Holiness Is Not An Option!

"As he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy" (1 Peter 1:15-16)

You cannot study the Bible diligently and earnestly without being struck by an obvious fact - the whole matter of personal holiness is highly important to God!

Neither do you have to give long study to the attitudes of modern Christian believers to discern that by and large we consider the expression of true Christian holiness to be just a matter of personal option: "I have looked it over and considered it, but I don't buy it!"

I have always like the word "exhort" better than "command" so I remind you that Peter has given every Christian a forceful exhortation to holiness of life and conversation. He clearly bases this exhortation on two great facts - first, the character of God, and second, the command of God.

In the New Testament the emphasis is not upon happiness but upon holiness. God is more concerned with the state of people's hearts than with the state of their feelings!

~A. W. Tozer~

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A Worshiping People

"Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name ... come before him: worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness" (1 Corinthians 16:29)

We are brought to God and to faith and to salvation that we might worship and adore Him. We do not come to God that we might be automatic Christians, cookie-cutter Christians, Christians stamped out with a die.

God has provided His salvation that we might be, individually and personally, vibrant children of God, loving God with all our hearts and worshiping Him in the beauty of holiness.

This does not mean, and I am not saying, that we must all worship alike. The Holy Spirit does not operate by anyone's preconceived idea or formula. But this I know: when the Holy Spirit of God comes among us with His anointing, we become a worshiping people.

Worship means to "express in some appropriate manner" what you feel. Now, expressing in some appropriate manner doesn't mean that we always express it in the same way all the time. And it doesn't mean that you will always express your worship in the same manner. But it does mean that it will be expressed in some manner.

~A. W. Tozer~