Written by Pastor Ricky Saulters, Kingdom Life Fellowship, on Wednesday, 23 July 2008

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For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.  Rom. 6:14 (NIV)

While sleeping in on Monday morning, due to the exhaustion of traveling 9 hours and then preaching twice … all in a 48 hour span, I was assaulted by one of those utterly impossible individuals whom God seems to have sprinkled into every life to test grace and develop patience in His children.  As I floated through clouds of sleep and pillows of rest - the phone began to ring!!!

By time I got out of bed and managed to find the phone (which was not on the hook like it was supposed to be) while tripping over a pair of heels

Soon, I was confused and depressed.  How could I call myself a Christian, proclaim the truths of the word of God, be Spirit filled - and not be able to control my temper when the phone disturbs my slumber? 

Sound familiar?  If you’re honest - it does.

Maybe you have a habit that you can't seem to over come, an attitude that is ever present or an emotion that always clouds your mind.  Whatever the problem … the Bible has an answer for you - it is called holiness … and though the word is mentioned over 600 times in scripture, rarely (if ever) do we go to the Word of God to find its correct definition.

In fact, most of us go to “man made” religion for our insight!

Holiness for most of us evokes thoughts of a series of specific prohibitions like drinking alcohol, women wearing pants, watching TV or playing sports.  For others, holiness has evolved into a self righteous attitude by those who have a long list of do's and don'ts (though each group has a different set of regulations that God supposedly demands … figure that one out).  Still for some, holiness means unattainable perfection, always praying, reading the Bible continuously and living above failure … and often leads one to be discouraged, delusional and discontent. 

Yet, in reality NONE of these ideas are Biblical in nature - all are mans attempts to define holiness from his own agenda of control and the desire to manipulate others.

In its purest definition … to be holy is to be morally blameless.  It means to be separated from sin and, therefore, consecrated to God.  (It has little to do with activities, styles, clothes or looks; unless they are absolutely prohibited in scripture as being immoral.)  The word signifies "separation to God, and the participation of conduct befitting those who are separated”.  Please note that separated does not mean different.  You can be different and no separated.  In fact, in our generation where there are over 2500 different ethnic groups and thousands more social groups, it is virtually impossible to be different … because almost everything you do – someone else does! 

If we were to follow our “traditional” idea of holiness, which was to look different than the world in which we live and the cultural setting in which we dwell … then, if you see someone in a pair of jeans - you must put on a dress, if they are riding in a car - you must ride a bicycle, if they have long hair - you must cut yours short and if the live in a house - you must take up residence in a tent!  And while I realize this is some what written “tongue in cheek” – the point should be clear … “traditional ideas” of holiness are not biblical, nor are they Culturally Relevant.  Our age, does not care if you look different … every Muslim Terrorists, New Age Adherent, Goth Advocate, Cowboy Type, Trendy Style Setter, Teen Schoolgirl and University Professor have their own “different look” – but it doesn’t separate them from the world or the sinfulness of it!

True holiness SIMPLY means:  To be set apart for a certain purpose.  It is an attitude of complete "belonging" to Christ for His purposes and callings.  It is also the devotedness of a “non – participatory” attitude in areas of blatant immorality and if you want a list of those things that God considers as such… go to Galatians 5, Colossians 3, Ephesians 5 and 1 Corinthians 6; there you will find a list of over 40 different “immoral vices” … almost all of which are inward attitudes!!! 

In fact, there are over 70 black and white, specifically appointed actions and attitudes, in the New Testament, that the Bible declares will keep you out of heaven if you continue in them.  And yet, in “Traditional Religion” we had a manual that was thicker than the Bible and it contained, mainly, a group of men’s interpretations and adaptations of their own ideas about holiness … much of which stemmed from the issues, experiences and settings of a generation gone by!  And all the while, as an entire organizational world seeks to add more addendums to segregate, insulate and introvert itself form the very world it has been called to interact with and save … I have watched the involvement of those in ministry (especially those who are named – after all they have Diplomatic Immunity and can always be transferred to another District where no one knows them) in things prohibited, in black and white in God’s word, overlooked due to the heresy of nepotism and the need to preserve a system and its esoteric values – I have also watched many sincere, honest and humble saints who were “sat down”, placed on “probation” (of which I can find no Biblical precedent for) disciplined and in many cases devalued and discarded because they would not adhere to a “man made” ruling that never drew anyone closer to Real Holiness … it simply validated the need of a man to control those he had been entrusted with and catered to an inflated fleshly ego. 

In 1Thessalonians 4:3-7, holiness is defined as being separated from those who are immoral and impure.  It deals with the way we live in our marriage, sexuality and thought life.  These passages teach of to be holy in the Inner Sanctum of the mind.

In 1 Peter 1:14-16, holiness is defined as being separate from evil desires that come from living in adherence to a “value system” that is determinant on things “outside” of Christ.  Here, the things we are to be separated from are greed, lying, gossip, judgementalism, legalism, anger and the like.  These verse deal with our motive, agenda and attitudes.  Remember, holiness without love is doing all the right things for all the wrong reasons.

In Revelation 22:11, holiness is defined as being separated from things that are blatantly sinful and vile such as stealing, murder, hatred, prejudice, fornication, lust, slander and the other emotion and attitudes that the “world” or the system of sinful man is characterized by.  The terminology “world” is not the people, places, styles, entertainments and activities on Earth – it is the immoral values system that the devil tempted Eve with … to set oneself in the place of God … judging good and evil.  Sounds like Phariseeism to me! 

Therefore, to live a holy life is SIMPLY to live in conformity to the moral precepts of the Bible (to love everyone, act justly and walk humbly) and in contrast to the ways of the world’s system and values that are immoral.  It is to live a life where one is constantly becoming more like Christ.  The key descriptive word in holiness is maturity!  Thus, if dressing different from the world make one holy ... Jesus was anything but holy, and men would seldom be classified as holy, and women would only be holy from the waist to the knees!  The question is are your actions and attitudes being conformed to those we saw in Christ who was so much like His world that they welcomed Him to events and entertainment – and yet He never involved Himself in those things immoral – even while being like them! 

In reality, holiness is when the character of Christ, the love of Christ, the compassion and forgiveness of Christ show up in your relationships with your spouse, boss, children and those who are not like you and you live a life of LOVE … and that my friend, will set you apart from a world that seeks it’s own, fights for it’s rights and cares not on whom it must step to achieve position … and yet those few terms of activity seem to aptly describe the Religious Affiliation that I came from and their common Modus Operandi for success, popularity and prestige!

You see, our first problem with holiness is that our attitude is more “self centered” than God centered.  We are concerned about victory … more than about relationship.  We desire to get away from the world … rather than change it.   Our desire is that we be able to judge something visible … instead of relying on God and only judging ourselves!  Defining holiness from a Biblical approach removes us from the Bema Seat and places each of us in the Seat of Testimony and we then must give account for our motives, hidden thoughts and real intentions!

God wants obedience from the heart and emotions ... out of the soul of a changed person who is living the image of Christ in the world he has been called to witness to.  He wants us to reveal Him through our actions and intentions.  This is called “conforming to obedience of the Spirit” - not the useless, legislated, codes of men. 

The reason why we have traditionally made such a Doctrinal Treatise about all things outward (well, maybe not all things … just things pertaining to the feminine gender) is because outward rules give us a place wherewith we can gauge “our” perception of victory and then judge accordingly – but, God judges from the heart, ego and attitude ... and also according to light, revelation and maturity.

The truth of the matter is this … Holiness is a by product of being conformed into the character of Christ - not in being segregated and different in one article of clothing from the world, of whom we were called to relate with.  So I ask you, are you living in real holiness – Titus 2:12 gives us the perimeters … we must abstain from Immoral and Sinful activities and do so while being Culturally Relevant and Apart of … this PRESENT world!

Last update: Wednesday, 23 July 2008

Published in : NCO Blogs, Admin Blogs

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