Stop right there! If you read nothing else today, those six words would be plenty to take away from here, chew and mediate on, pray over and ask God what He meant by that statement alone. And while you are praying and thinking on those six words, it might be advantageous for you to ask specifically, these two questions:
What does it mean to ‘be holy’? ....and: How do we become....holy?
I mean honestly, it seems to me this is no small footnote for believers given we are told that ‘without holiness, no one will see the Lord’. (Heb. 12:14).
That would be another one of those verses you might want to contemplate; especially for anyone who was mistaught that all you need to do is ‘say a prayer and ask Jesus in to your heart’ and heaven awaits you like it’s a ‘done deal’. IF that was the case, then what on earth is all this other activity we get caught up trying to do for; what purpose does it serve other than to ‘keep us busy’ until Jesus comes? Or...maybe it is ‘extra credit’ for those who want to live the ‘abundant life’?
‘Holiness’, seemed to be a bit more than some ‘holy option’ for over-achieving believers back in the early days of the church if you spend time reading through scripture. It was in a serious manner in which they exhorted us to press in and ‘pursue’ holiness. Take Peter’s exhortation for instance:
“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...conducting yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear.” (1 Pet. 1:14-17) "Be holy"?
In Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, he had been addressing the history of God’s relationship with His people and reminding them how they had been ‘called out to be separate’ (6:14-18) before penning this statement as the Holy Spirit moved him to write: “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” (2 Cor. 7:1)
Then, when you read John’s letter where he reminds us that for those who are looking for His return...that “we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is..(Who is going to see him according to Heb. 12:14?) ....and everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” (1 John 3:2-3)
Let me share with you the first point that stands out here to me when reading those two passages: It is a ‘process’ that involves...’laying aside Every weight and sin which so easily ensnares us...’ (Heb. 12:1). In other words, just because you ‘say you believe in Jesus and by faith received the ‘Holy Spirit’, does not mean you automatically become ‘holy’.
And if/when we truly ‘lay aside’ or turn from (repent) any particular sin, that means we don’t do that one any more.
I don’t know who needs to hear this, but if you find yourself continuing to struggle with the same sin, over and over, then 1) you have not repented of it and 2) you are not free of it.
Allow me to say this another way: You have not yet been cleansed by the blood and redeemed from it. (1 John 1:6-7)
But here’s the good news: You can be. "Repentance" is what activates the promise of being 'redeemed by the blood', not 'believing'.
I fear that far too many sincere believers have been led to ‘assume’ that God is mysteriously doing this ‘work’ in us where we are clueless to the process, and have this false hope that someday, somehow, we are going to just ‘end up in heaven as holy saints’. And if you read that to say I am suggesting we need to be ‘working harder to be holier’ in our own power and strength, then once again, you are not hearing what is being said here.
This might also be a good time to bring up another point regarding what holiness is, and isn’t.
Holiness has little to do with how we ‘look on the outward appearance’. I say ‘little to do with’ because at some point in time, true holiness will have an effect on some aspects of outward appearance, but...religious teachings tend to make it more about ‘appearance’ as opposed to ‘conduct’ which is what Peter focused on. But then, he spent a lot of time with Jesus and was probably there that day Jesus tore in to the Pharisees ripping them up one side and down the other. You can read it in Matt. 23 where Jesus rebuked them for making it all about ‘cleansing the outside of the cup and dish’ while inside they were filled with selfish indulgence. (25-26). That is when He admonished them to “FIRST...clean up the inside...”
And He didn’t stop there: “Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like white-washed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness’. (27-28)
The kind of ‘holiness’ that God is looking at has to do with what is in our hearts, and you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure that out; it will be evident to all by the ‘fruit’ that comes from the abundance of our hearts. And according to Jesus, it will either be ‘good fruit or bad fruit’ but it can’t be both; and that is a huge problem for a lot of folks who think, believe, or were told otherwise. (Gal. 5:19-21; Matt.12:33-37;7:17-20). James had a few things to say about this topic as well, and went as far to call ‘double minded believers’ ...’adulterers’ explaining to them that you can’t have both fresh water and salt water coming from the same spring. (James 4:4;3:8-12)
Now I suspect this is troublesome for many because most would probably admit that this has pretty much defined their ‘Christian walk/experience’. You know, we all have good days and bad days, hills and valleys and nobody is perfect. But truth be told, if that does describe your ‘walk’, then I will tell you as truthfully and gently as I can...while you may be a ‘professing believer’ in Jesus (and have been for a long time), you have not been ‘abiding in Him’. And remember, professing to believe in Him does not equate to ‘abiding’ in Him. And if the first question you want to ask is: “But am I still saved?”, then you are asking the wrong question.
You are probably familiar with the seven letters that were written to the seven churches as found in Revelation 2-3. These for the most part, include some strong words of ‘correction’ that Jesus was giving to those seven churches. I don’t know about you, but when I was in school and was about to turn in an assignment or paper that was due...and then looked up to hear a teacher chewing out a classmate who turned theirs in ahead of me but forgot to put their name or other info on the heading...you can be sure I did a quick look over to make sure I had my proper info on there as well. Hello?
I’m not going to spend much time pouring over these two chapters with you hear other than to point out two things, while focusing on one church in particular. As you read through those chapters, you become aware that all seven churches are ‘lacking’, and stand to ‘lose something’ if ...they fail to ‘overcome’. You will come across phrases like having their ‘lampstand removed’ or ‘eating from the tree of life’ or ‘receiving a crown of life’ and ‘being clothed in white garments’. Why Jesus even had the audacity to imply that it was the ones who ‘overcome’ whose names “He will NOT blot out from the book of Life”. (3:5). When was the last time you heard something like that preached from your pulpit at church? (What were they supposed to 'overcome'?)
Oh, and about having the proper garments, do you recall the story I touched on the other morning from Matt. 22?...we read about a person there who did not come to that ‘wedding properly dressed’ and you can see what happened to them. (11-14). But for now, please take a moment and read over Rev. 3:1-6; it’s the letter to the church in Sardis. You might want to have a pen or highlighter handy as you note some issues that should jump out to you as well.
This church had a name or reputation in that region of being ‘alive’. Jesus told them that in His eyes, they were ‘dead’. (1). You might take a moment and ask yourself what that could have resembled, while reviewing Matt. 7:21-23. Then He points out that He did not find their ‘works perfect/complete before God’. (2). That becomes problematic for those who laud the ‘finished work’ at Calvary. What does He mean He finds something ‘lacking?
But it is verse 3 that you might want to really give some thought to: IF they fail to ‘hold fast, repent, and watch’, how does Jesus tell them that He will ‘come upon them’ as? Why do you think He used the word ‘thief’? I only mention this because it was Jesus who taught us what a thief comes to do: to ‘steal, kill, and destroy’. (John 10:10). And we all know, that the ‘Day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night’.
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