Tag Archives: Holiness

Take Time to Be Holy

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It is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Pe 1:16)

The Old Hymn implores us:

 Take time to be holy, be calm in thy soul,
Each thought and each motive beneath His control.
Thus led by His Spirit to fountains of love,
Thou soon shalt be fitted for service above.

But this call to Holiness is lost on most Christians today.

We’re afraid of coming across as “Holier-than-Thou,” a genuine concern, to be fair. We don’t want our pursuit of holiness to be seen as self-righteousness, or to become a hindrance to others hearing and believing in the Gospel. Our holiness should not be reduced to judgmentalism, nor should it be a call to works-righteousness.

But that doesn’t mean that we should call off the pursuit altogether.

We are called to be Holy. When we are born again from above, our regeneration is through the gracious operation of the Holy Spirit. We are reminded in 1 Peter 1:15–16, “as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” We know that Jesus said that unless our righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees, we will never see the kingdom of heaven (Matt 5:20). We know that God’s design for our lives is that we would be sanctified (1 Thess 4:3), that God calls us to holiness (1 Thess 4:7), and that God has chosen us in Christ, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless (Eph 1:4).

So how then do we pursue holiness without becoming sanctimonious? How do we steer clear of the trap of self-righteousness, while still seeking holiness, without which no one will see the Lord (Heb 12:14)?

As I’ve been reading J.C. Ryle’s book, Holiness, I thought I’d share highlights on the pursuit of holiness (and encourage you to find a copy of the book and read it for yourself).

First: a reminder of what holiness isn’t.

It is not knowledge—Balaam had that; nor great profession—Judas Iscariot  had that; nor doing many things—Herod had that; nor zeal for certain matters in religion—Jehu had that; nor morality and outward respectability of conduct—the young ruler had that; nor taking pleasure in hearing preachers—the Jews in Ezekiel’s time had that; nor keeping company with godly people—Joab and Gehazi and Demas had that. Yet none of these were holy! These things alone are not holiness. A man may have any one of them and yet never see the Lord.

So what is holiness? Ryle organizes his teaching with these bullet points:

  • Holiness is the habit of being of one mind with God, according as we find His mind described in Scripture.
  • A holy man will endeavor to shun every known sin and to keep every known commandment.
  • A holy man will strive to be like our Lord Jesus Christ.
  • A holy man will follow after meekness, longsuffering, gentleness, patience, kind tempers, government of his tongue.
  • A holy man will follow after temperance and self–denial.
  • A holy man will follow after charity and brotherly kindness.
  • A holy man will follow after a spirit of mercy and benevolence  towards others.
  • A holy man will follow after purity of heart. 
  • A holy man will follow after the fear of God.
  • A holy man will follow after humility.
  • A holy man will follow after faithfulness in all the duties and relations in life.
  • Last, but not least, a holy man will follow after spiritual–mindedness.

What we must remember, however, is that holiness is not that which saves us. We are saved by grace “through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph 2:8-9). This keeps us from any self-righteous, judgmental, condescending, sanctimonious attitude, knowing that our salvation and holiness is the work of another.

God is the One who saves the sinner through the redeeming work of Jesus Christ, and it is the righteousness of Christ that produces holiness within us. He is the root, our holiness is the fruit. Ryle states, “Holiness comes from Christ. It is the result of vital union with Him. It is the fruit of being a living branch of the true Vine.”

One might amend Ryle’s statement to say, “It is the necessary result of vital union with Christ.” If you are united with Christ through faith, you will, you must, produce a harvest of righteousness. If there is no fruit, are you even connected to the root?

Christian, pursue holiness. Cling to Christ, the righteous one, that you may grow in righteousness. Seek the kingdom of God now, so that you’ll know it when you see it. Remember, we must be saints on earth if ever we mean to be saints in heaven.

SDG

All quotes taken from: Ryle, J. C. Holiness: It’s Nature, Hinderances, Difficulties and Roots. electronic ed. based on the Evangelical Press reprinting, with new forward, 1995. Simpsonville, SC: Christian Classics Foundation, 1999. Print.

Unclean! Unclean!

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My daily reading plan has me in the middle of the book of Leviticus right now, which is always a challenge.  I am constantly amazed at the amount of sacrifice, the blood required to atone for the sins of the people, the sacrifices given in praise, prayer, and petition to God. The ceremonial regulations are abundant and exhaustive.  When our culture seems so casual in its approach to the Holy God, the book of Leviticus seems very foreign and difficult to accept.

Today’s reading was Leviticus chapter 13, the laws regarding leprosy and a variety of skin diseases. “When a person has on the skin of his body a swelling or an eruption or a spot, and it turns into a case of leprous disease on the skin of his body, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests, and the priest shall examine the diseased area on the skin of his body. And if the hair in the diseased area has turned white and the disease appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is a case of leprous disease. When the priest has examined him, he shall pronounce him unclean” (Lev 13:2-4).

If you read through the rest of the chapter, you’ll find calls for quarantining those who were symptomatic, to determine if it was leprosy or some other condition.  There are regulations about leprosy on the skin, beard, and in the clothes. If the priest determined it was leprosy, you were declared unclean, and thereby unable to come into the presence of the Temple for sacrifice and worship.

I can’t tell you how hard it was a a pimply teenager to read these passages and wonder if God would even hear my prayers in my current condition, or if I was too unclean to come before Him.

These regulations were in place for the sake of the community. In Biblical times, there was no cure for leprosy, but they knew it spread easily and quickly through a community.  If you were showing symptoms, you were required to let others know, and keep distance from the rest of the community.

I think we all know a little about this now. With the state imposed quarantines and calls for social-distancing over the Coronavirus, we see the cases come to our community and cry, “Unclean! Unclean!” There is a palpable fear of the spread of this virus, of the infection spreading like wild-fire.  The worst part of this, unlike leprosy, Covid 19 may spread from those who are asymptomatic.  You could be carrying the virus and show now signs, but still pass it along to others.

So we stay home, out of love and concern for those around us.  We are, to some extent, embodying the practices of Leviticus 13.

But only to a certain extent.

It is equally important to remember that these practices were not just regulations for the community, they were regulations for the worshipping community. Leviticus was written primarily as instruction about how a sinful people were to approach a Holy God. If one were to come into the presence of God, still stained and burdened by sin, God, who is holy and just, would pour down unmitigated judgment upon the sinner. This is why there is so much blood sacrifice in Leviticus – the people were making atonement for their sins so that they could stand justified before a holy God.

Psalm 15, another reading of the day, asks and answers the question, “O Lord, who shall dwell on your holy hill?”  The answer given is this, “He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks the truth in his heart; who does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend; in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but who honors those who fear the Lord; who swears to his own hurt and does not change; who does not put out his money at interest and does not take a bribe against he innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.” This is the one who may come before the Lord.

Leprosy, a disease of the skin, was symbolic of the disease of the heart – sin. Easily spread, entirely destructive.  Left untreated, it will bring about our destruction, and leave us separated from God.

What a wonder then to know that in Jesus Christ we have been washed and made clean (Hebrews 9:14; 10:13).  We, who were once stained with the sins of this world, are now declared clean, sanctified by faith in Jesus Christ (1 Cor 6:11). The punishment for your sins has been placed upon Christ, and has been paid for in full. The veil which separated us from God has been torn open, and we have access to the Father through Jesus Christ our mediator.

What a blessing it is to know that, while we must be separated from one another for this time, nothing can separate us from the love of God the Father through Jesus Chris the Son (Rom 8:38-39).

SDG