God’s definition of Holy
We continue in our preaching series on discovering your destiny. For the next few weeks, we are going to be considering how setting high standards in our lives is important as disciples of Jesus. This morning we are going to think about what it means to be decent and orderly in the sight of God.
Some of God’s commandments and statutes we find quite easy to follow, others are a little more difficult for us to faithfully follow.
When we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, we repented, we turned away from our old sinful lives and turned to Christ. Because we chose to trust in Jesus, we were forgiven of our sins, God adopted us into His family and God has called us to live a different life.
We are human, we are not perfect, and God in His loving grace and mercy has forgiven and continues to forgive us, but we should never use God’s forgiveness as a licence for us to behave however we want, whenever we want. If we are honest with ourselves this morning, it is true to say that each of us has experienced times in our lives when we have fallen short of God’s expectations and standards.
So what standard has God set? What does God really expect of us?
God has given us a command that is explicit in the standard He expects us to live by a command that is found in both the Old and New Testaments, Leviticus 11:44, Leviticus 20:26 and 1 Peter 1:16 says: “You must be holy because I am holy.”
You must be holy because God is holy...But what does it mean to be holy? What is holiness?
Google defines holiness in this way: holiness - the state of being holy - “a life of holiness and total devotion to God”
synonyms: sanctity, divinity, godliness, saintliness, sanctitude, sacredness, faith, devotion, devoutness, divineness, blessedness, spirituality, religiousness, piety, piousness, righteousness, goodness, perfection, virtue, virtuousness, purity, sinlessness.
Let’s be honest, for some people, “holiness” is seen as something too difficult to achieve.
When you think about being holy what pictures or thoughts come into your mind? Old musty churches and cathedrals? Monks and nuns? Victorian standards of dress; every man in a three-piece suit and highly polished shoes and every woman in church wearing a hat?
Or do you associate holiness with moral behaviour, sexual purity, financial honesty, and commitment to private prayer?
We can have legalistic notions of holiness. We can have moralistic notions of holiness. We can behave as if holiness is either outdated or something that only needs to affect a small part of our lives. Yet, God has commanded us “You must be holy because I am holy.”
What does really God expect of us?
The biblical idea of holiness includes private morality and much, much more. The biblical idea of holiness involves us living the life God has planned and purposed for us. Living according to God’s standards and precepts, not by the world’s standards, not by our own standards, living by God’s standards. Holiness is not just for advanced spiritually elite Christians, holiness is meant to be at the centre of our lives.
Do you understand the importance of holiness in your own life?
The term Christian can mean so many things today, and because of the way, many so-called “Christians” live their everyday lives. It is easy to understand why many people call Christians hypocrites because many people in the world today do not see Christians as morally different in any meaningful way.
Many Christians have allowed themselves to be swayed by popular opinion or by what our modern culture thinks is acceptable, they have accepted compromise and error instead of standing firm on what God has said is right and wrong.
As a follower of Jesus, as a disciple of Christ, as one who has repented and turned away from sin, God has placed a call on our lives, a command to holy living, a command to be different, a command to be holy.
Has God set the bar too high? Has God set a standard that is too difficult for us to reach?
Let me give you an illustration, the high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern most practised format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat for landing. In 1912 the highest recorded high jump by a man was 6ft 6 and 3/4 inches or 2 metres. Since 1912, athletes have tried various techniques to jump higher and every so often the original record was beaten. In 1989 the Cuban athlete Javier Sotomayer achieved a high jump of 8ft, 2.44 meters. A foot and a half or 44 centimetres higher than the 1912 record. Not content with that record in 1993 Javier beat his own record by a 1/4 of an inch, another centimetre at 2.45 metres. 8 foot and a quarter inch, 2.45 metres, the record has not been broken since 1993.
Where am I going with this illustration, there are limits to what a person can only achieve in their own strength. As Christians, as disciples of Jesus, we can try to live holy lives relying on our own strength, or we can allow the Holy Spirit to work in us and through us to change and transform us.
Listen to the words of the Apostle Paul in Galatians chapter 5:16-25, “Let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarrelling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to His cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.”
Holiness is not a standard too difficult for us to achieve if we follow the Holy Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Don’t rely on your own strength, allow the Holy Spirit to work in you and through you, let the Holy Spirit change and transform you.
In Galatians 2:20 The Apostle Paul wrote: My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
In Colossians 3:2-3, Paul wrote, Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.
Verses like these speak of the fact that because of our union with Jesus, our lives have been transformed by God. If we have come by faith to Jesus, Jesus lives in us, He dwells in us, and we dwell in him. Friends, the way we live our everyday lives needs to reflect the fact that in Christ, God’s holiness is our holiness. Our everyday lives need to demonstrate the fact that in Christ, we have already been made holy.
“You must be holy because I am holy.”
God is asking more of us than living by a set of morals. Our picture of holiness should not be limited to doing certain things and not doing other things. Holiness is not about how effective we are at going through our lives obeying the rules, or appearing to obey the rules!
There is something far more foundational here: Do you live as a person who wants to please yourself or do you live as a person who is devoted to God?
Where is our loyalty this morning? Is it self or is it God? Our way or His way? Our plan or His plan?
Look at Romans 12:2, Don’t copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Ephesians 4:22-24 throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.
Friends we are not meant to live to please ourselves, we are meant to live in a way that is pleasing to God.
1 Thessalonians 4:1 Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you. You live this way already, and we encourage you to do so even more.
Jesus has saved us and the Holy Spirit lives within us and God the Father has commanded us to be different. In Christ, God has made us holy and God commands us to be holy in every aspect of our daily lives. His command to each and every one of us is an all-encompassing claim on our lives, our loves, and our identities.
For us to be holy we must acknowledge and live by the fact that all we are and all we have belongs to God and not ourselves. For us to be Holy as God commands us to be holy, every aspect of our lives must be shaped and directed toward God.
As I draw to a close let me remind you of these verses: Ephesians 1:4, Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes.
1 Peter 2:9-10, You are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light.
Holiness is not about moral purity. Holiness is about union with God in Christ and sharing in Christ’s holiness. Holiness is about a life lived in grateful service to God and others. Living according to God’s plan and purpose, bringing honour and glory to Him.
If we rely on our own strength it’s impossible but when we allow the Holy Spirit to work in us and through us He change and transform us.
Finally, let me leave you with the words of John Newton, author of the hymn “Amazing Grace”:
“I am not what I ought to be. I am not what I want to be. I am not what I will be. But thank God I am not what I used to be.”
Are those words true of you this morning?
We are not trying to live a holy life to earn our salvation - salvation is a free gift to all who trust in Jesus as Lord and Saviour.
“You must be holy because God is holy.” Living a holy life is a natural response to being saved by God’s grace and filled with the Holy Spirit. It is also important to not give up when we mess up. When we fail, our response should be to confess the sin and keep moving forward in our Christian walk.
May I encourage you this morning: Ask God to help you to live a holy life and allow the Holy Spirit to continue His transforming work in your life.
May God bless you and strengthen you and lead you according to His plans and His purpose for your life.
Let’s pray.
