The Best Way for Right Living

Living Holy for God Series, Part 3

I’ve been thinking about sin lately. Not because I want to sin, but more that I don’t want to sin. Living a sinful life conflicts with right living. The Apostle Paul taught much about sin and how we are to master it. He also spoke about living a life of walking in the truth, meaning, the Bible truth.

We’ve been working through a series of Living Holy for God, where we learned that God commands us to be holy as He is holy. Therefore, we must choose to live right and not do the things that displease Him. We learned that Jesus provided redemption for us and that through His death, we are presented to His Father as holy and blameless and irreproachable in His sight, Colossians 1:22. Isn’t that awesome!

If you are new to the Christian faith, you might find today’s study a bit hard to hear regarding holiness because it requires something from us. However, it is imperative that as Christians, we find out what that is as it is in our best interest to learn, apply, and do what God says, to enjoy a righteous life.

Table of Contents

The Difference Between Righteous Living and Right Living

Before we go any further, let’s look at the difference between righteous living and right living. They almost seem the same, but in fact, they are not.

When you accepted salvation, God extended to you His righteousness. This righteousness you received is a fact and cannot be removed. How you live your life should reflect that you have been made righteous. What you do, what you say, should all point to your new life in Christ. As a believer, your choices should be those that glorify God. The Apostle Paul spoke a lot about putting away the old man and putting on the Lord Jesus Christ, making no provision for the flesh, Romans 13:14.

To sum up that paragraph, right living is the product of righteousness. And remember this, that though your actions may not always be what they should be, that does not remove your righteousness.

Therefore, the good news is that believers can be holy as He is holy. Holiness is more than a feeling; it is BEING. It is walking in the truth of God and following His commands. And it is also realizing that holiness is not a choice, but rather, it is a desire to please God.

Right Living is Having a Heart for God

David, the Psalmist, shared his heart with us when he wrote Psalm 63:1 and expressed his yearning for God. This should be our desire too, to seek more of Him, for we can never have enough.

As you read that Psalm above, you’ll notice that David acknowledges the holiness of God through declaring His power and glory.

This is more than being flippant and saying, ‘yeah, He’s holy.’ This is a deep-seated yearning for God. And in that yearning, we praise Him and bless His name. We meditate on Him, His Word, and follow close after Him, Psalm 63:1-8. It’s a desire that we have for Him because of what He has done for us.

Because of our desire to love God, to know Him more, and to live right and glorify His name, we need to take a look at why holiness is not a choice.

The Deadly Barrier Between God and Us

Before we can find out about holiness, we need to discuss the barrier that separates believers from God. Actually, all of mankind is separated by this one thing, although for believers, it is something that we need to deal with daily.

And that is sin.

A thought-provoking question to ask ourselves is,

• how seriously do we take our sin?
• Do we think we have sins that are more tolerable than others?
• Or does the size of sin matter? A big sin versus a little sin, like taking home a pad of sticky notes versus premeditated murder.

Here’s something else to ponder: since believers live under grace, does that give us a license to willfully sin? We know that when we go to the Father for forgiveness, He will forgive us, but does that give us the right to choose to sin repeatedly?

Does grace allow for habitual sin in our lives?

To answer those questions, let’s ask God how He sees sin.

Right Living Does Not Include Habitual Sin

Before we turn the pages of the Word, let me say that sin is the opposite of holiness. It stains us, defiles us, and puts a barrier between God and us.

Paul wrote in Romans 6:1-2 that we shouldn’t continue in sin. This chapter is speaking of the forgiveness of sins at our spiritual birth. It also speaks of not allowing sin to have rule over us, Romans 6:13-16. This is a great chapter and worthy of reading over again to remind ourselves what we have been set free from and how we ought to conduct ourselves daily.

Because we have a sin nature that we inherited at the Fall through Adam and Eve, we are bound to sin. However, it is possible for us to choose not to sin. For the most part, we rule over our bodies when we decide to do the right thing. Then there are times when we slip and fall and find ourselves in need of forgiveness, which Jesus provides for us. Repentance is the requirement for forgiveness of sins.

Now, habitual sin, on the other hand, is something that we really need to get a hold of and break that chain of favoured sin. Don’t ignore it, and don’t let it grow. With the Holy Spirit’s help and your will to break that sin habit, you can achieve victory through Jesus.

Uzzah Met Up With God’s Standard of Holiness

Here’s an Old Testament account that might be hard to read, but it is necessary to know that God does not make allowance for sin. This is the Bible account of Uzzah, the Kohathite priest. Check these passages 1 Chronicles 13:3-4, 7-11; Numbers 4:4, 15, 17-20, as they explain in detail what happened when Uzzah touched the Ark of the Covenant when it began to slip on the ox cart. His disobedience (sin) cost him his life. If you haven’t already, please read the scripture references above before you answer the next question.

Is God cruel?

I see Him more as holy, just, merciful, and righteous!

He has a standard of judgment and righteousness that He adheres to. No allowances are made for anyone. Why not? If He made allowances, then could we trust Him to be fair and just when He corrects us? That’s another truth to ponder. What are your thoughts about that? Are you thankful for His fairness?

One more thing I am thankful for is that we have salvation through Jesus Christ, who has forgiven our sins, past, present, and future. While we still need to repent of our sins, we know He is faithful and just to forgive us, 1 John 1:9.

Right Living Means Sin and Holiness Do Not Mix

Here’s another example from the Old Testament that illustrates how righteousness and unrighteousness do not mix.

2 Chronicles 20:35-37, two verses that are simple, profound, and direct when you read the context of this passage.

Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, was a righteous king who served God and sought Him for direction. Earlier in this chapter, Jehoshaphat and his people won a battle against their enemies, and it took three days to gather up the spoils of war. God blessed them tremendously.

But here’s where he went wrong. He arranged a partnership between himself and the King of Israel, Ahaziah, who was a wicked king.  This partnership was to build ships to sail to Tarshish. It sounded like a good deal, but the problem is that you cannot go into a business arrangement with an unbeliever, 2 Corinthians 6:14. God did not bless this union. In fact, He destroyed the ships.

Scripture is quite plain when it speaks of this in 2 Corinthians 6:17, to be separate from the world. While we live in this world, this place is not our home.

Righteousness and unrighteousness do not belong together. Therefore, sin and holiness are not a match, either.

The Truth about Holiness

I want to back up a bit, as I want to talk about the choice we have regarding holiness.

Truth bomb. There is no choice.
Holiness does not offer a choice.

In my research, I have seen it stated that believers have the choice to be holy or not. I would guess that they mean believers can choose to obey or not. I beg to differ on this statement, and here’s why.

We do not get to choose whether we should live a holy life or not. It is not optional.

We know that 1 Peter 1:15-16 is not a yes/no statement. God commands that we be holy as He is.

Do you see it this way, too? When reading about the attributes of God and His standard of righteousness, would you say this is a demand rather than giving us a choice? Part 2, 7 Steps for You to Be Holy and Blameless Before God, goes into some detail concerning this truth.

Believers are to strive for holiness as Paul taught in 1 Thessalonians 4:7. We have been made holy by Christ, and we are called to be holy in our everyday lives as Paul taught the church at Corinth in 1 Corinthians 1:2.

God desires to have fellowship with us. He desires that we walk in truth, following His ways, 1 John 1:5-7. Our fellowship with Him will bring us the fullness of joy, as you read in 1 John 1:3-4.

Right Living Means Dealing with the Sin Factor

So, since God commands that we be holy, making this a requirement for believers, then what do we do about sin? How do we handle the ever present tempation to sin?

How serious are we concerning our sin? Do we grieve over what breaks the heart of God? Holy Spirit grieves over our sin, do we? You can read more in 6 Ways Believers Grieve the Holy Spirit.

Now, I’m not saying that you’re a bad person if you sin willfully because Paul has given us the answers in Romans 6:1-23. Hey, I have the sin issue to deal with, too. We all do!

However, we are to put aside our desire for sin and let the Spirit of God rule over us, not sin, Rom 6:12-13. Will this be easy? No, it won’t be. Can it be done? We can certainly strive for it!

We need to get a grip on the things that want to control us. So thankful that we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us to help us win the victory over our daily sins. But we must be willing to ask Him for help.

This could mean more time in prayer to win the victory. Or it could mean becoming acutely aware of the pitfalls we stumble into. It will mean denying yourself, and yet there will be times when we succumb to the power of sin.

But get up again. Repent, continue. Don’t give up in the pursuit of holiness. And remember that righteous living means right living, bringing glory to God in all you say and do.

Let’s Summarize

Okay, so what do we know?

We know that God commands us to be holy as He is holy and that

• we received His righteousness upon our salvation.
• His righteousness empowers us to right living, bringing glory to God.
• our holiness is not a choice but a command.
• we are to walk in truth and light as He is in the light.
• sin wants to reign in our bodies.
• we are to deny ourselves the pleasure of sin.
• we have the Holy Spirit within us.
• the Holy Spirit has given us the power to live holy.

Moving Forward

Let’s sum up how we become holy by:

• being renewed in our mind and not conformed to the lust of the world.
• letting our conduct and speech reflect holiness.
• imitating Jesus through spending time in God’s presence.
• obeying God’s Word, reading it, studying it, and applying it one step at a time.

Well, that has been an interesting study. When I first read that holiness is not a choice but a demand, it didn’t take long to see that truth when reading the Word in context. God has clearly stated throughout His Word His position on holiness.

And now it is our position to pursue more of God and to be holy as He is holy.

I would love to hear from you. What do you think about the truth of holiness? Do you see holiness as a choice to some degree, or is it a demand?

In Him We Live,
~ Cindy ~

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• 7 Steps to Be Holy and Blameless Before God
• 6 Ways Believers Grieve the Holy Spirit
• Understanding Salvation for New Believers
• Practical Ways to Share the Gospel Without Being Pushy
• How to Be Sure Heaven Is Your Eternal Destination