True Holiness

Scripture:

Isaiah 6:3 And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."

Observation:

The throne, the attending seraphim (angels), and the threefold holy all stressed God's holiness. Seraphim were a type of angel whose name is derived from the word for "burn," perhaps indicating their purity as God's ministers. In a time when moral and spiritual decay had peaked, it was important for Isaiah to see God in his holiness. Holiness means "morally perfect, pure, and set apart from all sin." We also need to discover God's holiness. Our daily frustrations, society's pressures, and our shortcomings narrow our view of God. We need the Bible's view of God as high and lifted up to empower us to deal with our problems and concerns. God's moral perfection, properly seen, will purify us from sin, cleanse our mind of our problems, and enable us to worship and to serve.

Application:

Isaiah saw God in His holiness, then Peter reminds us that God requires for us to strive for holiness:

1 Peter 1:15-16 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; (16) for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."

Peter's words mean that all parts of our lives and character should be in the process of becoming conformed, both inwardly and outwardly, to God's standards. After people commit their lives to Christ, they sometimes still feel a pull back to their old ways. Peter tells us to be like our heavenly Father—holy in everything we do.

Holiness means being totally devoted or dedicated to God, set aside for his special use and set apart from sin and its influence. We cannot become holy on our own, but God gives us his Holy Spirit to help us obey and to give us power to overcome sin. Don't use the excuse that you can't help slipping into sin. Rely on God's power to free you from sin's grip.

There are three thoughts underlying the word "holy."

First, the idea of separation.
Second, brightness
Third, moral purity

Isaiah saw God in His holiness and was vividly reminded of his own impurity. Then hundreds of years later, Simon Peter reminds us that we are to "be holy" as God is holy. The only way we can do this is through the precious blood of Jesus, and the influence of the Holy Spirit.

As we walk in holiness we need to be separated in the way we live. We talk differently, walk differently, live differently than those who are not Christians. Too often we are NO different than the unsaved. We will never be the influence that we are called to be if we do not allow the Lord to separate us. Their should be a marked difference between the Christian and the non-Christian.

We should walk in brightness as well. Remember that Jesus told us we are to be the "light of the world." As we allow Jesus to be seen in our daily life, His light will shine through us.

Then we are to walk in purity. The Greek word is hagneia where we get our word "hygiene." It means pure from defilement, not contaminated, clean. Again, the only way we walk in "purity" is by and through the shed blood of Jesus. As the hymn goes, "what can wash away my sins...NOTHING, but the blood of Jesus." Thank God for His blood. But I must make the choice DAILY to walk in the purity that He brings into my life.

So, if I am to walk in holiness today, I must be separated and act, talk, and walk differently than those who are not living for the Lord, walk in the brightness of God's light, and live in the purity of God's blood. That is indeed HOLINESS.

Prayer:

"Lord, I choose to walk in Holiness today. Too often holiness has been associated with what one wears, or the style of their hair. But you have reminded me today that holiness starts in the heart. May I show this day that I am separated, and live, talk, and walk differently than I used to. May I let Your light shine through and before me, and may I walk in purity. Because You Word says plainly that only the "pure in heart shall see God." In Jesus name, amen!"