Grace is the Embodiment of Holiness
With so many conceptions and misconceptions about holiness, holy living, the preaching of a holy God, it has really boiled down to two very simple ideas of what holiness entails. To live a holy life entails both grace and love. Grace given to me by God and grace I show others. Love shown to me by sending His Son and love, unconditional love, I show others. These two things flesh out in the way I work, the way I treat my wife and kids, the way I respond to negative criticism and hateful talk towards me, and the way I serve my fellow man.
The flow of grace extends from resting in grace - I Peter 1:13, "rest your hope fully on the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Now, without sounding pious, I KNOW I have not always extended the love or grace of our Lord as I could of in some past situations of my life. And I know grace and love was often not shown to me in the past from family members and those I pastored. (OK now you know).
At any rate, I've learned the true marks of holy living are not of any merit of our own but by grace, Ephesians 2:8-9. I once had a pastor friend in Arkansas who taught me the value of extending grace. He showed me that all we are, have, and ever hope to be is by grace, and if it were not for grace where would I, or any of us be?
See this great book below for a good read on holiness in an every day sort of way. It helps me see holiness as love in action rather than legalism, which may be how most of us see it.
Relational Holiness offers insight and evidence for understanding the theology of holiness by focusing on love - the core of God's nature and character - and describes how God invites us to share in a life of divine love. Thomas Oord and Michael Lodahl present this new paradigm for sanctification in a relevant and understandable style that is engaging and insightful, especially for the post-modern generation."...Communicating holiness in relational categories and making holiness understandable today are the two passions that inspire these imaginative theologians. With insightful originality they propose that love is the core notion of holiness. Every believer's life can be enriched with this candid contemporary dialog about the holy life."
go to http://www.nph.com to order.
With so many conceptions and misconceptions about holiness, holy living, the preaching of a holy God, it has really boiled down to two very simple ideas of what holiness entails. To live a holy life entails both grace and love. Grace given to me by God and grace I show others. Love shown to me by sending His Son and love, unconditional love, I show others. These two things flesh out in the way I work, the way I treat my wife and kids, the way I respond to negative criticism and hateful talk towards me, and the way I serve my fellow man.
The flow of grace extends from resting in grace - I Peter 1:13, "rest your hope fully on the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Now, without sounding pious, I KNOW I have not always extended the love or grace of our Lord as I could of in some past situations of my life. And I know grace and love was often not shown to me in the past from family members and those I pastored. (OK now you know).
At any rate, I've learned the true marks of holy living are not of any merit of our own but by grace, Ephesians 2:8-9. I once had a pastor friend in Arkansas who taught me the value of extending grace. He showed me that all we are, have, and ever hope to be is by grace, and if it were not for grace where would I, or any of us be?
See this great book below for a good read on holiness in an every day sort of way. It helps me see holiness as love in action rather than legalism, which may be how most of us see it.
Relational Holiness offers insight and evidence for understanding the theology of holiness by focusing on love - the core of God's nature and character - and describes how God invites us to share in a life of divine love. Thomas Oord and Michael Lodahl present this new paradigm for sanctification in a relevant and understandable style that is engaging and insightful, especially for the post-modern generation."...Communicating holiness in relational categories and making holiness understandable today are the two passions that inspire these imaginative theologians. With insightful originality they propose that love is the core notion of holiness. Every believer's life can be enriched with this candid contemporary dialog about the holy life."go to http://www.nph.com to order.
posted by zimmerzblogz at
8:04 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home