Holiness

Holiness can be defined on two levels. Positional holiness is what God imparts to us when we become his children. Since God is holy and we are sinners, we are reconciled to God through the blood of Christ shed on the cross. God imparts Christ's righteousness to us and makes us holy and blameless before him. That's our spiritual position in Christ. We have been separated from sin and set apart to God. Personal holiness (or practical holiness), on the other hand, is the outworking and fruit of positional holiness, evidenced in the way we think and live. Because we belong to God and his Holy Spirit indwells in us, we are commanded and divinely equipped to live according to his will every day, in every way.

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Thu, Sep 4, 2008
Brian G. Hedges
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Pastor Connect 2008

Habits of Holiness

Spiritual leaders do not have an easier path to holiness than everyone else. Spiritual growth doesn’t come more easily just because I’m a pastor. Like all believers, spiritual leaders are responsible to obey the command to grow: “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen” (2 Pet. 3:18). The word grow is in the present tense with an indicative mood. That simply means that we are commanded to be continually growing in the grace and knowledge of ...

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Article
Tue, Jul 8, 2008
Brian G. Hedges
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Pastor Connect 2008

You're Gonna Have to Serve Somebody

The legendary folk/rock/pop singer Bob Dylan sang: You may be an ambassador to England or France,
You may like to gamble, you might like to dance,
You may be the heavyweight champion of the world,
You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls. But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed;
You’re gonna have to serve somebody.
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord,
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.[1] Believe it or not, that’s pretty good theology! The apostle Paul even writes ...

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A Passion for Holiness
Article
Fri, May 30, 2008
Nancy Leigh DeMoss
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Setting the Sails (Updated)

A Passion for Holiness

For over twenty years, the people of Romania suffered under the iron-fisted, Communist rule of Nicolae Ceausescu—one of the most repressive and corrupt dictators of the 20th century. Christians were especially targeted by the regime and were subjected to intense intimidation and relentless harassment. Evangelical believers were ridiculed and were referred to in derision as "repenters." In 1969, the government revoked the preaching license of a pastor in Timisoara. After struggling to find work, the pastor finally ended up gluing paper shopping bags to support his family. For four years, as he did this work, he prayed for revival ...

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