Holiness

Reading the Word the other day, I began to ponder what it means to be "holy". My favorite passage on the subject is 1 Peter 1, especially verses 13-16:

"Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy.'"

Growing up, the word holy was tossed around a lot in my vocabulary- specifically "Holy Cow". The word "cow" was often substituted for whatever word was popular around that time, including words such as "cheese" and "schniekies". I remember briefly discussing with either my parents or a Sunday School teacher how cows/cheese/etc. weren't necessarily "holy", but that didn't stop my usage of the word. It did seem a tad bit odd that I would say "holy cow" and then each Sunday/Wed. night would sing "Holy is the Lord!" The two didn't seem to compare but, again, it didn't really matter to me too much.

According to an OT Word Study, 'The words "holy" or "sanctify" are often interpreted to mean "righteous" or "pure" or something similar. But the basic concept of the word qadosh and its related words is that of "apartness" or "distinction." (www.christianleadershipcenter.org) Strong's Concordance defines "holy" and the Hebrew word qadosh as "set apart". As Peter writes in his epistle, God is holy- perfectly holy, at that. There is nothing unholy about Him. This is why the four living creatures in Revelation are flying around singing "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty..." (Rev. 4:8) Get used to the word "holy"- it appears that we'll be singing it for a long time. So as I pondered the word "holy" and it's meaning, the analogy of basketball shoes came to mind.

My basketball shoes might not be top-of-the-line, but I try to treat them like they are. I have literally "set" them "apart" from my other shoes, because I want them to last as long as possible. My ballin' shoes are used exclusively for playing basketball, and only on indoor surfaces (preferably hardwood). I don't use them to walk around, to play soccer, football, frisbee, or play in the rain. Why not? Because that's not what they were made for. They function best when they are doing what they were created to do.

We need to treat ourselves like basketball shoes. God created us to be holy, we screwed it up, but through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ (according to the Father's will, for His glory), we are called again to be "holy", just as He is holy. This command is found throughout the Bible- including Leviticus 11:44, in 1 Peter 1:16.

You may have heard the word "sanctification" used before- it means "to be made holy", and this is the process of the Spirit working in our lives to make us more like Christ. But if it's something the Spirit needs to do inside of us, why does Peter say "Be holy"? Because we've been given a choice to follow Christ (or not to). Many times I, myself, fail mightily in this area, choosing the worldly, temporary pleasures over the eternal Treasure I've been given.

Going back to my childhood, I remember quoting the made-up verse "Be in the world, but not of the world" (it's actually a combination of John 17:11 and 16), and using this "verse" to justify my ventures into worldliness. "It's a great way to witness!" I would tell myself, thinking it necessary to know (experience) the world in order to be a great witness. But in growing in my understanding of the word "holy" and our calling to be holy, as our Father in Heaven is, I see that it means being distinct from the world. Set apart from worldly pleasures, etc.

2 Timothy 2:20-22: "Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart."

Recognize- we're called to "cleanse" ourselves from the worldly things, not immerse ourselves in them. Does this mean we should go all 'legalistic' and abstain from everything the world throws at us? Not necessarily. But don't call someone legalistic when they seek to abstain from the world (be it wine/alcohol, certain movies, TV shows, etc) out of love for God and a desire to honor Him.

I encourage you to take a minute or two and prayerfully consider this question: am I setting myself apart as "holy" unto the Lord- distinct from the world? And even moreso, am I setting myself apart not just from things, but from a worldly mindset when it comes to approaching all aspects of life?

This is not an easy process- sanctification. Looking a little earlier in 1 Peter 1 (it's really a gem of a chapter), you'll see Peter write about the testing of faith being like "gold being refined by fire" (v. 7). It's painful! But glorious- not for us, but for Jesus Christ.

Simple encouragements for pursuing holiness: make Jesus THE priority of your life. Not a priority. Not the top priority. But THE priority. When you do this, you will see the rest of life through His eyes and He will receive all the glory. Romans 12:1-2 and verses 13-15 are great starting places for pursuing holiness. Don't conform to the patterns of the world, but be transformed by Christ. Is it really such a bad thing to be seen as "different" by people of the world? Isn't that what we're called to be (1 Peter 2:11-12)?

Be the basketball shoes. Pursue holiness for the glory of God. Worship Him for His holiness in all you do.

In His love...
Luke

The Humility of being Humbled

I have the privilege of leading a small group of guys with Chi Alpha at VCU, and this past week we studied Philippians 2:3-6. We ended up getting into a discussion about humility (naturally, considering the passage) and I taught according to what I interpreted certain passages to mean. Admittedly, I didn't prepare as thoroughly as I should have, and after studying much more the following day, I typed up a 'retraction' e-mail to send to my guys. Below is the body of my e-mail; what I believe humility to be according to the Holy Scriptures.

Food for thought:

Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less. -CS Lewis

Humility cannot be achieved by human effort alone, but it's a natural fruit born from a strong relationship with the Lord. (John 15:5) That being said, Paul does call us to "put on... humility" at least twice (Eph. 4:2, Col. 3:12), so it's evident that we have a responsibility to discipline ourselves in growing in our relationship with the Lord. The believer grows towards humility as his understanding of how amazing God is expands. The greater our knowledge becomes, the more we absolutely are humbled, knowing that we cannot begin to compare to something so incredible. As we Love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love our neighbor as ourselves, humility will come (Mark 12:30-31).

Humility is seeking God's approval alone- not man's praise. (Galatians 1:10; Luke 18:18-19)
When Jesus says "Why do you call me good? There is none good but God alone." I used to assume that he meant that He didn't consider Himself good and was distancing Himself from the Father. After reading Matthew Henry's commentary on the passage, however, it is not that Jesus didn't consider Himself equal with God, but instead He was not seeking man's praise, but giving it to God. He understood that He IS good and the very essence of God (Hebrews 1:3, Colossians 1:15), but because his purpose was to exalt God in all that He did, when the man tried to heap praise on Jesus, He so desired for God to receive the glory that He responded with a question and gave it to Him. He did not deny being good, which is something I never noticed before. Henry finishes the conversation: "Why callest thou me good? Thou knowest there is none good but one, that is, God. And doest thou take me for God? If so, thou art right."
Rob Rhoden wrote in a recent blog post that "[Jesus] never looked for affirmation from those around Him but only from His heavenly Father", and as we're called to follow His example, this must be our attitude towards praise, as well.
Adam Clarke writes in his commentary of Philippians 2:5-6: "...the word arpagmon, which we translate 'robbery', has been supposed to imply a thing eagerly to be seized, coveted, or desired; and on this interpretation the passage has been translated: 'Who, being in the form of God, did not think it a matter to be earnestly desired to appear equal to God, but made Himself of no reputation"... However the word be translated, it does not affect the deity of God.
In the ESV Study Bible, it writes "Remarkably, Christ did not imagine that having 'equality with God' (which he already possessed) should lead Him to hold onto His privileges at all costs. It was not something to be grasped, to be kept and exploited for his own benefit or advantage. Instead, He had a mind-set of service. "Christ did not please Himself" (Romans 15:3). In humility, He counted the interests of others as more significant than His own." So although Christ knew He was equal with God, He didn't exploit that or use it to His own advantage, but instead gave God all the credit and glory (although He Himself was God).

Humility is striving to make much of God in everything you think, say and do. (Philippians 1:20; John 3:30) Just as Paul desired for Christ to be magnified in his body, whether that meant life or death, and John the Baptist understood this truth as well, stating the importance of making much of God in all he did: "He must increase, but I must decrease." The more we seek to make much of God, the less we will think of ourselves. The more we seek to put on the "mind of Christ", the less we will dwell on whether or not we can think this or that and be swept away by the majesty of our Awesome God.

Humility is putting others before yourself, literally esteeming their needs and desires as more significant than your own (Phil 2:3-4)- God first and always, and other people around the world as a way of putting God first (Matthew 25; Mark 12:30-31).

Humility never thinks of oneself as "too good" for anyone or anything, but 'associates with the lowly'/gives itself to humble tasks. (Romans 12:16)

In summary, I now believe that I was wrong in my interpretation of Philippians 2:6. I believe that Jesus knew He was God incarnate and did not choose not to think about it, but He just had no desire for human praise or affirmation, which makes sense with His response in Luke 18. He was so caught up in the Father's glory and making Him known that He 'did not think it a matter to be earnestly desired to appear equal to God', although He knew that He was.

I think if we ask ourselves "if we're the best at what we do, how can we be humble about it?" The simple answer is to think of how amazing God is, and that alone should humble us. But as we persist in finding ways to be arrogant, we should strive to make much of God in all we do (the purpose of the Gospel, according to David Platt, Radical) and to put others before ourselves. In this way we will learn humility through action and fulfill Paul's exhortations in Ephesians and Colossians.

When our ultimate goal is to glorify and exalt God in all that we think, say, and do, and our greatest desire is to know God and make Him known, we stop thinking about ourselves and humility is born by Him, through Him and for Him.

Luke