I had another topic in mind for this morning, but God had other plans (I’ll get to the other topic later this week). I am on day seven of my 31-day journey with the Spirit. This morning was about our obedience to God being a pre-requisite for the indwelling of the Spirit in our lives (we often get that backwards). The author then makes this statement:
While the freedom of grace and the simplicity of faith have been preached, the absolute necessity of obedience and holiness has not been equally presented.
—The Indwelling Spirit, page 66
This is the second (or third?) time this concept has come up this week (I am learning not to ignore these moments). We teach and preach grace and mercy, but we don’t focus on holiness and obedience as much as we probably should. Both are in Scripture and both are important:
So you must live as God’s obedient children.
Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires.
You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do,
just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say,
“You must be holy because I am holy.”
1 Peter 1:14-16, NLT
God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were.
But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant.
So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death,
now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God
and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 5:20-21, NLT
We need both. We need God’s grace and we need to be obedient…we need holiness and righteousness. The church as a whole may have over-emphasized His grace, but both are critical to our spiritual lives. And we need the right balance between the two. If you err too far on side over the other you either get legalism (been there, done that) or a faith with no real life-changing power.
So here’s to grace and holiness. 
Post Tags: 1 Peter, Grace, Holiness, Holy Spirit, Romans
