Lord, I Want To Be Holy
Scripture Reference: 1 Peter 1:14 – 16
Thesis: Because God is Holy, we who have come to Christ have been set apart from sin and set apart to God as a people of distinction and a people of difference. Therefore, we need to pursue holiness.
Introduction
A Man was sitting in his recliner when his youngest son walked in and asked if he could ask him a few questions. The Father said sure but he asked what is this for? The young boy replied, “It’s for a project at school.
We have to write a report about a role model in our life.” His father was touched, and said, “Son, I’m so pleased that you chose me to be your role-model. Why did you choose me?” The son said, “Yeah, well the kids next to me already picked Steven Segal and the Rock, so you were the only one left.”
So who is your role model in life? Who is it that you are trying to imitate in your daily walk. For most of us in our day and age, we have chosen the wrong role models. We pick our role models off whether they can throw a football, sing and dance, or shoot a quick jump shot. When people pick their heroes, holiness isn’t usually part of the requirements. Integrity and purity are left out of the equation.
So the question of the day is, “When you hear the word holiness, what comes to your mind?” There are many words from the Christian dictionary, the Christian church that has seemed to lose its value among this post-modern church culture.
You don’t hear words like sacrifice, suffering, self-denial, commitment, devotion, fasting, and patience just to name a few, and if you think those words seem to be lost then I can only image what you think about holiness.
For most Christians, “holiness” is a rather mystical and somewhat puzzling term. We’re willing to be holy, but we don’t quite know what holiness is. In days gone by, holiness was one of the main movements that brought Pentecostal churches out of obscurity. But later on, often times it slid more into the issue of the external practices rather than the inward purity of the heart.
Holiness has in days gone by and somewhat still today is connected with the super saint, the super church person, the super church lady, and the really spiritual one who doesn’t hold a lot of degrees in sin, the religionists, the charismatic pastor, the most revered saint, the polished deacon.
The unchurched called Christians “holy rollers” because of perceived fanaticism. And even Robin of Batman and Robin included the term in the expression, “holy Toledo.”
We sing to God in praise and worship:
You are holy, oh, so holy;
What a privilege and an honor to worship at your throne;
To be called into your presence as your own.
We sing to God in praise and worship:
Holy are you Lord;
Holy are you Lord;
You are high and lifted up;
Holy are you Lord.
We have sung in praise and worship to God:
Lord I want to be holy, set apart for you
Lord I want to be holy, a vessel tried and true
When I come into your throne room
I receive the strength that I need
To make my life a living sacrifice for you.
We have sung in praise and worship:
Holy Spirit, make me holy
Holy Spirit, make me holy
From this moment on, right every wrong,
Holy Spirit come and make me holy.
So you see we give a lot of lip service but do not reflect any life service. So what does it mean to be holy? I have read about it, sung about it, so tell me pastor do I really want to be holy? And if I do, how do I get there?
I want to unwrap the package on holiness this morning found in the Bible and I am going to do it through three points: 1) The Definition of Holiness; 2) The Case for Holiness; and 3) The Practice of Holiness.
I. The Definition of Holiness
1 Peter 1:15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
The text states, “be holy.” So it is obvious that before I can be, I must know what it is. The word “holy” itself is used at least 549 times in the Scriptures. In the Hebrew (Old Testament) the word for holy is Qadash (kaw-dash’) and in the Greek (New Testament) the word for holy is Hagiazo (hag-ee-ad’-zo).
Don’t worry about the Hebrew and Greek words, just know this; they both have the same meaning. So what holiness is in the Old Testament is the same as what holiness is in the New Testament.
Whatever God was looking for in the Old Testament among His people is the same thing He was looking for in the New Testament among His people.
What He was looking for among the tribes of Israel was the same thing He was looking for among the Church in Jerusalem.
Holy means “to be set apart.” I am going to give you a working definition, but suffice to say that it means, “to be set apart.” Holy is also a pregnant term that gives birth to other words. When you open your Bible and read words like consecrate, sanctify, dedicate, hallowed, or saint they all come from the same root word that defines “holy”.
A. Holy Objects & Holy People
So the term “holy” is also connected with objects and things. For instance you will come across in the Bible things like, “holy ground”, “holy Sabbath”, “holy place”, “holy garments”, “holy gifts”, “holy altar”, “holy ointment”, “holy vessels”, and “holy crown”.
You will also find it connected to people. For instance you will find, “holy nation”, “holy people”, “holy prophets”, “holy men”, “holy women”, “holy apostles”, and “holy angels”.
B. The Working Definition
So if “holy or holiness” means to be set apart, to be separated, then all of those things and people that I just listed are set apart. But set apart from what and to whom? Here is a working definition of “holy”:
II. The Case for Holiness
So, now you have the definition of holiness, let me deal with the case for holiness. The text emphasized this thought…But as he which hath called you is holy.
Leviticus 11:44 For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 45 For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.
Both passages make it clear that God is holy. Our God is holy. We hear it in the voice of the seraphim in Isaiah 6 and the living creatures in Revelation 4 who describe our God as "holy" in the thrice (holy, holy, holy) signifying His absolute holiness. Our God is holy! Here are a few other passages:
1 Samuel 2:2 There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.
Psalm 99:9 Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the LORD our God is holy.
Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
But not only is the case for holiness centered on the fact that God is holy, also Jesus is holy. The angel to Mary in Luke 1:35b:
…therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
Jesus said of himself to the religious leaders in John 10:36:
John 10:36why do you call it blasphemy when the Holy One who was sent into the world by the Father says, `I am the Son of God’?
Luke’s gospel records the words of demons addressing Jesus in 4:34:
Luke 4:34"Go away! Why are you bothering us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are--the Holy One sent from God."
But not only is the case for holiness centered on the fact that God is holy and Jesus is holy, also the Spirit from God is holy. Consider these verses:
1: Thessalonians 4:8 Anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human rules but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
Ephesians 4:30 And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live.
Now, what does the fact that God is holy, Christ is holy, and the Spirit is holy have to do with you and me?
A. Our salvation in Christ
When you and I accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Savior a change occurred in our life. We became born again. That is, when we put our faith in Christ who died for our sins; God literally credited our account as though we died ourselves.
We did not actually die, but God counted what Christ did to our record. So God declares the debt for sin “paid in full.” Then when He gave life to Christ who rose from the dead, God in the same way gave us a brand new life as well. As if we came back from the dead – we were born again spiritually.
That means the Christian is no longer a child of wrath but is literally born into God’s family and given Christ’s nature. The believer is no longer a child of the world but is given the position of an adult son in God’s family.
All of the wrath of God that was once upon you has been paid for by the substitutionary death of Christ on the cross.
I am now a son or daughter of God, (refs. Romans 8:14; John 1:17; 1 John 3:1-2; Galatians 4:6-7); I am now a child of God (refs. Romans 8:16; Galatians 3:26); I am now a saint (refs. Romans 1:7; Romans 8:27; ); We are now the people of God (ref. 1 Peter 2:10).
Listen to the implication of what I just worked out. If God is holy, and Jesus is holy, and the Spirit is holy, and you are born of God then you are holy.
What makes you holy is not what you do, but who you are in God. (Reference in the Old Testament about the touching of offering, and relate 1 Corinthians 7:14)
Now you must work from the premise of not what I should do that will make me holy, but what should I be doing since I am already holy. Listen, you can be holy because of what God has done in you through Christ, but yet still do unholy things. (Rom. 12.1-2)
Definition time:
There are two stages to this thing called holiness summarized in the text today. You have been made holy and you are being made holy. All the Scripture is trying to tell us is, let your practice be consistent with your position.
So, when I say, “Lord, I want to be holy” all I am asking God to do is help me to live my life consistent with who I am in Him. Since I have been set apart then my life needs to reflect that truth.
Illustration: My children looking and behaving like me. (I can’t afford not to look like my Father because I am His child)
When we say that something is holy, we are saying that it is set aside for special service. The temple was called “holy” because it was set-aside for a special purpose.
Priests were “holy” because they were set-aside for a special purpose. The furniture in the temple was “holy” because it was set-aside for a special purpose. (1 Cor. 6)
Be what you are. You are holy, now be that way and live that way. Chuck Colson says it well, "Holiness is the everyday business of every Christian. It evidences itself in the decisions we make and the things we do, hour by hour, day by day." [Loving God p. 131]
But you are one of those this morning that are holy because of your position in Christ, but have been practicing unholiness because of personal sin in your life --- it is time to pray.
III. The Practice of Holiness
I have given you a working definition of holiness and I pray that I have made the case for holiness, now let me finish by addressing the practice of holiness.
Question: can you be a born-again Christian, having dedicated yourself to the Lord some time ago, attend church semi-regularly as an adult, sing in the choir, seldom have meaningful personal devotions, rarely pray except at meals and church functions;
Read your Bible twice a week, watch TV more than twenty hours a week, rent numerous R-rated movies, not really grow spiritually and genuinely repent of your lack of holiness in character and conduct truly bear fruit in the Lord?
1 Peter 1:14-16 (Message)
Don’t lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn’t know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God’s life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, “I am holy; you be holy.”
Here’s what an author name Jerry Bridges said about holiness,
“It is time for us Christians to face up to our responsibility for holiness. Too often we say we are “defeated” by this or that sin. No, we are not defeated; we are simply disobedient. It might be well if we stopped using the terms “victory” and “defeat” to describe our progress in holiness. Rather we should use the terms “obedience” and “disobedience.”
If I as your pastor want to see his people become more holy, more pure, more pleasing to God in your kitchens and bedrooms and offices and backyards, what should you know about the practice of holiness?
You see, holiness makes its mark in the marketplace and town square – as does unholiness. Holiness spreads good works in every direction, influencing behavior and actions.
What is in a person ---- or a church--- will come out. When a person is holy, he overflows with good works. When a church is holy, it overflows with good works, and everyone within driving distance knows about it.
Biblical holiness should overflow into the community in the form of good works. Good trees bear good fruit. Good meat makes its own gravy. (Illustration about church known in the community). Check your “holiness pulse rate” and ask yourself where you currently stand.
One of the most powerful lies of the enemy is that holiness is just to difficult. How then are we to be holy? Peter gives us several directives.
(1) We are to be holy in all our conduct. We are to be holy in every aspect of our conduct. Holiness is not to be compartmentalized into certain “religious” areas of our life. Holiness is a way of life that affects everything we do. Holiness is a lifestyle, rather than mere conformity to a list of rules.
(2) We are to be holy by not being conformed to our former lusts. Holiness is a lifestyle, which differs dramatically from our manner of life before we were saved. When God brought the Israelites out of Egypt, He called them to live in a way which would set them apart from the Egyptians among whom they had lived and the Canaanites among whom they would live (see Leviticus 18:1-5).
(3) We are to be holy by obeying God’s Word. Peter instructs us to be holy “as obedient children” (1 Peter 1:14). God in His Word sets down the standards of holiness. That is why Peter quotes from the Old Testament Law.
We are to be obedient, and that obedience is directed toward His commands and standards as set down in His Word. In the days of our unbelief, we were ignorant, but now God’s Spirit dwells within us to enlighten our minds to understand His Word (1 Corinthians 2:6-16) and to empower us to obey it (Romans 8:1-4).
Holiness is accomplished in our lives as the Spirit of God enables us to know God and to obey His commands, through His Word.
CONCLUSION
Definition time:
What do you need to set apart today in your life? Do you need to set apart your thought life, your tongue, your lifestyle, your time, your Sundays, your hopes, your dreams?
I have decided, “Lord, I want to be holy…” It’s not going to be easy, but I have help…
