Holiness

My wife Lindsey and I were talking the other day about life and spiritual things, when God led our conversation to the topic of ‘Holiness.’  For many of us, myself included, we would have to go to a dictionary to find a definition for the word.  Most of us know the word and we could probably use it in a sentence but we would struggle to define it other than to say, God is holy!  So I looked it up and it is defined as, “separateness or withdrawal.”

I would dare say, the reason we know so little about it, other than God is holy, is who could teach on it?  Any person who would teach that we are to be separate from the wickedness of the world but then they go home and gorge themself at the dinner table while talking about the people they just saw at the church, until they fall asleep watching their favorite TV sit-com or movie about a group of people acting on their lustful desires for acceptance, sex or power, would be a hypocrite!

At this point, conversations usually turn to, “I don’t think God is calling us to dig a hole and crawl in it, after all the Bible tells us to be in the world but not of it.”  OR “I can never be Holy, only God can.”   While both statements sound true, they are statements made out of a desperation to hold on to something in this world!  

When Jesus died on the cross, the veil in the temple which separated us from the presence of God, was torn in two, giving us access to the King of kings but the path which led into His glorious presence did not change!  If we think we can stroll up to God linked arm in arm with the world then we are sadly mistaken! 

God calls us to be holy because He is holy! (I Peter 1:16)  It is interesting to note that the Bible does not teach holiness precedes salvation but rather holiness is a response to salvation!  I could never be holy enough to make it into Heaven but because I am IN Christ and the Holy Spirit is IN me, I can be separated from the world! In fact, that is my act of worship!

At this point the conversation usually moves toward, “But if I get rid of my TV and the internet and etc., what would I do?  Life would be like one eternal boring church service!”  Well, to that I would say, maybe churches have missed the purpose of why we come to church.  Revelations 4:8 says, “And the four living creatures,...day and night they do not cease to say, “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY,...”  It is interesting to note, that we do not hear them complaining about being made to worship God day and night.  On the contrary, they are experiencing a ‘Life’ that most people will never know because we are connected to the world!  If we come to church because that is what we are supposed to do OR because we enjoy the experience, then we have missed it all together.  We come to church so that we can walk together as a family into the presence of God and lay our lives at His feet!  That is why we live separated from the world, so that we can come into His presence both night and day and cry out, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD God, the Almighty, and it mean something!

This week, my challenge to you is pray that God would give each of us a heart for holiness!  I’m praying for you all!