How do you and I live a HOLY life?

The Word of the Lord states:

“Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God. And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the LORD which sanctify you.” (Leviticus 20:7,8)

“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 1:15,16)

So what constitutes a “holy life”? Definitely not by walking on the street with a Bible under the arm and a stern face.

A holy life is a life totally consecrated to the Lord. A life totally sold on Jesus. It is a person living a life knowing that he can still make mistakes from time to time, but who stands up after every mistake, immediately confesses his sin, wipes the mud from his face and walks on, glorifying Jesus.

Many people tell me: “But Tiaan, I can’t live a holy life it’s impossible!” No, it is not impossible. Jesus would not have said: “Be ye holy for I am holy” if He did not think that we would not be able to do so. How does He know that we can live holy lives? The answer is simple. He created us! So He knows exactly what His creation is able to do.

The only thing He requires from us is to become obedient to His Word and just DO what He says. If His Word states that we should watch our language, it means we must watch our language. If His Word states that we should forgive those that have hurt us, it means we must forgive them. If His Word states that we must speak life and not death with our mouths, it means we must speak life and not death. Friend, it’s not that difficult to understand, is it? That which the Bible tells us to desist from, we must so desist.

The problem is that most of us do not read our own Bibles and do not WANT to read our own Bibles because we are NOT WILLING to stop doing the things WE like to do. We are not willing to become 100% obedient to the Word. And that is a choice we make. That is also one of the reasons why we think we can't live holy lives, because we really don’t WANT TO!

So where do we learn HOW to live such holy lives? In the Bible! We HAVE to start to READ our own Bibles and we must also ask the Holy Spirit to lead us into His truths concerning living holy lives. Then we must start to BE OBEDIENT to what we read because, remember:

“For we write NONE other things unto you, than what ye read or acknowledge; and I trust ye shall acknowledge even to the end…” (2 Corinthians 1:13)

So if I read:

“… (B)ut now you also put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and shameful speaking out of your mouth. Don't lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his doings, and have put on the new man, who is being renewed in knowledge after the image of his Creator…” (Colossians 3:8-10)

What does it mean other than EXACTLY what is written there? This means I must “put away”, yes, I must STOP my anger, wrath, malice, slander and shameful speaking. I must also STOP lying to people around me. If the Bible says…:

“Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.” (James 4:8)

Then it means that we must DRAW NEAR to God, it means we must CLEANSE our hands of sin and it means we must PURIFY our hearts! That’s what the Bible says, that’s what it means and THAT IS WHAT I MUST DO! In that way I will be becoming more and more holy. But if I feel I cannot do it in my own power, I must ensure that I ask the Holy Spirit to help me, because the Bible is clear:

"ASK, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you. For EVERYONE WHO ASKS RECEIVES. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7,8)

And

“I can do all things (including living holy) through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (Philippians 4:13)

Have you ASKED God to help you live a more holy life yet? But I repeat we can only enter into true victory regarding these things contained in the Bible, if we are in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. So if you haven’t invited Him into your life yet, won't you do so now?

In this manner we will start to live more and more holy lives the way Jesus wants us to. However it is a daily process which becomes a way of life of falling and immediately standing up and eventually becoming more and more like our Lord Jesus Christ.

(Excerpt from book: “How do I do: What the Bible says?” – tiaan gildenhuys)

(tg@oicb.co.za)
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