01/31/2023
Are we called to be Holy men and women? If we don’t believe so then what might our calling possibly be? These are two questions we should be asking ourselves this morning, and Paul is a good example we can look to as we search out their answer, and the Lord's call in our own lives. We can be called to do many things as we walk with the Lord, but none more important than to be holy.
“Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,”
Romans 1:1 KJV
Paul wasn't called to serve in the temple, or to sit on a mountaintop communing with God... he was called to deliver the gospel. When I look at the church today, I see us delivering the gospel of Jesus Christ, but I also see an inordinate number of people who feel that simply separating themselves in an attempt at becoming holy as the primary aim of their faith.
Being holy is an offshoot of answering God's call in our lives. We aren't serving God because we are holy... we are holy because we serve God. We are set apart in our service of the Lord as we answer His call in our lives.
I asked myself... when did Paul become holy? Was it when Jesus knocked him down during his noon prayers? No, that couldn't be true because others were knocked down with him. Paul tells the story of that moment...
“At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me. And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.”
Acts 26:13-14 KJV
Did Paul become holy when Jesus spoke to him? I don't think so. Although Jesus told him why He had come to him and told him what he should do, Paul was yet to accept this mission and go out. Besides, the men who were with Him heard Jesus speaking as well...
“And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.”
Acts 9:7 KJV
Maybe it was when Paul was blinded and led to a house on Straight Street. But there is no indication of his changing yet. At this point Paul prayed and was shown a vision. He was told that a man named Ananias would come to him and heal his blindness. Yet we know that others were healed of blindness... and that didn't necessarily make them Holy.
“And the Lord said unto [Ananias], Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.”
Acts 9:11-12 KJV
I believe it is here that we see Paul becoming Holy. It is at the time when he has received his sight back and joins the disciples in Damascus; it is when he begins to preach the gospel.
“And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus. And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.”
Acts 9:19-20 KJV
When we first hear God calling to us we are not holy. When we are convicted and begin to believe that perhaps Jesus really is the Son of God, we are not holy. When we pronounce our belief in Jesus as the true Son of God, we are not yet holy. But, when we hear His call and begin to serve him and deliver the gospel... then we are set aside for His use... then we begin realizing holiness.
Oswald Chambers has two quotes that might help us understand that God desires us to be Holy, but our calling is to save souls and only through this service do we obtain that holiness... we are not called to sit idly on the mountaintop.
"God has only one intended destiny for mankind - holiness. His only goal is to produce saints. God is not some eternal blessing-machine for people to use, and he did not come to save us out of pity - He came to save us because He created us to be holy." - Oswald Chambers
And how are saints produced?
"Our calling is not primarily to be Holy men and women, but to be proclaimers of the gospel. The one thing that is all important is that the gospel of God should be realized as the abiding reality. Reality is not human goodness, nor holiness, nor heaven, nor hell, but Redemption, and the need to perceive this is the most vital need of the Christian worker to-day." - Oswald Chambers
When we bring redemption to people through living, teaching, and preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ we become holy. We are set apart for the use of God just as surely as the apostle Paul. Our calling is before us and in performing this service for the Lord, we realize holiness... we are holy.
Prayer:
Father, let me be your servant in bringing redemption to the world. Give me the dedication of life, and the words, with which to bring the gospel of your Son Jesus Christ to those who need to hear it. Lord, in using me, I realize that you are setting me apart from the very world you wish to redeem, and making me holy unto you. Never let me accept consolation in sitting within the church contemplating you when there are so many lost souls that you would have me reach. Use me Father to advance your kingdom by spreading the word of your love and sacrifice for us. Help me to shout your praise and proclaim your glory from every housetop and mountain. Let holiness abound in my service of you.
Rich Forbes