March 21, 2005 -- Seeking
to Be Holy
When trying to witness to people about Jesus Christ, we often ask the question, “Are you a good person?”. Most of the time, they answer with something like, “Yeah, I’m a good person. I mean, I don’t steal. I don’t cheat on my wife. I’m certainly no murderer. So, yes, I would say I am a good person.” Then we ask, “Are you good enough to get into heaven.” Their answer may not be as definite, but they still answer in the affirmative: “Yeah, I think I’ll get into heaven. After all, isn’t hell just for murderers and thieves? Isn’t it just for people like Ted Bundy and Adolph Hitler?” we then have to explain to them that their goodness is not enough to get them into heaven. We have to convince them that the prerequisite for entrance into heaven is perfection and that, since none of us is perfect, the only way to salvation is through faith in Jesus Christ.
This may be effective, but it is also indirect. It is almost like playing a game. Get the person to say that he/she is a good person, and then try to convince them that he/she is not good. May I propose a different tactic? Rather than opening with the question, “Are you a good person?”, I would suggest asking, “Are you holy?” Ah, now we are getting to the heart of the matter, aren’t we? For that moral perfection that we declare to be the requirement for admittance into heaven is called holiness. And I would submit the hypothesis that people would be much less willing to give a positive answer to this question than to the former.
We know from the Scriptures that God is holy and that He has said that if we want to go to heaven, we have to be holy, even as He is holy. Since we are not holy, but rather sinful, we have no hope of entering heaven without receiving His forgiveness, based on what Christ did for us on the cross.
As Christians, we all know this. So why am I bringing it up? It is because I believe that, even within the Church today, we have lost sight of the holiness of God. It is not preached from behind our pulpits. I myself cannot recall ever hearing any pastor that I have had preaching a sermon on the holiness of God. And this bothers me. As a Christian, I am commanded to be holy, even as God Himself is holy (Lev. 11:44,45; I Peter 1:15,16). In addition, as one who loves God, I have a desire to be holy. And yet, like Paul, I must confess that I am a sinful man and that, on my own, I am incapable of being holy (cf. Rom. 7:13ff).
Now, let me affirm that through our faith in the Lord, we are made righteous in God’s sight. Whenever He looks at us, He sees the holiness of Christ. This is called positional holiness and is the result of justification. However, as those who have been made positionally holy, we must possess a practical holiness. That is, our conduct must reflect our reality. And therein lies the problem. As humans living on earth in vessels of clay, we still fight temptation and sin. Too often, we lose that battle.
So what is the answer to this dilemma? Well, as I think about it, I remember that I have been told on numerous occasions that a person cannot have an encounter with God and not be changed. Any time you encounter God through worship, prayer, and or Bible reading and study, something in you will be changed. The change may be subtle, but change will occur.
That’s all fine and good. But here is my problem: All too often, the change has been all too subtle. I want the change to be radical. I want it to be truly life-changing. And perhaps the reason it hasn’t been is because, in part, the worship, prayer, Bible study, and preaching that I have been exposed to has been focused in the wrong direction. Again, I cannot recall ever listening to a pastor preach a sermon on the holiness of God. And my thesis is this: If I cannot encounter God without being changed, then let me encounter His holiness. If I am to be holy, then my (practical) holiness must be produced by His holiness. And if this is true for me, then I would presume it to be true for you, as well.
In conclusion, let me present to you a prayer request. I would ask you to pray for me, asking God to give me a glimpse of His holiness, and that such a glimpse would produce within me the practical holiness that is required of me and that I desire. Then pray in like manner for yourself.