If you pursue money, you will miss God, you will be an idolater. If you teach people how to give before making them worshippers, you will produce idolaters.
God deals with his people dispensationally. There are seven dispensations and we are in the sixth which is called the dispensation of the Holy Ghost or the dispensation of the grace of God. Everything in the Old Testament is meant to prepare us for the real thing that is to come. The Law was a school master to bring us to where we will understand how filthy we were and how God hates and punishes sin and so that we will appreciate grace. Grace came to us through the shedding of the blood of Jesus Christ.
“For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age”.Titus 2:11-12, NIV
Grace teaches us to break away from every form of ungodliness. Sin is still sinful regardless of grace. Grace is never a licence to sin. All the ablutions that were done in the old testament to make people clean is now done by the blood of Jesus but you have to appropriate it. The blood of Jesus gives us access to the throne of grace.
In the Old Testament, you cannot just walk into the presence of the Holy God. You must go to the temple and come through the priest. Today, you are not only a priest, you are also a king. That is what Jesus did for us and that is the beauty of the New Testament. The people who are still practicing the Old Testament religion are in bondage. That was what Apostle Paul was angry about.
Legalism is a form of bondage, a form of idolatry. If it were possible to be clean without the blood of Jesus, God wouldn’t have sent his Son to die for us. You cannot obtain righteousness by self righteous rule keeping and observances. The beauty of grace is now being abused. Grace is now being presented as if it is a licence to sin. Those who preach this claim that the moment you give your life to Christ, it doesn’t matter how you live, you are already in heaven! That is easy believism. That is error. It is your personal responsibility to study the word of God. If the Holy Spirit is your guide, he will lead you in the paths of righteousness, holiness and wisdom of God.
Today, a lot of ministries do not believe in holiness, they are people of faith. Any faith that does not lead you to a life of holiness is fake. The nature of God is holy, holy, holy. The Bible makes it categorically clear in Heb. 12:14, “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord”. Without holiness no man shall see the Lord, so if your faith is not leading you to live holy, you cannot see God.
PRAY –
- Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you in the mighty name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth your dear son, to establish me in holiness, righteousness, and your wisdom and let your spirit be my guide forever. Amen.
TO BE CONTINUED.