Holiness
A Call to Holiness “Be holy, because I am holy.”a
(Hebrews 12:14-17)
(Hebrews 12:14-17)
1 Pet 1:13-21
13Therefore prepare your minds
for action. Be sober-minded. Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you
at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14As
obedient children, do not conform to the passions of your former ignorance. 15But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy
in all you do, 16for it is written: “Be holy,
because I am holy.”a
17Since you call on a Father who
judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives in reverent fear during
your temporary stay on earth. 18For you know
that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were
redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers, 19but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb
without blemish or spot. 20He was known
before the foundation of the world, but was revealed in the last times for your
sake.
21Through Him you believe in God,
who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him; and so your faith and hope are
in God.
What is Holiness?
Isaiah 6:1-7
6 In the
year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and
lifted up; and the train[a] of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above
him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and
with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And
one called to another and said:
4 And the foundations
of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was
filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe
is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst
of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (recognition
of unworthiness and sin is a Holy response)
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me,
having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar.
7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold,
this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”
- Holiness is the habit of being of one mind with God, according as we find His mind described in Scripture. It is the habit of agreeing in God’s judgment, hating what He hates, loving what He loves, and measuring everything in this world by the standard of His Word.
- J.C Ryle - ‘Holiness’
- “A holy person will follow after spiritual mindedness. They will endeavour to set his affections entirely on the things above, and to hold things on earth with a very loose hand. They will not neglect the business of this life now; but the first place in his mind and thoughts will be given to the life to come. They will aim to live like one whose treasure is in heaven, and to pass through this world like a stranger and pilgrim traveling to his home.
- “To commune with God in prayer, in the Bible, and in the assembly of His people – these things will be the holy person’s chiefest enjoyments. They will value every thing and place and company, just in proportion as it draws him nearer to God.” ~ J.C. Ryle
- • A holy man will strive to be like our Lord Jesus Christ. He will not only live the life of faith in Him, and draw from Him all his daily peace and strength, but he will also labour to have the mind that was in Him, and to be "conformed to His image" (Rom. 8:29). It will be his aim to bear with and forgive others, even as Christ forgave us–to be unselfish, even as Christ pleased not Himself–to walk in love, even as Christ loved us–to be lowly-minded and humble, even as Christ made Himself of no reputation and humbled Himself.
(the above, most
recent paragraphs, can seem unattainable burdens but I showed that it’s the
work of God that we achieve these Eph 2:10 )
No comments:
Post a Comment