Christian Living

Holy For What

by Terry Barlow
11/03/15
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The Apostle Peter enjoins us to be holy as God is holy, quoting Leviticus 11 verses44-45 in his first epistle the first chapter.   We are not to be holy only for the sake of being holy but because our God is a holy God.  The idea is not to put our holiness on display exclaiming, “look how holy I am!!”  The idea is not to make holiness an end in itself.

A great Bible teacher testified that God once told him that the two of them (he and God) were incompatible in their relationship,  and then God added emphatically, “And I don’t change!”

The idea is to be holy so as to be compatible with a holy God.  It is for the sake of our relationship(s) with Him and His with us.   Likewise we don’t strive to be Christlike  just to be Christlike but rather to be better able to relate to Christ and have Him relate to us.  Holiness and purity and the like is all about relationship and the fellowship that flows within that relationship both with God and each other.  “Blessed are the pure on heart,” says the sixth beatitude.   But why are they blessed, because they know they’re pure?  No, “they shall see God” through that purity.  Again it points to relationship with God.  Also certain of our brethren are becoming holy.  For us to remain in fellowship with them we too must be made holy.

When Father GOD saw His very own image reflected in Abraham who was ready to sacrifice his only son (even as GOD would do yielding His only begotten Son over to a brutal death on the cross of Calvary) yes when GOD saw Himself in Abraham those promises of eternal blessing poured forth in abundance.  Why?  Because at last He had a man to whom He could relate, a man with whom He could walk and talk, as He once had with Adam.