There is a quality of life which distinguishes the believer from the nonbeliever; an essential element which must be present in every disciple, making him radically different from what he was before baptism. In a word this quality is “holiness”.
The Epistle to the Hebrews, chap. 11, places great emphasis upon the faith which actuated men of God. Then, having passed on to a consideration of the Lord Jesus Christ as our example, and of chastisement as a pre-requisite to true sonship, we are told to be active in seeking God’s will and to “follow peace with all men and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord”.
God’s process, his blueprint for all believers, is for faith to work in us producing consecrated service and good works . . . in short a “holy” life. His is a call to personal holiness, without which—we are assured no man shall see the Lord.
Exactly what are we to understand by these expressions “holy” and “holiness”? The Scriptures speak of holiness, first and foremost, as a Divine attribute, and then as that which is separated or set aside to God. Jesus is holy and completely dedicated to His Father and to be thorough-going Christians His disciples must copy Him. This brings into their lives an inner cleanness of heart and intent. As the Lord has said: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God”.
Our readings for today emphasise the spirit of holiness. Numbers chap. 31 records God’s judgments against the Midianites and the failure of the armies of Israel to obey His will. This is followed by their necessary cleansing, together with all their possessions. Of the goods which they took as spoil of Midian only that which was purified through fire and water could be kept.
All such requirements of Israel were intended to bring home the lesson that they were a people separated to God, to do His will and not their own. It was a constant repetition in the Law of Moses that God had sanctified them to Himself, and as He was holy so they should be holy.
On the individual plane, we read in our second reading, Proverbs chap. 22, of the great virtue in pureness of heart, He who loves purity of heart and whose speech is gracious will have the King as his friend”; and it is surely not coincidental that the proverb in the following verse reads: “The eyes of the Lord keep watch over knowledge but He overthrows the words of the faithless”.
How can we have purity of heart in the fullest sense other than by a knowledge of God, and by recognition that His eyes are upon our lives and the inner desires of our hearts? “Thou God seest me .” He surveys us and when our lives are attended by purity, then and then only does He approve us.
When we turn to our New Testament readings we learn afresh of the cleansing by living water. Jesus says that poor but contrite sinners may drink a water to cleanse them of sin, and which will spring forth in everlasting life.
He declares that this is accomplished when the true worshippers “worship the Father in spirit and in Truth”. How can we do this but by exercising the spirit of holiness, with pure heart and clean hands? Our Lord shows us the way when He affirms: “My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me and to finish His work”.
That work in us consists of a present sanctification and ultimate total purification in eternal life. In our doing the Father’s will there is no greater task than copying Jesus and cultivating genuine personal holiness.
With this in view we are not to be self-centred or self-satisfied. In our dealings with our neighbours the “holier than them” attitude is to be shunned. For we individually and in community are to be “outward looking”, eager to help others as we recognise in Jesus’ own words that the fields are white to harvest and we have His work to do.
Therefore, we must be careful in our dealings with our fellowmen. A sanctified life is not to be confused with a sanctimonious life. We are greatly privileged by our knowledge of God’s will, but this gives no cause for pride. For the life sanctified before God is truly hallowed, as was the life of Christ, and this has no comparison with the sanctimonious life evident in many of the Pharisees, with its outward conformity, its assumed piety.
Yet, do we not find ourselves “putting on a face” to the world at large, and more than one face depending upon the company? Does the face presented to our work-colleagues, the neighbour next door and the brethren differ from the “home-face”. This can spell disaster for the spiritual life, for this can mean a spurious holiness, evident only at times. True separation to God is a continuing, reverent consecration in which the whole of the life is related to Him.
God had told Israel that they were His holy people and the Apostle Peter applies the principles governing Israel’s dedication to us in the following vigorous language:
“Wherefore gird up the loins of the mind, be sober and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ: as obedient children not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance but as He which hath called you is holy so be ye holy in all manner of conversation, because it is written, Be ye holy as I am holy.”
We are so liable to be affected by the fashions of the contemporary world and by its standards. In what way are we to maintain the spirit of Peter’s words in our chaste behaviour and that of our families? Jesus has spoken of true believers that “they are not of the world” even as He is not of the world.
At times we are apt to speak of the world as a list of habits and pleasures on the believers’ “black list”. The trouble here is that different brethren draw the line at different points. But Jesus obviously means more than being in the world by what we do, although it is best for our eternal well being if we maintain the highest code of behaviour we can manage.
He always gets to the root of the matter, and whether we are in fact “worldly” or “godly” is determined by what we are in the inner recesses of the mind, in our secret, but God-seen, life.
The Apostle Paul states that a true son of Israel is holy within and our “circumcision” is that “of the heart, in the spirit and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men but of God”.
This means that we are to live our practical daily lives in the world, with worldly values emphasised on all sides, often totally at variance with the mind of Christ. In this environment we have to keep our minds separated to God, and our actions controlled by divine law. So then, holiness of life demands positive action, and is something developed gradually by constant exercise. Much is written in Scripture concerning the faith and obedience of Abraham. In him were so many characteristics which made him acceptable to God. Concerning this man, God declared:
“For I know him that he will command his household and his children after him and they shall keep the way of the Lord to do justice and judgment.”
Here is the call to holiness translated into action in a family man. The knowledge of the Lord and his precepts were kept before his household all the time. No one connected with Abraham could say he did not know the way of holiness.
Apply such a principle to the present day believer, and we have one who practices separation before God. We know there would be less family bickering, trouble between individuals or nations if this respect for the way of the Lord was observed. Often in our own midst, discords in ecclesial life originate in a failure to be truly holy.
Well, how can we practice “personal holiness”? It is obvious that it must commence and develop in the Christian life or that life means nothing.
First of all we have clear laws for right living in the Scriptures; laws that Jesus himself used when resisting temptation. God’s Word gives clear guidance, for there are certain evils that must be excluded even as there are virtues which are essential to personal Christianity.
Listen to some effective comment from Proverbs on evils to be avoided:
“There are six things which the Lord hateth: yea seven which are an abomination to Him; a proud look, a lying tongue and hands that shed innocent blood; an heart that deviseth wicked imaginations: a false witness that uttereth lies and he that soweth discord among brethren.”
If we ponder these seven evils, we shall see them as commonplace in the world today. With the exception of blood-shedding most would be considered as fairly harmless, and in the teaching of Jesus far worse evils are enumerated. But these basic evils are an -abomination” to God, and that means a great deal to us.
“A proud look” (margin: haughty eyes) Pride, self-assertiveness, supreme self-confidence. These are real virtures in the modern world, especially in business. Our young people are taught this evil principle as a virtue: some would tell us that if you want to “be someone” you’ve got to be aggressively self-assured. A far cry from the humility of Christ.
“A lying tongue”—It is suggested by the world that there’s nothing wrong with a “little” lie as long as we’re not found out! There are ever-present dangers, especially for our young people. There’s surely a way of escape from a lie when the boss says, “Tell him I’m out!” If we learn to be familiar with so-called “white” lies, its so easy to lie habitually.
“Hands that shed innocent blood”—Even otherwise bad men would recoil from shedding innocent blood—except in times of war! But we can have blood on our hands with the poison of our tongues.
“An heart which deviseth wicked imaginations”—It is said that we’re only human —this is the excuse for harbouring evil and lustful thoughts. The way of many in the world is to indulge in the objectionable joke, the salacious novel . . . it is said we can enjoy these as long as we don’t do anyone else harm. But Jesus says every thought must be pure.
“Feet swift in running to mischief . . . a false witness . . . sowing discord among brethren.”—Whenever men and women assemble at the work bench, over the garden fence, in the home, in the ecclesia, tongues are busy for good or ill. People love gossip, they love dissecting their fellows’ characters, particularly bad features. The tongue is an unruly member, says James, full of deadly poison. But when the tongue is used aright it is a fountain of life and blessing.
God says there are “seven things which are an abomination to him . . .” Strong words, meant to be so, to put us on our guard. These are “the works of the flesh”, as Paul expresses it, to be replaced by spiritual values.
We have already considered some of the positive aspects of personal holiness and these are simply affirmed in the words of the prophet Micah:
“What doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly, and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God.”
For we know it isn’t sufficient merely to abstain from doing wrong things. Jesus on one occasion pointed out that even if we—so to speak—swept out all evil from our lives, unless we replaced it with positive. good desires and activities we would find ourselves back where we started only worse so!
The operation of God’s law of holiness in you and me will transform our relationship to Him and our fellow men. In the words of the Conference theme, it will bring “Christ in you—the Hope of Glory”. Paul, speaking of the conversion of the child of God, says that he has “put off the old man with his deeds” and “put on the new man which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him”, and he adds these beautiful words:
“Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering, forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.”
With these lofty ideals before us we turn our minds to reconsider our High Priest and Mediator. May the thought of his complete dedication be in our hearts. He is the entirely sanctified one, the holy Son of God, and, in God’s grace, is the representative of His People.
We consider Him and with that example before us let us conduct our self-examination, and ask:
- How genuinely separate to God am I? Is my “face” the same to all men so that mine is a holy, not sanctimonious, life?
- Am I to be distinguished from what I was before I took the name of Christ? There is still time for me to fervently amend all my life!
- In a word How HOLY am I?
Some thought provoking words have been penned in connection with the Sacrifice of Christ and its fruit in our holiness:
“There is not the slightest intimation that God is reconciled to sin or sinners, or propitiated toward sin or sinners. God is propitiated towards none; He is reconciled to none but such as are saved from sin, and brought to love and serve Him; such as believe in Christ to the purifying of their hearts, and to the rectifying of their lives. The sacrifice of Christ is not a substitute for holiness, but a means and an inducement to holiness.”
With such thoughts in mind we consider Him. Let one Scripture be uppermost as we examine ourselves: “Follow peace with all men and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord”.
The Parables of Jesus – (Part 6) – The Wedding Banquet