WHAT DO I UNDERSTAND ABOUT BEING HOLY?
Sakkie Parsons
Translated from the Afrikaans Version: Wat verstaan ek onder heiligmaking?
Translator: Lynda Botha
Someone asked my opinion on 1 Peter 1:15-16 which is about being holy.
I would like to share my response to this person, the way I understand it, with you. Some of the Scriptures I quote from the New Living Translation because it is understandable.
For starters:
For me, it is only logical that if our Lord wanted me to do or accomplish something, that it is surely feasible and possible.
First read here:
1 PET 1:15 “But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy.”
1 PET 1:16 “For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”
This case, because I do not wish to call it a problem, deepens even more if you remember that there was written:
It is Jesus who is speaking here:
MAT 5:48 “But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in Heaven is perfect.”
I believe that the beginning of holiness ends with love for God and my fellow man.
Let me explain.
Paul writes:
COL 3:10-14
10 “Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like Him.”
11 “In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and He lives in all of us.”
12 “Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.”
13 “Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.”
14 “Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.”
Read here what Jesus said regarding love the first time He spoke about it in the Word of God.
Pay special attention to His words when He concludes this topic:
MAT 5:43-48
43 “You have heard the law that says, “Love your neighbor” and hate your enemy.”
44 “But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!”
45 “In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in Heaven. For He gives His sunlight to both the evil and the good, and He sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.”
46 “If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much.”
47 “If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that.”
48 “But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in Heaven is perfect.”
Remember what Jesus said about the law?
MAT 5:17 “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.”
Jesus changed the disciplinary law, that were a strict disciplinary measure put into place to keep people in line, into the law of love.
GAL 3:24 “Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith.”.
Read here how Jesus changed the disciplinary law into the law of love:
MAT 22: 35-40
35 “One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap Him with this question:”
36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
37 “Jesus replied: “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.”
38 “This is the first and greatest commandment.”
39 “A second is equally important: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
40 “The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
If I love the Lord the way Jesus said we should love Him, I will not do deliberate actions that will disappoint Him.
In fact, I will do my utmost best just to do the opposite.
If I love my neighbor as myself, as expected by Jesus from me, I would always want the best for my neighbor just as I would for myself.
Of course, because I am human, I would fail – but for me is this the crux of the matter:
I would never think, say or do anything intentionally wrong against our Lord.
Now someone will say, “I can relate to what you have written."
"I will never intentionally think, say or do anything wrong against our Lord."
I would say: You are doing good but remember that the Lord expects the same of my behavior towards my neighbor. Because it is written:
MAT 22:39 “A second is equally important: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
ROM 13:8 “Owe nothing to anyone – except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law.”
Have you had any dealings with someone who is filled with the Lord’s love?
I have and I also had the privilege to get to know these people.
Sometimes, although not always since I am not always so attuned, I would know when I am in the presence of someone who lives very closely to the Lord. During most of my conversations, I would notice the people who really strive for holiness because I can feel the love that our Lord speaks about.
Nearing the end of my letter, I would like to show you another Scripture.
It is written:
1 COR 13:13 “Three things will last forever – faith, hope and love – and the greatest of these is love.”
Someone might argue:
"How is it possible that my faith in our Lord count less than my love for Him?"
Someone else might add:
"How is it possible that my hope in our Lord count less than my love for Him?"
Because the answer is –
God is Love !!!
1 JOH 4:7 “Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God.”
1 JOH 4:8 “But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”
So my friend:
1 PET 1:15 “But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy.”
1 PET 1:16 “For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”MAT 5:48 “But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in Heaven is perfect.”
Remember my friend that for a child of God, a true Christian, love for our Lord and my fellow man is not negotiable.
MAT 5:43-48
43 “You have heard the law that says, “Love your neighbor” and hate your enemy.”
44 “But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!”
45 “In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in Heaven. For He gives His sunlight to both the evil and the good, and He sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.”
46 “If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much.”
47 “If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that.”
48 “But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in Heaven is perfect.”
MAT 22:37-40
37 “Jesus replied: “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.”
38 “This is the first and greatest commandment.”
39 “A second is equally important: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
40 “The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”1 JOH 4:12 “No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and His love is brought to full expression in us.”
I conclude my letter with the following prayer out of my heart and I ask every time that you read the word “we” you read "us" as well. Because I, like many of us, still have much work concerning this matter as there was written:
HEB 12:14 “Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.”
Here is my prayer for you and me and everyone who read this:
1 THE 5:23 “Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.”
Greetings,
Sakkie