preach25, thank you for taking the time to explain what holiness means to you. I appreciate your energy and enthusiasm for the Lord! What follows is how I would view and define holiness. I write it in love. Please don't take it as an attack. (I love you guys too much for that!)
the word of God is 4 all saved and unsaved. it is our guide 2 know the path/life we should live as being "born again" believers.
John 16:12-15
12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.
13But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
John 14:23-26
23Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
25“All this I have spoken while still with you.
26But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.John 3:5-8
5Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’
8The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
Galations 5:16-26
16
So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. 19The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and selfcontrol. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25
Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. I believe the Holy Spirit guides and teaches me on this path that I have chosen. What kind of message would I send if I gave people a list of do's and don'ts and instructed them that they need to follow them in order to be saved and have a relationship with the Lord? Shouldn't I instead be instructing them on how they can have a relationship with the Lord? Jesus taught His disciples how to pray. That sounds like a good place to start!
I said that I beleive Jesus to be my holiness, righteousness, and redemption. My confidence in life comes from knowing who He is and who I am in Him. He is my righteousness, my redemption, and my holiness. Because I choose not to follow (or listen to) man's rules, it doesn't mean I am the worst sinner in the world.
Putting on Christ and walking in Him frees me from worrying about crossing the T's and dotting the I's. I am free to follow wherever the Spirit of God leads me. I am free to spend my time becoming who He created me to be because I already am who He created me to be.
To some this is doublespeak. To me this is Truth. It's like I just won the Superbowl, but my championship lasts a lifetime! Think of it! I need to learn to walk as a champion because I am already am a champion!
The 'prize' is mentioned 4 times in the new testament. The first word that popped into your head when you heard this is what you beleive the 'prize' to be. You may beleive and have been taught that the prize is eternal life or salvation, but I beleive I already have salvation. The second chapter of Colossians gives a better understanding of the prize. Follow this link:
http://bible.gospelcom.net/passage/?search=Colossians%202;&version=31;I wish I had more time to respond, but my kids want to spend some time with me now. God bless! Talk to you soon.