01/14/2018
Being Holy is more than an aspiration or some lofty goal that only the most pious of Saints can ever reach. We are all called to be Holy. So what is holiness, and how can we be Holy? Well, we can study this at-nauseam but let’s boil it down to its most basic form. Let’s let Jesus gather us up in His arms and carry us with Him into holiness.
“For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground.”
Leviticus 11:44 ESV
Being holy isn’t just obeying the Ten Commandments because God told us to. When we read this scripture in Leviticus as it pertains to the food laws, we hear a very different approach to obedience. We are not told to obey the law and be Holy, we are told to consecrate ourselves... to be like God. We are told that if we do this we will be Holy. Our prime motivation then is not to simply obey, but to behave and indeed be like God... not to be God, but to be LIKE Him.
Right now you are probably saying to yourself “Wow... that didn’t help much! How am I ever going to be like God?” You are right; this could indeed be a daunting task. So we look to the New Testament for some help, but it seems to reiterate this same understanding of being Holy...
“As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy."”
1 Peter 1:14-16 ESV
Let’s think about this a bit more in context of the New Testament teaching... maybe we have missed a vital connection here... We become Holy by being like God, we become Holy by allowing Him to dwell in us or in other words, by giving up ourselves and our natural inclinations to Him. Is this beginning to sound familiar to something Jesus told us? Is there some help in Christ for us?
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
John 15:4-5 ESV
So we are told to abide in Jesus but is there more? How does this tie me to God and His holiness? Well Jesus extends this thinking for us with these words:
“As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy."”
1 Peter 1:14-16 ESV
Hmmm... Jesus is in God, and I am in Him. I am beginning to see a tie between me and the holy nature of God, but even though I know that God is Holy, and I know that Jesus is Holy, how does this really extend to me?
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Galatians 2:20 ESV
Let’s put this in simple modern language; when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior we die to who we were, and become a new person; Christ lives in us. So we are very much like Jesus, and He is without a doubt like God, and God is Holy! This is the culmination of God’s plan for us. Andrew Murray uses these words to convey this as God’s plan and desire for us...
“Holy is the word that reveals the purpose with which God from eternity thought of humankind and foretells our highest glory in the coming eternity - to be partakers of God’s Holiness.” - Andrew Murray
Being Holy may seem impossible to you, but it is a reality of God and Jesus Christ. So we trust in the Word, and know that being Holy is more than a distant dream... it is a reality through Christ.
“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
Philippians 4:13 KJV
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for gathering me to yourself through Jesus Christ your Son. I thank you for allowing me to partake of your Holiness, and for the deep desire within me to be more like you with each passing day. My faith leads me on, and your will is that this selfsame faith increase in me. Bring me into consecration Father as I seek you in every aspect of my life. I find comfort, rest, and holiness in Jesus, and in knowing that as I abide in Him, and He in you, that I share in these things that you have made possible through Him... and that indeed all things are now possible for me through Him. Give me confidence in my holiness, Lord, because if I don’t believe your Word in this, then I am lost in all things. Praised be your name Holy Father for you are great and your will for me perfect. Holy, Holy, Holy, art thou and endless is your mercy and grace.
Rich Forbes