MONDAY June 10, 2024
True Righteousness and Holiness
...put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
Ephesians 4:22-24
God desires to use our lives, so walk in the newness of life and obey Christ! As we now sit in the heavenly places, chosen of God, forgiven, and redeemed, why not step out by faith to serve Him? We are to be doers of the Word of God, not just hearers, as the Apostle James exhorts:
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does (James 1:22-25).
There are many people who read the Bible and study biblical encyclopedias and commentaries, but it has just become stored knowledge in their minds; it has not changed their hearts a single bit. Our lives have to change and be seen as genuine to others. If you are not a man or woman of truth by obeying God’s Word, then you are not a genuine Christian.
In fact, people will be pushed away from Christ instead of toward Christ. Do not make other people stumble by your carnality. The fact that our position is in Christ should motivate us to walk in true righteousness and holiness. There needs to be a purity of life (1 Thessalonians 4:1-12). We have the power of the Holy Spirit to walk in the newness of life––to break any bad habits. Now that we have come to Christ, we do not have to be the same person we used to be.
The difference between worldliness and godliness is a renewed mind.
~Erwin W. Lutzer~
For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!
