During
2016 I will be doing most of my newsletter articles on the topic of
holiness. Holiness is very important to
who we are as United Methodists, at least historically. I will say more about that in a future
article. This time I want to simply get
a definition out on the table.
Holy
simply means set apart. Holiness
is a scary word because when we hear the word “holy” we think it means being
perfect, or really good, or at least better than we are. While there is a
behavioral element to holiness, the true definition of holiness lies
elsewhere. The true definition of holy
is sacred or set apart for special use; not common, different.
God
is holy. Holiness
begins with God. God is the only one who
is truly holy and he alone is the source of all holiness and he alone makes all
things holy. The Bible says, “Holy,
holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.” The
Hebrew word for holy is kadosh and
Hebrews has no superlatives, like good, better, best, so repetition in Hebrew
is like saying good, better best. In
saying that God is holy we are not just saying that he is morally perfect but
also that he is wholly other than us.
God’s
stuff and God’s people are holy. Because
God is holy the people and things that belong to God are holy, like the Holy
Bible. Since all things belong to God,
in a way, you could say that everything is holy. However, we talk of the church and its people
as being holy in a particular way. The
church and its people belong to God and have been set aside for special use by
God, kind of like the good china. You
don’t use the good china just any old time and, when you do use, you are
careful with it. We should treat the
things of the church and the people of the church, ourselves and others, with
the same kind of care.
Positional
Holiness and Practical Holiness: If you
have put you faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you belong to God
and are positionally holy, holy by position because you belong to God. The problem is, however, that we don’t always
act like we are holy. We are not holy
practically, in practice. It is like we
are using the good china to eat pizza in the living room while watching
football. Even worse, imagine playing a
game of poker, complete with scotch and cigars, on the altar of the
church. That is what it is like when
God’s people do not act as if they are holy.
This series is dedicated to helping us understand the doctrine of
holiness and begin to live, with God’s help, like the holy people God has
created us to be.
