TO BE HOLY

TO BE HOLY

“Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” 1 Pet. 16. To every Christian this command is undoubtedly the most “frightening” verse in scripture. Attaining holiness seems to be an unreachable goal, and this has discouraged many a reader. Ellen G. White, as a child, felt “shut out from the perfect joy of holiness (of) heart.” ST Feb. 3, 1876. The standard described in Mar. 230 states: “ The true Christian obtains an experience which brings holiness. He is without a spot of guilt upon the conscience, or a taint of corruption upon the soul. The spirituality of the law of God, with its limiting principles, is brought into his life. The light of truth irradiates his understanding. A glow of perfect love for the Redeemer clears away the miasma which has interposed between his soul and God. The will of God has become his will, pure, elevated, refined and sanctified. His countenance reveals the light of heaven. His body is a fit temple for the Holy Spirit. Holiness adorns his character. God can commune with him, for soul and body are in harmony with God.” What a lofty aspiration!
We know, too well, our condition. “All have sinned.” Rom 5:13. “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Rom. 3:23. “If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth in not in us.” 1 Jn. 1:8. “All our righteousness is as filthy rags.” Isa. 6:4. We are so far from holiness.
What is holiness? The quote from Maranatha above defines personal holiness well for us. Webster’s Dictionary tells us it is “exalted or worthy of complete devotion, Divine, elevated entirely to the deity or the work of the deity, having a divine quality.” Wikipedia on line dictionary states it is “wholeness, may be taken to indicates a state of religious completeness or perfection.” The word describes God as deity, or a condition of the believer, or people or articles dedicated to God in most Biblical references. The Hebrew word is Kedushah, meaning “ set apart, separated, separateness.” This is echoed in 2 Cor. 6:17 “Come apart from them and be ye separate.” Heb. 7:26 tells us to be “undefiled, separate from sinners.” Numbers 6:2, in referring to dedicating to a holy purpose, calls them to “separate themselves unto the Lord.” .The Hebrew word Nazar, for separate, means set apart for sacred purpose, consecrate, abstain from. The term sanctify, has the same meaning. The Greek word for holy, hagios, means blameless, sacred, to purify, consecrate. (Strongs Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible.)
The Biblical use of holy refers to be dedicated to God, having the presence of God, being a name of God, having the characteristics of the divine, as in Isaiah 57:15 “The lofty One that inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy, I dwell in the high and holy place.”
Psalms 11 states: “The Lord is in His holy temple.” Several things and people are referred to as holy: prophets, brethren, covenant, tithe, oil, offering, name, kiss, fruit, day, clothes, Sabbath, nation, temple, convocation (meeting), hill, law, commandment, faith, virgin, promise, water, all within the Biblical definition. Even the ground can be holy, as in Acts 7:33. (David, in pleading his case to God in Ps. 86:2, even referred to himself- “I am holy”-the term he used was chesed, which almost undefineable in English, means “one who shows divine love,.” Among other meanings.)
The definitions of holiness only emphasize our distance from holiness. Yet the pen of Inspiration states: “Without holiness, the Word of God tells us, no man can see the Lord. Without purity of life it is impossible for us to be fitted and prepared to dwell with the holy and sinless angels in a pure and holy heaven. No sin can be there. No impurity can enter the pearly gates of the golden city of God. And the question for us to settle is, whether we will turn from all sin and comply with the conditions God has given us that we may become His sons and daughters. Separation from the world He requires of us in order to become members of the royal family.” RH April 12, 1870. “This perfection you must reach. Should I tell you that you need not be very earnest, you need not be very active, the Lord is pleased to have you enjoy the things of this life, therefore you may be as calm and moderate in religious things as you choose, and while you are thus doing you will be gaining everlasting life, I should be telling you things not written in this book.” (Ibid) .
This is the standard we must reach, but it is reachable. To reach heaven one must be holy. We have read. Enoch, and Elijah were taken to heaven without seeing death. Moses and the faithful dead in Jerusalem when Christ died, were raised from the dead and taken to heaven. Revelation 7:9 tells us “A great multitude, who no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes.” The saved will be so many “no man could number” them, so holiness is reachable.
How is perfection attained? “Holiness is within the reach of all who reach for it by faith, not because of their good works, but because of Christ’s merits.” 7 BC 908. “Accepting Christ as a personal Savior, and following His example of self-denial- this is the secret of holiness.” AG 120. “There must be a power working from within, a new life from above, before men can be changed from sin to holiness. That power is Christ. His grace alone can quicken the lifeless faculties of the soul and attract it to God, to holiness.” AG 120 “Holiness..is an entire surrender of the will to God.” (Ibid) “Be ye therefore perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect’ We are to keep Christ as our pattern ever in view, and by contemplating Him we become transformed in character. His own righteousness is imputed to us. Therefore all virtue, all light, all that is of any value, is derived from Christ.” MM Oct. 1, 1893.
The power to be holy comes from Christ, but the surrender of the will, the daily surrendering of the life to God, the daily repentance, is the work of the Christian through the power of the inworking of the Holy Spirit. It is a process that involves every waking minute, growing in grace, perfecting the character. It is our “Duty to perfect holiness in the fear of God” GC 429, RH Sept 7, 1886, OHC 230. “Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” Peter tells us. 2 Pet. 7:1. “’He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also to walk, even as He walked.’ (1 Jn. 2:6). We cannot plead that we are unable to do this, for we have the assurance, ‘My grace is sufficient for thee.’ (2 Cor. 12:9). As we look into the divine mirror, the law of God, we see the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and our own lost condition as transgressors. But by repentance and faith we are justified before God, and through divine grace enabled to render obedience to His commandments.” SL 6.
This is a daily work, a constant effort. “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God that worketh in you..” Phil. 2:12. “If any want to become My followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow Me.” Luke 9:23. “True sanctification is a daily work, continuing as long as life shall last…battling with daily temptations, overcoming their own sinful tendencies, and seeking for holiness of heart and life….They are hungering and thirsting for righteousness. Sin appears to them exceedingly sinful.” SL 10. “Sanctification is a state of holiness, without and within, being holy and without reserve the Lord’s, not in form, but in truth. Every impurity of thought, every lustful passion, separates the soul from God; for Christ can never put His robe of righteousness upon a sinner to hide his deformity…There must be a progressive work of triumph over evil, of sympathy with good, a reflection of the character of Jesus. We must walk in the light, which will increase and grow brighter unto the perfect day. This is real, substantial growth, which will finally attain to the full stature of men and women in Jesus Christ…” OHC 214. “It is the worthiness of Christ that must save us. His blood that must cleanse us.. But we have efforts to make. We must do what we can, be zealous and repent, then believe that God accepts us.” OHC 351 “”Only those who are willing to sacrifice all for the eternal life will have it; but it will be worth suffering for, worth crucifying self and sacrificing every idol for.” OHC 351. “The gold of faith and love, the white raiment of a spotless character, and the eyesalve, or the power of clear discernment between good and evil- all these we must obtain before we can hope to enter the kingdom of God. But these precious treasures will not drop upon us without some exertion on our part. We must buy-we must ‘be zealous and repent’ of our lukewarm state. We must be awake to see our wrongs, to search for our sins, and to put them away from us.” OHC 351. “There is no resting spot here; there is no period when you can relax your efforts, no period when you can safely cease striving, agonizing, to enter in at the strait gate.” MM Oct. 1, 1893. Daily searching the life and confessing your sin and seeking repentance are crucial. “All who endeavor to excuse or conceal their sins, and permit them to remain on the books of heaven, unconfessed and unforgiven, will be overcome by Satan.” GC 544. “Opportunity is now given you to improve and become perfect this side of judgment. You must obtain a moral fitness here to meet your God. You should be right, just right, if you wish to obtain an entrance the gates of the holy city of God.” RH april 12, 1870. This is a work that must be done daily, constantly, for we are told concerning the close of probation, which could happen to any of us at any time, “Just as you then are, you will remain. Just as you fall, you will come up in the resurrection. And if you are living when the Son of Man is revealed, just as you are then found when He shall appear, if unready, so you must remain.The impure cannot then obtain perfection of Christian character. No work of purification can then be performed.” RH april 12, 1870.
There will never come a time when the Christian feels they have attained holiness. “The more closely they contemplate the life and character of Jesus, the more deeply they will feel their own sinfulness, and the less will they be disposed to claim holiness of heart or to boast of their sanctification.” SL. 79. “The more we contemplate the character of Christ, and the more we experience of his saving power, the more keenly shall we realize our own weakness and imperfection, and the more earnestly shall we look to Him as our strength and our Redeemer.” SL. 83. “No one who claims holiness is really holy. Those who are registered in the books of heaven are not aware of this fact, and are the last ones to boast of their own goodness.” NL 57.
Enoch, a man so close to God, a man who achieved holiness to the point that God took him to heaven without seeing death, is a fit example for us. “To him prayer was the breath of the soul. He lived in the very atmosphere of heaven.” PP. 85. “The godly character of this prophet represents the state of holiness which must be attained by those who shall be ‘redeemed from the earth’ (Rev. 14:3) at the time of Christ’s second advent…But like Enoch, God’s people will seek for purity of heart and conformity to His will, until they reflect the likeness of Christ.” PP 88,89.
You have searched your heart and confessed every sin you have found- you have given your will to Christ, “all your soul,” –you have given your life to serving others-you cherish your time in prayer and you “live in an attitude of prayer”- then, though only the angels can see it, you wear the white robe of Christ’s righteousness*, and you are seen as holy. Christ is in you and you have accepted Him as your Saviour. You are holy-whole before God, separate from this world, dedicated to Him, set apart for his service, a vessel for the presence of God.






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