What does God require of you?

Perfection.


God requires you to be perfect.


Jesus said it: "Be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect."


As God loves His enemies, His children are to love theirs. 
As God the Father is, His heavenly children should be.


The Apostle Peter said it, "Be holy as God is holy."
We are to be as perfect and holy as God.


How?


Our faith should express itself in love, and our love should express itself in obedience.
Our faith should express itself in obedience to God's commands.


What are His commands?


Love God supremely.
Love people impartially.


According to Jesus, those two commands summarize and epitomize God's law, or God's will, for you and me. Our faith in Jesus should express itself in supremely loving God and loving people impartially, even our enemies.


These two commands are reasonable and aren't burdensome.
They make sense, and they aren't hard to obey, once you believe in Jesus.


God wants you to love Him with all of your heart and soul and strength.  He doesn't expect more because He can't expect more.  You can't give more than you have, but you shouldn't give less than you have.


God wants you to love people like you love yourself, to treat people like you want to be treated.
He doesn't expect you to love people more than you love yourself, but He also doesn't expect you to love them less than you love yourself. 


All God requires is love as expression of your faith.


If you meet His requirement, not striving for more, nor settling for less, you will be perfect.


Let no one deceive you.
God accepts nothing less. 

How To Be Holy (Part 1)

Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the LORD your God.  Leviticus 20:7


You bought a clear, tall, and beautiful glass and placed it on a clear small plate.  You washed it thoroughly and put it in a high cabinet, separating it from every other dish.  You only use this cup and plate to honor the Lord's death until He comes.  Communion.  Exclusively.


Whether you both are rich or poor, healthy or sick, happy or sad, you looked into his eyes and forsook all others for him.  He is now your lawfully wedded husband, and you are now his lawfully wedded wife.


One night, at the end of what he thought was the essence and meaning of his life, Joe realized that he had nothing and no one left.  He lay on the floor, utterly alone.  Miserably lonely.  Only the Presence is with him, the God who made him, the Lord who is saving him from suicidal dreams.  The Spirit lets him know that Joe had come to Him only as a last resort...but that He welcomed Joe none the less... Jesus loved Joe.


Joe sat up and raised his hands in total heart felt surrender.


"Jesus, I give myself to you from now on; I belong to You alone.  I do this because You are my Creator; You rightly own me and define me and should determine my actions.  I present myself to You as Your slave to obey You. From now on, I'm Your slave.  I will obey you.  Lord Jesus, command me by Your Spirit, so that I can obey my first command as Your slave."


"Call  Tanya and break up with her.  Tell her you now belong to God, and that you can't be her boyfriend  because she rejects Me"


"Tanya, it's me."
"Hey.  Why are you calling so early?"
"I'm calling to break up with you Tanya."
"What!?  Why?"
"I just gave myself once and for all to the Lord.  You don't believe He exists, so we can't be together."
"So you're giving me an ultimatum?"
"Not at all, Tanya. I love you deeply; this is the hardest thing I've ever have to do..."
"Whatever Joe.  Have a nice life, and thanks for nothing."


Tanya hangs up.


Joe you gave yourself to Me, and now you are Mine.  I am the One who is without beginning or end, Your Creator.  The Creator.  Now that you have willingly given yourself to Me,  I also willingly give Myself to you.  I am yours.  You are Mine.  We are one.  You are my son and I am Your Father. I'm very happy with you.


click here for part 2

How to Be Holy (Part 3)

THE FIVE CONSECRATIONS

(2 Corinthians 6:14-18)

1. SEPARATE RIGHTEOUSNESS FROM WICKEDNESS.

To belong to God means we make a distinction between God's approval and disapproval.  We seek His approval and avoid His disapproval.  We make it clear that God only approves one thing:  Faith in Jesus Christ.  We accept no approval accept from the Gospel.  This separates us from everyone in the world.

2. SEPARATE LIGHT FROM DARKNESS
God is light, and in Him, there is no darkness.  No. No darkness. At all.  We are separate as Christians because we believe in the unconditional confession of our sin.  We come out of the darkness of self justification and accept our inexcusable sin.  What separates us from the whole world is that we make no attempt to make things right with God.  Only Christ rescues us from the darkness of our selfishness. Christ forgives us of all sin and sets us free from sinning.

3. SEPARATE CHRIST FROM BELIAL
Belial is Satan, the evil one, the murderer, the father of lies.  We submit to God's will unconditionally, and resist the devil's will unconditionally.  We undo whatever Satan does in the name of Jesus.  We separate ourselves from all that is vile and evil and that glorifies evil.  We never compromise with Satan.  With evil, we are unashamedly intolerant.


4. SEPARATE BELIEVERS FROM UNBELIEVERS
First let's look at what Paul doesn't mean by this separation.  Paul is not telling Christians to stay away from unbelievers.  This is impossible, unloving, and antichrist.  Jesus loved me  and saved me, even when I hated Him.  The separation between believers and unbelievers is one of our allegiances and our values.  Believers live only for eternity and God's glory.  Unbelievers live only for now and for themselves.  In this way, we are absolutely separate.  Our assumptions about life have nothing in common.

5. SEPARATE THE TEMPLE OF GOD FROM THE TEMPLES OF IDOLS.

If you remember nothing else, remember this separation.  It is the summation of every consecration of all who are Christians.

Christ was, is, and forever will be THE sacrifice for all of our sins.  He gave his body for us and to us.  He made us holy.  We in response consecrate our bodies.  We do not view our bodies as our own to do what we see fit.  This is the supreme distinction of God' children and Satan's children, as it is written,

• Do you not know that your bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?  You are not your own, you were bought with a price.  Therefore honor the Lord with your body.
• Present your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable act of worship.
• Present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and the present the members of your bodies to Him as instruments and weapons of righteousness.

--The giving of your body to God is the ultimate act of faith in Christ, the only thing God approves of.
--The giving of your body to God is coming out of the darkness; it is no longer hiding what you do with your body, but giving your body to God, freely and openly for all to see.
--The giving of your body to God is to take it once and for all from Satan and demon possession.  Only the Spirit of God dwells in your body, His temple. Satan cannot dwell in God's temple, nor can God's Spirit dwell in a body dedicated to Satan and sin.


To be holy is to give yourself to God alone, and for God Himself to receive you, and give Himself back to you. 


You are God's, and He is yours.
This is how to be holy.