Psalm 93:5
Your testimonies are very sure;
Holiness adorns
Your house,
O LORD, forever.
1 Corinthians 6:19
What? know you not that your body is the temple of The Holy Spirit which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own?
2 Corinthians 6:16
What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of The Living God. As God has said: “I will dwell with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people.”
Hebrews 12:14
Pursue peace with everyone, as well as holiness, without which no one will see The Lord.
1 Peter 1:15, 16
But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do, for it is written: “Be holy, for I am holy.” (Leviticus 19:2; 20:7)
As God's people, we are also God's dwellingplace: His residence, His home, His house and His temple. In God's temple all aspects of it are holy, including the thoughts of the mind and the intentions of the heart. Therefore, we are to have nothing to do with unclean, unholy, unrighteous imaginations and vain glories.
1 Corinthians 6 informs us how to settle our differences as God's people [verses 1-8]; who is united with Christ and who is not [verses 9-17]; that we are the temple of The Holy Spirit and have been purchased at a high cost [verses 18-20].
We are The LORD's house and, as such, we need to maintain a holy lifestyle, a holy walk. This gets easier the closer we are to The Lord and the longer we walk with Him. Yes, there will be trials. Yes, there are obstacles on this course. But the destination is worth the effort. Paul tells the church that we are to "run with endurance the race that is set before us." [Hebrews 12:1]
And, again, in 2 Corinthians 7:1, Paul states, "Therefore, beloved, since we have these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that defiles body and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." What are we cleansing ourselves from, what defiles us--makes us unholy--that we may be God's holy people?
UNHOLY LIVING
James 1:21 'Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and every expression of evil, and humbly accept The Word planted in you, which can save your souls.'
Ephesians 4:22; 5:3 'to put off your former way of life, your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;' and 'But among you, as is proper among the saints, there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed.'
Colossians 3:8, 9 'But now you must put aside all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices.'
1 Peter 4:3 'For you have spent enough time in the past carrying out the same desires as the Gentiles: living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and detestable idolatry.'
Titus 3:3 'For at one time we too were foolish, disobedient, misled, and enslaved to all sorts of desires and pleasures—living in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.'
1 Corinthians 6:18 'Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a man can commit is outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.'
Galatians 5:19-21 'The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions, and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.'
James 3:14-16 'But if you harbor bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast in it or deny the truth. Such wisdom does not come from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every evil practice.'
Romans 1:29-31 'They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful. They invent new forms of evil; they disobey their parents. They are senseless, faithless, heartless, merciless.'
Mark 7:20-22 'He continued: “What comes out of a man, that is what defiles him. For from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness. All these evils come from within, and these are what defile a man."
Revelation 21:8 'But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.'
HOLINESS/HOLY LIVING
Galatians 5:22, 23 'But the fruit of The Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.'
Ephesians 4:1-3 'As a prisoner in The Lord, then, I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling you have received: with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, and with diligence to preserve the unity of The Spirit through the bond of peace.'
Colossians 3:12-15 'Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with hearts of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with one another and forgive any complaint you may have against someone else. Forgive as The Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which is the bond of perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, for to this you were called as members of one body. And be thankful.'
Romans 13:14 'Instead, clothe yourselves with The Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.'
Galatians 3:27 'For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.'
1 Peter 3:8, 9 'Finally, all of you, be like-minded and sympathetic, love as brothers, be tenderhearted and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.'
Ephesians 4:32 'Be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you.'
1 Peter 4:8-10 ' The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear-minded and sober, so that you can pray. Above all, love one another deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without complaining. As good stewards of the manifold grace of God, each of you should use whatever gift he has received to serve one another.'
These are but a few Bible references informing the Christian--Christ-follower--how to live a humble, holy lifestyle in Christ. When we obey the leading of God's Holy Spirit, we are able to discover so much more in God's Word and be fully equipped to overcome temptations which would cause us to fall from God's grace.
Daily Bible reading, daily praying, daily worship work together in the spirit realm to keep us holy, to keep us as God's house, His temple, His dwellingplace. Seeking Him out to know Him better than we knew Him yesterday.
And so we pray, "Lord, make us more like You. Lead us and guide us in Your Word to that which would make us holy, that we might be Your dwellingplace forever and ever. We surrender what we want in our lives for what You want in us. We submit to Your Authority our hearts and our minds and our bodies. Live in us and through us for Your glory, Your honor and Your praise." In Jesus' Name, Amen.
TAKE MY LIFE - Micah Stampley
