Holiness

Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. Hebrews 12:14

My wife, Linda, and I spent some time together last night listening to a sermon from Cindy Jacobs on holiness. It was a powerful message.

During the message she said many things that really resonated within me. First, she spoke of holiness as coming out of a right relationship with God.

I think in the past, holiness was preached out of a religious spirit. A religious spirit is one that is focused on rules and regulations. One that is all about what MAN can do in order to be right, and be good. Religion starts with man's efforts and "being good" out of fear of punishment.

However, as Christians, it is no longer about religion. It's about relationship. We love because God first loved us. Our obedience, our desire to be holy comes out of a relationship with God. It's a response. It's not initiated by us, but we honor God out of love and respect in the same way that I honor and love Linda not because I am trying to earn her favor or get her to like me, but because I cherish her, and I don't ever want to do anything to hurt her.

So many of my generation and younger have not heard about holiness. I believe much of this is because previous generation heard so much of the fire and brimstone growing up, they kind of began to avoid it. They didn't want to preach a condemning gospel. As a result, I believe that "holiness" has become quite relative. It's become "watered" down in some ways. We have allowed ourselves to mix and dabble with "sin."

But truth is God's standards haven't changed. He has never stopped calling us to be holy. And, sin is not relative. Sin is sin.

What does it mean to be holy? What is holy?

Well, the bible uses the word "holy" in two different ways.

The first:

1. (superl.) Set apart to the service or worship of God; hallowed; sacred; reserved from profane or common use; holy vessels; a holy priesthood.

Something that is holy is set apart. It is not mixed with other "common" items. It is reserved from profane or common use.

We are to live lives that are set apart, reserved from profane or common use.

Is your life "set apart?"

For example, the world tells us it's OK to cohabit before marriage. Is this a cultural thing? Or is it really something to be aware of? The bible doesn't say anything about whether cohabiting before marriage is right or wrong. So is it OK?

Well, if we are taking this definition of "holy" to heart and we think about it some more, are we setting ourselves apart? Is our life any different from those that aren't Christians if we do so? What makes us different from non-believers if we're doing exactly what they do? If we live our lives in the same way as non-Christians then what is the point of being a Christian?

On a side note, marriage, particularly Christian marriage, is called, "holy matrimony." HOLY matrimony. It is set apart. There should be a difference between life BEFORE marriage and life AFTER marriage. And it's not just about the sex. The sad thing is I have heard from more than one friend that their lives before marriage and after marriage were not really all that different. Why? They were already living together. Marriage is so much more than just signing a paper. If that's the only difference between "being married" and "not being married" well, then what's the point? It's no wonder that so many people out there are living together as husband and wife, but are not really husband and wife.

But I digress.

Back to holiness.

Definition 2:
2. (superl.) Spiritually whole or sound; of unimpaired innocence and virtue; free from sinful affections; pure in heart; godly; pious; irreproachable; guiltless; acceptable to God.

This is the definition that most of us think of when we think of being "holy." The idea is that we are clean. We are sinless. We are pure.

Of course, none of us WERE perfect. We have all sinned in the past. But the beautiful thing is that with Christ all of that is behind us. "By his wounds we HAVE BEEN healed." Past progressive. HAVE BEEN. But are we living as if these things are behind us? Have we been healed and changed?

The standard is 100% pure. 100% clean. We can't dabble and think it's OK. "Well, it's not porn. It's just a sex scene. You don't see anything." Hmm...

I heard an illustration recently that speaks to this.

If I filled a glass with pure, filtered water, and then took a dropper and added a drop of water from the toilet, would you drink it? Maybe? OK. Let me make it more graphic.

I've been traveling around visiting different schools. And some of the bathrooms at these schools . . . let's just say that sometimes I wish I had a gas mask and a full body suit. Now let me get a drop of water from one of these toilets. Now would you drink it?

No? Why not? 99.9% of it is clean.

Most of us would not drink it, unless we were desperate, because that .1% permeates into the pureness and defiles it. It's unclean.

Stop dabbling!

Cindy Jacobs said something else in her sermon from last night. She said, when we become Chrisitans, the Holy Spirit comes and lives within us. He is WITHIN us. How DARE we sit in front of the computer or television and defile ourselves while He is within us? And we get drunk or poison ourselves with drugs, and put allow all sorts of crap into our bodies and souls, all while HE is WITHIN US.

Let me give you this imagery, this is my own, not Cindy Jacobs', so if it offends you, I'm sorry.

Let's imagine that today you come over to my house for a visit. I bring you up to my beautiful guest room, which I have especially prepared for you. Fresh sheets, clean towels, mint on the pillow, the works. Now, sometime during the day as you are in the room, I take a bucket of garbage, waste and fecal matter and dump it into the room, splattering you in the process. How would you feel?

That, my friend, is what happens when we do these things while the Holy Spirit is within us.

Now I am by no means preaching from holier and thou perspective. I say all of these things, because I have NOT lived up to this standard. I have not lived the holy life that is set apart that is pure that the Lord has called me to.

And I am SO SORRY. That picture of the holy spirit living in me while I did some of the stuff that I did in the past. Oh, man.

The sermon was a powerful reminder to me to stop dabbling.

I am recommitting my life to be PURE, to be HOLY. Not because I am afraid of punishment, but because I love HIM. I love my DADDY, my LORD, my SAVIOR. And I do not want to grieve him ever again.

Will you join me?