Life, Love, and Legalism, Part One

      Whew!  I guess maybe I didn't realize exactly what I was getting into with this holiness thing.  It sounds easy on the surface....just do what the Word tells you to do.  But there is so much more to it than that.  This will no doubt be a lifelong journey.
      I want to share some of the scriptures that are there to help us understand God's expectations of holiness.  I am also delving into the application part of those scriptures, but this is obviously something I need more time for before I share it with anyone.  So for the time being, look at some of these scriptures, not just the individual reference, but in context with the rest of the chapter.  Give some thought and devote some prayer time to the understanding of what God is teaching us through each passage.  And I will study and learn and share more with you next time.  Anyway, what better post could I write than simply pointing our thoughts to God's Word?


 Leviticus 11:45   
I am the LORD, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.
Leviticus 20:7
 Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the LORD your God.
Leviticus 22:32
Do not profane my holy name, for I must be acknowledged as holy by the Israelites. I am the LORD, who made you holy
Deuteronomy 5:12
Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you.
Romans 12:1
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship
1 Peter 1:15
But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do;
Psalm 34:13
keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies.
James 3:6
The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one's life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
Matthew 6:22
The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light.
Romans 12:17
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.
1 John  2:16
For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.
Proverbs 4:24
Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
Proverbs 12:19
Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.
Proverbs 13:3
Those who guard their lips preserve their lives, but those who speak rashly will come to ruin.
Proverbs 18:6
The lips of fools bring them strife, and their mouths invite a beating.
Proverbs 24:2
for their hearts plot violence, and their lips talk about making trouble.
Isaiah 29:13
The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.
1 Corinthians 6:18
Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.
2 Corinthians 7:1
Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.
1 Thessalonians 4:4
that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable
Ephesians 4:29
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen
Ephesians 4:31-32
Get rid of all bitterness,rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.
 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
 
James 1:26
Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.
Hebrews 12:14
Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.
Colossians 3:8
But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.
 
I know there are many, many more scriptures devoted to holiness. The "shalt nots" if you will.  If you find one you want to add, please post it here.  Next time, we will delve into some application.  See you then!
 
 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

In Case of Emergency

      Well, as I sit here full of drugs for bronchitis, I'm mellow enough to tackle the last part of James 1:19 regarding anger.  Of all the emotions we experience, this one can be the most damaging to us and those around us.  Anger, combined with the tongue James speaks of later, can destroy relationships, lives, jobs, government entities, even countries.  It is a powerful and vicious tool that is almost always used in the wrong hands.       We all remember the example of Jesus becoming angry at the temple.  Since we know Jesus did not sin, this demonstration was more about righting a wrong than an expression of anger.  We sometimes call this righteous anger.  I fear that we use this example as Christians to justify our anger outbursts.       As I write this I am thinking about the last time I was really angry.  I have been doing much better with this due to the hel...
Read more

When Silence Breaks Your Heart

Image
"How long, Lord, must I call for help but you do not listen?  Or cry out to you, 'Violence!' but you do not save?" Habakkuk 1:3 We've all been there. Prayers that bounce off the wall.  No answers when we cry out day after day, week after week, month after month.  We question the goodness of a God who seems silent when we, desperate for answers and solutions, beg Him with tears, moans, and sometimes anger.  Why????? Often, when we look back, months and sometimes years later, we see what The Plan was.  Sometimes we don't. But when we are actually going through the experience of petitioning our God for our needs and we feel unheard and unloved, it's not easy. If you are familiar with Lysa Terkeurst, she's faced a number of battles recently when she has cried out to God for answers.  She experienced a marriage crisis and breast cancer within the last two years.  But in her new book, "It's Not Supposed to Be This Way", Ly...
Read more

Who Will Pray?

"When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven."         - Nehemiah 1:4 My friend and I are planning a retreat.  There are a lot of things to do to put a retreat together, and as with any project there are a lot of people 'behind the scenes' that contribute to the project.  I met with one of those people this week, and I think I got my "retreat experience" when having that 15 minute conversation. One of the things that happens before the retreat is a lot of prayer.  We have one prayer warrior we count on for a lot of this.  I met with her to give her the names to pray for, people who have registered for the retreat so far.  This lady is 86 years old.  She has not had an easy life.  She has a child to cancer, has watched other children suffer with it, and faced many other difficulties and trials along the way.  Her body does no...
Read more