October 24, 2022 BRINGING HOLINESS TO COMPLETION
2 Corinthians 7:1 “Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion.”
1 Peter 1:14-16 “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lust which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves in all your behavior; because it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’”
In the last blog, the phrase in one of the verses referred to caught my attention. In the first verse above, we are told that we are to be “bringing holiness to completion.” For certain, God is the Holy One, and holiness on our part comes from God. The interesting thing is that we have a part to play in the process of holiness being expressed on our lives. We can say that we are presently holy because the Spirit of God lives in us; now we are to live holy lives in the nitty-gritty of life. As we go about our routines of life, in whatsoever we do, we are to do it in a way that is holy and righteous. ‘Bringing holiness to completion’ implies that we are to be alert to how we might express holiness and how we might be expressions of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. It is a matter of living out of our true identity as sons and daughters of God who have been made new. Peter tells us that since we have been made new, let us not be conformed back to the old way of life where we were not free from the power of sin. We have the power to lay aside anything that is unlike God, and we have the power to put on what is like God. It is a simple but powerful truth; God tells us to be holy because He is holy; and God does not give us commands that we cannot obey. We are not only to be holy in ‘all of our conduct;’ we are to be holy in our spirit; our attitudes, our thoughts, and our responses are to be pleasing to God. So, let us always be cleansing ourselves from any defilement of flesh and spirit as needed, and be about bringing holiness to completion.
2 Timothy 1:9a “He has saved us and called us to a holy life-not because of anything we have done but because of His own purpose grace.”
Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God-this is your true and proper worship.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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