A call to holiness is a call to an amazing lifelong journey of being transformed into the person God has created us to be… The scripture says “Put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness” Ephesians 4:24
We are called to put on a lifestyle of Holiness. However, the word holiness is becoming outdated among many Christians, who seem to see it as a red flag whenever the topic is discussed or shared…
May I ask this question, do you feel like holiness is an outdated topic to discuss? If so what should we do with scripture’s unequivocal call to holiness? The answer to this question may probably lie in our definition of holiness. So, what is holiness?
In our day and age, holiness is usually seen as a person’s private moral choices… Hence my reasons to think that somewhere along the line, we have missed the real meaning and God’s meaning of holiness.
Back to the definition; Holiness is “being set apart for God” It is freedom from spiritual and moral defilement which reflects the purity of God. A call to holiness is being set apart for God’s will and purpose… pleasing Him only!
There is a dimension of living you can only experience when you decide to please the Father in every area of your life. In that dimension, Jesus becomes real to you and manifests Himself to you. As you walk in holiness, His power becomes alive in you.
At this point, it’s important to state that righteousness is different from holiness. Righteousness is what happened to you when you became born again. You were made righteous when you made Jesus Christ the Lord of your life. He provided the right standing with God for you at the Cross.
However, holiness is another matter. You have “to be set apart, disunite, disconnect, part company, go in a different direction, cease to be associated with anything that contradicts God’s word…
Holiness is a decision of your will… it is what you choose to do with your life. It is your conduct… living according to God’s commandments. Doing those things that please Him. It’s what you do with your time and your actions. Holiness is the fruit that tells how healthy your relationship is with God.
Andrew Wommack once said, “Holiness is a fruit, not the root.” In other words, living a holy life is not the way to God… it is a byproduct of being born again. You don’t live a holy life to get God to love you… He already loves you! Your relationship with God should bear fruit called holiness.
You live holy because you are motivated by your relationship and love for your heavenly Father. You are responding to the love of God rather than trying to get Him to respond to you. Holiness is what determines the level of your relationship with God.
So, we live holy by disconnecting from the world, fleeing from temptation and obeying God’s Word, Many Christians have struggled and continue to struggle with a holiness deficiency. Holiness demands our separation from the world and sin to live a life of purity before God.
The scripture says “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:13-16.
The chapter of the Bible portion above calls us to holiness in light of the coming of Jesus Christ and the holy character of the God who calls us to salvation. It highlighted three reminders that will help us stay motivated and walk in holiness.
MOTIVATED REMINDERS TO STAY HOLY!
1) The CHARACTER of God
One of the fun things associated with having a child is watching everyone ask, “Who does the baby take after?” I always find it amusing as people identify the eyes as coming from the father’s side, the complexion from the mother, and the nose from the aunty, uncle or grandparent. There is usually some sort of family resemblance.
Here the scripture says, be like your heavenly Father – pattern yourselves after God “in all that you do.” Literally in every day, every moment, every thought, and every action. You see; it’s the nature of children to imitate their parents. And we should delight in being like God because He is our Father.
It can be helpful to remember how good, loving, just, and holy God is and to remind ourselves, “If Jesus were in my shoes, He wouldn’t do this!” This is why the scripture says, “Your God is holy and just… imitate Him.”
2) The DISCIPLINE of God
Many Christians have struggled and continue to struggle with a holiness deficiency. Holiness demands our separation from the world and sin to live a life of purity before and for our God.
Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. God is an impartial and absolutely honest judge. The scripture says that “judgement will begin in the house of God” (1 Peter 4:17)
This is not just talking about judgment day but weighing our daily actions and thoughts. God both blesses and disciplines Christians according to their conduct, and we are told that the healthy outcome of knowing that God is scrutinizing every action we take and every thought we think is “reverent fear.”
3) The PRICE and PLAN of our SALVATION
In the book of (1 Peter 1), the scripture reminds us of the highest motive for holy living… our salvation and we were reminded of the price that Jesus paid. The word redeemed in verse 18 is lost on us today, but when this passage was written, there were probably 60 million slaves throughout the Roman Empire.
A slave could purchase his or her freedom if they could collect enough funds. Redemption was a precious and costly thing. This passage reminds us that we were slaves to the empty way of life handed down from generation to generation.
A slave could be redeemed by money, but no amount of cash could set a lost sinner free. Jesus shed His precious blood for us… He gave His life as a sacrifice on our behalf.
Jesus paid such a high price for our freedom… why would we want to go back into slavery? When tempted by a sin, remember the price Jesus paid to bring you freedom, remember the pain that it brought Him. A life outside holiness is a life of slavery.
The more we continue to sin knowingly, the more curses we bring upon our land according to 2 Chronicles 7:14, eventually there is no sacrifice anymore according to Hebrews 10:26. According to Hebrews 6:6 we also put Christ again on the cross with our repeated sins. Holiness demands our separation from the world and sin to live a life of purity before and for our God.
Many Christians struggled and continue to struggle with a holiness deficiency. Slips of the tongue, impure thoughts, moments of anger or selfishness… Or perhaps, more generally, a lack of a passion to please and obey God in all things…
As many folks have a secret place of sin, how many of us have a secret place of holiness… that no one sees but God alone? We can adopt the three reminders for effective holiness unto God…
If you will do this, I decree and declare that the presence of God will produce results in your life that you have never seen before and open doors to you that have refused to open for many years in Jesus’ name.
The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift His countenance upon you, And give you peace.”’!
