Commitment to a Holy Life
Obedience.
It is a dirty word in our day. We are all like little
children; no one wants to obey anyone else. The words “obedience” and
“submission” are a constant reminder of our indwelling sin. But whether we like
them or not, they get to the heart of our problem of living a holy life.
Jesus said, “If you love Me you will obey Me.” It is our
responsibility to obey Him. We cannot obey Him unless we submit to His
sovereignty. There can be no holiness in our lives if we do not obey Him. “He
who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves
Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will disclose Myself to
him,” said Jesus in John 14:21.
Obedience is the road to holiness.
Over the years we have developed habitual patterns of
disobedience. We have patterns of sin in our lives. Am I willing to give up
these habits that keep me from being all that God wants me to be?
Every time we sin we make it easier to keep on sinning. We
reinforce these patterns, or habits, until we make a commitment to make a new
habit not to sin. Have you made it your aim, goal, passion, not to sin? Have you
made it a commitment to live a holy life?
The only way to break old habits is to make a commitment to
start forming new ones. God cannot do that for us. It is our responsibility.
In Romans 8:13 the apostle Paul brought out the contrast
between a habitually dominated pattern of living according to the flesh, and an
obligation to habitually, under the power of the Holy Spirit, be “putting to
death the deeds of the body.”
The responsibility of the Christian is to yield to and
cooperate with the Holy Spirit in putting to death or destroying the strength
and vitality of sin as it tries to reign in our bodies.
The old venerable theologian John Owen observed,
“Mortification from a self-strength, carried on by ways of self-invention, unto
the end of a self-righteousness is the soul and substance of all false
religion.” In fact, it is a pretty good description of legalism.
The only way we can put to death sin in our lives is by
submission to the presence of the Holy Spirit in our inner being.
It is our responsibility to obey Him. “The Spirit alone is
sufficient for this work,” said Owen. “He is the One who gives life and strength
to our efforts.”
How do we break these old habits of sin? How do we destroy
the powerful grip of sin?
Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall
see God” (Matthew 5:8). It is in the heart that the changes must take place.
“The heart is the center of the inner life of the person where all the spiritual
forces and functions have their origin” (TDNT).
That is where the commitment to an obedient life must
begin. If I love the Lord God I will obey Him. I will seek to please Him if I
have settled the love of my life.
The world system seeks to squeeze us into its mold by the
constant bombardment of temptations to indulge in our sinful nature.
Have you made a once-and-for-all commitment to the Lord to
live a life that is pleasing to Him? That is where every true born again
Christian must begin. “Lord Jesus I give you my life. I thank you for dying for
me on the cross and giving me eternal life. I thank you for forgiving me of all
my sins, and cleansing me in your precious blood. I thank you for the indwelling
presence of Your Spirit. Lord, I give myself to You and I ask that You enable me
to live a holy life.” Make a personal commitment to Christ today.
Commit every day to the Lord. Begin your day with a renewed
commitment to live God’s kind of life. “Lord, I want to please You today in
everything I do. I give You this day, come and live Your life in and through
me.”
Keep your heart sensitive to the leading of the Holy
Spirit. Spend some time in God’s Word so you will know what God’s will is for
the Christian. Living the Christian life will not come automatically. It is your
responsibility to love and obey your Master.
Selah!
Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2006
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