........perfecting holiness in the fear of God - 2 Corinthians 7:1.
What is this holiness that we talk about? What is this holiness that has been made possible by the 'precious blood'?
It is not sinlessness.. In 1 John 1:8 we read , 'If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves.'
It is not innocence.. Adam was, until he fell, the only man who was innocent.
It is not morality.. You can hove morality without even being a Christian. Morality is the religeon of the natural
man; holiness is the religeon of the renewed man. You may put figs on thistles and grapes on thorn bushes, but
their nature is not changed; so your moral acts and good deeds do not impart the life of God to the soul. To produce
holiness we must be incorporated into the very life of Christ. Someone has said that the Lord Jesus received,
..... is holiness begun; the Lord Jesus cherished.... is holiness advancing; the Lord Jesus counted as never absent
...is holines complete.
Let us get it clear, holiness is not Christ and me; it is Christ in me. He is 'made unto us sanctification'
Donald Hankey said 'Morality is negative, holiness is positive; morality is ice, holiness is fire; morality will make you self-
satisfied, holiness will make you humble,'
Once more, holiness is not righteousness. Righteousness can be a hard quality. You can be righteous and yet be
very unloving and un-feeling. Righteousness has reference to man, holiness has reference to God. One is legality,
the other is love. Righteousness may be keeping the Decalogue, holiness is living out 1 Corinthians 13. Of course
you must have the two; holiness keeps your rightreousness from becoming hard, and righteousness keeps your
holiness from being sentimental. Holiness is cleaness: ' Create in me a clean heart O God.....'
What is this holiness that we talk about? What is this holiness that has been made possible by the 'precious blood'?
It is not sinlessness.. In 1 John 1:8 we read , 'If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves.'
It is not innocence.. Adam was, until he fell, the only man who was innocent.
It is not morality.. You can hove morality without even being a Christian. Morality is the religeon of the natural
man; holiness is the religeon of the renewed man. You may put figs on thistles and grapes on thorn bushes, but
their nature is not changed; so your moral acts and good deeds do not impart the life of God to the soul. To produce
holiness we must be incorporated into the very life of Christ. Someone has said that the Lord Jesus received,
..... is holiness begun; the Lord Jesus cherished.... is holiness advancing; the Lord Jesus counted as never absent
...is holines complete.
Let us get it clear, holiness is not Christ and me; it is Christ in me. He is 'made unto us sanctification'
Donald Hankey said 'Morality is negative, holiness is positive; morality is ice, holiness is fire; morality will make you self-
satisfied, holiness will make you humble,'
Once more, holiness is not righteousness. Righteousness can be a hard quality. You can be righteous and yet be
very unloving and un-feeling. Righteousness has reference to man, holiness has reference to God. One is legality,
the other is love. Righteousness may be keeping the Decalogue, holiness is living out 1 Corinthians 13. Of course
you must have the two; holiness keeps your rightreousness from becoming hard, and righteousness keeps your
holiness from being sentimental. Holiness is cleaness: ' Create in me a clean heart O God.....'
