Hebrews 12:14-15 (NIV)
The two verses above from Hebrews 12 command us, as born again Christians, to do a number of specific things, and very powerful and important things they are for us to do throughout our Christian walk! They are:1. Make every effort to live in peace with everyone.
2. Be holy as without holiness no one will see the Lord.
3. See to it that we don't fall short of the grace of God.
4. So that no bitter root will grow in us and cause trouble and defile others!
Now, number 2 on the list is the glue that holds our Christian walk together with the leading of the Holy Spirit. "Be holy as without holiness no one will see the Lord" is a key foundation on which we are to live our lives as true born again believers in Christ Jesus. After all, as the scripture says, if we do not have holiness we will not see the Lord!
But.......
What is holiness?
In the verses below we can see that it has always been God’s intention for His people to be holy because He is holy. The Lord tells us to consecrate ourselves and be holy.
To consecrate oneself means to dedicate oneself to a higher purpose, for a Christian today this means our purpose is to dedicate ourselves to God through Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit to do the Father's will and the works he has predestined us to do in Christ Jesus and walk in them.
To consecrate oneself means to dedicate oneself to a higher purpose, for a Christian today this means our purpose is to dedicate ourselves to God through Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit to do the Father's will and the works he has predestined us to do in Christ Jesus and walk in them.
This is NOT salvation by works as we are saved by Gods grace alone! It is the works that God has prepared for us to do because we are saved!
Ephesians 2:8-10 (NKJV)
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
The Apostle Peter quoted Leviticus 11:44 in 1 Peter 1:15-16 and thus we know without a shadow of doubt that this instruction still applies to Christians today!
The Apostle Paul also tells us that we are called to live a holy life because it is His purpose for us through the grace we receive in Christ Jesus.
Lev 11:44 (NIV)
I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy.
1 Peter 1:15-16 (NIV)
But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
1 Timothy 1:9
He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time.
God call us to be a holy Church!
Hebrews 12:14 (NIV)
Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.
Before we can look at what the Bible teaches on being holy, let’s first understand what the word 'holy' means from the original Greek text of the New Testament.
Holiness in the verse above is from the Greek word ‘hagiotes’ meaning holiness or sanctity. Hagiotes is derived from the Greek adjective ‘hagios’ which means set apart (for God) for the specific purpose of being holy and sacred.
From this we can safely conclude that God expects us, as Christians, to set ourselves apart to be holy to Him. In fact, Hebrews 12:14 above states quite emphatically that the we won’t see the Lord unless we pursue holiness.
Also, as we endeavour to pursue holiness, we will experience a measure of pain as He chastises us for our own good, through the process of dying to self. That is giving up our old sinful lives and embracing the new creation we are converted to in Christ Jesus. We must all leave our sinful past behind!
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
Nevertheless, this chastising process will yield within us the peaceable fruit of holiness and righteousness in Christ Jesus. God disciplines the ones He loves - we, the Church, His children!
Hebrews 12:6 (NKJV)
For whom the Lord loves He chastens,
And scourges every son whom He receives.”
Hebrews 12:9-11 (NLT)
9 Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever?
10 For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness.11 No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.
In other words, that which is holy belongs to God, and conversely whatever belongs to God is holy. We are sanctified and "set apart for a holy use or purpose" by God, and to find out what our use and purpose is in Christ Jesus we need to live life in the Spirit as it is the Holy Spirit that gives us revelation and guidance in the truth of the Word. In this way our lives and our lifestyles will bring glory to Jesus.
John 16:13-15 (NKJV)
13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.
Christ in me, the hope of glory, be holy as He is holy!
Colossians 1:26-27 (AMP)
26 that is, the mystery which was hidden [from angels and mankind] for ages and generations, but has now been revealed to His saints (God’s people). 27 God [in His eternal plan] chose to make known to them how great for the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in and among you, the hope and guarantee of [realizing the] glory.
God has selected us to be His servants and has called us to come out of this world, to be different and separate from the rest of the world. Jesus said,
John 17:14-16 (NIV)
14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.
We, as born again believers in Christ Jesus, must come out from any of this world's ways that are sinful and evil out from the religious and spiritual "Babylon" that is this the whole world so that we will not share in their sins.
Revelation 18:4 (NIV)
4 Then I heard another voice from heaven say:
“‘Come out of her (the world), my people,’[Jer 51:45)
so that you will not share in her sins,
so that you will not receive any of her plagues;
Making such a distinction and living by it is one of the many ways that God's true servants are different from the rest of the world.
Instead of being immersed in the lawless and sinful ways of the world, we should put our thoughts on better things:
Philippians 4:8 (NIV)
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
We often justify our sinful actions by saying things like: "It’s only a song — it's only make-believe, it's only a movie, that’s who I am."
On the contrary, the Bible says this:
2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV)
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
We cannot call ourselves Christians and continue to walk in the ways of the world – we must walk in the way of the Spirit (be holy)! Christians need to be different from the rest of this world — to say no to sin, to evil and to wrong things as it is written:
2 Corinthians 7:1 (NLT)
Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God.
God accepts as as we are but once we become born again he doesn't want us to stay in our sinful old self! He wants us to change and be conformed to the image of His Son - our Saviour, Lord and King - Jesus!
God wants a glorious Church without spot or blemish. Jesus gave his life for the Church in order to make her holy:
Ephesians 5:26-27 (NIV)
26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless
Prayer
Dear Father
In the name of Jesus I pray that you would continually fill me with your Holy Spirit and help me to be holy just as you are holy. Amen!
To Jesus belongs all glory, honour and praise
Jesus the Name above all names!
I love your closing reminder. Too many things can tug a writer away at the last moment; and if you aren't sensitive to them, you arrogantly hit that "publish" button. God has gotten the best results from posts I really wasn't convinced of.
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