CALLED UNTO HOLINESS
Memorise: But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless
them that curse you, do good to them that hate you,
and pray for them which despitefully use you, and
persecute you; Matthew 5:44
Read: Matthew 5:43-48, Bible in one year: 2nd Chronicles
23:16-25:13, Luke 24:36-53
The call to salvation is a call to holiness. The day you were
invited to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, you were
automatically called to a life of holiness. The Bible in 1st
Thessalonians 4:7 says:
“For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto
holiness”
Have you responded to this call? The reason why many
Christian leaders are heading for Hell today is because they
have not answered the call to holiness. This ingredient is so
indispensable to the Christian faith that having salvation
without holiness is like leaving the substance and taking the
chaff that can be easily blown away. Without sanctification,
the salvation experience may not know stability. The
accounts for the rising-and-falling syndrome being
experienced by many Christians. When you are sanctified
after receiving Christ into your heart, your faith in Christ is
given the strong roots it needs. Hence, when the winds of
affliction, temptation, persecution and other challenges of
life blow, your faith in Christ will be unshaken, because it is
deeply rooted. While the experience of salvation is akin to
cruising in God’s shallow waters, experience sanctification is
like launching out into the deep oceans of God’s nature. You
need this experience!
When you are sanctified, you will have control over your
emotions. If you have been battling with lust and sexual
sins, ask God for a sanctified heart and you will overcome.
Do you know that many leaders still have problems with
anger? When they are angry, they can destroy just about
anything. They become filled with rage and behave
irrationally. What they need is sanctification. When you are
holy, you are not easily provoked. In fact, after several
failed deliberate attempts to make you angry, people will
wonder whether you can ever get annoyed. If you are
sanctified, you will find it impossible to cheat anyone, how
much more your fellow Christian Brother. With a sanctified
heart, you will easily forgive your persecutors like Stephen
and Jesus did. You will make excuses for those who fall
below your expectations. You will have grace to love the
unlovable, and pray for those who spitefully use you. When
Jesus gave the instruction in today’s reading, He was actually
calling us to holiness. Have you accepted this call? Have you
received a new heart?
PRAYER POINT :
Father, as I renew my mind with Your Word, sanctify me
wholly that I may live to please you.
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