Pursuit of Personal Holiness
Hebrews 12:14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:
Consider for a moment the implication of this passage. Without holiness, no one will see the Lord. The weight of this passage is clear, we can’t be with God without first being holy. If the Bible puts so much emphasis on personal holiness, why is this seldom taught in today’s churches? If you ask the average Christian what it means to be holy, most could not answer. True holiness is a hard concept to fully grasp, but it is an essential part of the Christian life. Can someone claim to belong to Christ and never pursue holiness? Both the Old and New Testaments put a high priority on holiness; therefore we should take a closer look at holiness and seek to understand this crucial part of the Christian life.
What is holiness?
I stated earlier that most Christians would not be able to define holiness. In a sense, this is rightly so. The holiness of God is so far beyond our comprehension that we struggle to grasp it. If we could grasp a complete image of an infinite God with our finite mind, then we could fully grasp His holiness. Even a small glimpse of God drives men to their knees. Isaiah saw a vision of God and cried, “Woe to me for I am undone!” Job claimed that if he could see God he would ask God why all this trouble has come upon him. When God spoke to Job, he never asked God why, but instead cried out, “I am unworthy and I lay my hand over my mouth”. When the prophet Ezekiel saw the same vision Isaiah saw, he fell on his face to the ground until God lifted him up.
Throughout the Bible you see the same response when men encounter God. No man has or can see God in all His glory. Moses begged God to reveal His glory. God said that no man shall see His face and live. Why? Because what does not measure up to the holiness of God cannot survive in His presence. Sin does not affect God, but the holiness of God will always consume sin. We are sinful by nature. There will be a day when we will be made pure and can see God face to face, but until then we pursue holiness and draw closer to God.
In simple terms (if not simplistic), holiness is to be set apart. God is set apart from everything. He is unique and above His creation. Nothing measures up to God and nothing can even be compared to God. The finite human mind can’t grasp God because there is nothing in creation that can be compared to Him. Symbolism is used to paint a picture in the minds eye. The Bible often points to something that can be seen as a symbol for us to get a small glimpse of the things that can’t be accurately explained. For example, in an earlier study, Jesus pointed to Gehenna as a symbol of what hell is like. Hell can’t be fully grasped, but a valley where dead animals and every kind of vile waste was thrown and burned offered a vivid picture that people could relate to. The symbolism is meant to fall short of the real thing because it servers only to give a glimpse into the mystery that is being explained. However, with God, there is never a symbol given because there is nothing to compare even on the smallest scale. God made it very clear that He did not want to diminish His holiness by any comparison. That is why the second great command says, “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above…”. Once we get a symbolic idea of God, we loose the awesomeness of God. We close our mind to the majesty of God and focus on what we have symbolized.
The holiness of God is the highest honor expressed in the scripture. In scripture, what is repeated is done so to stress importance. Jesus frequently used repetition to alert His followers to a point He did not want them to miss. Jesus frequently said, “Truly, truly (or verily, verily in the KJV) I say to you…” to precede critical truths. Even the apostles would repeat themselves to stress importance. However, when it comes to the holiness of God, the Bible makes it the highest of importance by saying, holy, holy, holy is the Lord… Isaiah saw the angels around the throne saying that God is ‘holy, holy, holy’ and in Revelation we see it again. Revelation 4:
8 The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!
There is no other ‘triple stressed’ point that I can find in scripture. The Bible stresses the holiness of God so we can understand that He is above anything that we can possibly imagine. He is separate above all creation and nothing can compare to God. We are holy by becoming partakers of His holiness. We are separated from the world to be holy in Him. We should be unique and set apart from the world around us. We are not holy because of who we are or what we do, but because what God does in us. We inherit the holiness of God. Revelation 15 says:
4 Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You, For Your judgments have been manifested.
This passage expresses an important truth; “You alone are holy”. We aren’t holy and can’t be. I was born in the world and everything I have or can do of my own power has come from the world or my own nature. I can’t be separate from the world unless God transforms me into a new creation. I don’t have the power from myself to do anything that does not reflect my own nature which has been polluted by sin. Only God can produce His goodness within me. It is God’s Spirit within me that sets me apart from the world that is contrary to His holiness.
Why be holy?
2 Peter 3
9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,
12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?
This passage in itself answers the ‘why’ question. If this world will one day be dissolved along with everything in it when Jesus come in all His glory, why put our future inheritance here? Will we invest in a sure loss? Realistically speaking, most people do. The Bible warns us not to be taken by the deceitfulness of lust. The great deception lures us into investing our hope in the world that will be dissolved so that we neglect and even forfeit our future inheritance. All the repentance and sorrow in the world will not correct the loss we will suffer when this life is over. Look at Hebrews 12
9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?
10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.
11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
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14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:
15 looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled;
16 lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright.
17 For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.
If we belong to God, He will chastise us when we stray. Verse 10 makes it clear that God doesn’t chastise us for His profit, but for our good. God sees the end result and longs for us to inherit His promises. It is better to suffer His correction than to miss His inheritance. Through the pursuit of holiness and peace with all people, we can be confident that we are walking in God’s grace. Bitterness and lust will turn our hearts from holiness and then we are at risk to become just like Esau. Esau was the elder brother who rejected his birthright and was willing to sacrifice it to fill his immediate desires. He just could not wait, so he forfeited his future for a morsel that was gone when he got up from the table. If we don’t belong to God, He will not chastise us when we are pursuing the dissolving world. If someone can live without holiness and never feel convicted, they do not belong to God.
In our modern culture, people do not like to think of God as a judge, but the Bible forewarns us that God will judge. 1 Corinthians 3 says,
16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
17 If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.
The stern warnings of scripture are only harsh to those who choose to disregard them. God’s warning of judgment isn’t to make us feel guilty, but to direct us away from harm and toward the promise. There is a difference between guilt and conviction. The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin and leads us toward repentance and a close walk with Him. Guilt is the result of rejecting the conviction of the Holy Spirit. We rightly feel guilty when we insist on going down the road that God says will lead to our destruction. When we are deceived into believing the false promises of the lust of the world, we cast aside the promises and warnings of God. Guilt becomes the remembrance of what lies ahead therefore we don’t want to be reminded of God’s holiness. Whether we hide from guilt or resist conviction does not change the end result. The commands of God are life to those who respond to God. Revelation 20
6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power…
Those who walk with God will be holy because they inherit God’s holiness. Judgment has no power over those who can take refuge in God. Only those who lack holiness will be left in the judgment.
How to be holy.
Colossians 1:
21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled
22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight --
23 if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard…
We have already looked at the fact that God alone is holy. By nature, we were alienated and enemies of God, but through the cross, we have been reconciled so that He can present us as holy and blameless. This is the foundation we build our understanding upon. To be holy, I must receive God’s own holiness. The holiness I present to God is what He has given to me. Don’t lose sight of this principle as we examine how we become holy. We act in obedience, but it is not my own holiness, but God’s holiness given to me. I want to finish this study by looking at the four principles for obtaining holiness. There are two passages that shed light on living holy.
Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
1 Peter 1
13 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance;
15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,
16 because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy."
17 And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear;
Be transformed
God transforms us by His power and His Spirit. Apart from God’s grace, there is no transformation, there is no forgiveness and there is no way to be holy. Our transformation begins at the cross. We surrender our sins and every part of our lives to Him and He redeems us from the inside out. I can’t cling to my old life and still be submitting to God for redemption, there must first be surrender. 2 Corinthians 5 tells us,
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,
It is only after the transformation of becoming a new creation in Christ that we can say, “Now all things are of God”. Every thing in this life is a part of God’s hand and God’s plan once we are in Christ. We die to ourselves and God raises us as a new creature. Romans 6:7 tells us that he who has died is free from sin. Our sinful nature is in competition with holiness. God will never force us to be holy, it must be a free choice out of love for God. Until I die to myself, I can’t live in the holiness of God. When I am seeking His purpose, all things in life will fall into that purpose. It isn’t a one-time act, but a life long process of dying to self daily and living for Him.
Present yourselves to God
The passage we read above tells us to present our bodies to God as a living sacrifice. Until I make myself available, I am not usable. When I hold on to my own life, God can’t give me a holy life in Him. Jesus said that he who saves his life will lose it, but he who loses his life for My sake will find it. My life in my hands means little to God. What can I do that God can’t do for Himself? When I present my life and my body to God and declare myself as being set apart for Him, I yield my rights to pursue my own desires and I pursue God instead. Then God is able to take my life and use me to make an eternal impact by His power. God makes me holy when I present myself as a holy vessel that no longer belongs to me, but to Him.
Renew your mind
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind”. This is a daily process. I can’t live on yesterday’s holiness. Israel was taught this example by the manna in the desert. As they wandered 40 years, they ate manna from heaven. God commanded that they could not gather enough for more than one day. The ones who did saw it rot in the jar. God used manna from heaven to illustrate the truth yet to be revealed. But today it has been revealed. In Revelation 2:17 Jesus promised that those who overcome, He would provide them with the hidden manna. That manna is the bread of life – the word of God. Only those who pursue the holiness of God will gain the deep understanding from the word of God. You can’t get filled up on the word of God and neglect your daily renewal and God can fill someone who is filled with the world.
Many live life this way. They have a great ‘mountain top’ experience and expect it to last them a lifetime. God calls for a daily renewal through prayer and His word. The purpose of this renewal is so we can draw closer to Him. Holiness is a byproduct of a close walk with God. You can’t have a close walk with God without holiness and you can’t have holiness without a close walk with God. One always leads to the other. When we get our spirit filled with the holiness of God, we forget that the purpose is not so we can feel good for a moment, but so that we can use what God has given us to be drawn into a deeper walk with Him. If you are relying on yesterday’s holiness, it is rotting in the jar. If you are relying on yesterday’s prayer and study, it will fail you. God calls us to personal holiness that is founded on a daily relationship with Him. His word is the revelation of Himself to us. I can’t know God apart form His word.
Rest your hope in Heaven
The above passage in 1 Peter 1 also instructs us to fashion our conduct based on our hope in His revelation. When we put our focus on this world, it is hard not to be conformed to the world. We can still fall prey to the lust that enslaved us while we were ignorant of the devil’s deception. We need to look ahead toward the grace that is being stored up for us. If our hope is in this life, we will be disappointed. I do believe that God wants to bless us, but that is not my hope. I don’t know when or how God will bless me, so if my hope is in the blessing, I will be disappointed when God doesn’t fulfill my expectations. My hope is in the fact that anything I lack in this life is grace stored up for me in the life to come. It is better to lack here because God will right every wrong and fulfill every shortfall if my faith endure until the end. If my hope is in the world – even if I am using the promises of God as my foundation, I will not be satisfied. God’s promises are not for us to bind God, but for God to teach us to trust Him.
When my hope is in heaven and in the coming revelation of Jesus Christ, I will be drawn into the holiness of God. My focus is on Him and reaching the finish line. Those who hope in the world will hope in His delay and neglect their call to holiness.
The holiness of God is His character that is set apart from the world. Our holiness is our lives being set apart for Him. We become holy be conforming to the image of Christ and becoming like Him. We adopt His character and inherit His holiness. This can only happen through obedience. It is the commands of God that guide us to the character of God and conform us to His will. His will is where our future lies and we can only inherit God by becoming like Him.
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This sermon can be downloaded as a Word document by following the link at http://www.exchangedlife.com/Sermons/topical/personal_holiness.htm
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