Last week we began talking about holiness in our class. Holiness has always been one of those things that I heard spoken of in churches, but had never understood. Spoken of often, and in lofty tones, "We must be holy as God is holy!" And yet, somehow, hearing it became a numbed area of uncertainty. Who really understood it? I didn't.
Until last week!
Holiness is to be set apart for God. To live a life committed to following, obeying, and living a lifestyle of repentance is to be holy. It does not mean to be perfect, without the slightest mess up. But rather, it means to live according to what I know.
As God started to bring revelation of his holiness, there also came the understanding that he created me to be holy! He has created me to be without sin. With this came a whole new revelation of how intensely God therefore hates sin! It robs us of our created identity.
I had always known God hated sin, but as we've been reading through Leviticus, I have had an entirely new revelation of this truth! In the Old Testament, the punishment for intentional sin was DEATH! I began to think of how many times I intentionally sin...and what this would mean if I lived under the Mosaic covenant. Sin is such a serious issue, that the punishment for it is death. Either for you, or for the sacrificial animal.
I have begun praying for God to put such a hatred of sin in my own heart! I want to grow more in the fear of the Lord and holiness. Already this knowledge has changed by outlook on life--now I want to see it change my behavior!
Chasity Theissen
Edited by Rynn Davison.
No comments:
Post a Comment