As followers of Christ, we’re called by God Almighty to lead holy and righteous lives for His own glory (1 Thessalonians 4:7). A holy and righteous life is a form of life that epitomizes the very nature and character of God Himself (1 Peter 1:15; Psalms 145:17). By His divine power, He has given us everything we need for life and for living a godly life (1 Peter 2:4). Holiness is the most elevated of all His attributes (Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 4:8).
The reality we have to acknowledge in order for us to be able to lead the life God so desires for us to live is that we cannot in any way live it within our own human ability, power, and will. That’s why we need to lay a hold on the saving, restoring, and victorious power of Christ’s death and resurrection.
The grace of God flowing mightily through Christ, which is the very channel through which we get access to everything God has in store for us by faith will empower us to do what we are incapable of doing.
It’s all about God Himself, what He has done for us trough Christ Jesus our Savior and Lord, and what He wants done in us on the basis of Christ’s finished, redemptive work on the cross of Calvary. To put it simpler, the battle to lead a holy and righteous life isn’t ours but God’s.
The inseparable relationship between both holiness and righteousness is that holiness puts an end to sinful living. Righteousness then replaces the old life we put an end to, with something good and of God. Let’s take a look at these scriptures below.
And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through His own blood (Hebrews 13:12).
How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! (Hebrews 9:14)
God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).
When we’re cleansed by the blood of Jesus and become holy and righteous in the sight of God, not only we become worthy to serve Him, but we invite His Shekinah glory in our lives through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of glory (1 Peter 4:14). On top of that, we invite the life of God to flow into us.
What is so troubling to Satan is that there’s an enmity between the glory of God, which is the very embodiment of His divine presence manifested within us and his evil presence. And if there’s something that the enemy hates the most, it’s in fact that relationship we have with our Heavenly Father, which draws His divine presence in us. Why? The presence of God will chase him away while his absolute destiny is to control every aspect of our lives.
The devil can only have power on us as a result of sin, which literally drives away the presence of God in people’s lives. His main objective is to influence people to give themselves over to sinful and rebellious lifestyles in order to kick or keep God out of their lives.
The question is what will happen later when God is either kicked or kept out of people’s lives? Unfortunately, what many people often ignore when living in sin is that they’re placing themselves under Satan’s own authority. So to be away from the presence of God is to be under the control and dominion of Satan, which equates to spiritual death. He finds his strength in us through our own sinfulness.
When we are holy and righteous through Christ, Satan is driven away by God’s presence since we belong to God Almighty. The most glorious thing about being belonged to God is that He has to occupy His property (us) with His fullness. Therefore, the devil can no longer operate freely where the Spirit of God is operating. His influence, control, and legal right in our lives are cut off by a holy and righteous life by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Our Obedience to God is Critical
Since God hates sin, our sins separate us from Him. Consequently, our sins either place or keep us under the control of Satan. But when we dedicate our lives to leading a holy and righteous life no matter what the cost is by putting to death the misdeeds of the flesh, which is the platform upon which Satan operates or gains access in people’s lives; we give him such a hard time since he no longer has legal ground. Our obedience to God is the essence of our holiness and righteousness.
The good news is that Christ has defeated Satan hand down on the cross on our behalf (Colossians 2:15; Hebrews 2:14-15; 1 John 3:8), so He eagerly wants to grant us that victory as His followers. His desire for us is to live a redeemed, liberated, victorious, fulfilled, and sanctified life through Him.
A life of holiness attracts the glory of God. A holy life is a pure reflection or manifestation of the glory of God through us. God can only be glorified through us by leading this type of life.
Prayer
Note: Try to personalize that prayer by making it yours.
Glory to Your holy name Father God for that victory that You have bestowed upon us over Satan, the world, and the flesh through Christ Jesus by the power of Your Spirit. We acknowledge that Christ came primarily to destroy the devil’s works and everything that gives him legal right to operate and dominate people’s lives indefinitely, so that we could become all yours. Jesus came with the sole objective of setting the captives free by unleashing without limit the restoring and saving power of God Almighty.
The marvelous news is that victory He won on the cross was ours. It’s Your will that we tap into it or take complete advantage of it in order for us to become the person You want us to be for Your glory. So by faith, we receive, embrace, and lay a hold on that great victory that Jesus has won over Satan on the cross and his ministry of theft, death, and destruction (John 10:10). We pray that may that victory bring into our lives the genuine transformation You want to take place in us. We pray that You empower us to walk into that victory day by day.
Father God, the thing that’s so amazing about the salvation You’ve provided in Christ is that whenever someone comes to Him, You seize that person by force with Your mighty hand out of the claw of Satan. You don’t need his permission because You made the human race to be all Yours, not to live under his horrific dominion. And that person gets to become all Yours again.
Therefore, Satan, your power of death is now fully broken over our lives. You are now under our feet. And that’s where you have to be since we belong to Christ. In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.