Holiness

Originally published March 15, 2006

I Pet.1:13-16 - Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as He which has called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

Holiness is an incredibly difficult truth to fully comprehend. We, by faith, have been made holy. God has always been and will always be holy. But our holiness does not come in ANY part from us, it is imputed(given) to us through Christ. Still, understanding completely what holiness is will not be fully possible until we are given our new bodies and minds.
For example, how do you explain the color red to a person who has been born blind? How do you even explain color? To bring it further into the abstract, how does the color red sound? You see, the concepts are incongruous and cannot make sense. In the same way, asking a fallen man to understand holiness is impossible this side of heaven. Here are some misconceptions about holiness:

* Holiness is refraining from activities such as drinking, smoking, cursing, stealing, and other objectionable behavior.
* Holiness is moving to a monastery and praying and meditating.
* Holiness is never associating with sinful people.
* Holiness is spending your entire life feeding the poor.
* Holiness is denying yourself any pleasure.

While some of those things may be right, they can never achieve holiness. Man can show love, mercy, grace, patience, but how can we show holiness? Holiness is God's alone, and it is what makes Him God. It is a sacred, powerful, and divine essence that is much more than just being without sin. By definition, it's separateness and distinctive quality hinders us from a complete comprehension. But we do know that Scripture teaches that "without holiness no man shall see the Lord"(Heb.12:14). John tells us that one day "we shall be like Him"(I Jn.3:2). When a sinner realizes he is lost and separated from a holy God, and he by faith becomes a follower of Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord, God imputes(gives) to him His holiness. We then, as followers of Jesus, are holy by the gift and grace of God Himself. There is no other way.

Now if we are holy by God's grace without any good deeds on our part, why does Scripture exhort us to live holy? The overarching Biblical principle of holy living is that we are to live with the constant and permeating knowledge that we are now different, and this knowledge changes our behavior. You see, we are not just different outside, but we are fully different inside and we are to renew that difference daily. Peter says,"Gird up the loins of your mind", which is symbolic for saying,"Think about this". We must live a life that absolutely reflects the divine essence(holiness) that has been given to us and has changed who we are.

Here are a few Biblical principles that could help us practically reflect His holiness:

* Living, speaking, and exhibiting the hope of His coming.
* Living in joy, the emotion that when shown in different circumstances, enhances our Spiritual claims.
* Refraining from sin and confessing it when we do. It shows that holiness and sin don't mix.
* Living in the Spirit and showing Spiritual fruit which showcase what holiness brings.
* Living in love for all other followers of Jesus.
* A private Spiritual life that is such a priority that it substantiates our profession that we are different.
* A corporate Spiritual life that draws enrichment from the gifts and fellowship from other followers of Christ.
* Subtle yet obvious way in which we view, own, and use material blessings


We are different; We are ambassadors; We are strangers; We are peculiar; We are servants; We are chosen; We are epistles; We are preparing to go to be with Jesus, and we are trying to bring others with us. I Pet2:5 says to,"offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ". This is a clear comparison to the Old Testament Levitical priest. But what was written on the headpiece of the high priest? HOLINESS TO THE LORD(Ex.39:30). Around his mind, on the headpiece, was written HOLINESS TO THE LORD. Does "Gird up the loins of your mind" seem to correspond to this picture? There are a myriad of Spiritual applications that the Holy Spirit can make personally to all of us. Just ask Him!

PTL-Rick P.S. - If you are not currently reading in a particular book of the Bible, may I suggest I Peter?