The Pursuit of Holiness

A new Barna Research Group study revealed that “One Out of Five Americans Holy” – or at least that they consider themselves holy. Interestingly, about the same number of people in the study, presumably not the same group, could not define what holiness is.

The highest number that had an idea said “being Christ-like” (19 percent), while 18 percent said “making faith your top priority.”

Although I don’t agree with everything the Brethren believe, the article Pursuing Holiness Today does an excellent job of defining and describing personal holiness in today’s world.

What is holiness?

The word “holy” comes from the same Hebrew root as sanctify or sanctification. It means “unique, different, or separate.” God is unique, different, and separate—and He requires the same for those who are called by His name.

God hates sin. When someone sins, that sin ultimately reaches Jehovah’s throne because we are made by Him and we are to live for His glory. Therefore we are answerable to Him (1 Peter 4:5). God has the right to judge sin and to punish sinners. Our sinfulness is an affront to His holiness. “The soul who sins shall die” (Ezekiel 18:20).

Holiness is deciding not to let sin reign in our mortal bodies (Romans 6:11-12). Holiness in life is a recurring theme in the New Testament. Holiness in life is much more important than the gifts and abilities that we have been given, and holiness is much more important than the number of church activities that we engage in.

How can we achieve it?

The Bible teaches that there is an unequal yoke between the Christian and the world. The two don’t match. They can’t go together. They are going in different directions. We believe that by the grace of God each of us has become a “temple of the living God” (2 Corinthians 6:16). Our bodies are now the place where God dwells —the resting place of His presence. And for that reason we are called to separate from our old ways of living.

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The Christian is called to a life of separation—from the old ways of life and from close association with those who still live by the world’s standards. It does not mean that we can no longer have friends who are non-Christian. In fact we are to pursue such relationships, but we must be aware that we might be enticed into our old ways of living, and tarnish our testimony.

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Sometimes we emphasize justification to the exclusion of sanctification. In other words, we put so much emphasis on being in the family that we forget that we are supposed to be growing in the likeness of our older Brother. But here it says that one of our Christian duties is to cleanse ourselves. In other words, we have a responsibility to watch over our own spiritual condition and to keep our lives clean.

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Pursuing holiness means self-denial and separation. I suspect that Israel did not make a conscious decision to depart from the living God, but over a period of time the Israelites simply wanted idols more than they wanted Jehovah. Most of us today cannot say that we have made a conscious decision to leave “the straight and narrow path,” but perhaps we are walking forward while looking backward. Perhaps we want Jesus and the nations. Perhaps we want pleasure and paradise.

Pursuing holiness means that our eyes are on Jesus and that our desire is to please Him. Romans 6:22 says that we reap holiness and gain eternal life when we become slaves to God. And elsewhere we read that without holiness “no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12: 14). Our key text says that we are to perfect holiness “in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1). All this is to say that we “call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work.” Therefore, we are to “pass the time of our sojourning here in fear” (1 Peter 1:17). We are strangers here, pilgrims here, and wandering through a barren land. Let us renew the commitment to our Master and once again set our sights heavenward.

Some things are simple, but not easy. Pursuing holiness is one of them. There are few huge moral decisions to agonize over. Most Christians – even new Christians – have a pretty good idea of what is right. The hard part is not identifying what is right, it’s deciding to do right. I hope the people who identified themselves in the Barna study as holy did so because the choices were limited. It’s fair to say that we are more holy than we were when we were first saved. In fact if that is not a true statement for you, then it is time to re-examine your salvation. But to believe that we will achieve that goal here on earth is incorrect. Pursuing holiness is sanctification – the race that we run. We will not be completely holy – free of sin – until we cross that finish line and meet the Author and Finisher of our faith.