Sanctimonious walking is not equivalent to sanctification
Mathew 5:20 “For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
You know it’s very easy to walk sanctimoniously; professing godliness, but denying the power thereof. A person may appear to be moral because he doesn’t fight, he doesn’t quarrel, he doesn’t steal, he doesn’t do the evil things that people do, and he lives a controlled life in the presence of men. But how about the inside?
This tell us that there are some kinds of holiness that may not be gracious. It may be a rigid kind, a carnal kind, a graceless kind, a human kind, a legalistic kind. That’s what happened to the Pharisees. Jesus told them, “Ye are clean outwardly, but inwardly, ye are full of corruption and extortions.”
There are some people today, who profess religion, and they know how to behave and make their external character acceptable to men. But they do not know how to have and make their heart, spirit, attitude, motive, disposition, and the internal parts holy. “And God desireth truth in the inward parts. “So therefore, let us beware of the leaven of the Pharisees around us.
Without a doubt, it’s not all who profess to believe holiness, claim the doctrine of sanctification, that have truly acquired the experience. Forget about the title, forget about the anointing, forget about the personality.
True Christianity becomes that of the inward – which is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. Walking in the light, as he is in the light. Having the true, undeniable evidence and experience of the ground change of heart: which is visible by the form (outward righteousness) toward men, and the power thereof, approved by God.
Examine yourself. How about your heart? Is it right with God? People often see you as you are outside, but Jesus really knows you for he sees the inside. Is your heart black by sin? or is it pure within? If it’s on the contrary, then come to Calvary’s cross by faith today, and let the LORD touch your heart, your spirit, your mind, your thoughts, and make you holy. So you can boldly and graciously affirm the sanctification of the Spirit, by having the form (outward) of it, and the power (inward) thereof.
Reader, are you sanctified? Are you holy? Is there a blot, is there a blemish, is there a spot? Don’t you think that your religious profession is hypocritical? Don’t you think that your charisma is deceptive? Without holiness (sanctification) no man shall see the LORD.
Also Read: How often do we wash one another’s feet?
Reagan Azoyenime is a born again Christian and an undergraduate student of Ambrose Ali University, Nigeria. He writes edifying Christian messages centred on salvation in Christ and holiness.
E-mail: razoyenime@gmail.com
