What Is Holiness?
“Holiness, not happiness, is the chief end of man.” Oswald Chambers “No attribute of God is more dreadful to sinners than His holiness. “ Mathew Henry
“Holiness, not happiness, is the chief end of man.” Oswald Chambers
What is holiness? You probably already have some definition in mind and you might not be very excited to know that our theme this month is Holiness. Our definitions of holiness run the whole gamut from the hermit in a hair shirt, hidden in a remote cave, to a skirt wearing, bun capped dour woman, to those who refuse to apologize for wrongs because they don’t believe they are capable of sin all the way to legalism where there is a long list of things we must not wear, eat, drink, watch or touch. None of these things really defines true holiness.
Holiness is such a deep and multifaceted topic that I don’t think I can give it justice in a devotional. I do heartily recommend the book The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges and the writings of A.W. Pink on holiness for further reading and contemplation. For now though, I hope to whet your appetite for more on the topic of holiness.
In its purest form, holiness is complete moral purity. This is something that no human being has achieved or can ever achieve. So why do we continue to search after it? We continue to search because though God has made us righteous in Christ, He calls us to righteousness in our character. God has set the desire for holiness in the hearts of all His people. “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness” Isaiah 61:10.
The journey to holiness begins with a right view of God’s holiness.
God’s holiness is perfect. And our holy God is so holy that He is not even tempted to sin, nor will He ever tempt us to sin (James 1:13). God hates sin so every time sin, we are doing something that God hates. (Psalm 119:104; Habakkuk 1:13)
Our God is a three-times holy God. So holy that Holy cannot adequately describe Him. Scripture uses the phrase “Holy, Holy, Holy” to describe God. (Revelation 4:8; Isaiah 6:3) Until we begin to understand the holiness of God, we will falter in our growth toward holiness. The only way to understand His holiness is to grow closer to Him through His Word and prayer.
The journey to holiness continues with a right view of sin. One of the biggest roadblocks to living a holy life is our refusal to take sin seriously. In our minds we have divided sin into categories of serious sin and not-so-serious sin. God does not categorize sin in that way. All sin separates us from fellowship with God. God hates all sin, not just some sin.
The holiness that we are called to, is what Jerry Bridges calls a “joint venture” between God and ourselves. Unlike the holiness He gives us that makes us fit for His salvation, it is not something that He will bestow on us without our effort. As you can see, there are two kinds of holiness. That which God gives and that which God calls us to. That holiness to which we are called is as dependent on our effort as anything we will ever do in life. God provides us with the impetus to live a holy life, the strength to live it and the arsenal to defeat sin in our lives, which includes the presence of His Holy Spirit.
So far we have established in this short devotional that;
· Holiness is perfect moral purity
· God is perfectly holy
· God hates sin
· When we sin, God hates that sin
· There are two types of holiness; that which God gives us at salvation and that which He calls us to in our daily living.
Finally, the journey to holiness includes the daily living out of the life of Christ.
· God requires holiness in our character and daily lives.
We are no longer slaves to sin, it no longer reigns in us, and we can defeat it. According to Jerry Bridges, God gives us the potential to resist sin; the responsibility for resisting though is up to us. There is no such thing though as instant holiness. Holiness is a continual journey, a constant battle and, as Jay Adams says. “It is by willing, prayerful and persistent obedience to the requirements of the Scriptures that godly patterns are developed and come to be apart of us.”
Have you stopped to wonder about why God saved you in the first place? So that you could have a great life? A place in heaven? There is a reason:
“God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before Him.” Ephesians 1:4 . We were saved to be holy. Dear sisters, it is time for us to lay aside all those sins that beset us, to get serious about serving God and realize that our time here is but a moment, a blink, in eternity. To realize that God requires us to live holy lives and that He Himself will work with us to lead us into a holy life.
Holiness should concern us deeply and holy living should be foremost on our minds every day. It should disturb us and at the same time encourage us to obedience to read:
“Make every effort to ….. be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” Hebrews 12:14. A.W. Pink describes the true faith in God through Christ as “…a faith which purifieth the heart.” (Titus 1:1) one which grieves over all impurity (Acts 15:9) and one which produces an unquestioning obedience (Heb. 11:8). Is your faith leading you in that direction? The journey to holiness consists of a pattern of living life;
· Hearing the Word taught (Jeremiah 3:15) Go to church, listen to sermons and learn in Sunday School.
· Reading the Bible (Deuteronomy 17:19) You are blessed to live in a culture where the Bible is available to everyone. Read it daily, prayerfully.
· Studying scripture (Proverbs 2:1-5) A good study doesn’t have to be costly. Use your Sunday School material or ask your church’s pastor or Sunday School director for suggestions.
· Memorizing the Word (Psalm 119:11) Challenge yourself to memorize God’s Word. We sometimes forget that memorization isn’t only for children.
Read the following scriptures meditatively. Ask the Lord to open your heart to His Word and His Truth that Holy Living is not optional for the Christian. Ask Him to show you the things in your life that are keeping you from living out the holy life a Christian is meant to live. What is keeping you from living a holy life?
Ephesians 4:30 “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Romans 8:13-14 “For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”
2 Timothy 2:21 “ Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work”
1 John 1:6 “ If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.”
Psalm 119:104 “Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way.”
1 John 5:3 “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.”
James 1:22 “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”
Galatians 5:16 “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh”
Philippians 2:12 “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,”
As a friend of mine commented, holiness is more about being than doing. My hope is that the women reading this will be encouraged and challenged to find out more about holiness and how to be holy. My fervent prayer is each one reading will begin to talk to God about holiness and ask Him to open His Word regarding personal holiness.
Remember that the journey to holiness only ends in heaven in the presence of God when we are changed into His likeness, but that His will for us is to continually strive toward holiness and remain faithful in our walk with Him.
“But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” James 1:25
© 2006 Sylvia Britton
