Holiness And Righteousness

1 Peter 1:16, "Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy."

Some people think that when we preach about the grace of God, that we are encouraging people to sin. May God forbid that I may encourage anybody to sin or to start being insensitive to righteousness and the need to be holy.
There is a process between justification and glorification called SANCTIFICATION, and sanctification comes from carrying your salvation (which is your justification) with fear and trembling.

Solomon said, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom", and a few have been saved, but they have NOT BEGAN wisdom. The fear we are talking about here is not the fear of terror, but the fear of reverence. Where you always ask yourself, "If Jesus was a physical friend, that follows me wherever I go, would I still do what I am doing? Would I take Him where I am going?"
If the answer is affirmative, then you do; if it is contrary, then you refrain.
This process is called *sanctification, it is a personal effort and commitment to being holy, just like our God is Holy.
Justification is by Grace, all you need to do is to believe in Jesus with your heart and confess with your mouth and you will be JUSTIFIED; in other words, by just believing in Jesus and being saved YOU ARE MADE RIGHTEOUS, better still, you become the righteousness of God.

But glorification is by sanctification, Paul tells Timothy that in a big house are vessels of all kind, of wood of clay and of precious metals. But, your access to the room of usage is not determined by which material you are made of, but by whether or not you sanctify yourself.
There are golden vessels that will sit and watch the clay vessels being used by God, solely because, they failed the sanctification process. Please note that they are in the house, which means they are born again, but they do not work out their salvation, with fear (an inward, invisible reverence, unwavering zeal to achieve holiness) and trembling (an outward, visible and attest-able conduct).
Righteousness gives us access to the house, but it is holiness that gives us access to the table.

Ask workers who work in big houses for important people, it is not everybody who is invited to the table, it is not every worker that serves at the dining. Also in every place of work, there are different access levels. There are files and information that not every employee is allowed to know. There are rooms and offices that not every employee is allowed to access. There are some places you will try to login and you will be slapped with a notification "Access Denied" !!

And it is the same way also in the kingdom of God.
So, listen up! Yes, I said that sin in this new covenant IS VERY PERSONAL, because it is highly dependant on what you believe. But I am here today to tell you, that holiness in other words known as purity is of paramount importance.
Jesus said that, "Blessed (blessedness speaks unto the availability of access) are the pure in heart (those that are holy and pursue holiness) for they shall see God." As I said yesterday, one of the Bible's unique qualities and characteristics is its ability to speak of the past, of now and of the future.

There are people who keep asking if God really is there for them, or if God really cares, or if God really exists, etc., etc. All they need to do is purify themselves, sanctify themselves, and they shall meet God, they shall greet God, they shall see God.
And I am not talking about beyond the grave, no, I am talking of both now and beyond the grave.
Here I speak as Nesh, I have a feeling that there are people who will be allowed into heaven, but they will not see God. They will rely on hearsay and stories from others of how glorious He is.
Why?

Paul says that your works will be passed through fire. If your works are of flammable material, your soul will be saved, but your works will be consumed. It means that you will enter heaven, but you will go there empty handed. And the Bible says that Jesus is coming back, with a reward in His hand, TO PAY EVERYBODY ACVORDING TO THEIR WORK. Now, let me ask, if you are empty handed, will you really need to meet Him? What for? To waste His precious time?

Those whose works are consumed in the fire and by the fire, will be forced to stay out of the award ceremony or cheer from the peripherals.
Awards will not be given on bases of righteousness, they will be given based on holiness. For all of us are righteous through Jesus Christ, that is, if you have accepted Him. But the distinction between us is holiness and the levels of it.
One is saved yes and they profess Jesus as their LORD and Savior, but they do things that do not lift Jesus up, things that do not draw people to Jesus, things that do not give God glory. Jesus said, "If you deny me here on earth, I will deny you in heaven. People think that denial will only be for sinners being thrown to hell. But those who deny Jesus glory here on earth, will also be denied glory in heaven!

If there is something that you do that makes people say, "If that man is saved, I don't want to get saved", or "If that is what is called salvation, I would rather remain a sinner", etc., etc. prepare yourself to be a cheerleader as others receive their rewards for a job well done. No, no, no, I am not saying you will be thrown to hell, the Bible says, your soul shall be saved, but your works shall be consumed, you will be in heaven admiring others and telling them congratulations every time you meet them. And there is a probability you may never meet God face to face.

You may see Jesus because the Bible says every eye shall see Him, but meeting Him has never been guaranteed for everybody, it is only for the pure.
So, those who think that grace is a license to mess allowed need to know that there is a price to pay.
Tomorrow, I will talk about falling from grace and falling from glory, and I believe God will help us.
Shalom and keep the faith.


Please freely comment below and share your opinion. Remember to share if this message blesses you.