Pressing on to Holiness

July/Holiness

22 July 2010

Anyone, then, who fears God, and loves Him, and does His will and keeps His commandments,will have honour among men here and blessedness with God beyond.

- Colman man Beognai, Aipgitir Chrabaid (Irish, 7th century)

Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

- 2 Corinthians 7.1

The promises to which Paul refers have to do with God's dwelling among us, walking with us, making us His people, being our God, and being our Father. There is nothing in us to provoke God to want to do this for us; it's all of His unfathomable grace.

In view of what God has promised, therefore, Paul exhorts us to bring holiness to completion in the fear of God. The promises are there to strive for; holiness is the means to gain the favor of God, both in this life and in the life to come.

We are not here talking about salvation, at least, not in the sense of justification. But we are talking about salvation as it relates to the continual pursuit of holiness (sanctification). God's grace is sufficient for this as well, which we discover as we give ourselves to the pursuit of holiness. This race is beyond our ability, but God meets us as we begin it anew each day, providing the desire and strength to lay aside every defilement of body and spirit and press on in holiness.

Fear God, love Him, and keep His commandments. This is the daily regimen for growing in holiness. To this we are called, and God promises that, as we pursue this, we will know more of His presence with us, engage more of His glory, and become more fully His sons and daughters, glorifying Him in all ways. And there is nothing more thrilling, more rewarding, or more completely satisfying in this life than this daily pursuit of holiness.

May we rise afresh to this challenge with each new day.

July Exercise Part 3: Let's go to the next step in applying the teaching of the free the brochure, Called to Be Witnesses. During the coming week, get together with the friends for whom you made a copy of this brochure, and work through the brochure, My Personal Mission Field, together.

Today in ReVision: Presidential Judgment - How wise is the President, really?

Also at the website, we have begun our next Kingdom Civics series on the "Founding Documents" of the Kingdom, and Every Thought CaptiveSatan, Bound (soon to be a Waxed Tablet book!). features the next installment of

This Month's Download: Called to Be Witnesses - Give a copy to your friends and begin talking together about how you can become more serious about piety.

We hope you'll visit our book store and check out the resources available to help you live the Christian life. And let us hear from you.

T. M. Moore, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.