You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own. Leviticus 20:26
By Ambrose.J.Chakre (EMN)
Every mentioned virtue all comes to this as all that the scripture says are of God. To be what God says and to do what God wants must be what the elect lives by. This has been taught since ancient times and will continue to be witnessed till the day Christ comes. For to be set apart is a favour which is inexpressible and as of its mystery none can fathom. The Apostle Paul writes of sin’s wages and the eternal favour of God in Romans. In it, it is written “The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) The sacredness of what it means must be meditated deeply by all who are of the truth. The notion is this: As there is life and death in this life, so even in the next there will be so. The word is so clear of God’s wrath against sinners and as serious the truths are, so the living must take heed. This is it: Whoever fears God will honour God and whoever does not, will not. The ways of holiness are what the elect must live by and the prayers for God to make our spirits pure must be on. The beloved of God must know that as we are born of the truth our ways must be Godlike. Thus as we know to whom we belong love and faithfulness must be honoured still.
This is what I often say “ Do not even make an attempt to sin or even to think about sin,” and as our trust is in the truth God can affect the changes. The truth is this we cannot just be speaking so much about holiness on the outside and yet harbour evil thoughts in our hearts, the reign of God must reign supreme in our hearts. This is it as it is one thing to pretend to be holy and another to be truly holy. For as we are what we are inside we know when we are good and bad. Thus the scripture states “ Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature will reap destruction, the one who sows to please the Spirit will reap eternal life. ( Galatians 6:7,8 ) Even as in the scripture we see ourselves, so we know what we are within. The truth is as in our past unrighteousness we had been so but as we now belong to the new nature, our commitment must be true. Even as the scripture says “ If God is for us who can be against us “ and if the teachings are for us should not we embrace it and if the scriptures are for us shouldn’t we honour it? What God desires of us is to live in the scriptures. It is also by how much we love which determines how we love. For as the scripture says there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ, and as it also says we are more than conquerors, the deeper truth of it is that we can only be so by God’s Spirit.
Even as corruption is in regard to the old nature, renewal is of the new. The truth of us is we cried when we repented and it is only by the truth that we can move on towards perfection. The holy scriptures states “ As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “ Be holy, because I am holy. Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. ( 1st Peter 1:14-17 ) ( Leviticus 11: 44,45, 19:2, 20:7 ) Further in the scripture the word teaches us to say “ “ No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope-the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good.” ( Titus 2:12-14 ) The present age is of this life even as the future is of the next. Then in Romans, it is written “ Therefore I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is- his good, pleasing and perfect will. ( Romans 12:1,2 )
The messages of it teaches us of what we are of and of what worship is for. Even as we know we sleep and wake up the book of Daniel speaks of the eternal resurrection. This is what it states “ Multitudes who sleeps in the dust of the earth will awake; some to everlasting life and others t shame and everlasting contempt.”(Daniel 12:2 ) The word eternity as it is being preached so it is being heard but the greater worth of it can only be known by embracing God’s laws. It has to be known that the living words are for the living, not the dead. Thus the writer of Ecclesiastes says “ For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward and even the memory of them is forgotten. Their love, their hate and their jealousy have since long vanished; never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun.”( Ecclesiastes 9:5,6 )
The truths of it will make the righteous grieve as they think of the ones who reject the truth. For as we are washed by Christ blood, so we must share in his feelings. ( John 13:8b ) God wants every living sinner to renounce sin and to come to him in true repentance. Thus as all who lives in the four corners of the world needs to be prayed for the righteous must be down on their knees interceding for the lost. The beloved of God must know that as it is for holiness we live, so we must honor it. The message preached here is that as flesh and blood will never inherit eternal life, our prayers must be for God to sanctify our spirits by his word. The Church of God must know that as we were purchased by the word, our devotion must be deep rooted in the word. The ways of God and holiness are a mystery.
