"Be ye Holy; for I am Holy" (1 Peter 1:16) is the command of scripture. Let me say this at the start so there is no misunderstanding of what I am saying. Unless a person has been imputed with the righteousness of Christ, quitting all known sins will not improve their standing before God! It is the intent of this essay to show those who have been imputed with the righteousness of Christ how to "walk worthy of God" (1 Thessalonians 2:12).
I have considered this issue of personal holiness for some time. When I first became a Christian, there were alot of things that I changed in my life. I changed the music I listen to, the places I went, my friends, and the language I used. Though these things were a good thing to do, they were not enough. These changes were outward only. Being holy is much more than what a person does not do. The Pharasies are our models for having a holy appearance on the outside, but full of corruption on the inside. And what is God's charge against them?
Woe, unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are
like unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful
outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all
uncleaness. Matthew 23:27
Any effort to only reform one's outside appearance will leave one in
frustration. Let me present to you the instructions God gives us to
live a Holy life.
But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy,
filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another,
seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have
put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image
him that created him: Colossians 3:8-10
We see first the need for Christ's imputed righteousness. The putting off
of the old man, and the putting on the new man. This first act of God
in regenerating a person, is a model for the rest of our lives. A person
becomes more like Jesus by doing the things Jesus would do. If one
is doing the deeds of Jesus, guess what deeds are not getting done? One
cannot be doing the deeds of Jesus and Satan at the same time. It is
impossible. If a person is facing North, as a result they are not facing
South. This is the model we are given for Holy living. Lets look at a
few more verses that will confirm this point further.
This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill
the lust of the flesh. Galatians 5:16
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things
are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are
pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good
report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think
on these things. Philippians 4:8
But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after
righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
1 Timothy 6:11
As is abundantly clear now, we can be holy by following after
righteousness. Quitting every sin will get you no where, unless you
follow after righteousness.
Do not get into the trap of trying to be good to please someone else. The results of this are only temporary. A person can clean up their act for a season, but unless an inward change has occurred the changes will not last. Only changes that God makes in a person's life will be lasting. This is an important thing for us to remember. I have seen many attempt to make changes in their life, only to find that years later their condition is no better. If a person is not changing because of their desire to follow after righteousness, all will come to nothing. Consider this lesson in scripture.
When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through
dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will
return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come,
he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. Then goeth he, and
taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself,
and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man
is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this
wicked generaton. Matthew 12:43-45
The caution in the above verses is to be aware of trying to reform yourself
in your own strength. It is very possible that you will only make your
situation worse. When the unclean spirit went out of the man, it appears
that the man took advantage of the situation, and cleaned himself up.
Yet since the empty space was not filled with something Godly, the unclean
spirit came back with other spirits.
The scriptures tell us that God is a jealous God, and will not share His place with anyone or anything.
God is jealous, and the Lord revengeth; the Lord revengeth, and
is furious; the Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries, and
he reserveth wrath for his enemies. Nahum 1:2
And that is just what is needed to fill a void. Someone who will fight
any enemies that will try to reclaim their territory. And God will
do just that. Any territory that you give Him will be kept from falling
into enemy hands. Thus simply removing something from one's life,
without something to takes its place is rather dangerous.
The underlying Bible truth that we are applying to the "Be Ye Holy" command is "God's presence separates sin". We would not have any addicts if they would apply this principal. Addicts know how difficult it is breaking the grip of sin. But instead of turning to the Sin Breaker, they buy the same lie that man with the unclean spirit did about 2,000 years ago. "I'll get rid of the unclean spirit and tidy up my house". This method did not work then, and it will not work today.
When the wicked Philistines captured the Ark of God, they soon found that God's presence separates sin.
But the hand of the Lord was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he
destroyed them, and smote them with emerods, even Ashdod and the
coasts thereof. And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so,
they said, The ark of the God of Isreal shall not abide with us:
for his hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our god.
1 Samuel 5:6-7
When the men of Ashdod realized that the Ark of God was causing all this
suffering, they sent the Ark of God to Gath. The hand of God was then
against Gath. "Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it
came to pass, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites
cried out, saying, They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel
to us, to slay us and our people. (1 Samuel 5:10)
The ark of God symbolizes the presence of God. Sin can not abide with God. Thus God's presence is exactly what must replace the sin in our life. Nothing else will do. There is no short-cut or any other way. When the Ekronites found the Ark of God in their possession, and a deadly destruction throughout all the city, they sent the ark of God back to the Israel! God's presence separates sin.
The applications of this are wide any varying. But let me address the most deceitful of all, the mind. When the mind is idle, it is most at risk. Everything said thus far is equally applicable to the mind. We should strive and make every effort to fill our mind with the things of God. When one is reading the Bible, or in prayer, the mind is the most secure. Filling the mind with Godly thoughts does take discipline. The easiest thing to do is to let your mind drift aimlessly from thought to thought. But God tells us to "Be Ye Holy", for in the end, it shall all be worth it. My soul will be exceedingly glad if only I heard the words "Well done, thou good and faithful servant" (Matthew 25:21) from my Lord after I die.