Friday, October 23, 2009

Losing the Holiness of God

"But like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy'" (1 Peter 1:15-16)

How does someone go about "losing the holiness of God," beloved? And what does that mean anyway? We often hear Christians quote a part of this passage - "you shall be holy for I am holy" - and we shout in response, "Amen! Preach it, brother!" You see, we assume that by the words "you shall be holy" God is talking about that "holiness" that comes as a result of the working of His grace in our lives. He is holy and He makes us holy through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And all of that is so very true that now it is my turn to respond with - "Amen! Preach it, brother!"

And on our way we go, assuming that all is well in the "holiness" corner - God is holy and so are we because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. But that is not the primary thrust of Peter's words, beloved! Pay close attention to the command that precedes the quote found in these verses - "be holy yourselves in all your behavior." The apostle makes it clear that "imputed" or positional holiness is not good enough. Very simply, it matters how we live! Let me give you a personal example. I was recently involved in a wedding rehearsal for a young bride and groom when, in a moment of jesting, one of the groomsmen made an inappropriate gesture to one of the other groomsmen. He was horrified, however, to look up and catch my eyes upon him and knew instantly that I had seen the gesture. Immediately he was filled with remorse and began to apologize profusely. My own thought was that his apology was misdirected. Instead of moving horizontally, it should have been winging its way vertically!

This young man missed the point about personal holiness, beloved. He was only concerned that I had seen him and not at all that the Father had seen him also. Peter let his readers know that God wants us to be holy because He is holy, not because the pastor is holy or the deacons are holy! Beloved, it does not matter in this regard how others may be living their lives. You and I are to be holy ourselves because God is now, always has been, and always will be holy!

Peter could not possibly have been more clear in his instructions to believers of his day. He told them that God expected them to "be holy in all your (their) behavior." It is not because the pastor may find out or the Sunday School teacher may be disappointed, beloved, but rather that God sees and knows every thought, word, and deed. And whenever we fail to live according to His standard for our lives, we are losing the holiness of God!

Are we as ashamed when we sin in private and it is never known to man as we are when we sin publicly and it becomes known to others? How we answer that question will reveal how much we understand about what God expects of us and why. When we begin to really care about God's holiness being lived out in us, it will not matter to us where and when we sin. What will matter is that we do sin and fall short of the glory of God. And we will finally begin to seek earnestly to be holy in our living simply because that is what our Father wants us to do!

Ron