by Mrs. Rita D'Souza
Each one of us is called to live a life of holiness. 1 Thessalonians 4:3 says, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification”.
God is Holy: The starting point in our walk in holiness is to know the holiness of God. We are called to be holy because He is holy. God is perfectly holy. In Him there is no darkness at all. His standard of holiness is not that of man. We can compare ourselves with our neighbour and feel we are holy because we are not doing what he/she is doing. God’s standard of holiness is 100 %. Mt 5:48 says “Be perfect therefore as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Heb 12:14 says “Our God is a consuming fire”. He is a consuming fire of holiness where sin cannot stand in His presence.
The Cross is a sign of God’s holiness and love: When we look at the cross, it speaks of God’s holy love. God in His infinite love could not bear to be separated from man and His infinite holiness and justice demanded that the wages of sin be death. Jesus, dying for us in our place was the only way for God’s love and holiness / justice to be reconciled.
This simple story illustrates the point so beautifully. In a certain tribe, cattle were found to be stolen every now and then. The tribal chief announced that the thief when caught would be whipped with ten lashes. However, the cattle kept disappearing and the chief kept increasing the sentence to 20 – 30 lashes and finally to 40 lashes which was the death sentence. The next day, the thief was caught. It was the chief’s own mother. Everyone waited to see what the chief would do. Would his love for his mother win or would his justice (as an impartial chief) win. He ordered his mother to be tied to the pole and taking the whip in his hand walked towards her. Just before he reached her he gave the whip to an official standing close by, taking off his shirt, wrapped his hands around his mother and received the 40 lashes and died. Holiness/ Justice and love met at that point.
Holiness linked with Intimacy with God: We do not pursue holiness as an end in itself. I.e.: just for the sake of being a good person. This would soon lead to pride, self righteousness and a tendency to look down on others as “less holy” than ourselves.
We desire holiness because God is holy, because without holiness no one will see the Lord – (Hebrews 12:14). To “see God” refers to intimacy with the Lord – a close walk with him. Matthew 5:8 also says “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God”. To grow in intimacy with God, I need to also grow in holiness. It is my love for the Lord that should cause me to say no to that which displeases him and to do that which pleases him.
What Holiness is not: Holiness is not the appearance of piety – “halo around the head”. It is not to do with just externals that give the appearance of being holy. The Pharisees and scribes were the so called holy religious people of Jesus’ day. They wore broad phylacteries, loved the best seats in the synagogues and were called “rabbis” and yet Jesus said “For I tell you unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees you will never enter the Kingdom of God.
God is not looking at the externals, but at the heart. If our hearts are not right with God and man, then doing “holy” or “good” things is of no use.
Holiness is not a form of asceticism where you cannot laugh, or enjoy the beauty of life. Being holy is not perfectionism either. A perfectionist says, I have to do everything right. I cannot make a mistake and is therefore impatient with himself and others. Holiness will never be achieved through our own efforts.
What is Holiness? : Holiness literally means “to be separated” or to be “set apart”. We are separated from sin and set apart unto God. Romans 12:1 says – to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God which is our spiritual worship.
We need to check whether our eyes are set apart unto God or do our eyes enjoy something that grieves the Lord?
Are our ears set apart unto the Lord, our tongues, etc, Are our whole lives – minds, attitudes, decisions and wills set apart for him?
Holiness involves a walk of obedience, for Jesus said “If you love me, you will keep my commandments”.
One of the best ways to measure growth in Holiness is to see growth in the fruit of love in our lives as spelled out in 1 Corinthians 13.
How do we grow in Holiness ?
By the Holy Spirit: Holiness is not achieved through our own self effort, but through the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives. 1 Corinthians 1:30 says that Jesus became our sanctification. We need to surrender our sin areas, weaknesses to the Lord and rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to change us. Ezekiel 36:27 says “I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and careful to observe my ordinances”.
Spending time in his presence & Word: We will never grow in holiness by focusing on our own sins / failings, but as we gaze into his holiness during worship, we will be transformed into his likeness. We need also to read, meditate and store up his Word in our hearts daily. Psalms 119:11 says “I have laid up thy word in my heart that I might not sin against thee.”
Refiner’s fire: The Lord works out his holiness in our lives by refining us through painful experiences in our lives like gold is refined by fire. He prunes every branchy of his that bears fruit, that it may bear more fruit (Read John 15:2). Hebrews 12:6 says that the Lord disciplines him whom he loves and chastises every son whom he receives. The Lord allows us to go through difficult situations, encounter difficult people because he is interested in our character more than our comfort and as Hebrews 12:11 says “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant. Later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.