Holiness

 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: Heb 12:14

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Romans 12:2

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. I Peter 1:15-16

I suppose there would be no easier way for a pastor to offend his congregation than to preach on holiness. The standard is undisputed: As God is holy, so must we be. We know this, and I think it causes great fear, as we just don't feel very holy. As our preacher shared today, this conundrum is usually dealt with in one of two ways. We either are so overwhelmed by our besetting sins that we simply give up. If not, we try our best not to sin, but the more we try, the more sins pop up. It's like playing Whack-a-Mole. A real walk of victory over sins seems unattainable and etherial. Maybe once we walk on the golden streets of Heaven can we be free of sin, but not here on earth. But is this what the Bible teaches?

No, the passages above are calling for holiness. As nothing in our personal experience may suggest that we can indeed walk blameless here on earth, I believe our first response to a call for holiness is fear: We just don't think it is possible, that somehow God has laid a burden on us that we simply cannot bear. Thus, we interpret the above passages with unenlightened hearts, and draw the conclusion that God is not really requiring a holy walk from us. Somehow we must come up with an interpretation that flies in the face of His clear commands. " Be as holy as you can be", give it the college try. You won't get there, but strive for holiness anyway. 

Saints, no such interpretation is possible. But the Bible does not leave us to our own resources here. No, the very holiness God requires of us is already ours. We may not see this naturally but He bids us to be "transformed by the renewing of our mind". Indeed, by setting our minds on heavenly things, practical holiness is possible. We must not try to be as holy as possible. We must not bow down to besetting sins that seem to overwhelm us. The key is believing what the Word says, and trusting God to impute His very character into us. We cease striving and acknowledge He is God, Psalm 46:10. But what does it mean to believe?

I once heard a story about an acrobat named the Great Blondin. Ever the promoter, he cast a cable across the mouth of the Niagara River, in front of the famous falls. He called a crowd together and asked them if they thought he could cross the river while blindfolded and pushing a wheelbarrow. "Yes, yes, we believe you can do this", they roared. Ok, then he says, "who is going to get in"? Therein, my friends is true faith. We TRUST the God who said He can preserve us blameless before Him in love. We don't know how. By faith, we commit that holy life to the One who, in us, is perfectly holy, and powerful. Holiness can be found IN us, but never OF us. 

We can have no relationship with a holy God if we ourselves are not holy. Not only is holiness possible, it is also essential. Just as we trusted Christ for justification, we must also trust Him for sanctification. He invites us to turn to Him and be saved. 

"Lord Jesus, I want to be found in you, having not a righteousness that is of the flesh, for indeed all that I can do in regard to a holy life is completely worthless. Rather, may I stand holy before you on the basis of my complete trust in your work on the Holy Cross. I go forth knowing that the accuser of the brethren will be challenging me. May thy Spirit that is in me rebuke him. Just as I trust you to be my salvation from the penalty of my sins, I am trusting you to be my salvation from the presence of sins in my mortal body. I know that you are able to keep me from falling, and to present me blameless before the Father. Thank you Lord Jesus. You are my life. I love you."