The Olive Branch Church at Woodforest

Charles L. Stevenson, Sr., Senior Pastor

 

 

WHAT DO WE BELIEVE?

 

Can I live a Holy Life?  (Matthew 5:8)

 

If it were not possible to live a holy life, God would not have commanded it.  He said, “Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy”  (Leviticus 19:2)  to be holy means to be separated to God.  God’s nature itself defines holiness.  Being set apart to God makes us holy.

We are not holy by doing good things. We are made holy by faith in Christ, just as we are saved by faith.  Little by little, as we grow and live with the Lord, we will become more like Him (2 Corinthians 3:18).

As we look to the Lord Jesus, think about Jesus, study about Jesus, pray to Jesus, and seek to follow His example, we become like Him.

We begin to think like Him and act like Him.  We become like Him because we are set apart to Him.  This is true holiness.

If you are a Christian, ten years from now your life should be considerably different from what it is now.  Your motives and desires, as you draw closer to Him, should be continuously more holy.

Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in hear: for they shall see God (Matthew 5:8).  We can achieve a degree of purity in this life.  It comes from God, as we grow closer to Him and are more like Him.  although perfection is not totally attainable in this life, it is something we should constantly strive toward and aim for, for Christian maturity and holy living constitute being a responsible son or daughter of God.  Holiness is also practical.  Mature holiness is seen in people who have stopped being concerned about their own needs and pursuits and have entered into the global vision of their Father so that they may transform a hurting world.  Holiness begets the maturity in which we go out as Christ’s agents in order to accomplish the aims of the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:10)

“Thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”