So, what’s holiness got to do with it?

So, what’s holiness got to do with it?            



God takes holiness seriously.

Preparations had gone on for weeks and weeks and the time had come.

It was the very first of the priestly ministry of Aaron and his two sons, Nadab and Abihu. God had given specific instructions. The young priests and their garments were precisely prepared and consecrated with anointing oil. The tabernacle was complete, consecrated, and anointed. The congregation had gathered.


It was time. But something went terribly wrong.


According to Leviticus 10:1-2 NKJV, “Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censor and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. So fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord.” WOW!


God is serious about holiness. 
Notice that key word, profane. God does not take kindly to anyone profaning what He calls holy. Let’s repeat that: God does not take kindly to anyone profaning what He calls holy. The word profane literally means strange or unauthorized. It is calling common or using in a common way something which God calls holy.

Image from Pinterest

Here are some examples: His name (Isaiah 57:15). “You shall not profane My holy name, but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel. I am the Lord who sanctifies You” (Leviticus 22:32 NKJV). When someone misuses the name of God, Jesus, or Holy Spirit they are profaning the name of Jehovah God—i.e., profanity. The tithe (Leviticus 27:30-33). When someone uses the tithe for anything other than God’s Kingdom, they’re calling common something God declares holy.  


God is serious about holiness. The occurrence with Nadab and Abihu has always troubled me, but God is God and He is sovereign. He knew what was best at that moment in time. 


In His mercy, we currently live in what many call “the age of grace.” Thankfully, God does not consume us with fire when we profane a thing He has declared to be holy. I would have certainly been zapped a long time ago.  But we should be on notice that God sees our infractions yet stands ready to forgive when we repent. With the shedding of His innocent blood, Jesus took the punishment we deserve for all our sins. Thank You, Jesus!


I appreciate the grace period offered at our public library. If I don’t return a book by the due date, I have a few days of grace which allow me to get it there without penalty. If I don’t get the book there before the end of the grace period, then I must pay up. No one knows the day nor the hour when this cosmic grace period we’re living in will end (Matthew 25:13). When it does end, people will need to pay up. It is urgent to be ready for that day (John 12:47).


After establishing the church in Thessalonica, Paul had been away for a while. He was pleased when Timothy brought back a good report of the growing faith and love of the young ministry, despite affliction and persecution.  Paul sent a letter of encouragement back to the Thessalonians, encouraging them to “stand fast in the Lord” and exhorting them to remain moral and pure, especially regarding sexual behavior (1 Thessalonians 3:8; 4:1-8).


Paul wrote, “And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father in the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints” (1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 NKJV). “For God did not call us to uncleanness, but to holiness. Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit.” (1 Thessalonians 4:7-8).


Paul encourages us to be blameless in holiness. In rejecting this call of God, we are rejecting God. I think we’d all agree that without God’s Spirit is us, we cannot be holy, as Paul reminds us at the end of verse 8. Holiness is a minute by minute relationship with our Creator. It is what separates us from the world and worldliness. Holiness is putting on the robe of Christ’s righteousness and standing firm in faith. 


Being holy is choosing to be set apart from cares, distractions, ways of our flesh, and the world’s systems. Instead, we need to walk out and be dedicated to the sacred purpose* of God’s divine call on the life of each of us. I like that term, sacred purpose. The purpose God created each of us for is a sacred thing. We can be confident that His ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:9) and the outcome will be a life of fullness in joy, hope, peace, and love—a life that leaves a powerful legacy of eternal value for those following behind.


Yes, the call to holiness is a tall order for any human being but the power of holiness brings cosmic results in terms of Eternity. Can you think of someone who influenced you because they lived out the sacred purpose God called them to? Now, think of someone who is coming behind you—who is being influenced by you as you walk out the sacred purpose—the holiness—to which God has called you.


I often remind myself of James’ words, “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16b NKJV). If I want my prayers to avail much, then I need to be mindful of the call to holiness and live righteously. I did not say perfectly. I fall short more than I want to admit but God knows my heart and sees my efforts. And I’m so grateful for the Holy Spirit helping me.  


Will you pray with me? Holy Father, You know me well, even my every thought and each beat of my heart. Please help me to live holy before You. Sometimes it’s hard and I falter, doing things I don’t want to do and know I shouldn’t do. But Lord, you always stand ready to forgive me when I come to the place of repentance. Thank You. And thank You for Your Holy Spirit in me, putting a check in my spirit, correcting me, encouraging me, and helping me. You’re so full of love and grace. Thank You, Lord. In Jesus name, Amen.


©Copyright 2019 Connie Wohlford

*sacred purpose – I really like this term.  Spirit-Filled Life Bible; Thomas Nelson Publishing; 1991; Word Wealth for Leviticus 19:2; page 171

Be Holy Like God Is Holy—Say what?! (Part 2)

Be Holy Like God Is Holy—Say what?!   (Part 2)

Let’s talk some more about being holy, picking up in 1 Peter 1:16, “because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.”

Being a good Jew, Peter knew the Torah and knew God had spoken these very words, recorded in Leviticus 11:46, 19:2, and 20:7. Now after years of struggling to keep the Law, Peter had the answer to holiness and was passionately sharing the Good News with others—the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

This doesn’t mean we’ll never falter and sin again. We still have human weaknesses and will commit sins along the way. But as followers of Jesus, we have the indwelling Holy Spirit. He helps us discern right from wrong and gives us strength and courage to choose to do God’s will.

When we do sin, He helps us know we’ve done wrong and encourages repentance. We need to be quick to repent, receive God’s forgiveness and move on, allowing those episodes to be growing experiences.

With that in mind, let’s back up to verse 14. “As obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy’” (1 Peter 1:14-16).

Consider “former lusts.” Old habits die hard. Having victory over sins we hate to love is an important aspect of maturing in faith.

As Peter said, “in your ignorance: these former fleshly desires were a part of your life—maybe even a part of your identity. People don’t instantly loose the desire for sinful habits when they get saved. And many times we’re involved in activities that we don’t even realize are sinful or we just don’t realize they interfere with our spiritual growth. This is ignorance—it is not knowing or lack of understanding.

Once we know what’s right in God’s eyes we’re then responsible to do it. That knowing what’s right comes from reading and studying God’s Word and from sitting under sound Bible preaching and teaching. Some people avoid Bible study because they don’t want to know all God’s truth. One needn’t think this will slip by our omniscient Heavenly Father, who knows the thoughts, desires, motives, and intents of the heart of every person. We’ll all be held accountable for what we do and should do.

Don’t think this teaching isn’t getting my attention. I’m studying this for myself as much as for anyone else. Typing and posting it causes pause for me as much as anyone else.

This all sounds a bit harsh—like God is a big ogre, standing over, watching our every move, ready to clobber us when we commit an infraction. (An ogre, according to folklore, is a man-eating giant.)

That’s truly not the case. He’s a loving Father who wants the best for each of His children. He desires to correct us and steer us onto the right path. Jesus said, “I have come that they might have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10b).

We cannot do this in our own power. The reality is we must be daily—minute-by-minute—connected to our Savior, Jesus, if we want our best outcome. His Holy Spirit comes to reside in each of us when we get saved—that is, born-again. We’re given superpowers. That’s not to say we can fly or leap over buildings or pick up a house.

But with the Holy Spirit in us we can have the mind of Christ, our desires can be changed from self-focused to God pleasing desires, and we can overcome sin by allowing Holy Spirit to direct our thoughts, words, and actions. It’s our choice. We have free will to do things God’s way or our own way. Our own way is typically selfish, likely unwise, and very possibly influenced by demonic entities.

When we are born-again, in that moment we’re made clean—purified from all sins we’ve ever committed. Yes, all. Take a deep breath and think about that for a moment.

The shed blood of Jesus washes over and through us, removing all past sins. It’s an amazing supernatural work of God. Sin must be punished and Jesus took on the punishment for all mankind.

We each have a choice then—to believe in Jesus and receive His gift of grace and forgiveness or to reject His offer. Free will...it’s our choice.

Those of us who say, “Yes,” to Jesus are then washed clean and are given His pure robe of righteousness and sanctification (1 Corinthians 1:30). We are made holy, as He is holy.

We therefore are at peace with God, through Christ. As we reach for Christ-like holiness, we must be mindful that Jesus is our example of holiness, never looking to another person to emulate. I recommend we all read through the Gospels and learn Jesus.

As we learn of Him, trust Him more each day, depend on His Holy Spirit indwelling us, and pray we can live beyond the limitations of our humanness. And we can be confident that when we do falter and commit a sin, He stands ready and quick to forgive when we repent.

I want to end with this thought: we can never pray too much. Prayer is key in all things. We must talk to God continuously and listen for Him to speak back through His Word, through His Spirit to our spirit, and through other people. Pray without ceasing and remember God has made a way for us to be holy.

Your comments are welcome.

©Copyright 2017 Connie Wohlford

Be Holy Like God Is Holy—Say What?! (Part 1)

Be Holy Like God Is Holy—Say What?! (Part 1)  

Today I want to continue in 1 Peter, Chapter 1. In writing to followers of Jesus, the Apostle Peter gave instructions on righteous living. Referring back to my blog post of August 30, 2017, we see Peter extolling the people to: 1- Gird up the loins of their minds—bracing up to take action. 2- Be sober—that is be watchful and self-controlled. 3- Rest in the hope and grace abundantly provided by the revelation of Christ Jesus in our spirits and lives. (1 Peter 1:13)

From Pinterest

With that in mind, let’s carry on. Peter’s exhortation and his sentence continues on to where the rubber meets the road. Verses 14-15: “as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’”

WOW! God is calling us to be holy like Him. We need to not freak out and loose heart at this appeal. Peter knew God and knew human nature. He was very familiar with his own weaknesses. Don’t think for a moment he had no recollection of denying Jesus three times on the night Jesus could have used his support the most.  

This is why we need to equip ourselves to be faithful followers of Jesus. Look again at the words of Peter. 

Let’s review the earlier part of this chapter and see the progression:

Through God’s mercy we were born again (v.3) → into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus (v.3) → to an incorruptible, undefiled, everlasting inheritance (v.4) → and are kept by the power of God (v.5) → though, for a short time, we’re grieved with trials (v.6) → but our genuine faith, being tested, is more precious and more lasting than gold (v.7) → giving praise, honor, and glory to Jesus who we love though we’ve not yet seen Him (v.8) → receiving the result of our faith—salvation of our souls (v.9) → of which the prophets foretold, that the grace would come to us (v.10) → and revealed beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow (v.11) → and for us the ministering of those preaching the Gospel by the Holy Spirit, sent from Heaven (v.12) → so we must gird up the loins of our minds, be sober, and rest our hope fully upon the grace of Christ (v.13) → being obedient children not returning to our past sins as ignorant sinners → but as He who called us is holy we should be holy in all our behavior (v.15) → because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

Notice, we began this journey as a result of God’s great mercy—that is His amazing grace and love for us in that while we were still sinners, Jesus died for us (Romans 5:8). Then in the end we come to mature faith, aiming to be holy as He is holy.

It’s true that the moment we are born-again all our sins are washed away and we stand clean and without the stain of sin. But then as we continue living we commit sins because we still are human and have weaknesses. As we grow in knowledge and understanding of our Lord, we become more like Him and sin less often and less egregiously.  This is the process of being sanctified and equipped to live according to God’s will. In meditating on these verses it appears that the keys to being holy are five-fold:

1- Have genuine faith. Without genuine faith the desire and revelation of the value of obedience to God is simply not there. The person whose faith isn’t real will have no, or very little, yearning to follow the teachings of Jesus nor will they seek to obey Christ at all costs. Basically that person lacks passion for God and His ways.

2- Gird up the loins of our minds. We need to continuously renew our minds with God’s Word. The Word goes through our minds to get into our spirits and becomes a part of who we are. The essence of Christ becomes the essence of ourselves when we feed on and digest Scripture. We’re then girding up, strengthening our minds and wills, discarding hindrances and burdensome weights that stand in the way of freely running the race Christ sets before each of us. 

3- Be sober. This comes as we gird up the loins of our minds. We’ll become more mindful and will be cautious to recognize the wiles of the devil. The charms of Satan are his deception, trickery, and trap setting. We must be sober and watchful to avoid his crafty plans for us. And we need to soberly follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. 

This narrative may sound quite serious and void of fun but, while it’s definitely serious, it is surely not void of fun. When we follow Christ we’re embarking on a life adventure which we probably would never have imagined for ourselves. It will likely include more thrills and pure joy than we thought possible for our one small life. That’s because we’ll be doing our own part in God’s cosmic plan for His huge created universe. Oh, the far-reaching results of one person’s abandoned life of service to the Savior is beyond our imagination. Look at Billy Graham, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Mother Teresa.

4- As we do the above, we can rest in living hope, trusting our Lord with the results through Jesus Christ. 

5- And, as Peter warned, we need to be careful not to fall back into any old bad habits or former ways from when we were ignorant of Jesus and His desires for us. That would be plum stupid.

So these things we are to do to honor and obey our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, as obedient children, not conforming ourselves to former lusts, as in our ignorance; but as He who called us is holy we can also be holy in all our conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

As we learn of Him, trust Him more each day, and depend on His Holy Spirit indwelling us, we can live beyond the limitations of our humanness. In my next blog post we’ll continue looking at the “how to” of being holy and overcoming the temptations of falling back into our former sins.

©Copyright 2017 Connie Wohlford