THE LIFESTYLE OF GODLINESS – PART 1

THE LIFESTYLE OF GODLINESS – PART 1

Genesis 17:1 “…and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect”. (kjv)

Genesis 17:1 “…and said to him, “I am God Almighty; Walk before me and be blameless”. (Nkjv)

1Timothy 4:8 “For bodily exercise profiteth little: but Godliness is profitable unto all things; having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come”.

Godliness is over-rated some may say. It is not possible to live a holy life, others may profess. How can one be in this world and live a life of perfection with no sin at all- it is impossible!!! If you live a holy life, you will just live a pauper; no one wants a godly man or woman in our world today. All these are the thoughts of many in the world today. But Here we see God stating the ideal way for our living. I have come to understand that everything HE says is not for HIMSELF but for us. The Bible in John 6:63 says “the words I speak unto you, they are Spirit and life”. Does HE need the Spirit or does HE need that life? We are the ones who need the impartation, we need the life. 

Our GOD does not need to live a godly life or a holy life; the Bible says our God is upright and in him there is no unrighteousness (Psalm 92:15). It is a responsibility for every believer and everyone who calls on the name of the Lord to live righteously. From the pilot scripture; we see GOD saying “I am the Almighty God, walk before me and be thou perfect; be thou blameless”. God was speaking not to a Spirit like Himself but HE was speaking to man. Thus, it is possible to live a life of Godliness; it is possible to live in the truth and to be perfect. The bible says let us be holy as the LORD our God is holy (Leviticus 11:44). 

We cannot claim to worship or be in sync with a Holy God until we ourselves are holy. The Bible says God is Spirit and if we must worship, we must do so in Spirit and in truth; in the same vein If HE is holy, we that come unto him must also be holy. Romans 12:1paraphrased says “let us present ourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable...” We see from this scripture that being Holy comes first. It is a principal requirement. Before one can be accepted or before anything we do can be received, we must first be holy. Let us look at the Beatitudes, the Bible talks about being pure in the heart (Matthew 5:8)-this is holiness. He says “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God”. That state of “pureness” is what we need to see HIM work in our lives; if it is lacking in any man, we cannot see God. Hebrews 12:14 talks about following peace with all men and Holiness, without which no man can see God. 

You have been complaining things are not working right; Have you checked yourself first? Are you working RIGHT with God? Many a times, we think being always in the midst of the brethren or the first to attend Bible services, or even be in a service unit is synonymous with being in sync with God or knowing Him; but that is not the case. Unless your ways are RIGHT before Him, you are not permitted to receive answers to your prayers when you call out to him. Let us see the life of Job, in Job 1, the Bible says “He was a perfect man and upright before God” yet God still did not hear him until he prayed for his friends. As righteous as he was, he had still not met with God’s standard as he wasn’t totally void of unrighteousness-Unforgiveness (Job 42:10). 

When we talk about Living a Holy life or a Righteous life; it is all-round Holiness. The bible says be ye not as men pleasers or with eye-service (Ephesians 6:6). Let it be in our record with God that we live perfectly and upright as it was the same with Job (Job 1:8). Some say it is impossible to live a life of Holiness; it is not IMPOSSIBLE, because if God has asked us to do it, then that means it is something we can do. There is nothing God ever requests from HIS people that he has not made adequate provisions for. 1 Thessalonians 5:24 talks about the Faithfulness of our God. In a world like ours today, you might want to believe it is not possible to live a holy life; RATHER there is a Price to pay and a heavy one at that but that doesn’t make it impossible. Our Fathers have lived this life, so it is POSSIBLE. The Bible talks about our Father Abraham in Romans 4:3 “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for Righteousness”. If our fathers could do it and not just by themselves, but with the help of GOD. Surely we also can. It just takes a desperate hunger, it takes a longing from us, to desire to live holy; to desire to live like Christ, because it pays at all times. 

All we have to do is pay the Price knowing fully well that nothing of Great value comes cheap; and as such we have to desire fully to live our lives in righteousness exhibiting the fruits in whatever circumstances we find ourselves, remembering HIS Word that says Godliness with contentment is GREAT GAIN (1Timothy 6:6).

TO BE CONTINUED…

The Men That Lead

Building Manhood