God has given His people a call to be separate. He has given His people a call to be set apart from the world. He has given His people a call to be holy. In His Word, God gives us principles that guide our walk into holiness.

We are to place God first in our lives and put the cares of this world behind us.

Matthew 6:33  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Prayer

A holy life requires daily prayer. God expects us to have a daily prayer life. Through prayer we receive strength and Spiritual guidance from God.

Matthew 6:5-15  And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.  ⁶ But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.  ⁷ But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.  ⁸ Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.  ⁹ After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.  ¹⁰ Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.  ¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread.  ¹² And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.  ¹³ And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.  ¹⁴ For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:  ¹⁵ But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Ephesians 6:18  Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

1 Thessalonians 5:17  Pray without ceasing.

Jude 1:20-21  But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,  ²¹ Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

God is willing to answer our prayers according to our faith.

Matthew 7:7  Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

Matthew 17:20  And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

Matthew 21:22  And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

Worship

We must worship God in spirit and truth.

John 4:24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Worship includes (Bernard, p. 249):

• Devotions
• Group worship
• Praise
• Singing
• Music
• Praying aloud
• Raising hands
• Hand clapping
• Weeping
• Dancing before the Lord

Psalm 33:2-3  ² Praise the LORD with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.  ³ Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise.

Psalm 47:1  <To the chief Musician, A Psalm for the sons of Korah.> O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph.

Psalm 141:2  Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

Psalm 149:3-5  ³ Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.  ⁴ For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.  ⁵ Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.

Psalm 150:1-6  Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.  ² Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.  ³ Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.  ⁴ Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.  ⁵ Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.  ⁶ Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.

1 Timothy 2:8  I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.

Ephesians 5:19  Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

We worship God with everything we do. We worship with our lives, our bodies, and our minds. Worshiping God in spirit and truth brings us closer to God, which gives us power over sin.

Bible Study

God also expects us to study His Word and hide it in our hearts.

Psalm 119:11  Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

Psalm 119:16  I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.

Psalm 119:105  Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

2 Timothy 2:15  Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

2 Timothy 3:14-17  ¹⁴ But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;  ¹⁵ And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.  ¹⁶ All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:  ¹⁷ That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

Bible study is not just for preachers. God wants us all to hide the Word in our hearts. This will give us strength to over-come temptation. It will give us knowledge to fight false doctrine. Jesus fought Satan with the words “It is written…”

Church Attendance

God wants us to assemble ourselves together in fellowship and worship.

Hebrews 10:25  Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

Church attendance will give us guidance, instruction, and fellowship (Bernard, p. 279). Church attendance helps in spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ to others.

Tithes and Offerings

Tithes are ten percent of your increase (Bernard, p. 191). Tithes should be used to support the ministers of God’s Word. Offerings are anything else we give to the Church.

Malachi 3:8  Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.

Matthew 6:1-4  Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.  ² Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.  ³ But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:  ⁴ That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

Luke 6:38  Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

Luke 16:10-12  ¹⁰ He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.  ¹¹ If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?  ¹² And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?

1 Corinthians 9:7-14  ⁷ Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock?  ⁸ Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also?  ⁹ For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen?  ¹⁰ Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope.  ¹¹ If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things?  ¹² If others be partakers of this power over you, are not we rather? Nevertheless we have not used this power; but suffer all things, lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ.  ¹³ Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar?  ¹⁴ Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.

2 Corinthians 9:6-7  ⁶ But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.  ⁷ Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

Tithing began before the Law of Moses and continues into the New Testament. Abraham and Jacob paid tithes and we should too.

Fasting

Fasting brings us closer to God by disciplining our bodies and putting God first.

Matthew 6:16-18  ¹⁶ Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.  ¹⁷ But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;  ¹⁸ That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

Matthew 9:14-15  ¹⁴ Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?  ¹⁵ And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.

Matthew 17:21  Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

We are not alone in this daily walk. God gives His Holy Spirit to lead and guide us, and give us strength to live as over-comers. Holiness of life is as important as the new birth, because without a life of holiness we cannot enter into God’s kingdom.

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

God gives us strength through His Holy Spirit to walk in holiness. By devoting our lives to God, and worshiping Him in spirit and truth, we have the help we need to live clean, holy, pure lives, without spot or wrinkle- ready to meet our Lord at His coming. By drawing closer to God we will bear spiritual fruit. By bearing the Fruit of the Spirit, we will look like God’s people; we will act like God’s people; we will sound like God’s people. We will be a peculiar people, set apart from the world; sanctified for God to be holy vessels, holy sanctuaries, and holy temples. We will be God’s chosen people.

References

Bernard, David K. (1981) In search of holiness

            Hazelwood: Word Aflame Press

David K. Bernard In Search of Holiness