HOLY---- GOD WANTS US TO BE!

 

Holy, Holy, Holy

God is and Wants us to be!

by Nell Stevenson  "Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty, Heaven and earth are full of your glory!" (Isaiah 6:3). How often this little four-letter word appears in the Bible! We read it and continue without giving it too much thought because we assume that "holiness" belongs to God. We imagine the vision of Isaiah with seraphs continually calling as he penned the above verse. He is God Almighty, the Lord of all the hosts in the spiritual realm. He is the Holy one of Israel mentioned innumerable times by Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and in the Psalms. The holiness of God is an awesome thing! So, what does "holy" actually mean? The Oxford English reference dictionary says this: 1) morally and spiritually excellent, and to be revered. 2) belonging to, devoted to, or empowered by God. 3) consecrated or sacred. The first definition seems to pertain to God alone, especially, "to be revered". The second and third definitions could apply to certain people, e,g. a missionary or minister, but do any of these apply to the ordinary Christian? Is it enough that God's chosen Israelites are a "holy people" and a "holy nation" in the sense that He has set them apart for the special purpose of declaring his glory? (Deut.14;2, Ex.19:6, 1 Pet.2:9) He expects much more from us.  Let's consider the Word of the Lord from Leviticus 11:44 and Peter 1:16 which commands God's people to "be holy because I am holy". Let me repeat those challenging words, "be holy because I am holy". That is an overwhelming thought! Is that possible? Through Salvation we are consecrated to the Lord and now we must seek to be devoted to and empowered by God; the quality of our moral and spiritual excellence will likely depend on the level of our devotion and our willingness to be used for his purposes. Becoming holy is a personal and individual responsibility and one to be taken very seriously because "without holiness, no one will see the Lord". (Heb.12:14) The Apostle Peter asks the Christian Israelite believers "What kind of people ought you to be?" (2 Pet.3:11) and we may well ask the same question today. The answer is simple. "You ought to live holy and Godly lives." How is it possible we ask, to be holy? At times like this the Bible becomes our even more valuable companion, for "all scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness". (2 Tim.3:16) Yes, "training in righteousness". The prerequisite is to have a humble and willing spirit to improve ourselves and an earnest desire to be more Christ-like. The message of Paul to the believers at Ephesus is equally valid for true Israelite Christians today. "Renew the attitude of your minds; put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." (Eph.4:24) For this renewal we are dependent on the Holy Spirit within us. If we willingly listen to His voice of guidance and direction, then the awesome task to "be holy" becomes achievable! But it is not an automatic process! We must strive to achieve holiness through daily prayer and determination to put off the habits and desires of our human nature and seek after the things of Christ and his kingdom. Psalm 77:13 tells us that "your ways, 0 God are holy". What are His ways? We can learn them through prayer and diligent study of the scriptures.  As we draw closer to Christ we will become more aware of His absolute holiness and our own lowly estate. We will want to become holy like Him. We will be happy to join with Timothy in "suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, who has saved us and called us to a holy life" 2 Tim.1:9). Yes, we are indeed expected to be holy and live a holy life which is a Godly life. Now we can better understand Paul's meaning when he urges believers to "offer your bodies as living sacrifices holy and pleasing to God." (Rom.12:1) As we willingly consecrate ourselves to Christ we will also be empowered by Him. Yet even then, becoming holy is no easy walk. It is a very individual course. There is no "instant" method, no "five easy steps" to follow. The Holy Spirit will be at work in us, but it is up to the individual to follow his lead and make the effort to change. It is we who must choose to submit ourselves to God. "Resist the devil and he will flee from you." (James 4:7) This is our part in becoming holy! We must make the choice and decision to be obedient. We must consult the Scriptures for "correction and training in righteousness". As we progress in holiness we begin to "delight in God's law" (Rom.7:22) and discover that his commands are not burdensome". (I Jn.5:3) As his disciples who believe in Him and trust in Him we want to heed Peter's admonition to "live holy as Godly lives". Discipline is the only way along with the prompting of the Holy Spirit to correct ourselves and break sinful habits that keep us far from God. Timothy's advice is well taken - "train yourself to be godly". (2 Tim.3:4) Much advice is also given in Ephesians (5:1) on how to "be imitators of God". There is a long list of behaviours which we as Christian Israelites must strive to eliminate because these are "improper for God's holy people". (5:3) Unless we are obedient to the word of God, by faith, we cannot "be holy" as is commanded and we cannot live holy lives in an unholy world. As followers of Christ, bought with the price of His own precious blood, we must "live as children of light" and produce the appropriate fruit of "goodness, righteousness and truth". (Eph.5:8,9) Unholy people cannot please or glorify a holy God. ghteousness There is no option for us; we must "be holy" as he is holy. As we grow in obedience and holiness we allow His glory to fill these bodily temples and so we prepare for "the day he comes to be glorified in His holy people". (2 Thes.1:10) At that glorious time we will understand His holiness and sing with the seraphs, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory!" ............... Taken from "Thy Kingdom Come" (October 2007) a publication of The Covenant People, Vancouver, B.C. Canada NOTE:  Righteousness has been spoken or mention a number of times. Seldom to people ask the next question--- "What is righteousness?" The Bible answer for us---- Psalm 119: 172.  God's Commandments ARE righteousness.  By looking carefully you can fins some other definition under the salvation subject. As we read the bible we get to see the mind of God more and more.  We get to see what He dislike, calls abominations, calls sin, and we get to see the opposite of all that----we get to see how God wants us to live, what we should be staying away from, and what we should learn to live, think, act, THE ETERNALS  WAYS---- they are all in the Bible. To live holy we have to know what the Lord classifies as holy;  ya regular meditated Bible reading; looking for what the Bible tells you all the things the Eternal would be happy you finding out---- His laws, precepts, judgments, statutes, commandments. Being holy is being of a humble mind-set;  one that sees what sin is, wants to not do sin, is in a correct humble teachable mind-set. David had that attitude---- show me your word Lord., correct me Lord, but not in your anger lest I come to nothing. The Lord will lead you if you ask Him, if you desire with your whole being, to want to live His way of life. It is a life mind-set - a desire and humility to want to live the ways of God as revealed in His Holy Word. Yes we are going to sin, miss the mark. With humble repentance admitting our sins, Christ is our High Priest Interceeding for us, and our sins are washed away once more with the blood of Christ. To God you are now Holy!!!