A holy way of life

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The topic of "holiness" has always been vital for believers. The Lord is holy and has always expected holiness from His people. It is written: "As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you formerly indulged in when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: 'Be holy, because I am holy'" (1 Peter 1:14-16).

But why is this topic so important for us, especially today? It's because more and more Christians are becoming susceptible to various developments, such as liberal theology. The trend is that "holiness" is increasingly losing its significance. The biblical truth that faith alone saves us is taught and lived so exclusively that other truths are completely overlooked. Thus, some deliberate sins, even occasional smoking or drinking, are downplayed.

Of course, hardly anyone would openly admit it, but this attitude is becoming increasingly entrenched. Yet the Lord says in Holy Scripture: “Therefore you shall be holy, for I am holy!” (Leviticus 11:45). We find this exhortation repeated in several places. For example, Paul writes in his letter to the Ephesians that Jesus loved the church and gave himself up for her, that she might be holy and undefiled (cf. Ephesians 5:25ff.).

The three indicators – deeds, words, and thoughts – characterize us and provide information about whether we are holy or not.

What is holiness?

In a biblical context, the word "holy" generally means "set apart" or "separated." Separated from something else, or set apart for a specific purpose. "Holiness" is composed of two elements: "sanctification" and "consecration."

Sanctification—that is a separation from all that is impure and all that is evil, generally from everything that is contrary to God. Scripture often speaks of God's people separating themselves and touching nothing impure. Then God will accept them and be their God, and they will be His people. What fellowship does light have with darkness? What fellowship does the temple of God have with idols? How does Christ agree with Belial? What fellowship does holiness have with sin? (cf. 2 Corinthians 6:14-17). God's people can have no fellowship with these things. They are to separate themselves, to sanctify themselves.

The other component of holiness, consecration, means dedicating oneself to God for service. The particular mystery lies in the fact that the two components of holiness are mutually dependent. One cannot exist without the other. There is no sanctification without consecration. And likewise, there is no consecration without sanctification.

It is important to understand that we will not attain sanctification until we consecrate ourselves to God. We will not conquer sin until we dedicate our lives to God. This is because, for all our efforts, it is ultimately God who sanctifies us. But this doesn't happen simply because we are inactive. The Lord does not sanctify for the sake of inactivity; there are no idlers with Him. In the parable of the vinedresser, Jesus speaks of Him as the vine and us as the branches. And every branch that bears fruit, the Father prunes (see John 15:1ff.). It is necessary to examine our consecration to the Lord. What am I doing for the Lord? How am I working and acting for Him? Every member of the body of Christ has a task for which God has equipped them with the necessary talents. Therefore, if we have not consecrated ourselves to God for some work, for some task, we cannot attain sanctification.

The more we strive for sanctification, the more God blesses our efforts and our work.

Why walk in a holy way?

God once proclaimed through a prophet: “And I sought among them a man who would repair the wall, who would stand before me in the breach for the sake of the land, lest I should destroy it; but I found no one” (Ezekiel 22:30). This is troubling.

Things haven't improved in the New Testament either. Christ says, "Lift up your eyes and look at the fields; they are already ripe for harvest" (John 4:35). And today the problem is a thousand times greater. How many people lived then, and how many live now? What was morality like then, and what is it like now? There is much to be done, but one thing we should be aware of: God does not use unholy people! Let us remember what the Apostle Paul wrote: "If anyone purifies himself from such things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful to the master of the house, equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 2:21).

Who will be useful for every good work? The one who is purified! Therefore, if someone wants to do a work for God, they must absolutely strive to become holy. For God will not accept the consecration of a sinner. “But to the wicked God says, ‘Why do you recite my statutes and take my covenant in your mouth, when you hate discipline and reject my words?’” (Psalm 50:16-17). There is no sanctification without consecration, and no consecration without sanctification. If we strive in both aspects, then the two components of holiness support each other. This is comparable to the two pedals on a bicycle; one pedal helps the other pedal so that the bicycle moves forward.

The more we strive for sanctification, the more God blesses our efforts and our work, that is, our consecration. And the more we consecrate ourselves to God, the more God blesses our sanctification. This benefits both aspects, and sanctification grows in this understanding. No sinner brings as much curse as the sinner who calls himself a "Christian." No one expects anything different from a sinner who continues to sin. But when people see that a believer sins, they immediately draw their own conclusions, and faith in God is cast in a negative light.

How important our personal witness to the world is can be seen, for example, in this passage from the Book of Revelation. Here John writes: “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet. And I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me, and when I turned around, I saw seven golden lampstands” (Revelation 1:10, 12). When John turned to the Lord, he didn't see Him, but he saw the church. And Jesus Christ once said these words: “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes him who sent me” (Matthew 10:40). Here we clearly see how much it depends on us as individuals and as a church whether others can find God. When Christians tolerate sin in their lives, they literally block the way to God for the people around them. And that is why it is so important to be holy, because God, too, is holy.

There is only one way by which we can draw near to the Lord, and that is the way of sanctification. Essentially, we can only draw near to God to the extent that our holiness allows. If we have striven to overcome sin and gradually let go of certain sinful behaviors in our lives, then we can draw closer to God.

We can see this in the example of Aaron's two sons, who entered the sanctuary to serve God. What happened to them? God destroyed them instantly, for they entered without any sanctification whatsoever. We see something similar in the event at Mount Sinai. God spoke to Moses: “Now set a boundary around the people and say to them, ‘Be careful not to go up on the mountain or touch its foot. Anyone who touches the mountain will surely die. No hand shall touch it, or they shall surely be stoned or shot; whether animal or human, they shall not live’” (Exodus 19:12-13). The people had to keep a safe distance to avoid being killed, even though they had sanctified themselves for three days beforehand. Even Moses was shaken by God's holiness. It is written: “And the sight was so terrible that Moses said, ‘I am afraid and tremble!’ ” (Hebrews 12:21).

Inner sanctification

Often we pray until we are hoarse, sometimes even with great noise: “Lord, draw near to us! Lord, fill us! Lord, come to us!” Unfortunately, we feel nothing more than hoarseness. If we would only strive to live holy lives with the same fervor, we wouldn't have to shout so loudly in prayer. As soon as the Lord sees that His holy people are gathered, He is there immediately. It's like a bee that gladly lands on a pleasantly fragrant flower, while rejecting dirty and foul-smelling things. But what must we sanctify in our lives?

The answer is: “Everything!” In one of his letters, Paul urges us to examine ourselves to see where we stand (cf. 2 Corinthians 13:5). Often, we only examine ourselves based on our works and deeds. We abstain from this and that and think that makes us holy. But what about the sanctification of our tongue? Many a believer today doesn't hesitate to tell stories and jokes that were once only heard from deeply disgraced drunks.

Many believers restrain themselves in many things they don't do, yet they don't control their tongues. And even worse is often the examination of our thoughts. What do I allow myself to think? Everyone knows how quickly and shamefully we can defile ourselves with our thoughts. The Word of God tells us that the Lord will also judge the intentions of the heart that have not been carried out, even if they only exist in our thoughts. If you hate your brother, you are a murderer! If you have lustful thoughts, you are an adulterer!

All these indicators – deeds, words, and thoughts – characterize us and reveal whether we are holy or not. But which of these three says the most about us? Our deeds, our words, or our thoughts?

It is written: “For as a man [has a calculating mind] thinks in his soul, so he is” (Proverbs 23:7). And Christ says: “For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, adultery, fornication, murder” (Mark 7:21). If you allow yourself to sin in your thoughts, it will eventually erupt from within you.

This reminds me of an incident when we were sitting with some brothers and one of them let slip an indecent word during conversation. He immediately apologized for it "slipping out." Another brother then remarked that the word could only have slipped out because it was there in the first place. It's the same principle. If you go into the barn with a switch to drive a calf out to pasture, it will run out if it's already in there. But if there's no calf in the barn, then none can run out.

It is difficult to hide something in our thoughts in the long run. Paul writes: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Philippians 4:8).

Therefore, we must sanctify everything. But what about the outward appearance? We often hear: "God looks at the heart, he doesn't pay attention to the outward appearance!" In fact, God looks at everything. Our outward appearance is a reflection of our inner self. One cannot be pious, holy, and righteous inwardly and outwardly a boor, scoundrel, or libertine. What is in the soul will also manifest outwardly. Therefore, one must sanctify the whole self, inside and out.

The means of sanctification

Sanctification is accomplished in multiple ways. There are three paths or means. The first is the Word of God. Jesus Christ says, “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you” (John 15:3). The Word of God sanctifies us. However, this does not happen automatically. Someone might think, “I have already heard so much about the Word that I am already holy and clean.” It is very good that we hear the Word of God, because that is the prerequisite. But our expectation should not be that hearing alone sanctifies us. Only when we do what we have heard do we fulfill the Word of God.

For example, it is written: “Whoever has stolen, let him steal no more” (Ephesians 4:28). Someone who has always been unable to enter a store without stealing something will change his behavior by actively putting God’s word into practice. I read the commandment and stop stealing. In doing so, I sanctify my life.

The second means of sanctification is the blood of Christ shed on the cross. It is written that we have been sanctified by the sacrificed blood of Christ. But in what way does the shed blood of Christ sanctify me? Jesus Christ died for the whole world, but this does not automatically sanctify all people. For the blood of Christ to sanctify us, we need a true faith in Him. Crucially, we must recognize that Jesus Christ died for us personally. He was beaten and nailed to the cross precisely because of me. Through my sins, I brought the Son of God to death. And only this faith sanctifies me through the blood of Jesus Christ.

The third means of sanctification is the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul writes to the Corinthians: “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11). We sanctify ourselves through the Holy Spirit by being filled with the Spirit. Many Pentecostals understand that speaking in tongues alone is the filling of the Spirit. But that is not all, for it is written: “For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful” (1 Corinthians 14:14).

This refers to our spirit, our consciousness, albeit under the influence of the Holy Spirit. In the Epistle to the Ephesians, we read that we can be filled with the Spirit when we sing spiritual songs. Even when we read God's Word, we are filled with the Spirit of God. And even when we simply sit and meditate on God, we are filled with the Holy Spirit. These are all different ways we can be filled with the Holy Spirit. And the more we do this, the more we sanctify ourselves.

To attain sanctification, we must use all the means God has given us. If one path to sanctification were sufficient, God would have given us only that one path. But He has given us three different paths. Consequently, we must be sanctified by the Word, by faith in the sacrifice of Christ, and by being filled with the Holy Spirit. Only then can we achieve true and perfect sanctification.

The Stages of Sanctity

Holiness, in turn, has three stages or phases that can be attained: initial holiness, increasing holiness, and perfect holiness.

As for initial holiness, we are all holy. A person who has come to God is inherently holy through their union with Him. All of the Apostle Paul's letters are written in this sense: to the saints in Corinth, to the saints in Rome, to the saints in Ephesus. A holy person is not someone who never stumbles or makes mistakes. The basis of their holiness is that they have chosen to follow the way of Christ and walk it without straying from it. They have chosen the way of the Lord, and they are holy. Even if a saint stumbles on this path, they do not immediately lose their sanctification, let alone salvation. But the tragedy is that people often allow themselves to sin intentionally. This can go so far that they lose their holiness and even their salvation.

When we are finally born again of God, we move toward increasing sanctification. The saint is to continue striving for holiness. This process of increasing sanctification lasts throughout life. It is the improvement of character, the purification of thoughts, words, and deeds. It is the endeavor to become more and more like Jesus Christ, as it is written: “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son” (Romans 8:29).

The third stage of sanctification, complete sanctification, takes place at the Second Coming of Christ. The Apostle Paul writes in this regard: “May the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly; and may your whole being—spirit, soul and body—be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

When the Lord returns, our earthly bodies will also be made holy. But why is our earthly body not holy now, while we are still living on earth? On earth, our body is a stronghold of sin. It has not yet been redeemed and reconciled. The Apostle Paul writes: “We also eagerly await adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:23). Our bodies will receive redemption in Christ only at the resurrection and second coming of Christ. And then everything will be transformed: our spirit, our soul, and our body. But right now, we are still in conflict. The body desires what is contrary to the spirit, and the spirit desires what is contrary to the body. Thus, they resist each other. And this conflict will last until death.

God's promises of holiness

Holiness is the promise of God's love for us. God's love is unconditional for the whole world. No one deserves God's love, not even us. We were corrupted from head to toe by sin and our vices. Yet God loved us nonetheless. In this we see God's unconditional love. Christ died for all people, thereby giving everyone the same opportunity to be saved. He is patient with all people, helps them in life, and yet expects them to repent of their sins. With this, God has done everything—no greater unconditional love is possible.

Since we have believed in God and become new people, we enter a new sphere of God's love. This love is the same, only its quality is different. It is the love of a father for his children. God promises us: "Whoever touches you touches the apple of my eye" (Zechariah 2:12). This is affection and true fatherly care for his children. Fulfilling the commandments and holiness hold a promise—the promise of the Father's love for us, as for his children (cf. John 15:9b-10).

Secondly, holiness is the promise of God's presence. Christ said, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him" (John 14:23).

Another promise is God's answer to our prayers. "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish" (John 15:7). Here, the promise is given to hear prayers and to answer them. But for this to happen, we must read Scripture and live according to it. We must lead holy lives.

And last but not least, holiness holds the promise of eternal life. “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become servants of God, the benefit you reap is sanctification, and the result is eternal life” (Romans 6:22).

Dear reader, lead a holy and pleasing life, so that you may stand holy before God. Be holy, and may the Lord bless you.

Anatoly Klinovsky

Adapted from "Star of Bethlehem" 2-2020