Growing up I used to
find the word ‘Born Again’ Christian very strange, as I grew older it became clearer but still
a little strange, but as
I grew much older and became a friend of God I realized it actually meant
living a life of holiness separate from the world, but I also realized then
that ‘Born Again’ Christians were not living holy lives, they actually love the
sin and hate the sinner, rather than the opposite.
The
problem of our day is that many Christians do not understand what the word ‘holiness’
means, they are confused about the concept of holiness and do not even desire
to be holy. Loyalty to God’s standard of holiness has shifted but God still
desires us to pursue holiness, because it is old, fresh, still exciting and can
never go out of fashion.
To be holy is to be
distinct, separate, in a class by oneself, It comes from an ancient word that
meant, ‘to cut,’ or ‘to separate.’ It means to be cut above the rest that is
outstanding, having a superior excellence.
Holy
living is living a Christ-like life, it is a life modeled after the life of
Jesus, it is a life based on a strong commitment to the things of God, the
things that are eternal and not temporal, it is a life expressed in obedience
to God’s rule and a life based on kingdom values separate from those of this
world.
Another
problem of our time is that many who claim to be “Born Again” don’t give any
proof of a transformed life, they talk like the world does, sing what the world
sings, wear what the world wears, and are not distinguishable from the world,
so there is something seriously wrong. This non-chalant attitude seriously undermines
the spiritual strength of the church as a whole.
And
there are yet some “born again’ Christians who think that holiness is some
state of spiritual intricacy that makes them more spiritual than others, or
that it is some negative constrictive lifestyle that is boring and
uninteresting, which in my opinion is far from the truth.
Holiness is not
about wearing long dresses, and no makeup, or singing hallelujah every minute
of the day; it is a way of thinking that is in agreement with God and His Word.
When we adopt a holy mind-set, our actions will follow suit.
The Bible teaches us that "without holiness, no man shall see God!" (Heb. 12:14). Holiness
therefore is an absolute necessity for the believer! The bible also states “that 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; for I am holy.” (1
Pet 1:15-16). In otherwords holiness is not only a spiritual state of mind, but
it is an action, it is a doing. So it is not just what we do not do, but very
much so what we positively do. We are to pursue holiness so as to see the promises
of God come alive in our lives.
As children of God we
are to be self-controlled in every area of our lives, we must live our lives as
though the Lord would show up any second, that is being prepared always for the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, we should not live reckless lives but live a
balanced life without excesses, we are to live holy lives by loving one another
and serving one another, we are to honor God with our lives, we are to have a
life committed
to truth and truthfulness, to righteousness and high moral standards, it is
about seeking justice for the oppressed, it is about loving as God loves, it is
about showing mercy and forgiveness to those who have wronged us. It is not
about locking yourself out completely from the world, it is not about seeing someone
in church and waiting for the person to greet you first.
Holiness is very
important to God, so much that we find the word holy used in the scripture 567
times .Our lives should be one of total dedication to God’s way of life, it
means allowing God to direct our paths through the Holy Spirit. Peter also
tells us that the people of God, called to the knowledge and understanding He
reveals, are very special to Him. “But
you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special
people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness
into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9) Just as Israel was called to
be a holy nation and be examples and lights to the nations around them, God’s
holy people today are also expected to be lights and examples to the world and
a mirror image of God.
Holiness indeed can
never go out of fashion, it is still fresh, exciting and fashionable, as believers we
should talk different! we should act different! our values should be different,
our perspectives should be eternal and not temporal.
Holiness means making
a positive impact in the present age. The world sees holiness as a negative
thing because we have made it look that way, we need to show holiness in a
Positive light. According to Paul in Titus
2:14b, holiness makes us eager to do good, imagine a world where everyone was
eager to do good what an awesome world that would be.
For many people "holiness" has a negative overtone to it; “we
don't do this, we don't do that!” But
holiness involves a clear positive action, it is about doing the will of the
Father, how can we embrace the God of the bible and fail to embrace a holy
lifestyle? God’s way of doing things always supersedes
anything the world has to offer. Holiness is still and will forever be old,
fresh, exciting, and very fashionable.
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