Dwight Fletcher | A call to holiness - Part I

You may think holiness that means a boring, sexless, uninspired life. You may also think that holiness is an unattainable, totally unachievable goal. In fact, 'holiness' is not a trendy or popular term. Yet, the Lord is calling us to holiness. So, what is holiness? According to Vine's Dictionary of New Testament Words, holiness "...signifies separation to God".

Why, then, is it that being holy and separated to God is a struggle? 1 Peter 1: 14-16 (NLT) states, "So you must live as God's obedient children. Don't slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn't know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, 'You must be holy because I am holy'.

As people, we have moved away from what God intended. We live in compromise, and our commitment to God has become diluted. Sometimes this occurs because we have forgotten that God Himself is HOLY. When we look at the people who encountered God, His holiness was always evident.

- When Moses encountered the Lord in the burning bush, the Lord warned him .... "Do not come any closer ... . "Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground." Exodus 3:5 (NLT). God's holiness demanded that Moses take off his shoes, and Moses responded appropriately to God.

- Isaiah, a man of God who proclaimed God's holiness for years, when he had a personal encounter with this holy God, said, "Woe is me, for I am ruined, because I am a man of unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips ..." Isaiah 6:5 (NIV).

These biblical greats respected God's holiness, but we live in a time where people want to treat God as equal, chummy, and with irreverence. We must be careful because GOD IS HOLY.

 

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO SAY, 'GOD IS HOLY'?

 

There are two basic meanings for the word 'holy':

1. To be holy is to be distinct, separate, unique.

Holiness, when applied to God, means that He is utterly unique, incomparable, matchless, and without peer. In Isaiah 40:25 (NIV), God asks: "To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?" says the Holy One." And we must answer, "There is no comparison." When we say God is holy, we're talking about His character and not about one characteristic out of many.

Many today want us to feel equal with God. But God is not our equal. God Himself said to Israel in Psalms 50:21-22 (HCSB): "... you thought I was just like you. But I will rebuke you and lay out the case before you. Understand this, you who forget God, or I will tear you apart, and there will be no one to rescue you! It is a dangerous thing to forget that God is holy. We do so to our own peril. Our God is a consuming fire ..." Hebrews 12:29 (NIV).

Hannah rejoiced because her prayers for a son were answered and declared, "There is no one holy like the Lord. There is no one besides You! And there is no rock like our God." 1 Samuels 2:2 (HCSB).

2. To be holy is to be absolutely pure

In a word, God is perfect, without sin, flawless. His holiness points to what 1 John 1:5 (NIV) says: "God is light; in him there is no darkness at all." Habakkuk 1:13 (NLT) adds that God is "... pure and cannot stand the sight of evil".

The challenge for so many of us is that we want to add God to our lives with little or no change on our part. Both Old and New Testament prophets, and Jesus, called for a radical shift for those who trust God. They called for holiness. 1 Peter 1:15 (NLT) states: "But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. Since God cannot tolerate sin we must be doing our best not to sin, He calls us to be HOLY."

Holiness should characterise the believers for two reason:

- Holiness is a command. In the passage we read, God said: "You must be holy because I am holy." God is not asking, He is commanding holiness. Nowadays, we make every excuse why we cannot be holy. If God asks you to do it, God has given you the power to do it.

- Only holy people will see the Lord. Hebrews 12:14 (NIV) says: "... Without holiness, no one will see the Lord." Your attitude towards walking in a holy way is a telltale sign of your seriousness towards God.

Since God is holy, He commands us to be holy. Holiness is important to our future, so we need to make it a priority. What does this mean for us?

God is utterly different and distinct from His creations. So, His people must be distinct and separate from the world. Holiness is the choice to march to the beat of a different drum. Rather than to live as our culture encourages us to, we must live as God requires not conforming to this world or your previous lifestyle (see Romans 12:1-2).

Next week, we will continue our discussion on holiness by looking in a at four principles on how to walk holy way.