This is the second compilation of articles on the topic of Holiness. Issues explored include: how to avoid fornication and adultery, what do you do when confronted with the holiness of God; how to consecrate yourself to God; Honesty; rebellion, defilement, the relationship between doctrine and godliness, choosing between obeying God and man, Commitment to holiness and when a leader sins.

1. Committed to holiness
KAYODE CROWN

2. Copyright © 2013 Kayode Crown
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 1494835487
ISBN-13: 978-1494835484

3. CONTENTS
1
Committed to holiness
4
2
Confronted with God’s holiness
7
3
Consecrate yourself
11
4
Do not be dishonest
14
5
Do not be rebellious
16
6
Do not defile yourself
20
7
Doctrine conforming to godliness
23
8
Giving heed to God or man
27
9
How to avoid fornication and adultery
30
10
Humility before exaltation
34
11
Idleness breeds sin
37
12
Purity
40
13
Sanctification by the word and prayer
44
14
Self-control
47
15
Sin and hardness of heart
51
16
The arrogance of man
55
17
The city of truth and holiness
58
18
The defilement of sin
61
19
What a leader should not do
65
20
When a leader sins
68
21
Appendix
72

4. 1
COMMITTED TO HOLINESS
Daniel 1:8: But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile
himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which
he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he
might not defile himself.
It’s really up to you to live the holy life. It’s not about the circumstances.
What worse circumstance could you have than being told to bow to an idol
and if you refuse, get thrown into the furnace of fire (Daniel 3)? What
higher stake could there be than when the wife of your master ask you to
sleep with her and because you (Joseph) refused she lied against you and
you were thrown into jail in a foreign land, away from your own people
(Genesis 39)?
This piece discusses 7 things that reinforce holiness, the absence of
which will make holiness to unravel. These are 7 dimensions of
commitment to holiness.
Holiness and determination
Just as Daniel purposed that he would have nothing to do with the
defiling foods of Babylon meant for them, so we should determine that
we’ll rather die than not please God (Daniel 1).
Our lives should not be more important to us that we seek to protect it
at the risk of displeasing God. Jesus said that the one who saves his life will
lose it while the one who loses his life for Jesus’ sake will have it (Matthew
10:39).
Daniel said to himself: “No matter what, I won’t eat the defiling meats. I
have more respect for God that I do not see than for mere men that I can
see.”

5. COMMITTED TO HOLINESS
Jesus said that we should not fear men who can only kill the body and
not the soul but we should fear the one who can destroy both body and
soul in hell (Matthew 10:28).
Holiness and the will of God
Jesus exhibited commitment to holiness in his life. He did not lie. He
told the Pharisees that if he says that he does not know God then he will be
a liar like them (John 8:55). His holiness was beyond what not to do; it also
encompasses what he does in the will of God.
He said that the father has committed all judgment to His hands and He
(Jesus) does not follow his own will but the will of the father (John 5:19-30,
6:38). To live constantly in a dynamics of relationship with God is the real
meaning of the holiness. And Jesus exhibited it. It has nothing to do with
physical appearances. It has everything to do with the pursuit of the will of
God. Peter wrote that we should be holy as our heavenly father is holy
(1Peter 1:15-16). It means we should be in alignment with him, separated to
him, not in a state of inertia, but executing his will in real time on this earth.
That is holiness in relation to the will of God. It is active holiness.
Holiness and truth
Jesus told the Samaritan woman that those who worship God must
worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4:21-24). That means any form of
relationship we want to have with God must based on the reality of His
Spirit and his truth.
Therefore, holiness is expressed in a commitment to truth. You cannot
abandon the truth that you know and be chasing shadows and claim to be
holy. We can have something that looks like piety according to human
definition but it is not the holiness of God if it jettisoned the truth of God
in the canonical scriptures, the 66 books of it, and unveiled in Jesus Christ.
We should take our time to concentrate truth about the righteousness of
God in ourselves. That was why God told Joshua that the key to success is
meditation on His word at all times (Joshua 1:8). When he concentrates
truth in himself, then he will continue to have a commitment to holiness
and God will continue to commit Himself to him, making success
inevitable.
Holiness and choices
When Daniel decided he will not defile himself, he made further choices
which reinforced that decision. He spoke with the man in charge of the
food, letting him know about his preferences. Like Daniel you need to
speak up about your holiness choices. You cannot afford to go with the
flow.
The bible says that we should not follow the multitude to do evil
5

6. COMMITTED TO HOLINESS
(Exodus 23:2). You have to be very clear about where you stand. Moses
would not allow the people to sit on the fence when he was confronting the
sin of idolatry in the children of Israel. He asked: who is on the Lord’s side,
and the house of Levi separated themselves from the rest of the people
(Exodus 32:26). You need to be ready to separate yourself from the
defilement of the people around you. For example, you cannot pattern your
speech like theirs.
In the time we are in, there is no allowance for hiding your commitment
to holiness. Opportunities will continually be presented for you to show
people where you stand on the path of truth.
Paul told Timothy to flee from youthful lusts (2Timothy 2:22). He didn’t
say try to manage it. He said flee from it. Have a policy of avoidance when
it comes to anything that has the potential to stir up lust in the heart, you
physically remove it from yourself or yourself from it. It is not expected
that lust overwhelm you, you are to make choices that will put a distance
between you and it.
Holiness and love
Holiness is a step in the direction of God; it is a reflection of the love of
God, it is a pull of the love of God in our heart (1John 2:15-17). It is not
something impossible; it is the resonance of hearts that love God reflected
in the lives that we live (Romans 5:5).
Holiness and the presence of God
Holiness is as impossible as we draw away from God; it is as possible as
we draw near him (James 4:8). God says that if we draw near him, he will
draw near us. So a commitment to holiness is the commitment to the
presence of God. It is the recognition that the only light that shines in you
is that of God.
With the illustration of himself as the vine and us as the branches, Jesus
made it known that our very lives depend on our being attached to him
(John 15:1-16). Whatever we see as true holiness in our lives is merely his
expressions in us. So there can be no graduation from depending on him.
Holiness and having no fear
The commitment of Daniel to holiness in not defiling himself is a noapologies kind of holiness. It’s the not-afraid-to-be-the-odd-one-out
holiness; it’s the not-afraid-to-be-persecuted kind of holiness. It’s the
anywhere-anytime kind of holiness; the kind of holiness that is not about a
conducive environment.
For Daniel, there can be no pressure strong enough from outside of
himself to make him capitulate to defilement (Daniel 6), because he has a
high concentration of commitment on his inside.
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7. COMMITTED TO HOLINESS
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