HOW THEN DO I LIVE A LIFE OF GODLINESS?
Godly living is accessible and affordable for every man that is born-again. Such a person no longer lives on the dictates of the natural world but lives according to the leading of the Holy Spirit inside him (1John 2:16 “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world)
1. Know that there is a law of sin which is the law of the spirit of the world:
The same way there is the Spirit of Righteousness which is the Holy Spirit, is also the same way we have the spirits that work unrighteousness in us. According to the Holy Bible in Ephesians 2:2 “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience”. Sin is never a mental ideology; it’s a satanic force; we should understand that whenever we are giving to sin; all it means is we have allowed the devil entry into our life. Thus, as he dictates, we follow (whether it is the spirit of lying, adultery, fornication, uncleanness, idolatry, strife, hatred, e.t.c- Galatians 5:19-21)
2. Turn to GOD:
John 3:5 “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, Verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God”. Being born again is our ticket to living a life of Godliness. Until we are in Christ, we have no inheritance in Godliness. 1 John 5: 4 says for whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world… For we to overcome the law of this world which is the law of sin, we must be born again (born of the Spirit). Godliness is living a life like God, like Christ. If we must live this life, then we must first come unto Him who is able to give it unto us.
3. Follow after Righteousness:
The Bible speaking in Jeremiah 6:16 “Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls”. For us to live a Godly life, we have to shun all forms of unrighteousness and follow after Righteousness. As the Bible has said “the flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh” (Galatians 5:17a). If you follow after the path of righteousness, it will be difficult to also walk in ungodliness. Psalm 1:1,5 “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful; the ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away”
4. Hold on to God and Believe you are saved:
There is one tool the devil uses against the children of God. He puts in us the spirit of fear. Once he begins to make you doubt your salvation; he is about to unleash his evil agenda. One tool that he never jokes with is the Spirit of fear. Fear is the absence of Faith. Once the devil launches the spirit of fear upon a man; he gradually begins to lose faith and then starts to doubt his salvation. Romans 8:15 “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father”. The ministry of the devil as we have learnt so far is the ministry of bondage; he makes us lose our son-ship rights once we have the spirit of fear in us. But we should know that God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
5. Put On the Whole Armour of God:
Ephesians 6 talks about us putting on the whole armour of God. “Whole” here means the “complete” armour of God”. In order to stand against the wiles of the devil, his evil vices and ungodliness, we have to make sure we have the complete armour on. No soldier will ever go to the war front without dressing fully for battle. Everything has to be intact, his helmet, breastplate, war boots- all is necessary. So as believers, we ought to also lay hold on the complete armour of God. Verse 12 of this scripture paraphrased; “for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world…” We cannot afford to not have the weapons of our warfare. From verse 14 to verse 18, we see what the whole armour of God entails:
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.
6. Lay Aside Every Weight of Sin (Purge Yourself):
Hebrews 12:1 says “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily besets us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us”. We are in this world to run a race and if we must win any race, we cannot afford to be heavy. We must shed all extra loads that will hinder our walk with God; fleeing from all appearances of evil and making sure we purge ourselves daily. Apostle Paul gave us this account in 1Corinthians 15:31 “I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily”. 2Timothy 2:21 “if a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.”
THE MEN THAT LEAD
Building Manhood
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