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FOLLOW PEACE AND HOLINESS.

by ROBIN BOSCH
2/06/2017 / Devotionals

Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: (Hebrews 12:14 KJV)

For years this scripture bothered me. It came to stage that I expressed my anxiety to my wife. It kept nagging at the back of my mind. I can't explain to you adequately, without being over dramatic, just how much of a stumbling block this verse was to me.

Peace evacuated the premises when I read it. I had no answers. Yes, at face value that's what it was saying: "Without holiness no man will see God."

This is catastrophic, this is serious. You mean to tell me that if I'm not holy then I won't ever see God? If you are like me, you have good days and bad days. Put another way; holy days and unholy days.

So if you are caught on an unholy day, you are doomed. It seems to contradict everything; putting me back under the Law that says, if I transgress in one point of the Law, I am guilty of 'all.'

However, the message of Grace is; Christ fulfilled every jot and every tittle of the Law on the Cross; paid the price for all my sins, and set me free. IT IS FINISHED!!

That's Good News.

No self-effort and fleshly struggle. Hallelujah! That's the message of Grace.

But now, what about this scripture in Hebrews 11:14? How can I reconcile this with the message of Grace?

I've heard people quote this many times; warning: "you better be holy because you won't see God." What they were really saying was,..."if you don't get holy you are going to go to hell, because in hell you will never see God?"

Just like the Law, if you fail to be holy in one thing, you are unholy in everything. That's the logic purveyed. It cancels out everything and makes salvation of no affect.

That’s of course, absurd. The thief on the cross was not what you would call "holy;" all he said was,” Lord when you get into Your Kingdom, remember me." Jesus answered, "Today you will be with me in Paradise."

In other words he was going to see God. The thief asked in total submission, "Please just remember me, please just spare me a thought. I know I've been bad, but please! please! Just, remember me. Simple words expressed in a raspy voice; a last grasp of hope.

And Jesus simply said 'today,' you ‘will’ be with me. What a Savior!

Anyway, to continue.... I was getting really despondent about this and dejectedly expressed my confusion on a certain day.
Well, the Lord heard my inner cry and scriptural dilemma and an explanation was given me.

"Follow peace with all 'men,' and holiness, without which no 'man' shall see the Lord: "(Hebrews 12:14 KJV) (Inverted commas mine, for emphasis)

If you read the context of the verse you will see that the writer of Hebrews was talking about our Christian behavior (holiness) and how we should present ourselves as light bearers to lost men and woman.

In verse 15 it says, "Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; (Hebrews 12:15 KJV)

In verse 14 the writer of Hebrews said we were to follow peace with all 'men' as well as holiness, with all 'men.'

That he was talking about our witness and how we present ourselves before 'men' is confirmed in verse 15 when he says we should not allow bitterness to spring up; it would defile many 'people'.

If we allow these things, as Christians we would be failing in the gospel of grace, which is the unlimited provision for holy living.

Why? Because,".........the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodlines and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; (Titus 2:12 KJV)

So to conclude; in the light of these two verses and to purvey the context of what was meant, the writer of Hebrews was actually saying:

"Follow peace with all men and holiness, because if we don't, they (all men) will not be able to see God …..in us."..... Wow!

Doesn't this make sense? It did to me. Praise The Lord.

We are to be the lights of the world. The truth is, men and woman of the world don't read the Bible, therefore we should manifest the Gospel and the God of the Gospel, in the way we live out our lives. (2 Corinthians 3:3 KJV)

How can they see God in us if we live like the world? They need to see God in us. We are living letters written without ink. Our lives should attract them to Jesus. How can we do this? Live as children of the Light.

This explanation was timeous and made sense and gave me peace.

The Holy Spirit is faithful. If we ask Him to reveal the meaning of scripture, He will do so; rightly dividing the Word. If we ask of Him bread He will not give us a stone.
Amen.

I have been a believer in Christ for many years. It has only been in the last three or four years that I have received greater insight into the Grace of God. This has injected me with energy to tell others about the blessed "rest" we have in Christ. Grace is not a theology but is a Person-- Jesus.

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS

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