Holiness (2)

Ye shall be holy for I am Holy 1 Peter 1.15-16

Easton’s Bible Dictionary (Holiness)

HOLINESS—in the highest sense belongs to God (Isa. 6:3; Rev. 15:4), and to Christians as consecrated to God’s service, and in so far as they are conformed in all things to the will of God (Rom. 6:19, 22; Eph. 1:4; Titus 1:8; 1 Pet. 1:15). Personal holiness is a work of gradual development. It is carried on under many hindrances, hence the frequent admonitions to watchfulness, prayer, and perseverance (1 Cor. 1:30; 2 Cor. 7:1; Eph. 4:23, 24). (See SANCTIFICATION.)

Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (Holiness > Hh)

Holiness. Chief attribute of God and a quality to be developed in his people. “Holiness” and the adjective “holy” occur more than 900 times in the Bible. The primary OT word for holiness means “to cut” or “to separate.” Fundamentally, holiness is a cutting off or separation from what is unclean, and consecration to what is pure.

Holiness

According to the Bible, holiness refers to the state of being pure, set apart, and dedicated to God’s service. It is a characteristic of God himself, and it is also something that Christians are called to pursue in their own lives 1.

Easton’s Bible Dictionary defines holiness as “the highest sense belongs to God…and to Christians as consecrated to God’s service, and in so far as they are conformed in all things to the will of God”, The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia explains that holiness is used in the Old Testament to describe God’s absolute majesty and ethical purity, as well as the ceremonial and ethical/spiritual holiness of people and objects.

‘Like as He which called you is holy, be ye yourselves also holy in all manner of living; because it is written, Ye shall be holy, for I am holy.’—1 pet. 1:15, 16.

The call of God is the manifestation in time of the purpose of eternity: ‘Whom He predestinated, them He also called.’ Believers are ‘the called according to His purpose.’ In His call He reveals to us what His thoughts and His will concerning us are, and what the life to which He invites us. In His call He makes clear to us what the hope of our calling is; as we spiritually apprehend and enter into this, our life on earth will be the reflection of His purpose in eternity.

Romans 1:7 “7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God, called to be saints. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

1 Corinthians 1:2 “2 to the church of God sanctified in Christ Jesus that is in Corinth, called to be saints, together with all those who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, their Lord and ours.”

1 Thessalonians 4:7 “7 For God did not call us to impurity, but in holiness.”

1 Thessalonians 5:24 “24 The one who calls you is faithful, who also will do this.

Holy Scripture uses more than one word to indicate the object or aim of our calling, but none more frequently than what Peter speaks of here—God has called us to be holy as He is holy. Paul addresses believers twice as ‘called to be holy’ (Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:2). ‘God called us,’ he says, ‘not for uncleanness, but in sanctification’ (1 Thess. 4:7). When he writes, ‘The God of peace sanctify you wholly,’ he adds, ‘Faithful is He which calleth you, who also will do it’ (1 Thess. 5:24). The calling itself is spoken of as ‘a holy calling.’ The eternal purpose of which the calling is the outcome, is continually also connected with holiness as its aim. ‘He hath chosen us in Him, that we should be holy and without blame’ (Eph. 1:4). ‘Whom God chose from the beginning unto salvation in sanctification’ (2 Thess. 2:12). ‘Elect according to the foreknowledge of the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit’(1 Pet. 1:2). The call is the unveiling of the purpose that the Father from eternity had set His heart upon: that we should be holy.

It needs no proof that it is of infinite importance to know aright what God has called us to. A misunderstanding here may have fatal results. You may have heard that God calls you to salvation or to happiness, to receive pardon or to obtain heaven, and never noticed that all these were sub-ordinate. It was to ‘salvation in sanctification,’ it was to Holiness in the first place, as the element in which salvation and heaven are to be found.

No wonder that Paul, in the chapter in which he had spoken to the Ephesians of their being ‘chosen to be holy,’ prays for the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God to be given to believers, that they might know ‘the hope of their calling.

In the Bible, sanctification refers to the process of being made holy or set apart for God’s purposes It is a gradual process that begins when a person accepts Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and continues throughout their life Sanctification is not something that can be achieved through human effort alone, but rather it is a work of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer.

1 Thessalonians 4:3: “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality.”1 Corinthians 6:11: “But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”Hebrews 10:14: “For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.”John 17:17: “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.”2 Thessalonians 2:13: “But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.”

These verses emphasize that sanctification is a process that involves being set apart for God’s purposes and becoming more like Christ. It is achieved through repentance, prayer, and spiritual practices.

justification

Romans 3:20: “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.”Romans 3:24: “and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”Romans 5:1: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”Galatians 2:16: “know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.”Galatians 3:11: “Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because ‘the righteous will live by faith.’”Titus 3:7: “so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.”

These verses emphasize that justification is a gift from God that comes through faith in Jesus Christ and not through human effort or works of the law. It is a declaration of righteousness that frees us from sin and death and gives us eternal life.

The Law

Deuteronomy 6:5: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”Exodus 20:1-17: The Ten Commandments.Romans 3:20: “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.”Romans 7:7: “What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’”Galatians 3:24: “So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith.”James 2:10: “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.”

These verses emphasize that the law is a set of commandments given by God to guide His people in righteous living The law reveals God’s character and His expectations for His people. However, no one can keep the law perfectly, and it is only through faith in Jesus Christ that we can be justified before God.

Blessing To All