HOLINESS: NOT AN OPTION
When it comes to morality and ethics, American culture is really schizophrenic. At one time, a generation or so ago, America called itself and was considered to be a “Christian nation.” Nowadays, many observers of such things have labeled America a “post-Christian nation” because of the rise of secular humanism. However, this is a pretty simplistic view. When America was a “Christian nation,” we had slavery, the Civil War, racism and sexism. We could hardly think the “good old days” were really any better than the days in which we are living today.
What most people notice, though, is that it seems as though the “bedrock” beliefs and practices of many Americans are crumbling. Doesn’t it seem as though our culture is far more harsh than it used to be? Are people less polite than they used to be? Hasn’t the use of language deteriorated over the past two decades? Surely the things that once shocked us are now considered commonplace. This is, I think, what causes onlookers to consider America a “post-Christian nation.” In the past, we may have been blinded to our moral and ethical codes, but at least there was a collective agreement of what was right and wrong.
The problem is the problem of holiness. In the middle of all the moral and ethical relativity we see today, the Bible has an objective answer and it is personal holiness. Holiness as defined in the Bible is simply living according to God’s will. Really, “holiness” is “wholeness,” because when a believer lives a life that is in step with God’s will, they will be a whole person and God’s perfect character will be seen in our lives.
1. Commanded to live holy, Leviticus 20:7—8; 1 Peter 1:15—16
A lot of people avoid reading the book of Leviticus like they avoid paying taxes. With all its meticulous rules and regulations of minute and obscure laws—most of which have no seeming application for Christians—many of us think we can just steer clear of this book all together. However, God the Holy Spirit thought Leviticus important enough to include it in our inspired collection of books we call the Holy Bible. With that in mind, it is our obligation to not only read the book, but to find meaningful application of it’s principles to our lives.
[a] A command with a promise, Leviticus 20:7—8
Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the LORD your God. Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the LORD, who makes you holy.
Three times in the book of Leviticus we read this particular phrase in a “formulaic” fashion. In chapters 11 and 12, the command to be holy (Leviticus 11:45) comes as the laws governing childbirth and unclean food are given. To modern man, many of the laws in this section of Leviticus seem almost juvenile and therefore unnecessary. However, the Mosaic Laws need to be viewed as both spiritual in nature and practical.
In chapters 18 and 19, the Law deals with interpersonal relationships and the proper way to observe the Law. In chapter 19:2, the “holiness formula” is inserted as a motivating factor in worshiping God and honoring other people.
This flows into chapter 20, which deals with how to punish those who ignore the Laws just given. Many times, this lawbreaking took the form of the worst behavior possible in the sight of both God and man—the sacrificing of children to Molech, for example. In view of the temptation engage in such a heinous sin, God reminds His people that He is holy and that He will not tolerate such sin.
Because God is holy, He naturally expects a certain level of holiness from those that claim to be following Him. So, verse 7, then is the clear call to holiness. Following the call to holiness, verse 8 gives us the eternal partnership of man’s free will and God’s beneficent help. Man’s responsibility is to “keep God’s decrees and follow them” and God’s promise of divine grace is the promise that “He makes us holy.”
[b] The mark of the early church, 1 Peter 1:15—16
But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
With this one single verse—which is really a quote from Leviticus—Peter illustrates that at least some of Leviticus is relevant to the church of Jesus Christ even though it was written to the Israelites.
Peter tells his readers (and us) that it was God who “called” them. The Greek verb kaleo suggests that this divine calling or, as theologians like to say, “efficacious grace,” was entirely an action of God; He was the One who has called us out of the world. Because we are “the called,” we are expected to obey that call and leave the world around us to form a “called out” group. In the context of the OT, that “called out” group was the nation of Israel, in the NT, that “called out” group is the Church. Just as Israel in the OT was expected to mirror God, so the church of Jesus Christ is expected to mirror God. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the church is to “model” God before the world. God is holy, therefore the church must also be holy.
The basic idea of holiness is simple: it is a clear separation from all that is profane or unholy, hence the idea of forming a “called out” group. God calls His people out of a world of sin into a life of holiness; and He rightfully expects that whatever we do, say or think will be holy.
2. Instructions for holy living, Leviticus 20:1—6, 9—10; Colossians 3:5—11; Titus 2:11—12
Being holy is not some abstract pie-in-the-sky ethereal notion. It is intensely practical; being holy is meant to lived out in the world around us, regardless of the world around us.
[a] Punishment for immorality, Lev. 20:1—6, 9—10
God owes humanity exactly nothing, yet He treats us with respect, dignity, patience, and He acts towards us in holiness. We might say that His holiness is His gift to us! This gift of holiness should never be treated flippantly. He treats us in holiness, He shows us what holiness looks like, He calls us to be holy and He then enables us to actually BE holy. Leviticus 20 illustrates the consequences of not accepting God’s gift of holiness.
The giving of children to Molech was human sacrifice and was strictly forbidden. It is hard to imagine any parent actually doing this, but we must remember that this despicable practice was going on all around Israel and this, coupled with Jewish superstitions, caused many poor and struggling Jews to (and apparently were, in fact) be tempted to sacrifice their child in hopes of a good crop or whatever. To act in such a manner is about as far from being holy as a person can get!
God promised to punish worldly and sinful behavior severely. He was to be virtually ignored by God and cut off from the rest of the community. So great was this offense that if somebody in the community had mercy on the one who engaged in child-sacrifice, their punishment was transferred upon the whole community! This punishment also applied to those who engaged in any kind of occult practice.
In verses 9 and 10, we see how important the family unity was and remains to God. Cursing one’s parents was a capital offense, so also was striking one’s parents. A child who did such things was summarily stoned. God’s dream of a holy people begins, not in church, but in the home, hence the very strict laws governing familial relationships.
[b] New holiness, Col. 3:5—11
In the OT, people were inspired to be holy primarily out of fear of punishment. But in the NT, that motivation is very different.
Colossians, which contains some of the most practical passages on holiness, says that there are a number of things (sins) that believers are able to “put to death.”
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. (verse 5)
But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices. (verse 9, 10)
Some of the very same sins mentioned in Leviticus are mentioned here, but here the believer is told to simply STOP indulging his old nature by committing those sins. Once we lived a lifestyle dominated by sinful habits, but not only has our lifestyle changed, but our hearts as well! Therefore, we do not have to sin like we used to. We are now free to live holy lives.
This was something the ancient Israelites could never relate to. The Law could never change anybody’s heart. Only Jesus Christ through the ministry of the Holy Spirit can do that.
[c] The life of salvation, Titus 2:11—12
Once again, here is a marvelous promise to all believers unavailable to previous generations—
For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.
God’s whole plan of salvation is rooted in His grace, which is His free favor and spontaneous action on behalf of those lost in sin to lead them to glorious freedom. God’s actions in this regard involve both deliverance and transformation. In the Greek, the phrase “has appeared” is positioned at the beginning of the sentence, thereby emphatically stressing the revelation of grace as a historical reality. What is Paul referring to?; simply to Christ’s entire life, up to and including His death and resurrection. Jesus Christ IS God’s grace revealed to sinful man. From our vantage point over 2000 years since the dawn of the era of grace, we cannot imagine how bleak the world must have been, but Paul gives us a clue. The word he used was epephane, (our word “epiphany”) which literally translated means “to become visible, to make an appearance.” It carries with it the image of grace suddenly, and without warning, tearing the black fabric of man’s moral darkness resulting in a bright light shining in for the first time. What a relief that must have been back then! There was no way men in those days could fathom the depths of God’s grace without it’s manifestation in Christ; their minds, full of the Law with all it’s rules and regulations, could not have grasped the concept of free grace.
The immediate effect of this revelation brought salvation to man; that is, God’s gift of salvation from that moment onward was available to all people. Truly God’s plan of redemption is universal in scope; it is not open to all.
Furthermore, this manifestation of God’s grace not only offers us salvation, but it continues to operate in the life of the saved person. It “teaches us,” a verb that means “to train a child.” It is an all-encompassing word meaning God’s grace personified teaches, encourages, corrects, and disciplines the child of God.
How does it do this? It teaches us to say NO to sinful things. Grace takes the believer by the hand to the place where he, by a voluntary act of the will, is able to sternly face his temptation and refuse it. This is something, indicated by the tense of the aorist participle, that will happen every day of his life. In a negative sense, the Christian life is a life of continually saying NO to sin.
Thankfully, Paul does not leave us hanging there. Simply being able to “say no” to sin is not the goal; rather it is an action that clears the way for what ought to be the goal of every single believer—
…to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives.
Our lives should be characterized by three qualities. These three qualities actually look in three different directions:
- Inward. We are to live “self-controlled” lives. The word really means that we to remain ever “sober.”
- Outward. We are also to live “upright,” that is, “righteously,” faithfully adhering to the admonitions of Scripture.
- Upward. Finally, we are to live “godly” lives, that is, lives that are lived in reverence to God and the things of God.
Paul indicated, astonishingly, that this kind of idyllic life is possible “in this present age.” Regardless of the circumstances around us, every believer is able to live a life of complete holiness to God. We can do this, not because if we don’t we will be punished, but because what God demands of us, He enables us to do, thanks to His amazing grace revealed in Christ and administered by the Holy Spirit.
