“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, teaching and training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” Titus 2:11-14

Now, there is no doubt in my mind that we are living in perilous times, and that we, as the people of God, are being assaulted on all sides by seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. Many have fallen in battle, and it is unfortunate that professing Christians are one of the few species on this planet that make a regular practice of killing their wounded. It would do us all well to remember that fallen brothers and sisters, especially those in leadership positions, are not only our servants, but more importantly, God’s servants, and it is His responsibility to deal with them if they fall into sin. Through His great wisdom, grace, and mercy, He is able to make them stand up and keep on keeping on, even after they fall. I am not saying that there is not ordained human spiritual authority to represent Christ in dealing with the rebellious and unruly, thank God there is - but ultimately, God is the eternal judge of us all.



“Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; For it is written, ‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.” Rom. 14:10-12



That brings me back to my point. The court of public opinion or even the spiritually ordained human authority in the church responsible for oversight and correction of wrong doers cannot, and will not, compare in severity to the judgment seat of Christ. It is a true sign of our corporate and individual carnality when we exercise an exaggerated concern for the former, without giving due weight and attention to the latter.



“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad [2 Cor 5:10].”



What we do now in the appropriation of God’s grace through faith, which works by love (His love for us and our love for Him), as it pertains to our personal and corporate holiness before God and man, will determine the degree of both God’s blessings and power available and accessible to us in this present life. This is even a more sure reality as it pertains to the eternal rewards or losses we will experience in the life and kingdom to come. The choices that we make now, will determine how we live now, as well as how and where we will live then.



Holiness is not optional, and, like I said, it has been provided in abundance by grace through faith. But faith is the operative word here. Do we truly have faith (trust) in the Bible’s revelations regarding our God’s severity in response to our bad behavior and His goodness in response to our good behavior. I really don’t think that I do sufficiently, or I would be more cautious and or at least more conscientious about my behavior. And how about you, dear reader? Do you fear the Lord sufficiently? The Bible teaches that “without holiness, no one will see the Lord.” And "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."



It also teaches that those who walk in the Spirit will not fulfill the works of the flesh, which are evident. In other words if we are not walking in the Spirit, the following sins and others like them will be evident in our lives. This infamous list is found in the book of Galatians chapter five and verses nineteen through twenty-one. They are: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealously, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, and orgies just to name a few. The Apostle Paul goes on to warn us again, that those who do (practice) such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Do we believe this or not? If we do, then we had better learn how to walk in the Spirit, don’t you agree?


"Sin is pleasurable for a season, but the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."  "God is not mocked, if we sow to the flesh, we will from the flesh reap corruption; but, if we sow to the Spirit, we will from the Spirit reap life everlasting." Sowing seed, whether unproductive or productive, good seed or bad seed, is relative to our activities and practices, our disciplines and habits. Willful sins in our lives, due to loose disciplines, will result in yielding to the temptations of the devil and our sin nature, which will result in catastrophe and loss in this life and in the one to come.  Yielding to the Spirit, and the spiritual disciplines that will ensue from that activity, will result in righteousness, peace and joy in our lives, and the power of God realized, revealed, and expressed through us. Willful sins open a wide door for the enemy to come in and do his thing.  Chosen obedience to the will and word of God as directed by the Holy Spirit will close the door to the enemy and protect us from his assaults.

Again the appropriation of holiness found in Christ Jesus will require spiritual enthusiasm, energy, and effort on our part in order to achieve and maintain it. Paul said that he was pressing towards it, and that those who are spiritually mature would be doing the same. Let us possess the kingdom of heaven within by the power of the Holy Spirit, who has chosen to indwell us, and let us hold on to it through genuine conviction and resolve. Let us submit to God and resist the devil, and he will flee from us. Let us no longer give heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils so that we might enjoy the present and eternal blessings and power that are the direct results of holiness unto God.



Jesus and the apostles of Christ preached the gospel of the kingdom, "not in word, only, but with the demonstration of the Spirit and power." They didn’t just make empty promises regarding God’s provisions of healing and the miraculous, but they demonstrated His provisions through a life dedicated and devoted to the pursuit and the perfecting of holiness through faithfulness to God. There have been men in the last century like John G. Lake and Smith Wiggelsworth, as well as many others, who did likewise for the same reason, i.e. "power from on High!"


In a world that is under siege by a destructive enemy (Satan), we who are the church living in the 21st century cannot afford to be without divine power from on high to confront, resist, oppose, and destroy the works of the devil. This power is dependent upon our willing determination to appropriate the holiness found in Christ through faith (trust) and faithfulness (obedience). It is past time and high time that we do this. The alternative, if we choose not to, will be the status quo, which is the equivalent of laying dead hands on dead heads, and if this be the case, we are all better off dead because in the deepest darkest Hell, we have already made our beds!

I will end this article with an exhortation from the Apostle Peter entitled, "Make Your Calling and Election Sure."

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence, by which He has granted to us His precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desires. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with perseverance and perseverance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For this way (through practicing these qualities) there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 3-11 {Note: parenthesis mine.}