What Holiness Should Mean to the Christian
by Gary Henry
via WordsPoint.com
"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'” (I Peter 1:15-16).
Perhaps we who are Christians today do not often think about our holiness. But we should think about it. If it does not sound very “practical,” that may be an indication of how much we’ve accommodated ourselves to the world around us. But whatever the reason for our neglect, Peter’s injunction still stands: “as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct.”
The basic idea of holiness is “separateness” or “distinctness,” and it has to do with separation from anything morally impure. God is not just partially but *completely* holy, of course, and we are to set His holiness as our goal and our intent (I John 3:2,3). Prone to error as we are, we are going to fall into sin from time to time and require His forgiveness. But at the very least, we must make holiness a commitment that we intend to keep. And we shouldn’t fool ourselves: God knows the extent to which our commitment is genuine.
It’s an obvious fact that we are, for the time being, “works in progress.” But let’s be careful. Being “flawed” creatures does not excuse us from exerting effort — whatever impurity remains within us should be a major priority to remove. God will certainly help us, but if our holiness depended on God alone, He would have finished the job long before now. The unfinished nature of the work is not His fault; it is ours. So Paul put it in the form of a command that we are capable of obeying: “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (II Corinthians 7:1).
It will help if we can learn to see our holiness (or the lack of it) from God’s perspective. For Him, the “problem of sin” is not merely that it diminished the happiness we might otherwise have had. That is, at best, a side issue, a symptom of the problem. The problem is that sin marred the holiness that would have made us perfectly “in His image” (Genesis 1:26-27), creatures with whom He could joyously commune. So let us grieve over our unholiness as He does. Let us yield eagerly to the help He offers in reversing our rebellious choices. And let us see our “salvation” as fervently as He sees it.
"[God] is not an eternal blessing machine for men; he did not come to save men out of pity; he came to save men because he had created them to be holy" (Oswald Chambers).
