While doing an intense Bible study on the life of Moses – which included the Law – my friends and I were overwhelmed with God’s burning desire for His people to be holy.
Before then, I always thought of holiness as purely God’s job. There’s no way a puny little sinner like myself could ever entertain such lofty spiritual goals as being labeled anything close to “holy.” I was fighting the daily grind, making ends meet and living life! Nobody can walk around on a planet without picking up some – actually a lot of – dirt.
But reading God’s law, the way He interacts with Moses and talks about His people, it swiftly became clear that He doesn’t give a rip about my “ability” to be holy. He simply expects it. God has set His people apart and demands that we be different. This theme echoes all the way into the New Testament epistles, almost like an “if then” clause – if we follow God, then we must be holy.
Chew (or possibly choke) on but a few of the verses calling us to be holy:
“For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.”
- 1 Thessalonians 4:7“That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”
- Romans 4:20-24“You are to be holy to me because I, the LORD, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own.”
- Leviticus 20:26“Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’”
- 1 Peter 1:13-15
I could go on, but you get the point. After being confronted by the overwhelming evidence in our Bible study, my friends and I started asking ourselves – what does it look like to “be holy” in modern life? The quick knee jerk reaction would be to isolate yourself in the mountains, living off the land and reading the Bible 24/7. But that would be wrong because alongside the call to holiness is a command to engage the world (Matthew 28:18-20), redeeming and transforming it into the Kingdom of God. (Matthew 5:13-16)
Holiness is a call to spiritual purity. That doesn’t mean a return to some mythical 1950’s idealization of purity. Remember, Paul constantly reminds us of the freedom we have in Christ, that we are no longer slaves to the law. (Galatians anyone?) But Paul and the rest of God’s Word also hammer home that everyone who follows Christ must live differently, set apart from the things opposed to God.
In the mad dash for relevance, I’ve taken a seat on the sidelines to reconsider. I’ve narrowed my listening and viewing habits. I desperately fight to tame a tongue that is so fond of any joke that elicits laughs. My family now examines how we operate, how we vote, how we interact with non-Christians, how we blend or stand out in everyday life. I question my conversations with Christians. How much of my speech revolves around God and how much centers on the trivial – sports, movies or hobbies? When surrounded by Christian brothers and sisters, I should find us diving far more into theological and spiritual topics than celebrity gossip.
It doesn’t feel like holiness is something that can ever be achieved, but I must never stop allowing the Holy Spirit to move me toward it.
How about you? What does holiness look like where you live?
Bryan Belknap is the Creative Director for MORF. MORF is the spiritual formation and discipleship magazine for youth ministers, youth workers and parents. FREE digital subscriptions available at www.MORFmagazine.com.
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