The excerpt below was taken courtesy of Jen Wilkin’s book Renewed, Faithful Editor.
Would you expect that the first thing we should think about in relation to God is something incommunicable, something typical only of the Almighty? but it is not so, holiness is an attribute of God on which we can reflect. Marvel at this thought.
- Holiness completely permeates the Christian call.
- It’s at the heart of the gospel.
- We were not simply saved from depravity; we are saved for holiness.
- Conversion requires consecration.
The Bible presents holiness as it has been given and demanded of us. And he said, “In Christ, have you been sanctified, now be holy?”
Hebrews 10. 10 assures us: “In this will we have been sanctified, through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ, once and for all. “What a blessed truth! Christ’s sacrifice gives us positional holiness before God; however, the Bible describes not only positional holiness, but also practical holiness. Again, repetition serves as a teacher. Is the Old Testament speaking of holiness in an imperative tone?And do it over and over again:
For I am the Lord, thy God; be pleased and be holy, for I am holy; don’t become unclean when an animal approaches earth. I am the Lord, who took you out of the land of Egypt to be your God; then be holy, why am I holy?(Lev 11. 44-45, NVI).
Tell this to the whole community of Israel: Be holy, for I, the Lord, your God, am I holy?(Leviticus 19. 2, NVI).
Therefore, do you sanctify and be holy, for I am the Lord your God?(Niv 20. 7);
Do you want to be holy to me, because I, the Lord, am holy and have separated you from the peoples to be mine? (Lev 20. 26).
We may be tempted to dismiss these instructions as just another strange part of a strange old Testament book, as something that no longer applies to those under the new covenant. However, the New Testament finds that these words resonated on Jesus’ lips in the Sermon on the Mountain: it deconstructs Old Testament laws on murder, adultery, divorce, oath, retaliation, and how to treat enemies, indicating deeper obedience, not only for external acts, but also for internal reasons. This is justice that goes beyond that of the scribes and Pharisees. What statement do you choose to conclude your point of view?”Wherefore, are you perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect?(Mt 5. 48).
It’s such a scary statement that we’re tempted to think you’re using it for the value of the impact it causes. It’s definitely just Jesus wearing a hyperbole. But that doesn’t look like someone sitting at your feet on a mountain would have listened. About thirty years later, Peter wrote to a group of newly converted believers:
“As children of obedience, do not be uneasy about the passions you had before in your ignorance; On the contrary, according to the one who called you to be holy, do you too become holy in all your efforts?(1Pe 1. 14-16). ).
Peter repeats what has been repeated to him, do not settle for who you were. Reform for what you must be, be holy as God is holy.
If you still wonder what God’s will is for your life, let the Apostle Paul eliminate all traces of confusion:
“For this is the will of God: your sanctification [?] Because God did not call us to impurity, but to sanctification?(1Q 4. 3, 7).
Simply put, God’s will for your life is for you to be holy, to live a separate life. May you, by the power of the Holy Spirit, strive to have a total purity of character (He 12:14). Any warning contained in all scripture comes down to that. this goal, which encompasses everything. Every story in every corner of the entire book of the Bible repeats this call. Be holy, because he’s holy.