Tell me about holiness
Holiness is the absence of sin. Of course God is perfectly holy. He never has sinned, He never will sin. The angels in heaven continually worship Him for His holiness. (Isaiah 6:3) God's holiness is one of the things that gives Him His power and His authority.
Now if we are to know God and have a close relationship with Him, if we are to pray, serve God, be a real part of the church and understand the Bible we also need to live holy lives. Of course we will never be perfectly holy like God while we are in this life, but we should seek to walk in holiness. However, there are keys to understanding how this is possible - and it's not by trying to be good! We will explain more on that in a moment. But first we need to understand why holiness is so important. Why holiness? Since God is holy, He cannot have communion with something that is unholy/unrighteous. Paul says, 'What fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial [Satan]? (2 Corinthians 6:14-15) Therefore, if we are to have fellowship with God, we have got to put away sin and unrighteousness and be separate from it. As God has said: “I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God,and they shall be My people.” Therefore "Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.” “I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Corinthians 6:16-18) So you see at the heart of our enjoying our position as children of God and having fellowship with Him is that we have turned away from all that is sinful and separated ourselves from it. Peter says we should be 'as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; 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.” (1 Peter 1:14-16) So what happens if we try to pray and there is sin in our lives? Psalm 66:18 says, 'If I see wickedness in my heart,the Lord will not hear' (LSB). In other words, if sin remains in my heart, God does not listen to me! That means we can be praying every day but God does not hear. This makes sense. If we are disobeying God, how can we pray to him as if everything is fine? Walking in the light - the key to holiness. The Apostle John describes holiness as 'walking in the light'. He says, 'God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.' (1 John 1:5-7) So what does it mean to walk in the light? Imagine a bride is about to get married and she's in her bridal gown. She's already bathed and put on a clean white gown. But before going down the aisle she wants to try to make sure that there isn't a speck of dirt or anything that has come on her. Where would she go to do this? In a very light place where even a speck of dust is seen. Thus if we want to live holy lives, the secret is to hold ourselves up before God, so that He reveals any sin in our lives. If He shows us anything, we just have to confess it and be sorry, and God washes the sin away. Thus the secret of holiness is not in trying to be good, but in being honest and open before God and confessing what is wrong and being cleansed. Kind David prayed, 'Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.' (Psalm 139:24) Holiness - vital for prayer, understanding the Bible, church and service. Prayer Since God is holy, what happens if we try to pray and there is sin in our lives? Psalm 66:18 says, 'If I see wickedness in my heart,the Lord will not hear' (LSB). In other words, if sin remains in my heart, God does not listen to me! That means we can be praying every day but God does not hear. This makes sense. If we are disobeying God, how can we pray to him as if everything is fine? Church The same is true of our fellowship with other Christians. What did the Apostle John say? 'If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another...' (1 John 1:7) Bible Again we need holiness to understand the Bible. Psalm 36:9 says: 'In Your light we see light.'(NKJV) In other words, in order to see more light (understand more spiritual truth) you have to come into the light. If you are in darkness by keeping sin in your heart, you cannot expect to see more truth. Service At the heart of service is spreading the light of who God is. Jesus said we as Christians are the light of this world: “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-17) How can we spread the light if we are living in darkness ourselves. Service is a sacrifice or gift we make to God, and God makes it clear that He doesn't accept these gifts if we have sinful hearts. After King David sinned by committing adultery, he confessed it before God. He recognised that God didn't want him to serve Him to try to atone for his sin - He wanted David to repent first. 'For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart -- These, O God, You will not despise.' (Psalm 51:16-17) Final thoughts Psalm 24:3-5 has some really useful words about holiness. It says: 'Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from the Lord.' (NKJV) This means, who is the one who will get close to God and know His real presence and blessing? Someone with clean hands (someone washed from sin), a pure heart (someone washed from wrong motives) and who has not lifted up his heart to vanity (someone who has not filled their lives with trivial things such as entertainment). |