesus Christ, as Mark 16:16 Believers, we have authority
in His name, and power in His blood, through Holy Ghost baptism. We can enter
into the presence of The Lord God because we worship Him in spirit and in
truth by way of Holy Ghost baptism. These are peculiar people. Saints, we must be holy because we are priests presiding over the things relating to God. We have been severed from the other people in the world. We have been separated from all other people on the earth - even from those that call themselves The Church of Jesus Christ but are not. We should be "distinguishably" so separated from the world, by the Holy Ghost, that our fruit stands out and no one can mistake us for an "ain't" (one who says he's a Saint, but truly isn't walking upright before The Lord). Remember, God has called us as He called those under the Old Covenant, and as He said to them, so says He unto us: OBEY AND KEEP THE COVENANT (this is what keeps you holy - separated from the world) - BE YE HOLY. At this present time, The Church has profaned the holiness of God, but He is yet laying claim to us as His Royal Priesthood because He expects us to turn loose the world and come into full holiness. We've got to come into full holiness, and come into it now. Old Covenant Keepers: "And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the Lord am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine" (Leviticus 20:26) New Covenant Keepers: "But as he which hath CALLED you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation" (1 Peter 1:15). The message is the same. WE ARE DIFFERENT and we must walk like we are different. We must talk a different talk, not like this world talks. WE ARE DIFFERENT! WE ARE THE CALLED! WE ARE THE ANOINTED! We are the priesthood to minister to God Almighty. Called! (A calling means an anointing - consecration; dedicated or sanctified; or be endowed with the Holy Spirit. Church of Jesus Christ, this holiness stuff is serious business. Life as a Believer is serious business. Holiness is no joke and it is time for all phony Christians to "cut the act" or be prepared for the consequences. The Church is called to holiness, and that doesn't mean faking it. We are of a holy household. In Closing NEW PRIESTHOOD, we are called to holiness. "That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, In HOLINESS and RIGHTEOUSNESS before him, ALL THE DAYS OF OUR LIFE" (Luke 1:74-75). NEW PRIESTHOOD, we are to serve The Lord God because Jesus' death on the cross delivered us from Satan for us to do just that. It's the priesthood we're in - serving Him in holiness and in purity - serving Him in righteousness and faithfulness; serving Him forever in reverential fear, which is LOVE. NEW PRIESTHOOD, we are called to holiness. "For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but HE for our profit, that we might be partakers of HIS HOLINESS" (Hebrews 12:10). We are chastened so that we are made partakers of His holiness. Our trials and tribulations, apart from sin, are so that we might partake of God's holiness. Church, we must be holy as God is holy. His requirements for holiness have not changed; The Church has changed. The cry is, GET BACK TO GOD'S IMMUTABLE WORD - HIS UNPOLLUTED WAY OF LIFE. HOLINESS! HOLINESS! HOLINESS!
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