RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HOLINESS

RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HOLINESS

Luke 1:74-75King James Version (KJV)

⁷⁴ That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,

⁷⁵ In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.

Righteousness and Holiness are two different things.

Righteousness is being in right standing with God. You got that when you accepted Jesus as savior and were born again.

The only thing you did to be made righteous was to make Jesus Christ the Lord of your life.

Matthew 6:33King James Version (KJV)

³³ But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Romans 4:3King James Version (KJV)

³ For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

Romans 4:13King James Version (KJV)

¹³ For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

Faith is the substance that makes righteousness obtainable.

A better way to say it is Faith is what makes it possible to stay in right standing with God, which is counted as righteousness.

First we must have faith, second we will receive Mercy because of our faith.

Then we will be able to receive the grace of God, the mercy of God, so that faith in Gods word will produce the favor of God in our lives.

Gods grace is unmerited favor. Unmerited means we could not have earned his grace by works.

Living in the gospel of Christ by the grace of God, you are counted worthy of being righteous before God through faith in Jesus Christ.

If you allow the enemy to attack your position in righteousness then he can literally shut the door on things that God has operating in your life.

The more you experience the glory of God the more the enemy will attack your position of righteousness in order to stop the flow of Gods glory.

If you are determine to never let him attack your position of righteousness you can prevent the devil from completing the plans he has for your life.

Then the devil can not stop you from operating in the glory of the Lord. Secondly he can not stop the manifestation of the promises of God in your life.

The more you experience the glory of God the more the enemy will attack your position of righteousness in order to stop the glory of God in your life.

If you’re determine to never let him attack your position of righteousness, you can prevent the devil from completing the plans he has for you life.

Then he can not stop you from operating in the glory of the Lord. He can not stop the manifestation of the promises of God in your life.

God wants to bless us with every spiritual blessing that heaven has to offer.

Holiness however is another matter.

You are not made holy by works; holiness is the results of your choices. It is what you do with your time and your actions. It is also your conduct.

Holiness comes when you make a decision with your own will to live according to the precepts of the Lord.

Holiness is doing those things that please the Father.

To be holy is to be sanctified and meet the Masters of the universe: Our heavenly father, the Lord Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

If you keep yourself pure, you will be a utensil God can use for his purpose. Your life will be clean and you will be ready for the Master to use you.

Sanctified means to set apart from the world: Justified means just as if you had never sinned.

Galatians 2:16King James Version (KJV)

¹⁶ Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

God wants us to be caught up in spiritual things. He knows if we are caught up in spiritual things we will lose interest in carnal activities and pursue him with all our hearts.

God doesn’t want us to simply obey a set of rules because we feel that is the right thing to do. That is law instead of spirit.

God wants us to live holy lives. He wants us to have a heart felt desire to please him.

When we spend time with the Lord we will want to do things that please Him.

Our desire will be for spiritual things, not the things of the flesh. Being dedicated to God is not something that is above and beyond the call of duty.

It is not something that is just expected of preachers and ministers. God expects us all to live holy.

We are to be a living and holy sacrifice: The kind that God will accept. When we think of what He has done for us we will realize that it is not too much for Him to ask.

1 Peter 1:16King James Version (KJV)

¹⁶ Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

Certainly such a life will require us to make some sacrifices, in the end it will be worth it.

Romans 8:18King James Version (KJV)

¹⁸ For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Jesus said in   John 14:3King James Version (KJV)

³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

We will stand Holy before God and wait anxiously for that day of Jesus’ return.

And that day God will give us our full rights as heirs to the throne, and we will be His children, and we will have our new bodies throughout eternity as he has promised us.