Thursday 26 March 2015

What is Holiness?

Holiness is uniqueness in character which is solely in honor of or to God. To be holy is to be set apart. To be consecrated, sanctified, or hallowed. A holy person is faultless and pure. God is holy because He is not subjected to any faults and impurities.

Where is holiness sourced?

Holiness is sourced in righteousness. Thus holiness is the fruit of righteousness.  If to say, righteousness is the fertile ground from which holiness germinates.

That is righteousness breeds holiness. Holiness is powered by righteousness. For it is pretty true that one can be holy but not righteous. And holiness and righteousness comes only by the spirit Galatians 5:22-23. Holiness is therefore living with and belonging to God.

On the other hand, righteousness is the mind of God. Righteousness is God's way. For it is exclusively of God to be righteous. On this account therefore, no human is counted righteous if not to submit to God's Son Jesus Christ (the God man). Everyone therefore must declare their faith in Jesus Christ if to live.For no one will see God without righteousness (Hebrews 12:14), (1Peter 1:15-16).

Why is it only through Jesus Christ that we are counted righteous?

When the first man sinned (and it is counted on all of us by way of being his descendants), he lost his right of righteousness. For man had been created in God's image by way of having been counted righteous. For God is righteous, we ought to be righteous. But man lost it by way of disobeying God. It is on this account that man lost his sense of identity and belonging.

But God in His provision, He gave His Son for a holistic sacrifice so that by and through Him (Jesus Christ), we can regain the image of God which is righteousness. Having been created in God's image, righteousness is the true identity and belonging of man. An upright heart and a rightful mind is our true origin which is only of God. 

Thus scripture admonishes that is only through Jesus that man can regain his lost glory. For Jesus is God and we need a man with the person of God if to be saved. That man is Jesus Christ (the God man) (Matthew 2:2, 14:33), (John 5:18, 8:24, 8:58, 10:30-33, 20:28).

How therefore we are like God or in God's own image is not that we have similar/alike physical attributes with God. It is the heart and the mind of humans which God requires to be like His. The state in which these two are is what connects with or separates us from God. For if there is anything that God loves from us, it is the heart (Jeremiah 17:10), (Luke 16:15), (Psalms 44:21). Christ loves your heart not your actions. For more often than not, actions are predetermined in the heart.

Jesus' target is the heart
How are we only counted righteous by accepting Jesus?

Jesus is the Son of God. The blood of Jesus is therefore the blood of God. Only the shedding of the blood of God could set free and save man. All the human blood was infested with sin. The blood of animals could only cover upon sin (Hebrews 10:2-4). Yet sin is not only to be covered upon but to be washed and cleansed away. Only the blood of Jesus can wash away entire sins.

God's presence in you brings you joy and happiness
Jesus by His will offered Himself for a truthful sacrifice which made it possible for sin to be washed and cleansed away. Jesus was blameless, there shouldn't have been one reason therefore for Him to indulge Himself in the affairs of man. Yet His innocence is the very reason it had to be Him. For His innocence makes His offer just the perfect and justifiable one for the remit the world of sin. Thus, Jesus had a choice not to do what He did, but He did it because it was supposed to be Him. Only His sacrifice would be as perfect. For a perfect sacrifice was required. On this account therefore, it is only through Jesus that every human can be declared righteous (Romans 3:22), (2Corinthians 5:21), (Philippians 3:9), (Isaiah 53:11), (Galatians 2:16).

Only Jesus can create such a heart in you
For righteousness is only granted, it is never worked for. For example, it is the bride who dresses in a wedding gown. Thus to say, a wedding gown is not for everyone to dress. That is, it is not an ordinary dress. Yet to get it, you have to have paid for it, or someone else must have bought it and donated it to you. For there is a price somewhere somehow to pay.

And this is what Jesus did for us when He died on the cross. Rather Jesus paid for our righteousness. And when we accept Him, we cease to live our own lives but the life of Jesus (Galatians 2:20-21). Rather His righteousness has to be imputed on us (2Corinthians 5:21). He paid the penalty for us. All that is required of us is submission to Him. Only this way, can we escape God's anger and judgment on us.

Yet with righteousness, it can't be acquired with the price of a mere human. Thus, it required Jesus Christ who is the only one with the pure heart and a rightful mind and thereby well befitting to pay the appropriate price for it. And after He paid for it by heading to and pinning the sin on the cross, He now has the power to grant it to us free of charge upon accepting Him.

The heart wholly for Christ
For when Jesus Christ came, if you accept Him, you do not have to ask if you are righteous or not, for it is already granted to you. For God doesn't demand from us what we can not afford, if need be, He will always be there to take us through. Without Jesus' righteousness, we can't see God.

You need the righteousness of Jesus Christ

How does righteousness compare or contrast with Holiness?

Well as righteousness is solely sourced in God Himself, holiness is a fruit of righteousness. For righteousness is the upright heart and a rightful mind, but holiness is the character. On this account therefore, righteousness can't be seen by the human eye, for it is about the inner man, but holiness can be observable. As that, well as we can manipulate each other to appear holy, we can't do the same of righteousness. For righteousness is only examined and granted by God.

There is no true holiness without righteousness. For all we manifest in the literal sense is a product of what we have decided in our heart and mind, except for reflex actions. Impurity is a fruit of a faulty heart, so is purity a fruit of an upright heart and a rightful mind. What we do therefore is not what counts, but the intent (Proverbs 4:23), (Matthew 12:34), (Luke 6:45).

GUARD THEREFORE YOUR HEART, NOT YOUR ACTIONS. God is not interested in humanism, but obedience.

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