How many of you think you
are as Holy as I am?
…as the pastor?
…as Billy Graham?
…as the apostle Paul?
…as Jesus?
Before we can really answer
any of those questions very accurately, we have to figure out what it means to
be holy.
How important is understanding
holiness?
·
Did you know that
holiness is the only attribute of God mentioned in the Bible triplicate? –
Isaiah 6:3 and Revelation 4:8 say God is holy, holy, holy.
·
When the Bible says
something about God’s character once, that's enough. Twice is for
emphasis. But when he says it three
times, that’s something we should pay special attention to.
·
The Bible never says
that God is love, love, love or mercy, mercy, mercy. But it does say that He is
holy, holy, holy.
The Greek word for holy
(Hagios) literally means to “be set apart” or “to separate”
So when you hear something
is “holy”, that really means it is “set apart for God’s purpose”. Some examples…
·
Holy Bible – different
from all other books because it contains the Word of God
·
Holy Land – God set
that land apart for his chosen people.
·
Holy Sabbath – God set
it apart from the other days for Himself
·
Holy Ground – When
Moses stood before the burning bush, God told him to take off his shoes because
he was on Holy ground.
If you have trusted Jesus
Christ for eternal life, then you have been “set apart for God”. You’ve been separated from the rest of the
world. You are holy.
When the world uses the word
“holy”, is it usually a compliment? Or negative?
Jesus was speaking to his
disciples in John 15 when he said,
John
15:19 (NASB)
19“If you were of
the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world,
but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.
The world hates you because you
are not of this world. Because you have
been set apart. Because you are Holy.
In John 17, Jesus is praying
to the Father for his disciples when he says
John
17:16-19 (NASB)
16“They are not of
the world, even as I am not of the world. 17“Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is
truth 18“As You sent Me
into the world, I also have sent them into the world. 19“For their sakes I
sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.
Jesus uses the word
“sanctify” several times in that passage.
The Greek word for “sanctify” (Hagiazo) is
derived from the Greek word for “holy” (Hagios). Sanctify is a verb and holy is an adjective.
An example: to freeze
something makes it frozen, so to “hagiazo” something makes it “hagios”, or in
English – to “sanctify” something is to make it “holy” or to “set it apart”.
Back to verse 19 above
Are you a saint?
1 Corinthians 1-2 (NASB)
1Paul, called as an
apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, … 2to the church of God
which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints
by calling, …
Anybody know much about the people of the church at
Corinth?
1 Corinthians 5:1 (NASB)
It is
actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a
kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles...
The Greek word for “saint” is “hagios”, which is the
exact same word as “holy”.
Are you a saint?
FYI: Paul addresses his letters to the saints
in 2 Corinthians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians.
A Question?
·
Do saints always act
holy? - It has nothing to do with actions, but everything to do with
trusting Jesus Christ.
·
We don’t become holy
because of our actions, as the world (and some Christians) might think.
·
The Holy Land didn’t
become holy because of some special characteristic. God said, “I’m setting this land apart from the rest”, and it
became holy.
·
In the same way, we are
holy as a result of our trusting in Jesus Christ.
If I were to stop right
here, you would only have half the story.
We’ve been talking about the
1st stage of holiness today.
There are actually 3 stages in all.
The 1st stage is Salvation.
Without salvation, you cannot progress on to 2nd stage which
is -
Presentation
Romans
12:1 (NKJV)
1I beseech you therefore,
brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living
sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
This stage is optional. Paul begs us to present our bodies as a
sacrifice. It’s a conscious decision we
must make.
1
Peter 1:15-16 (NKJV)
15but as He who called you is
holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16because it is
written, “Be holy,
for I am holy.”
God wants more from us than
just being holy; He wants us to act holy… in all of our conduct – on a daily
basis.
2 Timothy 2:19-22 (NKJV)
19 …“Let everyone who names
the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” 20But in a great house
there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some
for honor and some for dishonor. 21Therefore if anyone cleanses
himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful
for the Master, prepared for every good work. 22Flee also youthful
lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the
Lord out of a pure heart.
It says we are to cleanse
ourselves and pursue righteousness.
God makes us holy… but it’s
our responsibility to act holy which means pursuing righteousness.
·
The concept of holiness
can be confusing, but hopefully you’ll remember this discussion the next time
you hear somebody mention holiness.
·
If you’ve trusted in
Jesus Christ for eternal life, then God has made you holy. That’s stage 1.
·
When you make a
conscious decision to commit your life to God, that’s stage 2 of holiness.
·
When you pursue
righteous in your daily actions, that is stage 3, which is transformation –
being holy in your conduct.
·
Have you been set apart
by God? At then end of our lives, those
that have not been set apart from the rest of the world will face spiritual
death with the rest of the world.