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Is Anybody Holy Anymore?
Can You Love The World AND Jesus Christ?
Can You Love The World AND Be Saved?
by Ken Raggio
This is Part 2. See Part 1 here.
Walk into the Musée du Louvre in Paris - the world's most visited art museum. The Louvre (pronounced "loove") was first built as a Palace for King Phillip II in the
12th Century. It is truly magnificent.
In 1692, the Louvre began to be the home of the royal collections, and today houses over 35,000 priceless masterpieces from around the world.
Visitors may view the "Mona Lisa," its most popular attraction, or "Venus de Milo," the ancient Greek statue, or pieces by any number of world-renowned artists
including Raphael, Michelangelo, Caravaggio, and da Vinci. You may also find ancient artifacts ranging from scrolls, mummies, clothing, jewelry, musical instruments
and weapons from places like Ancient Egypt, Assyria, Persia, Greece, and more.
Is the Louvre a holy place? Many of the synonyms for "holy" can easily apply to the Louvre. It is a place that is consecrated to the sanctity of these priceless
artifacts.
What do I mean by that?
Any one piece of art in the Louvre commands the utmost reverence and sanctity. You cannot expect to touch those precious treasures. They are set apart from the reach
and touch of the visitors.
It is of UTMOST important that these irreplaceable artifacts MUST NOT BE PROFANED. They must not be damaged or soiled. They must not be stolen. They must not be
compromised in any way.
They must remain EXACTLY as they were originally intended to be: unchanged, pure, and perfectly as found.
Imagine what a horrifying tragedy it would be to walk into the Louvre and find children using crayons and watercolor paint on the "Mona Lisa." Imagine toddlers
crawling around and playing on top of a shelf containing rare ancient ceramic vases, or throwing footballs or basketballs in a room full of ancient stained-glass
treasures.
But those horrors would be no more outrageous than the profanities that are now being perpetrated against true Biblical Christianity in today's modern churches.
Christianity is right now in the process of being profaned into obscurity. The holiness and sanctity that was the identifying hallmark of the early Church of Bible
days, and which was observable in multitudes of local congregations in virtually every nation in the world over the past 2000 years, is quickly evaporating.
Christianity is being raped and pillaged by insiders who have no reverence for the sacredness of all things pertaining to God and the Bible.
God is holy. And throughout the history of mankind, He has been calling men to holiness.
When God first brought the Children of Israel out of slavery in Egypt, He said to them, "If ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a
peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation," Exodus 19:5-6.
From the start, God intended for His people to be "a peculiar treasure unto me about all people." Here is God's concept of His people. They stand out. They are not
like the rest of the world. They are PECULIAR. Do you want to know the definition of peculiar? "Distinctive in nature or character from others. Belonging EXCLUSIVELY
to some person, group or thing. Uncommon. Unusual."
So, here is a precedent for belonging to God.
You must belong EXCLUSIVELY to Him - not to the world, the flesh or the devil. Your nature and character must be distinctively and demonstrably different from the people around you.
"For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy," Leviticus 11:45.
"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.
Is that an OLD TESTAMENT rule only? Is holiness NO LONGER CALLED FOR in the New Testament Church?
Peter wrote this to the early Church:
"As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner
of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy," 1 Peter 1:14-16.
"Not FASHIONING YOURSELVES according to the former lusts..." That tells me to FORSAKE my old desires. I must not allow myself to be fashioned by the world, the flesh
or the devil. I must be FASHIONED BY GOD!
What does "FASHION" mean in this verse? "Conform to the same pattern." The Children of God must not conform to the same pattern(s) that the world is fashioned in. We
must not LOOK like the world. We must not ACT like the world. We must not THINK like the world. We must be PECULIAR. Different. Unique unto God. Patterned after GOD'S
definitions of everything.
Peter warned, "The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with
fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye
to be in all holy conversation and godliness," 2 Peter 3:10-11.
Notice that Peter called for "holy conversation and godliness." What is holy conversation? Might it be conversation that is unique, different, set apart from the
conversations of men in the world? What is godliness? "Conforming to the laws and wishes of God; devout; pious."
Men are not ordinarily attracted to holiness.
People who are attracted to and attached to the world reject holiness. They find more satisfaction in the temporary
things of this world than they find in God and His unsurpassed blessings. They prefer the beggarly, disorderly context of this world to the priceless, flawless beauty
of God’s holy presence.
People who love the things of the world (i.e., television, worldly music, entertainment, sports, partying, drink, drugs, etc.) generally do not even want to DISCUSS
holiness. I never cease to be alarmed at the propensity of professing Christians to know FAR MORE about sports figures and their statistics than they know about Bible
characters or Bible verses. They spend far more time learning the ways of the world than they do studying the Bible and learning the ways of God. In the eyes of God,
that is a grave transgression.
Conversely, those who are genuinely attracted to God detest unholy things, and count them offensive, contaminating and destructive. They desire godly purity within and
without.
Holiness is not a natural by-product of ordinary men.
Only men and women who know the Word of God and hear the voice of the Holy Spirit have the desire to manifest the
holiness of God. Only those who perceive the mind and will of God will enter into His holiness. All others tend to resist and renounce the Biblical concepts of
holiness.
The Holy Spirit, working in and through the believer, and speaking by the word of God, sets the standards for holiness. As we behold the beauty of holiness, we are
attracted to it. In time, we come to love the beauty of holiness. Our former loves dim and lose their value. We begin to hate things we once loved, and love the things
we once hated.
Holiness is the nature of God.
Unholiness is the nature of all things contradictory to God. If God approves a thing, it is deemed holy unto the Lord. If God disapproves a thing, it is
unholy.
When Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s instructions, they became unholy. Their disobedient deed directly conflicted with God. So Satan, Adam and Eve were all defiled. They
were no longer holy.
WE MUST BE HOLY TO DWELL IN THE PRESENCE OF A HOLY GOD
Holiness is commanded by God
Nowadays, people often balk at authoritative commands. In this generation of rebellion and self-rule, when Spirit-filled ministers preach, “do this, don’t do that,”
they are scorned and resisted. Religious opponents of holiness denounce it as “Legalism!” and “Salvation by works!” But God’s command still flows from on high, “Be ye
holy; for I am holy,” 1 Peter 1:16.
Bible scholars refer to the last half of the book of Leviticus (chapters 17-26) as the “Holiness Code.” Repeatedly, God declared His own holiness, and called for His
people to be holy. Every rule set forth in this area requires some change in behavior.
At the core of all holiness teaching is a fundamental premise that not all behavior is acceptable to God.
We must restrain ourselves from behavior that God deems
unholy. We must not assume that God does not care how we live, act, dress, speak, etc. He is supremely interested in everything we are and do, and quite carefully
itemizes many, many things that He approves or disapproves.
People often infer that New Testament Grace strips the Old Testament Law of all significance, but nothing is further from the truth. It is STILL a sin to worship other
gods, commit idolatry, adultery, murder, theft, covetousness, etc. Even in this Dispensation of Grace, God STILL requires our behavior to be holy. Many things still
cause God displeasure, and He tells us to avoid them.
Procreation, or the creation of life, is an area where many holiness instructions apply. Throughout the scriptures, God defines what is right and wrong about
sexuality, marriage, family, relationships, and even gender-related and modesty-related DRESS CODES. All of these sanctify and make holy the entire act of procreation,
to keep it holy.
All these holiness mandates work together to preserve the sanctity and holiness of the human seed. God would have every newborn child holy unto the
Lord, raised in a divinely-guided nuclear family, with a Godly father and mother who will lovingly care for and raise the child in the ways of God.
All this can be contrasted to the unholy ways of the world, in which the nuclear family is often non-existent, and children grow up without the influence of Godly
moral and spiritual guidance, and modes of behavior and dress are uncontrolled.
Sin, in every aspect, is a holiness issue.
And holiness is a sin issue. The fall of man into sin was grave offense to God, and He is angry with the wicked everyday
(Psalm 7:11). He vows to put away the wicked, “…that no flesh should glory in His presence,” 1 Corinthians 1:29. All those who will live holy in His presence are
required to separate themselves from sin, and from unprofitable association with sinners.
"Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, ...For the customs of the people are vain," Jeremiah 10:2-3.
God is JEALOUS of our desire for the world.
He is JEALOUS of our desires to satisfies the lusts of our flesh, our eyes, and our ego (pride). He does not want us to
love the world.
"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust
of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that
doeth the will of God abideth for ever," 1 John 2:15-17.
If you are in love with the things of this world, you are in big trouble. If you are in love with the things of this world, you really do not understand what God is
trying to do with your life.
Most Christians have never been taught about holiness.
They do not know or realize that the very reason God saved Israel or the Church was because He detests the
wickedness of the heathen! The purpose of holiness is to reclaim man for the consecrated purpose of God. If you are not ready to give everything you are and everything
you do to God, then you ARE a part of the world, and you ARE a part of what God detests.
God literally assigned Israel with the task of putting away the evil that was in the land and consecrating it to the Lord. This is the task that God calls all of His
people too.
“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. God commanded Israel to
sanctify the land He had given them. “But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn
their graven images with fire.
For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of
the earth,” Deuteronomy 7:5-6.
As Abraham originally obeyed the call to holiness – to come out and be separate – all people of God are called to be holy unto the Lord. God’s call to holiness and
separation from the world applies as certainly to the New Testament church as it did to the nation of Israel.
The intent of all holiness instruction is to attract God’s people into the pure, unadulterated light of His Holy Presence, and thoroughly separate them from the
darkness of everything unholy.
Holiness is necessary to see God
Walter Chantry said, “The Bible as a whole speaks more of God’s holiness than of His love.” God’s holiness is a grander theme than the love of God. The angels around
the throne do not declare, “Love! Love! Love!” but “Holy! Holy! Holy!”
The keeping of holiness standards and practices does not, by itself, produce the new birth. The practice of separation from the world does not, by itself, save your
soul. Holiness alone does not save you, but you cannot be saved without holiness. “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord,”
Hebrews 12:14.
We are individually responsible for maintaining Holiness
Our own works will never perfect us. We are only perfected when God imparts His holiness into our lives. None of us will ever perfect holiness until God graciously
enables us to overcome the world, the flesh and the devil. When we repent of our sins, and are baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission of our sins, God
spontaneously imparts His holiness into our lives. In that glorious moment when our sins are expunged, we are as holy as we will ever be.
Some people, therefore, teach that holiness is merely an impartation: a gift from God that has nothing whatsoever to do with our works. That cannot be true, however,
because the scriptures plainly teach us that faith without works is dead. Jesus will not accept lip service, or a mere profession of love. If we truly love Him, we
must keep His commandments. Living by holiness is our reasonable service unto God. When I listen to some preachers, I am led to believe that they perceived holiness as
some kind of magical fairy dust that is sprinkled on believers. But holiness is not a magic glow. It is SEPARATION from everything that God tells us to be separated
from. That is what holiness is.
Holiness is a joint venture between God and us.
We contribute our consecration. God contributes His impartation. We must demonstrate to Him our desire and willingness to renounce all our sins, and cease and desist
from sinning. We must consecrate and sanctify ourselves unto God. Otherwise, the miraculous impartation of His holiness will not take place.
Can we truly claim holiness while we continue in sinful, carnal and worldly behaviors? Of course not. Why would God grant an impartation of His holiness to those who
continue in sin? And shall we continue in sin because grace abounds? God forbid! The holiness that God imparts to us works in tandem with the holiness that comes by
separation unto God. Consecrate yourself to God by whatever acts of separation are necessary, then receive the holiness that He subsequently imparts to you.
The Church Is Holy
The Greek word for Church is “ekklesia,” and means “called out ones.” Jesus calls us out from the world unto Himself. “That he might present it to himself a glorious
church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish,” Ephesians 5:27.
As a chaste Bride
Jesus is preparing His bride. The sanctity of marriage depends on the virtues of the bride and groom. From ancient times, each man sought for a chaste virgin, and paid
a dowry to take her to wife. Even so, Jesus Christ is calling people who are chaste and virtuous, because they are consecrated and sanctified and faithful to Him
alone. His bride is known by her holiness.
Paul said, “For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ,” 2 Corinthians
11:2.
Jesus wants a beautiful bride, a holy bride. Nothing less will do. Jonathan Edwards said, “He that sees the beauty of holiness, or true moral good, sees the greatest
and most important thing in the world. Unless this is seen, nothing is seen that is worth seeing: for there is no other true excellence or beauty.” At the marriage of
the Lamb and His bride, she will “be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints,” Revelation 19:8
As a special People
God puts His own holiness on display in His holy people, and intends for them to be the most attractive thing on earth. C.S. Lewis said, “How little people know who
think that holiness is dull. When one meets the real thing... it is irresistible. If even ten percent of the world’s population had it, would not the whole world be
converted and happy before a year’s end?” Bara Dada said, “If you Christians would live like Jesus Christ, India would be at your feet tomorrow.”
Is there a higher calling anywhere for God’s people, than the call to holiness? What could it possibly be? “For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD
thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth,” Deuteronomy 7:6.
Holiness is separation from sin and consecration unto God
What does it mean to be holy?
1. Specially belonging to or devoted to God
2. Set apart for God’s service
3. Sacred, saintly, spiritually excellent, pure, devout, pious
4. Dedicated, consecrated, reverent.
God’s holy people are to be distinctively and identifiably different from the world’s crowd.
Holiness is separation from sin
Sin causes separation from God, but Holiness causes separation from sin.
Holiness is consecration unto God
As His beneficiaries, we are obliged to distance ourselves from anything God forbids. God ordered Adam to stay away from the forbidden fruit (an elementary example of
holiness). Abstaining from things that God forbids is the essence of holiness. "Abstain from all appearance of evil." "Come out from among them, and be ye separate,
saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing." "Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God."
Holiness is motivated by our love for God
1. “Love not the World”
We cannot simultaneously love the world and God any more than we can simultaneously stand on the earth and the moon. If we easily tolerate things that God abhors,
taking pleasure in unrighteousness, our sensitivities are corrupted and need to be renewed.
A.W. Tozer said, “We have learned to live with unholiness and have come to look upon it as the natural and expected thing.” But in God’s eyes, the ways of the world,
the flesh and the devil will never be acceptable. “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is
not in him,” 1 John 2:15.
2. “If you love Me . . . keep My Words”
The evidence of love is attachment and adherence. Paul defined love as the “bond of perfectness.” If you love God you are attached to Him like glue. You adhere to Him.
You cleave to Him. You cannot be attached to the world at the same time. You cannot adhere to the world at the same time.
“Jesus answered and said unto him, 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.
3. “If you love Me . . . keep My Commandments”
It is impossible to overstate the power, purpose and potential of holiness. Holiness is not a mystical, ethereal, or abstract concept. It is a profound and distinctive
doctrine at the heart of everything Biblical. Holiness is sturdily constructed on pillars of right and wrong. Holiness acknowledges righteousness and cleaves to it.
Holiness acknowledges sin and abhors it.
4. “Ye that love the Lord, hate evil” (Psalm 97:10)
The force of holiness stands or falls on clear definitions of what is holy. If both good and evil can be crowned with glory, it is a bankrupt glory. If holiness is
only an ambiguous cloud of glory dispatched from heaven, it might as well be poured out on a chimpanzee. Only when holiness separates the wheat from the chaff, the
sheep from the goats, the right from the wrong, does it acquire true value.
It is the work of the ministry to declare the right from the wrong, the good from the bad. John Wesley said, “My aim is to reform the nation, particularly the church,
and to spread scriptural holiness over the land.” Wesley’s efforts had a profound impact around the world. It is worth noting that the greatest spiritual outpourings
and revivals of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries were all preceded by a return to holiness.
When men and women of God fix their hearts on things divine, and renounce sin and darkness, glory and holiness begin to emanate. Old loves die and vanish. A new love
is born, and its aura is holiness.
Holiness has additional meaning in the New Testament
The scriptures teach two kinds of perfection.
On one hand, there is a maturity-related perfection. A perfect flower is one that is fully mature.
On the other hand, there is a perfection that is flawless. This kind of perfection can only come by an impartation from Almighty God.
Full maturity is a natural process we all experience as we live and learn. But flawless perfection is not humanly possible, and must therefore be received from the one
true God of perfection.
The same principle applies to the subject of holiness. There is a holiness that comes from consecrated, sanctified living. When men and women present themselves as
living sacrifices, holy and acceptable unto God, an aura of holiness is generated. But there is a divine holiness that can only be imparted from the Lord Jesus
Himself.
Holiness is imparted by the Presence of the Holy Ghost.
“Christ in you, the hope of glory,” Colossians 1:27. “…put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness,” Ephesians 4:24.
Holiness is God living and reigning in our hearts.
John Calvin said, “Christ is the most perfect image of God, into which we are so renewed as to bear the image of God, in knowledge, purity, righteousness, and true
holiness.” Our striving is to manifest the image of Christ. “…ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you,” Romans 8:9.
The Spirit of God changes us. If we cannot be changed, we cannot be holy. Old things must pass away. All things must become new. That is the work of the Spirit and the
Word in our lives. “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the
Spirit of the Lord,” 2 Corinthians 3:18.
Holiness is receiving a New Heart.
“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of
flesh,” Ezekiel 36:26.
Holiness is not predicated on human qualities.
In March of 2008, television celebrity, Oprah Winfrey, launched what amounted to a New Age “church,” explicitly redefining God and the purposes of life in well-
pronounced contradictions to Biblical and Christian doctrines. Millions of students enrolled in online classes from more than 150 nations around the world. Her
spiritual mentor, guru, and partner in project, Eckhart Tolle, authored several best-selling books based on Far Eastern spiritual teachings rooted in a variety of
pagan and Luciferic traditions. Oprah’s new religion is a major departure from Judaeo-Christian beliefs. It teaches that heaven is not a location, but is an inner
realm of consciousness.
In the opening lessons was the statement: “My mind is part of God’s. I am very holy. My holiness is my salvation. My salvation comes from me.” But the god in Oprah’s
religion is NOT the God of the Bible, but a generic god she concocted for her followers, to replace every known god, especially the one true and living God, Jehovah –
incarnate in Jesus Christ.
Jesus warned of endtime deceivers who would wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived, teaching doctrines of devils. But apart from Jesus Christ, there is no
god and no holiness. Apart from the Creator of the universe, everything is profane and terminal.
Floyd McClung said, “In the final analysis our greatest problem with holiness is not that our concepts of holiness are feeble, but that our hearts are
rebellious. We are selfish, that’s our problem. And the fact that we often won’t admit our selfishness shows how deep the pride goes.”
Men do not deny holiness because it is unbelievable or unattainable. They deny holiness because they are selfish and rebellious and do not want to conform to the
teachings of the word of God.
Holiness requires a standard.
It is the church’s responsibility to relay God’s call to holiness to people everywhere. Unfortunately, however, among professing Christians, the doctrine of holiness
has been recklessly man-handled, battered, abused, and tragically misinterpreted.
Despite the rhetoric of skeptics, true holiness affects every aspect of an individual’s life, including attitudes, actions, and appearance. Holiness begins in the
heart and then expresses itself outwardly. Jesus said, “…cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also,” Matthew
23:26.
Our outward appearance should reflect our inward appearance. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees because they were outwardly holy, but inwardly evil. “Ye are like unto whited
sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness, Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto
men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity,” Matthew 23:27-28.
Similarly, having no outward witness of inward holiness also violates Bible principles. Jesus did not condemn outward holiness. He condemned the absence of inner
holiness. He did not excuse them from outward holiness, but insisted on both.
People use many excuses to avoid practicing holiness.
"The Price Is Too Great"
This is not so. It is the way of the transgressor that is hard. The highest price is the wage of sin.
"It Is Too Hard"
It is easy to live for God hard, but it is hard to live for God easy. “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee;
yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness,” Isaiah 41:10.
Holiness has profound purpose in our lives.
Dinesh D’Souza, author of the bestseller, “What’s So Great About Christianity,” observed, “Ultimately, we are called not only to happiness and goodness but also to
holiness. Christ says in the Sermon on the Mount, ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.’ What counts for God is not only our external conduct but
also our inward disposition. Holiness does not mean merely performing the obligatory rituals on the outside; it means staying pure on the inside.”
Imagine, if you can, possessing vast and priceless treasures collected from all of history; crown jewels of fabled kings. Faberge’ eggs, the Mona Lisa, the Statue of
David, the Hope Diamond, and maybe even the legendary Ark of the Covenant. Priceless value is given to things for which nothing of equivalent value can be found or
exchanged.
One saint of God is a priceless treasure for all of eternity.
Should such a one be abandoned unguarded in a varmint-infested storeroom in a dilapidated shanty on the worst side of town?
A thousand times, NO! Valuable treasures are housed in lavish museums such as the Louvre in Paris, or the Smithsonian in Washington, and under the ultimate care and
security.
Such is the world of holy things. Such is the world of God’s people. The people of God are holy, set apart, consecrated, and highly esteemed by God.
God's people should be seen and perceived as sacred, holy, Godly, unique, consecrated, dedicated, sanctified, set apart, devoted, uncompromised and uncompromisable. We should shun EVERY APPEARANCE of evil.
The world should be able to look at us and INSTANTLY know that we are not one of them!
I feel that I should say that again...
The world should be able to look at us and INSTANTLY know that we are not one of them!
The Prophet Ezekiel spoke encouragingly of a day far distant to him when "they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to
discern between the unclean and the clean,” Ezekiel 44:23.
That day has just come to you. I have just taught you the difference between the holy and the profane.
For most of the past hundred years, Apostolic Pentecostals have been distinguished from most other Christian groups, in large part because of our beliefs and practices
pertaining to holiness. Many of the most oft-heard objections to Apostolic Pentecostalism have been objections to our holiness teachings and practices.
Did our forefathers mislead us? Should we abandon beliefs that pervaded the Church for ages?
The answer is an unequivocal "NO!!" Our forefathers were NOT misleading us when they taught us to live holy lives, separated from the world. And "NO!" We should not
abandon those beliefs that pervaded the Church for ages.
The NEW message that contradicts the OLD message is a lie, and it is our business to stop it.
Holiness is God's nature.
Above all, holiness speaks of things divine. Before anything else in the universe was even created, God was holy. God is pure, clean, perfect, flawless, righteous and
good.
In His creation, He made everything holy. No error, no folly, no imperfection existed in anything God made. God and all His creation were holy.
Then sin came. Unholiness.
Whenever Lucifer articulated his unholy will in defiance of God and His holiness, sin was born. Satan said, "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above
the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most
High," Isaiah 14:13,14.
Satan, the very first rebel, was the only unholy thing anywhere when he first sinned. But straightway, he tempted Adam and Eve to disobey God, and they yielded. They,
too, became unholy.
If you will be holy, you must renounce Satan, sin and all things that are unholy, and separate yourself fully unto God.
So, now, the question that begs an answer is this: Are YOU living a holy life?
If not, why not?
Return to PART ONE - "Is Anybody Holy Anymore?"
Continue to: "Male and Female: God's Gender-specific Comands"
See: "The Church Walking With The World" - A provocative poem from 1936.
I am continually writing new content for this site.
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s, too!
THANKS!
And God bless you!
Ken Raggio
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