THE FRUITS OF HOLINESS - PART 1

 THE FRUITS OF HOLINESS - PART 1

1Peter 1:15-16 "But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;

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

The Bible in the above passage makes us understand that HOLINESS is in fact a commandment from God. Every Father who is successful will always want his successors to be also. We serve a God who is holy and as his seeds, we are admonished also to live a life of Holiness. Psalm 92:15 "Our God is upright and there is no unrighteousness in Him". The Bible makes us understand that this HOLINESS is an attribute of God the Father. Revelations 4:8 "Holy,Holy, Holy, LORD God Almighty which was and is to come". God is holy, Christ is holy (Romans 1:4 "And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead'); We also must have these fruits in us. 

HOLINESS is rather the most vital tool to draw the presence of God. The Bible makes us know that our God hates sin but loves righteousness; and for a lover of righteousness, He will always hear the call of His own. Psalm 87:2 " The LORD loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob". Why is this so! The Bible states clearly that mount Zion is a place of His Holiness. Every man that moved the hand of God in the scriptures moved it on the platform of showing forth the fruits of Holiness. Galatians 5:22 talks about the fruits of the Spirit, but none of this is ever derived on the platform of sin and impurity - is it love, peace, joy, longsuffering, gentleness... These are fruits sown in Holiness, sown in righteousness. And for us to possess them, we must possess a pure and clean heart.

HOLINESS is not an art learnt or a skill you build upon over time or something you have to buy off the market, it is a character of God, which has been handed freely to every man who receives and believes the ministry of his son Jesus Christ. HOLINESS is just like genetic traits, they are passed down from one generation to another. God the Father possessed it, Jesus Christ did and the same also we do.  The Bible declares in  John 1:12 "as many as received, to them gave he power to be called the sons of God". This power is Holiness. This power is Purity. 2Peter 1:2-3 "According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue".An Holy Father will beget an Holy Son. For every believing child of God, this is meant to be our nature too.

HOLINESS is a state of being holy. In the anchor verse, we must be holy in all things- with ourselves and with others; in all we do, we do in Holiness. It is a state of being like God. In our God is no unrighteousness. Holiness is the absence of iniquity. A holy man is never found on the side of sin whether it be little or grave. In all things, He is minded of who He is and how He is supposed to approach every situation.

HOLINESS is a state of perfection. God talking to Abraham in Genesis 17:1, "walk before me and be thou blameless". To be blameless is to be perfect. God himself knew it was possible for man to live perfectly, hence his admonition, but we must understand that this is never possible for a natural man. There must be a transition into the realm of the Supernatural before you can exhibit these fruits. 1 Corinthians 2:14 "For the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit; for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, for they are spiritually discerned".  It is only through unshaken faith and trust in God that this nature can be handed unto us.

HOLINESS is a state of purity. We can never deviate from the fact that it is the Father who makes Holy. Malachi 3:3 "And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he shall purify all the sons of Levi...". Purification stems from the Father of all purity himself. It takes Holiness in a man to rid himself of all vices in the world today. Everything in the world today is against the preaching of Holiness. So many have even derailed from this path; it is never possible to be holy or to live holy, they say. But I tell you it is possible; Christ's death on the cross procured many things for us, one of which is Salvation. Salvation leads to HOLINESS. Until you are truly saved in Christ Jesus, then you cannot exercise these fruits and this is certainly why it may never be possible unto you. Genuine salvation will lead us in the path of Holiness and Righteousness. Remember this is God's word; it has never changed and will never change.

James 1:17 "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning".

TO BE CONTINUED...

THE MEN THAT LEAD

Building manhood...