What is Holiness?
Several years ago, I kept asking myself that question…. every day, for months, because in the background, I was frustrated with inconsistencies, and perplexed by extraneous demands. I couldn’t wrap my head around good Christian people being vilified for trivial things. And, I confess, I was on a self-righteous, critical kick.
Then, I had a revival.
The kind where you quit worrying about everybody else, and you draw a circle around yourself, and you make sure everything in that circle is right with God.
My heart cried out for Him and I pursued Him with everything I had.
I was running to His presence every chance I got, hungry for Him, thirsty for Him.
He was all I wanted, and the closer I got to Him, t𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘏𝘪𝘮.
The more deeply I loved Him.
In His presence, I saw and sensed all that was in me that was abhorrent to Him.
I realized pretty quickly, that when you get closer to the Lord:
• He illuminates your pride.
• He draws attention to your sins.
• He exposes gates the enemy is using to influence you.
• He shines a light on tools Satan is using to drive a wedge between you and God.
And in that desperation for closeness with Him, you cast off everything that would hinder it.
You yield to Him.
You surrender.
Nothing would fill you with greater agony, than to be separated from His presence.
And the more time you spend with Him, the more sensitive you become to what pleases and displeases Him.
I still don’t agree with making mountains out of trivial things, or any type of coercion that pressures people to all live exactly the same for the acceptance of the whole, or belittling a person who disagrees about minor things. If and when that’s actually occurring, it’s wrong. (Romans 14)
But, as I drew closer to the Lord, I began to understand the true essence of what is meant by ‘holiness’ as it pertains to 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦.
When you get close to Him, He begins to deal with things.
Sometimes He deals with things no one else understands.
He puts His finger on things in your home.
Things you are doing, things in your heart.
Sometimes He stops you with a “check”.
You reach for something and you have to stop because something about it doesn’t sit right in your spirit, s𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨.
Sometimes He lets you feel how He feels.
You turn on your favorite TV show, or you turn up your favorite music, and suddenly you feel the grief of the Holy Spirit over what is being displayed or suggested and you can’t bear another minute of it.
𝘚𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘯.
Sometimes He takes away your taste for the things that displease Him. Something you enjoyed becomes hard to endure and you no longer have an appetite for it.
𝘚𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵.
Sometimes He reveals dangers that were hidden from you before.
He exposes the snare that accompanies an activity, s𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦.
You want to protect your relationship with Him! You want to create an environment around you that is welcoming to Him! So…. It’s true…. There’s no way around it…
As you draw closer and closer, God begins to “clean house.”
And it’s easy to see how this could begin to look like a “list” of do’s and don’ts to others.
Don’t do this, don’t do that, don’t, don’t, don’t…
But for the person pursuing God, experiencing His Holiness, as they dwell in His presence…
𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰 “𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵”…
𝘼 𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙖𝙩𝙚.
That’s why a 𝘚𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘳 was necessary… because whether it was 1 rule, or 10 rules, or the entire book of Leviticus, the lists weren’t sufficient. (Romans 8:3-4)
A person can perfect their life in a lot of ways. Scrub up their language, attend church, avoid a host of sinful vices… they can be as good as one can be, but they can do all of that without being holy, because sin is the result of an internal condition. The religious Pharisees were a prime example of this. (Matthew 23:27)
𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵.
I hardly feel adequate to attempt a definition, so I won’t. I’m not a theologian. I’m just a layperson. I’m a praying Mama, who loves God, and devours His Word… That’s it. But best I can tell, from drawing close to Him, h𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴…. in 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴…
𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘭… 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘵𝘩…𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦… 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨… 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺… 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳… 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨… 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯…
“𝘚𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘦, 𝘖 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵: 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴: 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨.” -𝘗𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘮 139:23-24
If you’ve been screaming in your head that it’s not a uniform for a social club, or a mandated code of dress, you’re right. There isn’t a person or committee making the “rules”, and even if there was, no one is ever going to attain true Holiness by ticking boxes on a checklist.
But I feel like the Lord is showing me, ever-so-tenderly and patiently, that holiness, as it pertains to us, deals with a position.
𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗶𝘀 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝘆… and Holiness has everything to do with our position with God.
“𝘚𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘴, 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴; 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦, 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘯. 𝗟𝗲𝘁 𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗹𝘆 𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗯𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗰𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱.” -𝘏𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘸𝘴 4:14-16
When we come to Him, 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘏𝘪𝘮, boldly before His throne, He supplies us with whatever help we need to navigate this life. Help to avoid temptations. Grace to circumvent cleverly concealed snares the enemy has laid for us. Merciful warnings for our protection.
In communion with Him, 𝙃𝙚 𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙨 𝙪𝙨, how to live a Holy life.
“𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘎𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵, 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦, 𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘴𝘰𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶.” – 𝘑𝘰𝘩𝘯 14:16
Holiness and standards are not synonymous, but as the Holy Ghost 𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙨, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴.
When you get into His presence and taste of heavenly things so sweet, you truly do lose your taste for the things of this world. You will begin weeding. You will stop things and drop things and gravitate away from things.
𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡….
Isaiah’s response to the Holiness of God was “…𝘞𝘰𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘦! 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦; 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘥𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴: 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘴.” -𝘐𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘢𝘩 6:5
He couldn’t be in God’s presence without instantly understanding the disparity of his state and knowing it required a remedy. Isaiah knew that in God’s presence, 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘺.
That’s what happens when we come into contact with the Lord.
You’ll find yourself purifying the temple… cleansing… because He is Holy… 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘺. (2 Corinthians 7:1)
That’s the natural process of growing closer to the Savior.
So no…
Holiness is not “standards”…
That is the truth.
But Holiness will result in standards.
Read that again.
Holiness is not standards…
𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴.
There will be inner standards, ie. Attitude adjustments, humility, love toward others, casting off a critical spirit, etc. And there will be outward standards… ie. Abandoning hobbies that glorify sin, choosing to dress modestly, getting rid of things that cause temptation, etc.
I’m not suggesting that everyone is going to hit the same things, in the same order. People come from all kinds of backgrounds, and grow at different rates, and God prioritizes different lessons at different times, for different people and I’ve never met a person that God dealt with and perfected everything at once. Everyone you meet with always have room to grow. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, and 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘶𝘢𝘭. (Philippians 1:6)
𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘏𝘪𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥.
𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘪𝘴 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥, 𝘐’𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦-𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘪𝘵.
Holiness, in our lives, is the result of one thing.
𝘗𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘎𝘰𝘥.
When you pursue Him, and come into His presence, you won’t have to figure it out.
You won’t have to play whack-a-mole with inconsistencies.
You won’t have to sweat through the details of whether this is OK, but that isn’t.
You won’t have to struggle and battle to give up things you don’t actually want to give up.
God’s holiness 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙩𝙨 of your unholiness.
That’s why we have to 𝙡𝙚𝙩 𝙃𝙞𝙢 do it.
If you pursue God, and you get close enough to Him, you will want to give things up.
It will happen so naturally, because that’s how it works. (Romans 8:1-27; John 16:13; Galatians 5:16-18; 22-26)
And the crazy thing is, for all of us who are saved by the precious blood of Jesus, not ONE of us is holier than any other. We are all made holy by Jesus Christ, and when we stand before Him, all who profess Him are justified in His sight. (Ephesians 2)
Holiness is not something we can achieve by ourselves. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
It takes Someone Holy, living within us, to make us Holy, and when He abides there… He 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴…
𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵.
𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘣𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘌𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴.
I might not know what to make of the cacophony of opinions, and attitudes, and chaos swirling… (Hebrews 12:14)
But I’m going to run into God’s presence…
I will delve into all that He is.
𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘏𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘦, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦.
𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘙𝘜𝘕 𝘛𝘖 𝘏𝘐𝘔.
He is the 𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 of Holiness!
He is the 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 of Holiness!
He is the 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦 of Holiness!
𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘏𝘪𝘮!
He 𝘐𝘚 Holiness.
