We here in america are in the same boat as those from Great Britian, in that we have forgotten what it means to be HOLY. If you ask most church members wht it means to be holy they ant tell you! Some take the easy way and say that is all inward and no outward, or some say that it is all outward. The truth is that it is both and that claiming to have one without the other is as absurd as saying that you can have water with only the 2 part hydrogen and minus the oxygen. There is both an inward cleansing and a definite outward biblical standard. We must get back to Bible Holiness if we are to have revival or even make it to heaven. HEB.12:14

freeholiness,
Welcome to the website.

Concerning your comment about holiness, most would agree that holiness is not an option.

We are to be holy, for God is holy, 1 Peter 1v16.

As God works on us from the inside, it should reflect on the outside.

I hope we understand that this does not mean outward obedience from man-made rules and regulations, but from a fear of God and a hunger for His holiness in our lives.

We should live to please Him.

God bless.

Thank you enid for the welcome I enjoy old reaching and this site has alot of it.
I agree with you:
Inward and outward holiness is not an option, my fear though is that many people have an idea of holiness that was spoon fed to them by someone else. When it comes to something as important as holiness (hebrews 12:14) we must study the scriptures to see what they say.
Inward holiness is brought about by the work of sanctification wrought by Jesus in the life of a christian susequent to salvation and just prior to the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Until this point a person may saved and made righteous but they are not wholly saintified.

Outward holiness is simply a reflection of what God has done on the inside being shown by a erson living a life that is modeled not by man made rules and regulations but rather according to the standards of holy dress, attitude, and thoughts as laid out in the Bible.
God bless and lead us all.

Holiness must be our heart's desire and longing;
and we must deny ourselves daily and be willing
to be filled with and led by the Spirit of God.

_________________
Martin G. Smith

I think the American low view of holiness is a direct result of our low view of salvation. For decades American unbelievers have been taught to repeat a simple prayer and abracadabra, you're now a Christian. The apostle had another view of the heart changing effect of true salvation: "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers" (Romans 8:28-29).

American professing Christians like verse 28. "Everything is going to be good for me," we think. But what Paul is saying is, when God converts us He makes sure that whatever we go through is used to conform us to the image of His Son, which is a testimony both of His goodness and works to our own goodness.

Salvation without progressive holiness is not salvation. God can raise Christians, just like sons of Abraham, from the stones. One is not a Christian just because he says he is, he's a Christian because Christ says "Mine!"

Holiness is to be possessed by the Holy one. The Holy Spirit, embodied in a person. Angels,;persons, personalities, are both Holy and unholy. Men, what ever they name themselves, or are named by others, either have the holy Spirit in them, or not.


Having the initial Spirit in a person, makes them a child, or offspring of the Holy God, and is but the downpayment of Eternal Life, or an Abiding with the Holy One. We are counted holy, as the Father looks upon us, and beholding the Blood of Jesus, imputes his Holiness unto us. We may choose, though, inadvertently, or directly, to act, or live a life, outside of this walk with his Spirit, and the imputed life that comes from Jesus's sacrifice.



This walk, therefore is inward and outward, in that our inner being, or Spirit man, is the true decision maker...it is our will. Jesus cried in Gethsemane, "Not my will, bur Yours!", to His Father God. This is the principle guiding our path to God, and holiness. This is the root of obedience in our lives, and the Thing that will provide Holiness to us, and the only thing. "not my will, but THINE!"



Scripture speaks of "mortifying", or killing the desires that arise from our fallen natures, by submitting to this Spirit that lives in us as Christians. We can inwardly refuse to submit, AFTER He has came into, and upon us. This is the nature of sin; The corruption in all men, from Adam, our father.



Jesus said; "If any man come after me, let him pick up His cross, and Follow ME!" There are two crosses, that we must embrace to be Holy, and therefore to enter Heaven. We must be Born Again through trusting in that Awful crucifixion of God as the Man, and we must follow him, and bear our own awful crucifixion of our natures, by total submission to the Spirit of Holiness that we have been born again with.



In Hebrews, Paul, speaking to the Church dispersed, said, "If any man draw back into



[b]Perdition[/b], "my soul shall have no pleasure in Him"

Another scripture, speaking to the Church:" Without Holiness, NO MAN SHALL SEE GOD!"


There are many, many more. So, receiving the Spirit of holiness, is the start, and the walk, is ;"He who endures to the End, the same shall be saved!"...Jesus. There is Grace abounding, and only the Lord Judges unto Eternity. There is also, along with the goodness of God, severity. I believe the saddest man in Hades, is the one who was born again, and betrayed Jesus, by honoring his own way, rather than the way of obedience and submission unto holiness. Brothertom

I agree with your statement that holiness is an inward and outward walk. The two are like the oars of a row boat if only one is used then all that happens is you go in circles and never get anywhere.
A person must be holy if he/she ever hope to get to heaven (hebrews 12:14). The questions arise though what is holiness, and how is one holy? Holiness in the words of my college(Ozark Bible Institute, Neosho, Mo.) professor Gene Canter "is a heart right attitude that always says yes to God." This is the inward aspect of holiness in that it is total and complete surrender to the Lord and if this is done the the old man will be put to death and carnality will have been put out.
Outward holiness deals with the way a person conducts themselves be it in their attitudes, way they dress, places they go, things they entertain themselves with, simply put their overall life. as to the how is a person made holy, this can only be accomplished by faith in Jesus (acts 2:18), And in His Blood (hebrews 13:12).

_________________
Luke

Paul the apostle makes a statement that there are three parts to a man, spirit, soul, and body. In John 3, Nichodemas was confused about the rebirth, thinking that Jesus was talking about his physical body. Jesus made it clear to him that the part of his being that is born again is his spirit. That is the part of man that is dead unto God, and needs rebirth. Paul also says that we are transformed by the renewing of our minds (I see the soul as being composed of mind, will, and emotion). We also see that if the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwell in us, He is able to quicken also our mortal bodies. According to Paul the Apostle, when I am born again, I am not only made righteous, but I become the very righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. If I am truly born again, my spirit is totally renewed, regenerated, become a new creature, etc., but my soulish part and obviously my body are not "reborn" at the same time. Holiness "occurs" when I am obedient to the Word of God and the promptings of the Holy Spirit as I am renewed in the spirit of my mind (Eph. 4). I agree, holiness is lived from the inside out as I draw near to God, and holiness will leave no corner of my body, my mind, my life untouched. Holiness is not a standard of behavior (except where the Word of God expressly addresses a behavior), but is a readiness to revenge all unrighteous things in my life as God reveals them to me. I find that the the outward expressions of a life of holiness, and likewise the outward expressions of a life without holiness are simply indicators of a generally unholy attitude of the heart. Not sure if this is coming out the way I mean it, but the things we so often see as outward holiness are only byproducts of a holiness of heart that causes these things to be in our lives. I personally desire to be holy out of a love for my Savior that grows stronger each day I walk closely with him. It is a natural outflow of my relationship with him, and is changing not only my outward man, but my inward man as well including my thoughts, my emotions, and my will. In other words, holiness is the fruit that is born by the tree whose roots are planted in the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ. May we all desire holiness.

_________________
Travis