donnie:
There a difference between holiness and godliness.
Holiness stems from whom Christ has made us. Godliness is what we do.

jiggaz:
Morning

Janeyinspires:
Brymo,come in here.
.
.
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Holiness is who Christ has made us to be through His sacrifice,it's not what we do.
Keep'em coming,jiggaz!

Janeyinspires:
Brymo,come in here.
.
.
.
Holiness is who Christ has made us to be through His sacrifice,it's not what we do.
Keep'em coming,jiggaz!

Brymo:
HeHe

jiggaz:
Life under the old covenant was so much simpler than the free and confusing world of grace. Back then if you wanted to stay on the straight and narrow, you just had to keep all the rules. But in the kingdom of grace, there are no rules (1 Cor 6:12). A good marriage doesn’t need them. For those unacquainted with the security of His love, the absence of rules can be terrifying. “Help! Somebody tell me what to do! I need rules!”

Enter the holiness preachers.

Much of what passes for holiness preaching today is old covenant theology dressed up in new covenant ribbons. See if you can spot the difference:

Then: God promised we would be His holy people if we kept the rules. The law is a how-to manual for holiness.

Now: Am I saved by the law? Oh, heavens no. That’s so old covenant. I don’t keep the law to earn salvation. No, the law shows me how to live pleasing to the Lord. The law is a how-to manual for holiness.

Do you see the difference? Strip away the mumbo-jumbo and there is no difference! Just read some of the comments I get whenever I talk about something like the commands of Jesus and you will find 101 different ways of saying the same thing: The Rules are a manual for holy living. The only difference between then and now is that some of the rules have changed. The Israelites lived by the ceremonial rules of Moses; today, many Christians make up their own rules. “I just keep the red letters of Jesus.” “I try to do everything in the Bible.” “I just do whatever my pastor says.”

D.I.Y. holiness

Practical holiness is a term to beware as it often comes hiding a fishhook. Much of it is pure mixture, as the following soundbites illustrate:

1) “Following Christ is a lifestyle.” (True.) “We’ve got to keep His commands to be His disciples.” (Nope – that’s backwards. That’s putting the fruit before the tree.)

2) “Find out what pleases the Lord.” (Okay!) “Keeping His instructions pleases Him.” (No it does not – that’s faithless, law-based living that nullifies grace and inflames sin – read Romans 7. Jesus pleases the Lord. Trust Him.)

3) “If you sow to the flesh you will reap destruction.” (Yep). “So we have to be earnest in getting people to change their behavior.” (But that’s sowing to the flesh! You’re setting them up for failure.)

Holiness preaching that emphasizes what you must do is carnal Christianity. Make no mistake, it comes straight out of the old covenant. Heed this sort of teaching and you will exalt the flesh at the expense of grace. And it won’t make you holy.

There are at least four ways to determine whether the holiness message you’re listening to reflects the condemning covenant of the law or the new and liberating covenant of grace:

1) Old covenant holiness is based on who you are (a bit of a reprobate) and is sold as a list of things you must do; new covenant holiness is based on who Christ is (our holiness – 1 Cor 1:30) and what He has done (sanctified you – Heb 2:11, Rom 11:16).

2) Old covenant holiness emphasizes sacrifices you are expected to make; new covenant holiness emphasizes the perfectly perfect sacrifice of the Lamb, by which you were “perfected forever” (Heb 10:14).

3) Old covenant holiness is sold as a process of increasing sanctification – something “we grow into” as we become more like Christ; new covenant holiness is presented as a done deal (Heb 10:10).

4) Old covenant holiness comes with a big stick – “the Lord will condemn you if you don’t deliver”; new covenant holiness has exhortations but no sticks because there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:1).

Beware frowners preaching holiness

Because of these differences in message, we can also recognize differences in the messenger. An old covenant holiness preacher will come across as serious and threatening. He will remind you of Moses warning the Israelites at the foot of Mt Sinai. But a new covenant preacher of holiness will come across as life-giving and inspirational. He will remind you of Jesus speaking the words of eternal life (Joh 6:68). An old covenant preacher of holiness will speak the faithless language of longing and lack. But a new covenant preacher of holiness will bracket any exhortations with affirmations like these:

1) “Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living.” (1 Th 4:1).

2) “Now about brotherly love we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. And in fact, you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia. (1 Th 4:9-10)

How to preach holiness

One day I hope to do a series of posts on how to preach holiness the same way the apostles did it. For those who can’t wait, here’s the short version: To be holy is to partake of His wholeness; it is to stop acting broken (because in Him we are not broken) and to allow Him to express His whole and beautiful life through us.

The challenge is that being holy is a new experience for us. As sinners, holiness was totally alien to us. That old lifestyle was characterized by brokenness and hurt. Now that we are in Him we have to learn to walk in our new and God-given identity.

The wrong way to approach this is to think of yourself as a flawed sinner trying to become holy. That’s not who you are and that’s not how it works. Instead, see yourself as a toddler learning to walk. Just as you wouldn’t spank an infant if they stumbled and fell, neither will your heavenly Father spank you. He doesn’t condemn you when you fall; He encourages you to get up and walk! He has given you everything you need for life and godliness. In Christ you lack nothing. You just need to work out who you already are and what He has already given you. This is the adventure of holy living.

https://escapetoreality.org/2012/07/27/practical-holiness/

veeklin:


This post is misleading especially for those people who have little biblical knowledge.
James 2:17 says "So, too, faith by itself, without works, is dead", verse 20 says "But do you care to know, O empty man, that faith without works is useless?" and verse 26 concludes " Indeed, just as the body without spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead".

I wont want to dive into so many scriptures, but the simple truth is this "you can't give what you don't have", Christians who go or listen to teachings like urs are those who claim to have received the Holy Spirit but but have no "works" or "fruitage" of the spirit to manifest namely "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith,mildness, self-control" but wallow around in the "works of the flesh", "they are sexual immorality, uncleanness, brazen conduct, idolatry, spiritism, hostility, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, dissensions, divisions, sects, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and things like these and note, that those who practice such things will not inherit God’s Kingdom.

little wonder you cannot tell Christians from none-Christians today because they all exhibit "The same fleshly works". some Christians even believing they can lead a sinful life and still be holy in the sight of God because of grace. my dear, grace doesn't work that way! Remember Hebrews 10:29 says "Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought
worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath
counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an
unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?"

that aside when it comes to other matters,like paying of tithe, you will be so quick to refer to the Old Testament, please why don't you quote the New Testament where it says Christians are to pay tithe? There is no such place, only voluntary offering is stated in the New Testament assuming you are aware of this.

please preach what the Bible says and no twisted things to suit you!

jiggaz:
This your post reeks of ignorance!! Its so obvious you don't understand grace and i won't blame you cos satan have blinded the eyes of many Christians to the real Gospel of Christ. You are definitely a babe in Christ, so till you mature, you cannot understand the things of the spirit. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you. You are even quoting Scriptures out of context!!

For the records, i don't preach about tithe. Under the new covenant, Christians are not obligated to pay tithe. Christians give one tenth of their income to God as a worship to Christ in the order of Melchizedek, not as an obligation but as an act of gratitude to Christ for provision. If you like you pay tithe and if you don't like, please you don't have to. We are not blessed because we pay tithe, we are blessed because of the Finished Work of Christ on the Cross!! It's all about Christ Jesus!! Nothing more, nothing less.

So my dear, you made a mistake by attacking me. I am on a different level entirely and you cannot understand the articles i post unless the Holy Spirit teaches you. The things of the spirit is so difficult for mortal men even though you yourself is a believer. So next time, if you don't agree with anything i post, just ignore it and move on. Don't attack me again cos i am too big for you. Have a nice evening. I am all about Christ and seeing that people are liberated by the truth of the Gospel.

veeklin:



who is more ignorant, you or me?
but before you answer here is the definition of ignorance- the condition of being uninformed or lack of knowledge or information.

I gave you only a few facts from the scriptures, Just the tip of the iceberg and to you supreme understanding you couldn't even rebuff it from the scriptures but rather you simply took the easy way out by saying I was quoting those scriptures out of context........please Mr Bible scholar show us here the right context of those scriptures, assuming you can.

Also you mentioned that I should pray for the Holy Spirit to help me understand what grace is.....hope you did too before posting what you did earlier, maybe it would have helped you to explain grace properly to me from the scriptures and not without reference.
The Bible itself, if you don't know is the product of the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21), and yes I always pray for it's leading in understanding the Bible. You should do like wise, you have zeal but it is misplaced.

Christians ought to be the light of the world, a shining example as people under grace in all things, not just confessing him as their lord and personal Savior...... take not ALL aspects of their lives, mark 4:21 and 23 says " (Jesus) also said to them: “A lamp is not brought out to be put under a basket or under a bed, is it? Is it not brought out to be put on a lampstand? Whoever has ears to listen, let him listen.”
I rest my case here for now.

jiggaz:
Your opinion... As i said before, i am too big for you my dear. You are a babe in Christ. Till you mature, please don't make the mistake of challenging those above you. You cannot understand grace till the Holy spirit washes off your law-infested eyes.

And one thing bro, i don't argue about Scriptures here with people. I did that alot here in 2015 when i brought the Gospel of Grace on Nairaland. They always end up abusing and insulting me, so i learnt to ignore so many things. So if you feel that am talking rubbish, just ignore and move on. There are so many other Christian articles here on Nairaland that have your own point of view, plz mingle with your kind. I know my target audience.

As i said before, i am on a whole different level. I am not boasting or anything, but i am too big for you. What i know, you cannot comprehend it. So please my dear, find your level. I make my boast in Christ. Ask the spirit of God for wisdom and read your bible with an open mind, forget about religion and man made traditions. No need for any unnecessary argument, we reason differently. Have a great night.

jiggaz:
Lord Almighty,you are clothe with majesty.