HOLINESS

(Transcendent perfection; like God; set apart to God)

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)

God tells Moses to tell the people of Israel:
You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt,
And how I carried you on eagles’ wings
And brought you to myself.
Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant,
Then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession.
Although the whole earth is mine,
You will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
(Exodus 19:4-6)

Here God states His intent for the nation Israel
In the Old Testament.
Peter speaking of today, says:
As you come to him (Christ), the living Stone--
Rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him--
You also, like living stones are being built into a spiritual house
To be a holy priesthood,
Offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God
Through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:4-5)


In Exodus God instructs Moses as follows
Regarding his brother Aaron the high priest:
Make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it as on a seal:
HOLY TO THE LORD.
Fasten a blue cord to it to attach it to the turban;
It will be on Aaron’s forehead,
And he will bear the guilt involved
In the sacred gifts the Israelites consecrate,
Whatever their gifts may be.
It will be on Aaron’s forehead continually
So that they will be acceptable to the Lord.’ (Exodus 28:36-38)

The plate of pure gold engraved with HOLY TO THE LORD
Is on Aaron’s forehead.
Covering his mind, observable to all who see him.
Signifying that holiness is of primary importance to the Lord,
And necessary for Aaron to gain access into the Holy of Holies.

I am the Lord your God;
Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy.
(Leviticus 11:44)


Consecrate yourselves and be holy,
Because I am the Lord your God.
Keep my decrees and follow them.
I am the Lord, who makes you holy. (Leviticus 20:7-8)


Our responsibility is to believe and obey.
Nevertheless, this does not make us holy.
God alone makes us holy, through Christ in us.
However, we are not holy if we do not believe and obey.

Therefore this is what the Lord,
Who redeemed Abraham, says to the house of Jacob;
'No longer will Jacob be ashamed;
No longer will their faces grow pale.
When they see among them their children,
The work of my hands,
They will keep my name holy;
They will acknowledge the holiness of the Holy One of Jacob
And will stand in awe of the God of Israel
Those who are wayward in spirit will gain understanding;
Those who complain will accept instruction.' (Isaiah 29:22-24)

In what follows Isaiah is looking forward to the New Covenant:
And a highway will be there;
It will be called the Way of Holiness.
The unclean will not journey on it;
It will be for those who walk in that Way;
Wicked fools will not go about on it.
No lion will be there, nor any ferocious beast get up on it;
They will not be found there.
But only the redeemed will walk there,
And the ransomed of the Lord return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
Everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
And sorrow and sighing will flee away. (Isaiah 35:8-10)

ZECHARIAH’S SONG
His (John the Baptist) father Zechariah
Was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
‘Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
Because he has come and has redeemed his people.
He has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of his servant David
(As he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
Salvation from our enemies
And from the hand of all who hate us--
To show mercy to our fathers
And to remember his holy covenant,
The oath he swore to our father Abraham.
To rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
And to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness
And righteousness before him all our days.’ (Luke 1:67-75)

Here Zechariah is speaking about the New Covenant,
The promise to Abraham, that Christ Jesus will bring into effect.

In the Book of Romans the apostle Paul says:
'But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin,
You wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching
To which you were entrusted.
You have been set free from sin and have become slaves
To righteousness.
I put this in human terms because you are week
In your natural selves.
Just as you used to offer the parts of your body
In slavery to impurity and ever increasing wickedness,
So now offer them in slavery to righteousness
Leading to holiness when you were slaves to sin,
You were free from the control of righteousness,
What benefit did you reap at that time
From the things you are now ashamed of?
Those things result in death!
But now that you have been set free from sin
And have become slaves to God,
The benefit you reap leads to holiness,
And the result is eternal life.
For the wages of sin is death,
But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.'
(Romans 17-23)


In the first letter to the Corinthians Paul says:
'To the church of God in Corinth,
To those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy,
Together with all those everywhere
Who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ--
Their Lord and ours.' (1 Corinthians 1:2)


Again in the first letter to the Corinthians Paul declares:
'It is because of him (God) that you are in Christ Jesus,
Who has become for us wisdom from God--
That is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.
Therefore, as it is written:
Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.' (1 Corinthians 1: 30-31)


In the second letter to the Corinthians Paul says:
'Now this is our boast:
Our conscience testifies
That we have conducted ourselves in the world,
And especially in our relations with you,
In holiness and sincerity that are from God.
We have done so not according to worldly wisdom
But according to God’s grace.' (2 Corinthians 1:12)

Paul says later:
'Since we have these promises, dear friends,
Let us purify ourselves from everything
That contaminates body and spirit,
Perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.' (2 Corinthians 7:1)

In the letter to the Ephesians Paul says:
'For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy
And blameless in his sight.' (Ephesians 1:4)

Again, in the letter to the Ephesians Paul says:
'In him (Christ) the whole building is joined together
And rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.
And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling
In which God lives by his Spirit.' (Ephesians 2:21-22)

Further, in the letter to the Ephesians Paul says:
'Surely you heard of him (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;
Created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.’
(Ephesians 4:21-24)

Again, in the letter to the Ephesians Paul says:
‘But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality,
Or any kind of impurity, or greed,
Because these are improper for God’s holy people.'
(Ephesians 5:3)

Further, in the letter to the Ephesians Paul says:
'Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church
And gave himself up for her to make her holy,
Cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,
And to present her to himself as a radiant church,
Without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish,
But holy and blameless.' (Ephesians 5:25-27)

In the letter to the Colossians Paul says:
'But now he (God) has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body
Through death to present you holy in his sight,
Without blemish and free from accusation--
If you continue in your faith.' (Colossians 1:22-23)

In Paul’s first letter to The Thessalonians he says:
'It is God’s will that you should be holy;
That you should avoid sexual immorality;
That each of you should learn to control his own body
In a way that is holy and honorable,
Not in passionate lust like the heathen,
Who do not know God;
…For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.'
(1 Thessalonians 4:3-7)


In Paul’s first letter to Timothy he says:
'I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intersession
And thanksgiving be made for everyone--
For kings and all those in authority,
That we may live peaceful and quiet lives
In all godliness and holiness.
This is good, and pleases God our Savior,
Who wants all men to be saved
And to come to a knowledge of the truth.'
(1 Timothy 2:1-3)


He goes on to say:
‘But women will be kept safe through childbirth,
If they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.’
(1 Timothy 2:15)

In Paul’s second letter to Timothy he says:
'But join with me in suffering for the gospel,
By the power of God,
Who called us to a holy life'-- (2 Timothy 1: 8-9)

In Paul’s letter to Titus he says:
'Since an overseer is entrusted with God’s work,
He must be blameless--
Not overbearing, not given to much wine, not violent,
Not pursuing dishonest gain.
Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good,
Who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined.'
(Titus 1:8-9)


In the letter to the Hebrews the author says:
'And by that will, we have been made holy
Through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
…Because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever
Those who are being made holy.' (Hebrews 10:10-14)


Again, in the letter to the Hebrews the author says:
'Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best;
But God disciplines us for our good
That we may share in his holiness.'
(Hebrews 12:10)


'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)

To the degree we allow Christ Jesus to live in and through us,
Will determine the extent of our holiness.
The Holy Spirit in us continually teaches us to live in holiness.
He gives us the power to live what He teaches us;
To become like Christ Jesus in all we do and say.
Nevertheless, it is our choice to follow His teaching or not.

And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate
To make the people holy
Through his own blood. (Hebrews 13:12)


In Peter’s first letter he says:
'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 1:14-15)

In Peter’s second letter he says:
'Since everything will be destroyed in this way,
What kind of people ought you to be?
You ought to live holy and godly lives
As you look forward to the day of God
And speed its coming.' (2 Peter 3:11-12)


In the Book of Revelation John says:
'Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection.
The second death has no power over them,
But they will be priests of God and of Christ
And will reign with him for a thousand years.' (Revelation 20:6)


As can be seen from the preceding Scriptures,
Living a holy life is essential for us as the children of God.
Christ Jesus has given every child of God
The power to live a holy life
By his indwelling Holy Spirit.
When we live a holy life; we live in His Kingdom
Allowing Christ Jesus to live in and through us
By doing so we become ONE with Him,
Which is the ultimate objective of God.


Jesus my precious savior
Who loved me before I loved Him
He found me in desperation
And showed me the way to enter in
To the Kingdom, O yes the Kingdom
The Kingdom of God

He said all power is in my Spirit
And My Spirit abides in thee
Lay down those things that now bind you
Take up My yoke and be set free
Be set free, be set free
And become ONE with me.