Holiness Is Fruitfulness

Holiness Is Fruitfulness

holiness is fruitfulnessDoes the call to holiness intimidate you? Do you feel it’s beyond your power? Do you know what? You’ve got that right. Holiness is something we can’t attain through effort. But it is possible to obtain holiness by God’s grace. It does not happen without the Holy Spirit’s presence is our life.

But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. (Romans 6:22, NKJV, emphasis added)

As I read this last week at a Bible study, I was pleased to realize that holiness is something we reap, not something we produce. Just as all the fruit of the Spirit, holiness happens when we abide in Christ. With the words of Jesus:

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. (John 15:4-9, NKJV, emphasis added)

We are indeed called to holiness, the Bible tells us so. But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:15-16, NKJV). This can feel intimidating. How can I be holy, right? But the good news is we can become holy by remaining in Christ and letting the Holy Spirit produce fruit through us. Holiness is fruitfulness.

This is how grace feels. It is indeed freeing to know that on our own we are unable to attain holiness no matter how hard we’d try. We can swift our focus from forced attempts to appear holy to Jesus who is holy and who makes us holy as we abide in him.

Andrew Murray guides us “However strong the branch becomes, however far away it reaches round the home, out of sight of the vine, all its beauty and all its fruitfulness ever depend upon that one point of contact where it grows out of the vine. So be it with us too.”

There really isn’t other way to become holy and fruitful than abiding in Christ. No matter how strong in our faith we become, we are nothing without God’s presence in our lives. But with God….we can be everything God created us to be: holy and fruitful for God’s glory.

 

Dear God,
You are so good to me.
You provide the way back to you in Jesus.
You provide the way to holiness in Jesus.
Thank you.
You are my lifeline,
you are my everything.
Make me what you want me to be.
Use me as you want to use me.
All I want is to abide in you.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen

Q4U: Holiness is fruitfulness – how does that change your thinking of holiness?

Be blessed, my fellow pilgrim, as you abide in Jesus and let the Holy Spirit produce fruit through you!

Photo courtesy of  Mari-Anna Stålnacke. Linking up today with Looking up, Sharing His Beauty, Small Wonders.

6 thoughts on “Holiness Is Fruitfulness

  1. Powerful truth – and so full of grace and freedom! It reminded me of a song my husband wrote… it has a line in it that says: “I am holy, by the Blood of the Lamb” -he stopped as he was writing it and asked, ‘Is that ok? Is that right to just sing that?’ It can feel bold… but it is truth! There is no other way that we can be holy! Great post!

  2. Oh, thank you for reminding me that it’s not all about productivity and the number of things I have checked off on my list. If my heart is brought closer to Jesus and my life is brought nearer to His Way, then it’s a good day!

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