Because We Love Him Embracing a Life of Holiness

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An Appeal to Love

Be holy; for I am holy.

Leviticus 11:44

The best thinking time for me is late at night, when everything is still and the whole world has gone to sleep. I sit on the side of my bed with the covers turned down and read. As a rule, I'm plodding through four or five books concurrently-devotional writings, commentaries, biographies, or poetical works. So there's always something, either half finished or barely begun, into which I can sink my teeth. At times I find myself reading far into the night.

Eventually, though, I begin to fade; so I close the book, nestle down, and turn out the light. In the quiet moments that follow, God often speaks to my heart in gentle yet profound ways, burdening me to pray, convicting me of sin, driving home some truth by letting me see it in a new light, or just reassuring me of His love.

One such night, in that stage between waking and sleeping where dreams begin, part of a verse of Scripture came into my half-conscious mind and nudged me fully awake. "'Be holy; for I am holy'" (Leviticus 11:44). This was a familiar note, but it sounded in a way I'd never heard before.

To be honest, my inmost reaction to this command had always been one of frustration, fear, and resistance: frustration because the standard seemed so high and unattainable; fear because, if holiness really is what God expects, I could never hope to please Him; resistance because "nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh" (Romans 7:18). There is no denying this obstinate pull within me in the opposite direction, which balks at being told what to do even by God.

Yet God has every right to expect unwavering obedience from me simply because of who He is, not to mention what He has done for me by His grace. However, that night there was no authoritative tone in His words. Instead, they seemed to appeal to love. The message was not, "Be holy because I said to be holy," but rather, "Be holy because I am holy, and if you love Me, you will want to be like Me."

The reaction of my heart was a longing for holiness that I had never known before. I was overwhelmed with God's great love and the thought that my love should matter to Him! Truly it is "to the praise of the glory of His grace" that He has chosen unholy, unworthy sinners to be "holy and blameless before him" (Ephesians 1:4-6). These phrases from Ephesians speak of our position in Christ, but I believe they also speak of what God wants to see manifested in our daily lives, as loving tributes to His matchless love for us.

Holiness Pursued

Is holiness really possible in the life of the believer? Surely God would not call us to so high a standard without also aiding us in its pursuit.

God has commanded holiness not only within the context of the Mosaic law, which was given as a tutor to show us our sinfulness through our failure to keep the Law (see Romans 7:7-11; Galatians 3:22-25), but also in the heart of the New Testament's instruction on right living. "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).

Christ said: "'The things impossible with men are possible with God'" (Luke 18:27), so some degree of holiness must be within the realm of possibility. But how is it possible? And, even more fundamentally, what is holiness exactly?

Does holiness reside on some mysterious, mystical plane of spiritual existence that can be reached only through great suffering or severe self-abasement? The apostle Peter said:

Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. (1 Peter 4:1-2)

These verses suggest that suffering is an aid to holiness. They teach that suffering sobers us and alters the way we live our lives. But they do not teach that suffering initiates us into some elite stratum meant only for the chosen few. Neither is holiness a reward for suffering, as the medieval monastics mistakenly thought.

Surely, true spirituality does begin with self-denial. Christ Himself said: "'If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me'" (Luke 9:23). But here, self-denial really means turning the back on self, ignoring it rather than controlling it through any form of self-discipline.

In contrast, self-control, a fruit of the Holy Spirit (see Galatians 5:22-23), is the ruling of self by the power of the Spirit. As Elisabeth Elliot said so succinctly: "As we give ourselves to His rule, He gives us grace to rule." But any discipline apart from the Holy Spirit is self-generated, rooted in pride and unbelief, and "of no value against fleshly indulgence" (Colossians 2:23). Thus holiness cannot be its result.

Some have insisted that holiness is composed of outward things such as dress, hairstyles, or the endless keeping of rules crafted by men. But holiness consists of something more profound than outward show, something which goes much deeper than mere externals (see Colossians 2:16-23).

When I was a child, growing up in what I would consider a typical Protestant church of the late fifties and early sixties, I knew the word holy was primarily attached to two other words: ghost , which frightened me for obvious reasons, and roller , which also frightened me because I envisioned people rolling around on the floor with no sense of impropriety or embarrassment. I now understand more clearly the deep enjoyment of the presence of the Lord and the rejuvenating influence of the Holy Spirit on the soul of man. Nevertheless, I must argue that holiness cannot be characterized by some state of hyperspiritual enthusiasm, nor by displays of emotional adrenaline in a worship service.

Others have held that holiness is an eventual state of sinless perfection attainable in this life. But the clear teaching of Scripture is that, although we have been freed from the dominion of sin and have been given "everything pertaining to life and godliness" (2 Peter 1:3), we still cannot escape our own depravity. We will never be completely free from sin until we are with the Lord (see Galatians 5:17).

Often holiness is seen as a state to be reached, some future attainment, perhaps a far-off destination on the Christian pilgrimage obscured by many obstacles along the way. However, it seems from God's commands that He expects holiness from us now , today, not at some future time. So what does it mean to be holy right now?

To answer that question, we must first attempt a positive definition of holiness. We need to come to a basic understanding of holiness as it applies primarily to God, and then to man. Second, we must examine more specifically the concept of holiness in its biblical context.

God's Holiness

God's holiness is a mystery of which man has caught only a glimpse. Infinite, immutable, transcendent, He who dwells in unapproachable light yet still condescends to look upon the things in heaven and on the earth (see 1 Timothy 6:16; Habakkuk 1:13; Psalm 113:6).

A. W. Tozer writes: "He is the absolute quintessence of moral excellence, infinitely perfect in righteousness, purity, rectitude, and incomprehensible holiness." Because God is infinite, His holiness is limitless; because He is immutable, His holiness is always the same; because He is transcendent, His holiness is beyond the realm of man's mind.

Holiness stands above all the other attributes of God, yet it is simply that-an attribute. It does not stand above God as though it were some category under which He falls, along with other things. Holiness does not define God; God defines holiness; it belongs to Him alone. In Revelation 15:4 we read these words addressed to God, "'Thou alone art holy'" (see also 1 Samuel 2:2).

Man's Holiness

We can thus conclude that man has no holiness in himself. In and of ourselves, we are but wretched sinners who must shrink under the dazzling brilliance of holy God. What a tragically stark contrast is the degradation of our sin. "'Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts'" (Isaiah 6:5).

Like Isaiah, when we suddenly comprehend the holiness of God, we are immediately filled with dread and horror over personal sin. Only when we see the holiness of God can we see the blackness of our own sin. The apostle Peter, confronted with the reality of who Jesus really was, fell at His feet and cried: "'Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!'" (Luke 5:8).

Yet the word holy is used over and over in Scripture in reference to man, in two very distinct ways: positional holiness and practical holiness.

Positional Holiness

The word saints , or holy ones , as used in reference to all believers, denotes our position in Christ. We see this, for example, in the salutation of Paul's letter to the Philippians: "Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi" (Philippians 1:1). We are only holy if we are in Christ (see Ephesians 1:4), and we are in Christ not by our doing, but by God's alone.

Indeed, as Paul puts it, Christ Himself has become to us sanctification (see 1 Corinthians 1:30). Just as the righteousness of Christ is imputed to us, so His holiness is imputed as well. Furthermore, we were called with a "holy calling" (see 2 Timothy 1:9); called as "saints" (see 1 Corinthians 1:2; Romans 1:7); declared to be "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession" (1 Peter 2:9).

We have been made holy according to the will of God through the sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus Christ: "By this will we have been sanctified [made holy] through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all" (Hebrews 10:10; see also Hebrews 10:29; 13:11).

"For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified" (Hebrews 10:14). But in this last verse, the tense used with the word sanctified implies an ongoing action; those who are being sanctified , those who are being made holy.

Practical Holiness

Scripture also speaks of holiness in reference to man as a goal to be accomplished in the practical realm of daily living. We must pursue this goal with all our hearts. Peter adjures us, "Like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior" (1 Peter 1:15). The book of Hebrews tells us to pursue "holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14, KJV).

A great portion of Scripture is devoted to instructing us in this pursuit, and we are assured that we are not left to ourselves, but our efforts are fueled and energized by the sanctifying discipline of God.

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass. (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24)

It is fundamentally God's work to make us holy in this practical sense, just as it was in the positional sense, and He uses whatever means He sees fit to discipline us into holy living (see Hebrews 12:10). God includes us in the process by enlivening our wills and our energies after holiness (see Philippians 2:13). But even this practical holiness is possible only by an impartation of His divine holiness. "He disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness " (Hebrews 12:10). Thus Christ's holiness is not only imputed to us in a positional sense, but also imparted to us in a practical sense.

Hence we do not have a holiness like God's; we have God's own holiness, both positionally and practically. Positionally, we wear on our hearts an identifying mark; the mark of God's image, of God's likeness. This mark is holiness. In an outward, behavioral sense, if we are not merely moral but truly holy, it is because the very life of the Holy One is being manifested through us. Thus both positionally and practically, holiness is our likeness to God.

Now this does not mean that we are to sit back passively and wait for God to "animate" us with His holiness. Instead, we are to pursue holiness; we are to strive after holiness of character and holiness of conduct. This is our part in the process, for the holiness that was extended to us at conversion is not immediately evident in our daily lives. Yet as Paul told the Philippians, "He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:6). As we struggle and grow in the pursuit of practical holiness, it becomes evident to those around us that we have a likeness to God. "So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy [a state of being] and beloved, put on [an action] a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience" (Colossians 3:12). In other words, you are holy so act like it.

Holiness is the very essence of our identity as believers. Holy is what we are, who we are, and what we become progressively as we pursue holiness on a daily basis. This effort on our part is what Paul called "perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (2 Corinthians 7:1).

Holiness As Separation

Now let's consider a specific, rudimentary definition of the word holy. This word has at its root the idea of separation. God is holy in that He is unique, infinitely above and set apart from all of His creation. Man is holy when he is set apart from the world and its lusts, from sin (thus holiness may sometimes mean undefiled ), and from self.

In addition, holiness means to be set apart exclusively unto God for His purposes. Hence the word saints -holy ones-refers to believers who are changed into new creatures (see 2 Corinthians 5:17). They are somehow inherently different and separate from the world. What's more, they are sacred vessels set apart by God before the world began (see Ephesians 1:4), vessels that are holy to the Lord, from which the very life of God must shine forth.

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Excerpted from Because We Love Him by Clyde Cranford Copyright © 2002 by Jordan Thomas
Excerpted by permission. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.