OLD, FRESH, EXCITING AND STILL FASHIONABLE

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.