"WHOLLY HOLY!"

Written and preached by David P. Nolte



1 PETER 1:14-19, 2:9, 10


There are many different concepts of what constitutes holiness. The Puritans tried to define and enforce holiness by a set of rules. Some of these rules were called Blue Laws, because they were bound in blue paper. Here are a few: On May 3, 1675 a law was passed that church doors would be locked once the service started. Too many people were leaving early because of the long sermons, which often went on for two hours. (Are those doors locked back there yet?) Church ushers carried fur-tipped rods. When someone went to sleep, he or she was prodded and forced to wake up. (Are the ushers ready this morning?) Puritans were expected to have a round haircut. They were called the "Roundheads." Laws were passed to make it illegal to celebrate Christmas. No one was allowed to travel, cook, make beds, sweep the house, cut hair, or shave on Sunday. No one except a clergyman was allowed to cross a river on Sunday. It was also illegal for a mother to kiss her child on Sunday. If a parent did not have his child baptized, he could be fined 2,000 pounds of tobacco. All in the name of "holiness." Some think that holiness is "other-worldliness" or being absolutely uninvolved in anything like tv or movies, computers or wearing makeup. Some think holiness is flawless moral perfection. Some try to achieve holiness by severe treatment of the body. The ascetics, as they were called, did all sorts of things to abase the flesh and attain holiness. One man sat in a leech infested swamp allowing those little suckers to grab onto his flesh in order to subjugate it. We are called to be holy, but what does that mean? Holiness would be the opposite of profanity or secularism. Holiness is akin to saintliness, or sanctification. It means, literally, to be set apart, to be separated, the idea being to be consecrated, dedicated and devoted to God. But let me address the concept of holiness under three different headings today.
  1. TO BE HOLY IS TO BE DIFFERENT: 1:14:
    1. Dr. Barclay says that the Temple was holy because it was different from other buildings and was for different use; the Sabbath was holy because it was different from other days; the Christian is holy because he/she is different than the non-Christian.
    2. We are admonished to be different! "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." Romans 12:2. Once again, "As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance," 1 Peter 1:14. Be different than the world!
      1. Why? The Bible makes that clear:
        1. Listen to James' rather blunt statement, "You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." James 4:4.
        2. Hear what John said, "Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever." 1 John 2:15-17.
      2. Well, what is the world? Is it this globe we call earth? Nope! Is it all the total of mankind? Nope. What is it?
        1. It is sinful human nature acting according to its own lusts, desires, passions, appetites, pride, arrogance, conceit, and carnality.
        2. It is everything and anything that is antagonistic to God.
        3. It is whatever weans us from God and His way: unbelief, secularism, the occult, greed, envy, materialism and so on.
        4. It is whatever weakens or vitiates our Christian character, morals and ethics.
      3. So, holiness is being different than that! The King James version calls us "Peculiar people" in 2:9. That doesn't mean goofy, odd-ball, off the wall or weird. The world may consider us that, but that isn't the meaning of the word "peculiar." It means different, out of the ordinary, deviating from the custom of the world.
    3. To be holy is to be motivated by a different cause, to march to a different drummer, to walk in a different path, to head for a different destiny, to embrace a different God, to be governed by different standards, and to cherish different ideals than the godless world.
    4. Let me tell you about my oldest sister, Helene. She used to be hard nosed, racist, proud, worldly and ornery. And those were her good points. I baptized her and she changed so much that her daughter said, "I think Mother has gone crazy. She's so different. She likes everybody." Well, she was different! She became holy. To be holy is to be different.
  1. TO BE HOLY IS TO BE CONFORMED: 1:15, 16:
    1. While we are to be different than the world, we are to be conformed to the likeness of Christ. That's just two sides of the same coin.
    2. Paul said,
      1. "Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had." Philippians 2:5 (NLT).
      2. "For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn, with many brothers and sisters." Romans 8:29 (NLT).
      3. "I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me. So I live my life in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."Galatians 2:20 (NLT).
    3. Holy ones, different than the world, are conformed to Christ, His will, His way, His nature, His values, His purposes. This is not mere "miming" or "copy-catting."
      1. It is the product of the Holy Spirit working in you, His holy Temples.
      2. It is the outward manifestation of an inward renovation performed by God's Spirit.
      3. It is the product of conversion, regeneration, the new birth wrought by God's Spirit.
    4. I want to illustrate how this works in life. A little boy was standing outside a shoe store looking longingly at the shoes. His own shoes were worn out; there were holes in the soles, holes in the sides; they were a mass of holes held together by a little bit of shoe. A lady walking by noticed the little boy and his shoes. She saw him looking at the shoes in the window. She said, "Come along, son," and took him into the store. She bought him the best pair of shoes they had for a little fellow. As they walked out the store, the little boy, beaming, said, "Gee, thanks, lady! Are you God's wife?" Well, she was God's servant, at the very least. She was holy; she was conformed to Christ. She showed so much Christlikeness that it was evident to the little boy. To be holy is to be conformed to Christ.
  1. TO BE HOLY IS TO BE DEDICATED: 2:9, 10:
    1. When a Jew wanted to offer a sacrifice, a lamb or ox or bull or some produce of his land, he would set apart the first and best, dedicating it to God. Because it was set apart, or dedicated, it was holy.
    2. Our bodies become our sacrifice to God. Paul wrote about making our bodies holy through dedication: "I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship." Romans 12:1. Our bodies are to be dedicated to God, to His purposes and for His use.
      1. "Do you not know that you are a Temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the Temple of God, God will destroy him, for the Temple of God is holy, and that is what you are." 1 Corinthians 3:16-17.
      2. "Or do you not know that your body is a Temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body." 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.
    3. Since God has paid such a price for us, dedicating ourselves to Him is reasonable. The principle applies not only to our bodies but to our minds, wills, affections and abilities. All that we have and are ought to be dedicated to God - that makes us holy.
    4. When our daughter, Keri, was about 3 I'd sometimes take her out calling with me. We'd stop at a store and I'd buy her a couple of gum balls. She'd pop one into her little mouth and chomp away. The second gum ball she'd say was "for mommy!" After a few minutes of chewing, she'd say, "Mommy won't care if I take a bite of her gum ball." So she'd nibble off a chunk. Then, "Mommy won't care if I take another bite of her gum ball." After about 3 or 4 chomps, she'd have a pin head sized gum ball on the tip of her tiny finger. Marching into the house she'd say, proudly, "Here, Mommy! I got you this gum ball!" Are we not often like that? We dedicate something to God and then say, "God won't care if I just take this part of it for myself," and we do that until we hand him a pin head sized chunk of our life. That's not what holiness is about, friend. Holiness is dedication of the whole gum ball!
God calls us to be His own holy people. That means we have to be different than the world. That means that we need to be conformed to the likeness of Christ. That means we must dedicate everything over which we exercise any control or sense of possession to His use and purposes. The work of sanctifying is the work of God, but the decision to be sanctified, or holy, is ours. You can choose today to be a holy person. You can be different, you can grow to be like Christ, and you can dedicate everything to Him. That's your choice. Will you choose to be holy? Will you be separated from the world and be different? Will you cling to Christ and grow into His likeness? Will you dedicate all you have and are to Him? He's calling you to be holy. He's calling you to salvation. He's calling you to Himself. You can hear with the ears of your spirit and heart if you will just listen. You can hear Him through the noise of the world if you pay attention. Softly, tenderly, earnestly, patiently He calls us to live a holy life. You can be different. You can be Christlike. You can be dedicated. He calls you to that. How will you answer his call?
 

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