Originally Posted by AbundantGrace
The first standard that I gave up was long sleeves and I'm so grateful that I did, because it's so hot this time of year. Of course, when we retreated from the man made, so-called "Holiness Standards" which have no holiness in them at all, we were talked about, judged, called names and literally black-balled throughout the ranks of Pentecost, because we had suddenly believed the damnable lies of the enemy and we were rejecting truth. However, I've come to realize that we actually found truth, when we abandoned the lies of the UPC Legalistic Standards as a means to achieve holiness and began living lives that were totally surrendered and dependent upon Christ for our holiness. Today, we dress and live modestly, not as a means to BE HOLY, but because through Christ, we ARE HOLY.
And I know that I'll be deemed as an angry, bitter ex-UPCer and that's fine. I've been called everything you can imagine by many in those ranks, so I can handle it. I'm not bitter at all. I can't allow myself to be. However, there is something that I want to say since you started this self-righteous thread.
In UPC people's salvation state is judged by others mostly based upon their appearance. If a woman suddenly comes to church and her hair is trimmed, she has on any jewelry, a little bit of make-up, God forbid a pair of pants, she's backslidden and needs to get into the altar quickly so she can get pushed and shoved and spat upon, as she repents and gets saved AGAIN. Yet, that same woman, can look just right... Having all the standards perfected and be in the crowd of self-righteous Pharisees, judging someone else who's not LIVING RIGHT, yet she's deemed OK. I know you'll deny it, but it's the truth no matter what you say. Just the nature of the title of this thread alone, is of that same Pharisee spirit.
Jesus Christ came into this world to save us, because there was absolutely no way that we could even come close to saving ourselves. If we could have, then He came and suffered and died in vain. At the Cross, JESUS TRULY PAID IT IN FULL!!! There is nothing, outside of that work that can save our souls. Keeping "HOLINESS STANDARDS" is a joke! Those things have absolutely no bearing whatsoever on whether or not you're saved. Keeping them or not keeping them is NOT a reflection of your heart either. The Bible says that out of the mouth comes the abundance of your heart. If you want to examine your heart as a Christian, simply listen to what's coming out of your mouth. If you're judging everyone else and condemning them for their shortcomings or whatever, that's a pretty good indicator that something's not right in your own heart.
For it is by Grace that you have been saved and this not of yourselves. For it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. It's ONLY by the unearned favor of God, through the finished work of Christ at the Cross that any of us can be saved. It is not based upon our own works or the lack thereof, but it's based on His work alone.
Salvation comes through the Cross alone. Our works are not FOR salvation, but BECAUSE OF salvation. If you preach the Cross plus anything else as a means of salvation, you're in error. It's the Cross plus nothing.
So again to answer the question, my long sleeves was the first to go, then I grew some facial hair. My wife is now a cosmetologist... Her hair is cut, she wears make-up, pants, jewelry and even colors her hair sometime. Yet, we've never been closer to the Lord in all of our lives. When we got rid of man-made religion, then the real relationship with Christ became the focal point.
God bless you all and please know that I do not mean to be unkind at all. I'm simply sharing my experience as a man who was in UPC for 36 years and has been out for 4. Thank God for the Blood of Jesus.
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