Godly Living: Holiness
God is completely different than we are. He is not a "super-human." He is not like us, just a little faster, a little stronger, and a little smarter. He is in a class all by himself. There are many attributes or characteristics of God that we cannot emulate at all. For example, God is omniscient; that is, he knows everything. We can never be omniscient, no matter how long we go to school!
However, there are some of God's attributes that we say are communicable. This means that they are shared to some degree between God and us. While we will never achieve infinite perfection in that attribute, we should (and we are commanded to) display these characteristics in our own lives.
One of those communicable attributes of God is his holiness. In God, holiness makes him separate from everything else. Because sin is totally foreign to God's character, he is completely separate from sin. He has nothing to do with it. He never commits sin, he never condones sin, and he never causes anyone to sin (Jas 1:13).
We should be holy and separate from sin as well. Peter says, "But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, 'Be ye holy; for I am holy'" (1 Pet 1:15–16). Christians should be separate from sin in every area of life. There is nowhere in our lives that it is "okay" to sin. We should be completely separate from sinfulness.
Notice just how holy we should be: we should be as holy as God is. That's the goal. Oftentimes we are content with just being better or more godly than our friends or people we know at school. God's standard is much higher: we should be holy like God is.
The reason we should be holy is because in salvation, God has called us to holiness (cf. 1 Thess 4:7). Peter quotes from Leviticus 20:7, where God commanded the Israelites to avoid the pagan idols of the nations around them. They were to be holy as their God was holy. In much the same way, Christians should be separated to God from the sin around them. We should be holy like God is holy.
However, there are some of God's attributes that we say are communicable. This means that they are shared to some degree between God and us. While we will never achieve infinite perfection in that attribute, we should (and we are commanded to) display these characteristics in our own lives.
One of those communicable attributes of God is his holiness. In God, holiness makes him separate from everything else. Because sin is totally foreign to God's character, he is completely separate from sin. He has nothing to do with it. He never commits sin, he never condones sin, and he never causes anyone to sin (Jas 1:13).
We should be holy and separate from sin as well. Peter says, "But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, 'Be ye holy; for I am holy'" (1 Pet 1:15–16). Christians should be separate from sin in every area of life. There is nowhere in our lives that it is "okay" to sin. We should be completely separate from sinfulness.
Notice just how holy we should be: we should be as holy as God is. That's the goal. Oftentimes we are content with just being better or more godly than our friends or people we know at school. God's standard is much higher: we should be holy like God is.
The reason we should be holy is because in salvation, God has called us to holiness (cf. 1 Thess 4:7). Peter quotes from Leviticus 20:7, where God commanded the Israelites to avoid the pagan idols of the nations around them. They were to be holy as their God was holy. In much the same way, Christians should be separated to God from the sin around them. We should be holy like God is holy.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home