01/31/2025
Are we called to be Holy men and women? If we are not, then what is our calling? These are the questions I am asking myself this morning, and the Apostle Paul is the example I look to as I search out the Lord's call in my life. You see, Paul wasn't called to serve in the temple, nor to sit on a mountaintop communing with God... he was called to deliver the gospel to a dark and dangerous world. Holiness in scripture means to be separated for the use of God… are we?
“Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,”
Romans 1:1 KJV
When we look at the church today, we see it delivering the gospel of Jesus Christ, but we also see an inordinate number of people there who feel that simply separating themselves from the world and seeking purity as becoming holy. This becomes the primary aim of their faith. Is that what Holiness is all about; simply purifying ourselves by physically separating ourselves from the world?
“Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
Matthew 5:15-16 ESV
Being holy is an offshoot of answering God's call in our lives, and being called is about serving Him. We aren't serving God because we are holy... we are holy because we are serving God. We are set apart in our service of the Lord as we answer His call to service in our lives.
So, Let’s ask ourselves... 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 reveals this to us as he 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 was after Paul received his sight back that we see him becoming Holy. It is after he had received his sight back and when he joined the disciples in Damascus because this is when he began 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 feel God drawing us, we are not yet holy. When we are convicted and begin to believe that perhaps Jesus really is the Son of God, we are not yet holy. When we pronounce our belief in Jesus as the true Son of God, we are saved but not yet holy. However, when we hear His call and begin to serve him and deliver the gospel... then we are truly set aside for His use... it is then that we begin realizing that we are holy. It is when our lamp is no longer under a basket but shining forth.
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? How are we made holy?
"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 believe, and bring redemption to people through living, teaching, and preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ we become holy. It’s then that we are set apart for the use of God just as surely as the apostle Paul was. Our calling is before us and in performing this service for the Lord, we realize the meaning of holiness... we are holy. Looking inward at ourselves today do we see holiness there? If so then we have already answered our call and been set aside for the service of God… we are delivering the gospel to the lost.
Prayer:
Thank you, Father, for the life, death, and resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ. Thank you for calling us to go out into the world and deliver His gospel, and by so doing, for making us holy. 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, by using me I have come to realize that you are setting me apart spiritually from the very world you wish to redeem and are making me holy unto you in this effort. Never let me find consolation in sitting within the church contemplating you when there are so many lost souls that you would have me reach and deliver unto you. Use me Father to advance your kingdom by spreading the word of your love and the sacrifice of your Son for us. Help me to shout your praise and proclaim your glory from every housetop and mountain. Let holiness abound in me as I am of service of you, as I throw off the basket that has been covering me, and return to the world shining the light of Christ so that all might see. Holy, Holy, Holy are you my God who is pure and the source of all that is holy. Holy are you who sends us, your children, into a dark world as a light unto it. Merciful and full of grace are you who loves the world enough to do this, to send us just as you sent Jesus of whom we speak and whose life we deliver to the lost and dying. Praised be your name Father! We worship you in spirit and truth always, and it is our desire to serve you obediently, dutifully, and with all our might. Strengthen us we pray and give us the gifts of the Spirit and the wisdom we will need to do your will and answer your call to go unto the world. Then, reward us by blessing us with your holiness, joy, peace, spiritual healing, and eternity in your presence. Draw us to Jesus, Call us to you, send us out, guide us as we serve you, make us holy, and finally call us home to rest in you. We pray these things in the name of Jesus Christ your Son, the lamb of God, and Dove of Peace… our Savior and light unto the world.
And all who believed said… Amen
“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.””
John 8:12 ESV
“I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.”
John 17:15-18 ESV
Rich Forbes