Be HOLY for I am HOLY- 1 Peter 1:16

[Alithis]

what does it mean to be holy
it means to be set apart for a specific reason goal and purpose .. in this case to be set apart for the reasons of God for the purpose of god to achieve the will of God .

we look so often at the ambiguity of what is holy
but what is not holy ?

a simply measure would be to consider this .. if the lord JESUS (or the angel of the lord ) stood at any moment of your day before you ... would he find that which you arte engaged in doing to be HOLY (separated ) unto the lord ?

when you are shouting at your tv screen in adulation because your sports team won?

when you are watching a favorite tv program and are annoyed because "her husband caught her with her lover "
-perhaps you're favorite sit com which just made a joke promoting homosexuality and degrading God . but but was funny so you laughed - and then suddenly the lord is standing before you his glory and purity ..... ??will you not be ashamed and your sin uncovered ?

perhaps you watch movies or tv and are a very good person.. and you repeat a prayer once a week .. but you never spent a hour in prayer before the lord .. your too busy .. is that a life Holy unto the lord ? or a life separated unto your own will ..? holy unto your own desires ?
in any of a myriad of worldly situations if God is not first in your life .. then something else is
that is the uncomfortable truth .

the lord is gracious he is loving and kind //- we must be those who seek his loving kindness with a whole heart with a heart that so loves him it does not desire the things of the world "first" but desires him first above all else .

that which can be shaken will be shaken .. so if anything in us rises to defend "self " then that is a sure sign it is being shaken ..because it can be shaken . none of these word will effect those whose hearts are right with the lord .

 

[Alithis]

i find it is simply a mater of being honest before the lord and asking forgiveness for those things which we know are not of Him . and then listening to him and doing as he leads us to do .
if we ask forgiveness with intent to continue i them then we lie to the lord .if we ask forgivness casting oursleves upon him to change us so that we wont do it any more ..then he wil change us so that we wont do it any more . but if we desire to do it ..if we love it (sin) more then we love the lord then we will surrender our body to the one we love the most and sin and sin wil lead us to death .

be Holy for I am Holy says the lord ... come out of the world .. be renewed
do not be conformed to it ..

the worst thing we as believers can ever do is say to the lord -- yes lord . BUT !...
BUT NOTHING folks -obey the Holy Spirit in what he is speaking into YOUR life about .whether it be stopping smoking .. stop giving your praise an adulation to sports stars or movie stars or music stars (which is all idolatry ) or stop sexual immorality ... or stop stealing,lusting coveting .. any of these things and all sin is destructive and the lord desires a bride that is involved in none of these things .. except --NONE of these things .

stop excuses yourself .. be like David who when confronted with his sin .. did not excuse himself but he said ..:I - HAVE - SINNED ... !and deal with it before the lord Most high and receive his forgiveness and the POWER of the cross to go and STOP DOING IT .

 

[Josiah]

HOLY has a number of meanings in the Bible..... But in this verse, I think it means MORAL holiness, absolute righteousness.

This is law.... the same point as Matthew 5:48. We are to be morally PERFECT, HOLY.... void of anything less than God. In thought/will, word or deed. NOTHING less-than-godlike left undone or unsaid or unfelt..... Nothing OTHER other-than-godlike done or said or felt.

It is pure law.



Lord, have MERCY.



- Josiah

 

[MoreCoffee]

A person or a thing that is holy is also good in some sense and ought to be revered. God is holy absolutely in every way because God is good - absolutely good. When God calls upon the faithful to be holy because he is holy he is calling them to be like him and he is calling them into fellowship with him.

 

[Alithis]

the word Holy from the hebrew .. means separated .. essentially it means "different "

and the lord is different from all others he is "Most Holy " ..in that there is none like him none before hina and none after him he has no beginning and no end . he is HOLY. he is set apart from all else and calls us to be also set apart with and for him .

to be set apart ,to be different from the world which he has bought us out of by the blood of his word made flesh ..
to not be "the same" as the world around us .

It is of paramount importance to obey the lord in everything as he leads us to deal with each area of our lives .
what is it you want to be found doing when the lord appears ?
engaged in the pursuits of the world or engaged in the pursuits of the kingdom of heaven ? the first and foremost pursuit of the kingdom of heaven is and always will be, seeking the lord first above all else in all things to his glory alone .

in the op i set out some simplistic scenarios .. but each of us already knows in our own heart, the things the lord is asking of us, the repentance he requires of us .
and repentance is not only saying sorry and then rising up to repeated that for which we claimed to be sorrow for .. that is hypocrisy and spitting in the face of God .do not thing to receive forgiveness with hollow words . repentance is wrought in the heart by obedience to the holy Spirit ..repentance cries out to not only be forgiven but to be free and so not walk in that wicked way any more .. to "turn and go the other way " .
if we continue in the way we were going and say "lord forgive me ".. there is no repentance in the heart and we are not being "different (holy unto god ) we are being like the world we are walking in futility of the fleshly mind .
our actions become a testimony against us that our words are false .. we seek not to be forgiven but to "get away with " continuing in sin. this is a most unholy behavior and fully dishonours god in every manner possible .

 

[Alithis]

I also observe a strange attitude shift which reflects a double standard in professing believers .

this shift occurs with the change of terminology ,,,
for instance if i say ..

watching a program like ... game of thrones ..is a sin .

or drinking alcohol to be drunken ..is a sin

or telling disrespectful jokes ..is a sin

then i am likely to get a huge variance of response, from agreement to, outright rage at the suggestion.

but if i ask you .. would partaking in such actions be classed as living HOLY UNTO THE LORD .. (in light of all the meaning of the word in the context of the lord God)

most would answer that these things are not actions of one being Holy ,being separated unto God , being different to the world and set apart unto God .
for how can one be different from the world while being as the world ? simply one cannot .

now some may chime in with "but the lord Jesus ate with sinners etc " yes he did .. but he did not be drunken with them , he did not be profane with them , he did not ie nor cheat nor steal .. he did not be like them . he was different .he maintained a holiness unto god in everything he did .so while being in the world system he displayed he was not of this world system .

thus i observe a double standard if we defend saying by an attitude " .. how dare anyone suggests it is sin.." but at the same time recognize it as not being holy unto the lord .. is unholiness suddenly become righteousness ? -God forbid we ever suggest such a thing

if we mingle pure waters with impure then both become impure ..

when we take that which is of God and truth and righteousness and we mix it with the things of the world .. we pour dirty water into a cup of pure water .. does the pure water make the dirty water clean ? no! all we end up with is a whole lot more dirty water .

why is it we think we can mingle the world's sin and ungodly attitudes with the things of God and think we will be a pure bride that he is returning for ?
if we have the Spirit of god dwelling in us .. he is the holy Ghost .he is the highest purity there is upon the earth and he fills us in baptism ..if indeed we have received the baptism.
how is it we could take that which is so holy and profane the living temple to fill our eyes and ears and hearts with all manner of vileness from the world and then ..on a sunday for 1.5 hours think we honor the lord in a offering of worship ? is it esteeming the most high God to bring the vessel filled with unholiness to his presence ?

we pour out our offering to him from a cup that is muddied with the waters of worldness ..
this is not an act of honor ... it is an act of indifference and disdain .. there is no love in such an act .we pour out an offering of muddy water with ful intent to go and muddy it some more as son as church is done .

if your young wife with her new baby on her first ever mother's day ,asked only for a cup of tea and toast in bed .. would you go to your garden and get the water from a mud puddle by the shower drain and mix it with some purified water - then offer it to her ?..would that be honoring her ?.no one in their right mind would say it was .

and yet without a second thought we pour the mud of the world into the cup of our hearts and stain the oil of the holy spirit and so disdain God .. he would rather you never go to church on a sunday but live all other days pure and holy before him .
he does not cleanse us by his blood shed so that we may filthy ourselves again.. but says .. be holy -for I am Holy .

 

[Alithis]

so very many ..ouh such sorry such woe such weeping and gnashing of teeth such endless tragedy will not enter the kingdom of heaven but they shall see those who do and the woe upon them will be all the more intensified because they know and they would not surrender .

but stiff necked they call evil good and good evil .having once believed having once began to follow they left of following . they say i am christian i am christian but do not listen to the voice of the sheppard .. they say " there is nothing wrong with the things I do the programs I watch the movies I attend the drink I enjoy .. they say i will go here and do this or that and have no love for the will of god to seek his will first above all else

they say" lord lord look at all these other things i do in your name" as if it makes up for watching adultery on a sop opera , or the wickedness of violence on movie ,siting and submitting the spirit of god in them to all manner of cursing and taking of the lords name in blasphemies .. and then they lie and say to themselves" i am of god i am of god" .. the lord says to you .. I DO NOT KNOW YOU .. repent of this vileness ,turn away from following after the wickedness of your heart and follow ME .call unto me and turn away and sin no more for if you cal upon me with all your heart i will hear and i will heal and cleanse and set free and restore .. but do not come to me with rebellion in your heart, do not ask me on sunday to forgive you when i see in your heart you plan to go home that very day and repeat your sin.. there is no truth in your words when you do this .you serve me with your lips but your hearts are far from me .you insult the lord God most high who looks upon the heart .

 

[Hammster]

what does it mean to be holy
it means to be set apart for a specific reason goal and purpose .. in this case to be set apart for the reasons of God for the purpose of god to achieve the will of God .

we look so often at the ambiguity of what is holy
but what is not holy ?

a simply measure would be to consider this .. if the lord JESUS (or the angel of the lord ) stood at any moment of your day before you ... would he find that which you arte engaged in doing to be HOLY (separated ) unto the lord ?

when you are shouting at your tv screen in adulation because your sports team won?

when you are watching a favorite tv program and are annoyed because "her husband caught her with her lover "
-perhaps you're favorite sit com which just made a joke promoting homosexuality and degrading God . but but was funny so you laughed - and then suddenly the lord is standing before you his glory and purity ..... ??will you not be ashamed and your sin uncovered ?

perhaps you watch movies or tv and are a very good person.. and you repeat a prayer once a week .. but you never spent a hour in prayer before the lord .. your too busy .. is that a life Holy unto the lord ? or a life separated unto your own will ..? holy unto your own desires ?
in any of a myriad of worldly situations if God is not first in your life .. then something else is
that is the uncomfortable truth .

the lord is gracious he is loving and kind //- we must be those who seek his loving kindness with a whole heart with a heart that so loves him it does not desire the things of the world "first" but desires him first above all else .

that which can be shaken will be shaken .. so if anything in us rises to defend "self " then that is a sure sign it is being shaken ..because it can be shaken . none of these word will effect those whose hearts are right with the lord .

My holiness comes from Christ.

 

[MoreCoffee]

My holiness comes from Christ.

The holiness that comes from Christ is shown in how one chooses to live. As the scripture says "be holy as I am holy" and that is a command not a state of being.

1 Peter 1:14-16 RSV As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, (15) but as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; (16) since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy."​

 

[Hammster]

The holiness that comes from Christ is shown in how one chooses to live. As the scripture says "be holy as I am holy" and that is a command not a state of being.

1 Peter 1:14-16 RSV As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, (15) but as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; (16) since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy."​

The holiness that comes from Christ is that which is imputed to us. We have nothing good in us. Any good we do is Christ doing it in us. So from beginning to end, it's all of Him.

 

[MoreCoffee]

The holiness that comes from Christ is that which is imputed to us. We have nothing good in us. Any good we do is Christ doing it in us. So from beginning to end, it's all of Him.

Show me the passage that says what you say. I am always willing to show you the sources for my statements. It's time for you to pony up with something more than your own opinions.

 

[Hammster]

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. - Galatians 2:20

5 For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death.
6 But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code. - Romans 7:5-6

For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. - Romans 7:18

3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,
4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot.
8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. - Romans 8:3-8

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. - Romans 13:14

If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. - Galatians 5:25

That's for starters.

 

[MoreCoffee]

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. - Galatians 2:20

5 For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. 6 But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code. - Romans 7:5-6

For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. - Romans 7:18

3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. - Romans 8:3-8

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. - Romans 13:14

If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. - Galatians 5:25

That's for starters.

Not one of those passages says that holiness is imputed and that those who are called to be holy need not be actually holy. All of the passages, as far as they say anything about holiness among the faithful, say that the faithful must be actually holy. One of the passages needs to be read more fully than you quote,

Romans 7:14-23 RSV (14) We know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold under sin. (15) I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. (16) Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. (17) So then it is no longer I that do it, but sin which dwells within me. (18) For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. (19) For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. (20) Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin which dwells within me. (21) So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. (22) For I delight in the law of God, in my inmost self, (23) but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin which dwells in my members.​

because in its context it speaks of the inability of the flesh to perform what the Law required.

 

[Hammster]

Not one of those passages says that holiness is imputed and that those who are called to be holy need not be actually holy. All of the passages, as far as they say anything about holiness among the faithful, say that the faithful must be actually holy. One of the passages needs to be read more fully than you quote,

Romans 7:14-23 RSV (14) We know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold under sin. (15) I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. (16) Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. (17) So then it is no longer I that do it, but sin which dwells within me. (18) For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. (19) For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. (20) Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin which dwells within me. (21) So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. (22) For I delight in the law of God, in my inmost self, (23) but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin which dwells in my members.​

because in its context it speaks of the inability of the flesh to perform what the Law required.

I gave support for my quote, which you asked for. I gave support for the truth that our flesh can do nothing good, and the only good we do is because of Christ in us.

 

[MoreCoffee]

I gave support for my quote, which you asked for. I gave support for the truth that our flesh can do nothing good, and the only good we do is because of Christ in us.

You failed to give 'support' for your stated claims but you did post some verses that do not support what you've stated.

 

[Hammster]

You failed to give 'support' for your stated claims but you did post some verses that do not support what you've stated.

I did give support. But your tradition has blinded you. You are so certain that you must contribute in some way to your salvation that you do not understand how to rest in the finished work of Christ. You do not understand that there's nothing good in you, and that any good comes from Christ. You have rejected that truth.

 

[MoreCoffee]

I did give support. But your tradition has blinded you. You are so certain that you must contribute in some way to your salvation that you do not understand how to rest in the finished work of Christ. You do not understand that there's nothing good in you, and that any good comes from Christ. You have rejected that truth.

I can see that facts will not sway you in this discussion.

:fish2:

 

[Hammster]

I can see that facts will not sway you in this discussion.

:fish2:

They have, as revealed in scripture. Your works-based, man-centered arguments will not.

 

[MoreCoffee]

:argue:

 

[Josiah]

The LAW is that we be morally perfect... that we LOVE all 7.2 billion people on the planet as Jesus did as He died on the Cross for us.... that we make disciples of all 7.2 billion people on the planet.... Those aren't recommendations, they aren't suggestions, they aren't goals.... they are commands.

Can we? No. Will we? No. We need to fall to our knees! We need to realize our profound need for MERCY, forgiveness, salvation! We need to cry out, "Lord have MERCY on me, the sinner!" We need to look to the Cross where we find mercy, not in the mirror where we find condemnation, sin, self-centeredness, lovelessness, unrighteousness... We might - in some outward ways - be "better" than some bozo we might find, but we must not let us think I'M therefore "good."

LORD, HAVE MERCY!
CHRIST, HAVE MERCY!
LORD, HAVE MERCY!


Now.... for the Christian, for the saved, for the justified, for the child of God - the law has a SECOND purpose, to show us the will of God, to be a light for our path, to show us how God desires us to be: we'll NEVER achieve it (because we cannot be PERFECT from the microsecond of our conception) but it's held up as the eternal, unchanging plumbline. But even here, in this SECOND function, it condemns, kills, rebukes..... and drives us to our knees. "Chief of sinners though I be....."



Pax


- Josiah