Holiness

To be holy means to be set apart, upright or perfect. I must say what prompted me to explore the topic of holiness was a sermon I heard towards the end of 2010. The sermon somehow missed the point from my understanding of scripture. Instead of just jumping the gun and confronting the preacher I decided I had to study the scriptures first.One thing I do believe is that there is a lot of ´´you are okay as you are´´ preaching that can make christians complacent and is definitely from the evil one. We should pursue holiness. If we were okay as we are then God would not command us to be holy. Holiness is a process. The Holy Spirit reveals those ugly things in us bit by bit. It is such issues that we have to acknowledge and deal with in our pursuit for holiness.

We know that God is holy, that means he is set apart and not like any other. God wants us to be holy as he is holy. He wants us to be like him and to reflect his character as christians. That is why we need to stay connected to him through communion and fellowship with him so that his nature is imparted in us and begins to manifest in us.

Jer 2: 3 tells us that Israel was holiness to the Lord. This means that Israel was to be different in way of life from other nations by following God's commandments laws and statutes and doing things instructed by God himself. When they wantonly disobeyed God they violated their place of holiness and as such needed to be restored.

In Acts 3: 12 Peter says that the healing of the cripple at the gate called Beautiful was not by their own power or holiness which suggests that holiness in this instance comes from God.

Jesus's resurrection was by the spirit of holiness and declared him to be the son of God (Rom 1: 4). Although we are saved by grace through faith we are to live lives that are pure before God and that is also referred to as holiness. Living a holy life means we yield ourselves to the leadership of the Holy Spirit thereby refraining from living in sin.

Rom 6: 22 says that because we are born again we become holy as all our sins are cleansed from us by the blood of Jesus. Our remaining in Christ following him and being led of the Holy Spirit is what makes us holy. We have a part to play in the holiness context. God did His and we do ours. In Eph 4 the bible explains to us that we have to put on the new man who is created after God in righteousness and true holiness. This clearly shows that it is not enough to say I am born again , therefore I am holy and just live anyhow. We have to make a conscious effort to have our minds renewed by the word of God. The idea of putting off the old man and putting on the new man means we have a part to play in becoming like God in holiness. Holiness encompasses our way of life, how we speak to others and such things as being kind and tender. Holiness excludes evil speaking, clamour, bitterness, malice and wrath. Walking in love towards all man is part of holiness as we see in 1 Thess 3: 12-13. People who are established in holiness walk in love.

2 Cor 7: 1, when we fear God we will not continue to live sinful lives or doing as we please but we will continually walk circumspectly knowing God sees our every move. Fearing God means departing from sin and living the word. James 1: 22 says when we do not do as the scriptures say we deceive ourselves. When we shun sinful living we perfect holiness in the fear of God. People that fear God are holy and it follows that those that do not are not perfecting holiness.

 In essence walking in holiness embodies being godly and obeying God. When we embrace God’s word and live by it after we are born again then we are holy. Holiness is all about being like God. That is what God desires of every believer. Holiness is evident in behaviour (Mark 6: 20). Holy people do not accuse others falsely and should not be given to much wine. In addition they are teachers of good things (Titus 2: 3). Holiness is something every christian should pursue since we cannot see God without it (Heb 12:14).

I remember hearing Philipians 2: 12 being quoted some years back when I was in the university. It made an impression on my heart and the Holy Spirit brought this scripture to my remembrance when I was thinking about the subject of holiness. So let us work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. It is not something to be trifled with.