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Emphasis Mine In Bible Verses
Index To All Four Sections
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The Holiness of God
One of the primary attributes of God is that He is holy. However, He does not conform to a standard of holiness - He is the standard of holiness.
The Call To Holiness - The Old Testament
One of the central themes of Leviticus is God's call for His people to be a holy people
The Call To Holiness - The New Testament
Holiness Is Not Optional
Too many modern day teachers say "just believe" -
the Bible says "Pursue... holiness, without which no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14). Who are you going to believe?
Both Holiness and Sinfulness Have Eternal Consequences
A lack of holiness is an insurmountable barrier to a relationship with God.
Modern 'Holiness'
Reading inspirational 'Christian' messages, daily doses of wisdom from Proverbs, uplifting Bible verses and listening to a 15-20 minute sermon every Sunday is NOT holiness.
The Holiness of God
In today's day and age, many churches go to extreme lengths to ensure that their congregations are 'comfortable' with God who is usually seen as this wonderful loving Being that would never hurt a flea. See The Wrath of God. And, if He did so in the Old Testament, well! We are under the new covenant now. All that matters is that we establish a "relationship" with Him.
And in pursuing this wonderful ‘relationship’ with the Father we seem to either completely ignore or do not pay enough attention to the fact that one of His primary attributes is holiness. The prophet Isaiah’s vision of the "Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up" His train filling the temple was accompanied by the cry of the seraphim who called out to another saying
"Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory." (Isaiah 6:3 NABS)
What we need to pay attention to is Isaiah’s response to what he saw and heard that day. He did not fall on the floor, burst into uncontrollable laughter, immediately make his requests known, nor strike up a conversation. Instead the first words out of his mouth reflected an overwhelming conviction of his own unworthiness...
Then I said, "Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts." (Isaiah 6:5 NABS)
Revelation 4:8 tells us that
"the four living creatures never cease saying, "Holy, Holy, Holy Is The Lord God, The Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come."
In both cases the world ‘holy’ is repeated three times because it indicates strong emphasis.
See Is There A Biblical Basis For "Holy Laughter"?
In the New Testament, Peter had a similar reaction when confronted with visible evidence of the power of the Christ. After a night of unsuccessful fishing Jesus instructed the disciples to put their boats out again. When they did so, they caught so many fish that their nets were in danger of tearing. Peter's reaction to this miracle?. He immediately fell at Jesus' feet, and said, "leave me, Lord; I am a sinful man."
Both men well understood the holiness they were confronted with and their own unworthiness in the face of it.
The Call To Holiness
The Old Testament
In Exodus 19, we are told that the nation of Israel arrived at the base of Mount Sinai some three months after they left Egypt. Moses then climbed the mountain where God gave him a message for the people camped below. God told Moses to tell the ‘sons of Israel’ that they had seen what He had done to the Egyptians and how He had carried them out of slavery on ‘eagle’s wings’ to Himself. Therefore if they would keep His covenant and obey His voice they would be His own possession chosen by Him from among all the people of the earth. They would be unto Him a "holy nation".
'Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy (Heb. qôdesh) nation.' (Exodus 19:5-6 NASB)
Later on He told them that they were a
“... holy (Heb. qôdesh) people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. (Deuteronomy 7:6 NASB)
These words occur in the context of not associating in any way with the seven nations that then occupied Canaan. Not only were they forbidden from intermarrying but they were to destroy the pagan altars, burn their carved images in the fire and in fact, completely destroy them. See Joshua's Conquests .. Holy War or Genocide?
You might notice that in this verse the Israelites were not urged to become holy but says "For you are a holy people".
Leviticus
One of the central themes running throughout Leviticus was God's call for His people to be a holy people. In fact, Leviticus 19 that recorded a number of diverse commandments was prefaced with the words...
"Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, 'You shall be holy (Heb. qôdesh), for I the Lord your God am holy (Heb. qôdesh) (Leviticus 19:2 NABS)
Leviticus 20:26 echoed the thought
'Thus you are to be holy (Heb. qôdesh) to Me, for I the Lord am holy (Heb. qôdesh); and I have set you apart from the peoples to be Mine. (Leviticus 20:26 NABS)
And it didn't end with the Old Testament.
The New Testament
Peter’s words to his readers echoed Exodus 19:5-6 when he told them that they were "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation". Christians were to be "God's own possession" - a unique people dedicated to the purpose of God.
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy (Gr. hagios) nation, a people for God's own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10 NASB)
Also consider the following
Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness (Gr. dikaiosune), faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. (2 Timothy 2:22 NASB)
Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification (Gk. hagiasmos) without which no one will see the Lord. (Hebrews 12:14 NASB)
For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? and if it is with difficulty that the righteous (Gr. dikaios) is saved, what will become of the godless man and the sinner? (1 Peter 4:17-18 NASB)
Holiness is Not Optional - It is The Command of God
I dread to think what would happen if someone in the 21st century church were to preach that you have to attain to a certain level of righteousness to be saved. The hue and cry from one end of the Christian world to the other would be deafening - the preacher soundly denounced for teaching salvation by works. But, consider for a moment Jesus' words in the Sermon On The Mount (Emphasis Added)
"For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:20 NASB)
In fact, Jesus greatly stressed the fact that obedience was indispensable in salvation. In the closing verses of Matthew 7, He said (All Emphasis Added)
"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.' "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. "And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. (Matthew 7:21-25 NASB)
An Unholy Person Cannot Even Approach a Holy God
At the burning bush God did not try and put Moses at ease or make him comfortable, but very bluntly told him to remove his sandals before he approached for the very ground he walked on was holy ground (Exodus 3).
In Exodus 19, at the foot of Mount Sinai, God made it very clear that sinful man could not approach Him.
The Lord also said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments; and let them be ready for the third day, for on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. ... "Also let the priests who come near to the Lord consecrate themselves, or else the Lord will break out against them." (Exodus 19:10-11, 22 NASB)
Additionally, only one man (the High Priest) was allowed into the Holy of Holies (the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle) once a year only after the blood sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins had been made.
Eternal Consequences
This life is the only opportunity we will ever have to choose where we will spend eternity. See What and Where is Heaven? When we close our eyes for the last time and step into what lies beyond we will take nothing with us. Not our money, fame, power, influence, looks, skills, achievements, eloquence, or intelligence. All we will take with us is whether or not we obeyed the commandments of God. Whether or not were true followers of Jesus Christ. and whether or not we lived a righteous life.
Let us take the words of one of the ancient prophets very seriously when he, in no uncertain terms, warned of the consequences of living an unrighteous life vs. righteous one.
Righteous Living: "But if a man is righteous and practices justice and righteousness, and does not eat at the mountain shrines or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, or defile his neighbor's wife or approach a woman during her menstrual period — if a man does not oppress anyone, but restores to the debtor his pledge, does not commit robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing, if he does not lend money on interest or take increase, if he keeps his hand from iniquity and executes true justice between man and man, if he walks in My statutes and My ordinances so as to deal faithfully — he is righteous and will surely live," declares the Lord GOD. (Ezekiel 18:5-9 NASB)
Unrighteous Living: Then he may have a violent son who sheds blood and who does any of these things to a brother (though he himself did not do any of these things), that is, he even eats at the mountain shrines, and defiles his neighbor's wife, oppresses the poor and needy, commits robbery, does not restore a pledge, but lifts up his eyes to the idols and commits abomination, he lends money on interest and takes increase; will he live? He will not live! He has committed all these abominations, he will surely be put to death; his blood will be on his own head. (Ezekiel 18:10-13 NASB)
In fact, a lack of holiness is an insurmountable barrier to a relationship with God.
Yet, in our world all too many professing Christians are a long way from being stranger and exiles in the world (1 Peter 2:11)
Modern 'Holiness'
Christian' culture has so weaseled its way into our thinking that Christian living has been reduced to a church service once a week, using 'Christian' T-shirts, coffee mugs, bumper stickers, jewelry etc. and, of course, reading the latest 'Christian' book - most of which bear no resemblance to Biblical Christianity. See Why The Fire Hasn't Fallen
In fact, quite a percentage of modern Christians survive on a diet of Christian quotes, inspirational messages, daily doses of wisdom from Proverbs, and uplifting (and probably out of context) Bible verses conveniently delivered by e-mail. Add to this a 20 minute sermon every Sunday and the modern Christian is suffused with a warm glow of "spirituality". He basks in the fact that he has done what God expects of him.
He is dead wrong
This type of Christian is the whitewashed tomb Jesus spoke about (Matthew 23:27). The pristine looking exterior hides the fact that there is nothing inside but dead man's bones. As the prophet Amos so clearly pointed out holiness is not participating in ceremonial rituals but is in everything we say and do.
I hate, I reject your festivals, Nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies. "Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them; And I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fatlings. "Take away from Me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps. "But let justice roll down like waters And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. (Amos 5:21-24 NASB)
The scribes and Pharisees of Jesus' day fell into the same error as the ancient Israelites. They were meticulous about ceremonial righteousness, but they did not care about their neighbors nor protect the widows and orphans. As Jesus said...
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation. (Matthew 23:14 NASB)
The tragedy is that like the Pharisees we have lost sight of how the Bible defines sin. We have forgotten that the Bible tells us that without holiness no one will see the Lord and further warns us not sell our birthright as cheaply as Esau sold his - giving in to the very temporary pleasures of the world and forgoing the permanent ones. See Why it is crucially important to understand how the Bible defines sin.
All of which brings up the question as to what exactly "holiness" is.
Continue To Part II - Considering that holiness is not optional if we ever hope to gain entrance to the Kingdom it behooves us to understand exactly how the Bible defines holiness HERE
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