EXPOSITION:

Holiness is not the observance of moral principles but deep love for God through Christ Jesus. It is the desire to be like Christ and the act of following His example. The focus of holiness is not to be right or simply perfect but that a person would be dedicated to God through obedience in Christ.

Holiness is love towards God; it is the desire to obey the Lord and fulfill His desire. Therefore, to be holy is to refuse to obey the devil or do his bidings no matter how satisfying it may seem to be. Jesus demonstrated this when He refused to obey the devil who tempted Him with food, wealth, and fame. His will was to obey and respect the Father and this came from deep love. When you deeply love the Lord you would be willing to obey Him and that will make you holy.

Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil who wanted Christ to fail like the Eden scenario. The devil demanded that Christ would bow down and worship him after he had taken Jesus to an exceedingly high mountain. Satan is always creating opportunities to tempt us especially in the areas we are weak. Nevertheless, just as Jesus at each point of His temptation sought to please the Lord we must love the Lord and this will cause us to seek to please Him everyday everywhere.

Questions:

1.         How will you respond to the temptations of Satan?

2.         How can you live a holy life in the face of temptation and corruption?