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2nd October 2024
WednesdayReflection
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'Ed Jarrett shares'
'a fragile, fallible follower of Jesus'
"Be holy"
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Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the LORD your God. Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the LORD, who makes you holy.
..... Leviticus 20:7-8 NIV
Reading Leviticus can be challenging.
It is filled with rules about sacrifices, holy days, what you can eat, and things that defile.
Leviticus is about being holy.
It is a call for us to live holy lives, distinct from the people who live around us.
I suspect most of us are uncomfortable with the idea of being holy.
To be holy is to be set apart.
To be distinct from our culture and what it values.
But being different can be uncomfortable, and most of us would prefer to fit in.
God has made us holy, redeeming us from slavery to sin and bringing us into his family, setting us apart from the rest of the world.
And he expects us to live lives that reflect that reality.
We should be holy because of the LORD God, because of what he has done for us.
In 1 Peter 1:15-16 where we are told,
"But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: 'Be holy, because I am holy.'"
Holiness is not just for the elite Christian (whatever that is) but is for all of us.
But somehow, we have managed to convince ourselves that it is OK not to be holy.
It is good enough to live a decent life, hang out with other Christians sometimes, be a part of a church, read the Bible, and put some money into the offering plate.
Leviticus is a challenging read for many today.
A primary emphasis of Leviticus is holiness.
Now, if I am set apart for God's use, then it would make sense that I will avoid sin in my life.
But that is only a side effect of being holy.
Its primary meaning is that I am available for whatever God wants to use me for.
Today we are often guilty of dividing Christians into two camps.
Those who make a living from some kind of "Christian" ministry, and those who don't, the lay people.
And we might understand the professionals as being holy, set apart for God's use.
After all, he is said to have called them into full-time Christian service.
But the rest of us are not called to full-time Christian service.
Are we?
Look back at Leviticus for a moment.
What is it that sets people and things aside for God?
It was the sprinkling of the blood of an animal on that person or thing.
So how much more would it be true that those people who are sprinkled with the blood of Jesus would be set apart?
All true believers have been set apart. We are all holy before God.
We Are to Be Holy
The other usage of this word has to do with our day-to-day life.
We are holy, but also called to be holy.
To live our lives in a way that reflects the positional holiness that is ours.
We might call this practical holiness.
Romans 6:11, while not using the word holy, reflects this well.
We have been crucified, buried, and resurrected with Christ.
So
"In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus." Let your practical life reflect your position in Christ.
As mentioned at the beginning, practical holiness is not a matter of doing good, of being a goody-two-shoes.
Instead, it refers to us being where God wants us to be, doing what he wants us to do.
You may be a firefighter, a doctor, a computer programmer, a grocery clerk, or flipping burgers at a fast-food joint.
If that is where God wants you, and you are doing it for his glory, that is being holy.
Our leisure time should reflect holiness as well.
If I want to be holy, then everything I do should reflect my having been set apart for God's service.
I am not my own. I was bought with a price (1 Cor. 6:20).
So serving God with all I am is my reasonable response.
We are holy. But we are also called to be holy.
To live practical lives of holiness that mirror our position as holy in God's sight.
Holiness is not just for the select few.
It is for all believers, as Hebrews 12:14 points out,
"Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness, no one will see the Lord."
><(((°>
This is an edited version.
The full article, and Bible references, is avaiable on request
'Ed Jarrett '
I am a clay jar,
a fragile, fallible follower of Jesus.
And this blog is a reflection of who I am and what God is doing in me.
My hope and prayer are that God will use this site to his glory and that it will be a helpful resource to the body of Christ.
A Clay Jar focuses primarily on theology, the study of God, and all that he is doing in his creation.
I do not pretend to have all of the answers to life's big questions or even most of the little ones.
But I love the opportunity to share the fruit of my reflections on the Bible and life with you.
Theologically, I affirm the Nicene Creed and all other early church creeds.
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