“If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” -Colossians 3:1-2
At first work of grace of repentance one is asking forgiveness of sins, and promising never to commit again, or there is no forgiveness.
At the second work of grace, one is turning from worldliness. Worldliness being defined as a concern with material values of ordinary life, and they are turning to a concern for spiritual existence. Worldliness is the item of consecration that is asked for by God, and he gets specific because He is going to fill your heart with a supreme love to Him. God is love; His love purifies your affections from the world. To do this, He must have your unreserved consent. One cannot serve two masters; God is asking you to make your choice. There is a natural body and there is a spiritual body. Which one is going to govern your daily life? If you die out to worldliness by yielding up all hope of its engagement, when the last item is yielded (and they come to you one by one), God will raise up your spiritual body that died in Adam’s transgression, by the power of the resurrection, which is, sanctification. Albeit the option will always be open for you in the choices you make concerning your daily activities. Worldly activities are the exit route back to eventually sin. And sin when it is finished brings forth death to the spiritual body. Therefore, all preaching should be directed to doing or living the Word, not just intellectually hearing the mysteries of the Word. If one has any reservations or hesitations about an item of worldliness, it is probably coming from an unwillingness to comply. And should be discussed with an open attitude with others that have a clearer view and in compliance. Even so. Legalism is something to be avoided. Legalism is the strict adherence to the letter of the law without regard to the spirit or intent of it. Legalism involves several tendencies: (1) to overemphasize works and to judge all people in terms of their conformity to certain prescribed emphases; (2) to apply the letter of the law with equal rigidity to all people without regard to mercy or human need; (3) to regard ourselves as the epitome of righteousness and the arbiter of righteousness to others.
Oddly, this quote from Voltaire seems appropriate: “Every man is a creature of the age in which he lives, and few are able to raise themselves above the ideas of the time.” That, my brothers, and sisters, is why we as a church are where we are relative to the Scriptures and the power. We must correct the paradoxes of our day and age. We are all guilty of being part of wrong ideas and actions; I don’t blame anyone for not being full in the will of God’s Word. It is a phenomenon that happens to every truly sanctified Church at the age we are (approximately 100 years). If we are going to make any difference in our day and age we must read the scripture right, take all of them to ourselves and compare ourselves with it, bring ourselves into judgment, make the adjustments to conform with the Word, then preach it loud, clear, and concise. Let our preaching be an attempt to make people understand the Scriptures. Make practical applications of scripture. State what should be done to depart from worldliness. Preach clear actions that conform to the Word, while giving guidance on how to press closer to God. By doing so your hearers will have the instructions that if they do it, they will more please God by conforming to his Word in their life, i.e., snug up the sanctified lifestyle. The more we can do this; its effect will bring us more power with God in our meetings and conversations. Then more conviction will go out from us and draw souls into our fellowship of sanctification. We must break out of worldliness, it is flooding the church and slowing down this life saving vessel. It’s time to come together and bail out the water of worldliness, because we are all in the same sinking boat. Now is a time for action.
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