A Return to Holiness

“Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts” (rf. Is. 6:3)

“…Holy is His name” (rf. Lk. 1:49)

            To be holy is to be set apart, separate, sanctified. God Himself is the perfect essence of separation in that He is sinless, having no blemish whatsoever in His righteous character. Yet out of His purity, He exhibits a love of such immense proportions as to extend to sinners, such as ourselves who deserve His wrath in the light of His holiness, the promise and gift of salvation solely upon our receiving of it. This is grace, indeed…but I digress from the point of this article.

            As followers of the Lord, the Scriptures state that we are to be reflectors of His holiness (rf. Dt. 7:6; Eph. 1:4). In our personal and public lives, we are called to be separate from the world in how we live, the things we say and do, because of our obedience to His Word and His Spirit (rf. II Cor. 6:14-18). 

            Yet, unfortunately, it is apparent how few things that professed believers in Christ actually believe to be holy or sacred (an alternative word for “holy”) today, including themselves. Most do not fear God, but treat Him as a grandfather figure or a good friend who can be counted upon in bad times, but is not necessarily required during the times of favor. Neither human life nor marriage are viewed as sacred with both subjects seen as disposable in relation to our personal wants, whims or conveniences. Even the house of God is no longer understood to be a holy place or “sanctuary” where, in times past, one tread the floors with awe, silence, and respect (and taught their children to do the same) because you were in the special place set aside for the worship of Almighty God. Now, the house of God has become just another open space, not unlike a regular theatre, auditorium or warehouse with no real significance, because the awe, respect, and concept of holiness has been thoroughly removed.

            The world needs to know this truth of holiness even if it will never appreciate it, simply because it is a reflection of God’s holiness. We as His people are responsible for displaying it to them. In order for that to happen, we must recommit ourselves to this concept and truth first. We must possess the fear, awe and respect for God in how we worship Him. We must show ourselves to be a “holy people” by a clear and defined separateness from the culture and world around us, teaching our children by word and example to do the same. We must uphold the things that God’s Word deems to be sacred or holy (i.e. the Lord’s Day, human life, marriage, our bodies, the ministerial calling, etc.), promoting them as such to others so that they will begin to understand and possess this important concept as well.

            If we make such a commitment to a return to holiness, we may yet see a renewal in the Church as God’s people begin to distinguish themselves once again as His “peculiar people” that He intends them to be. May this long-needed separation start today with each of us.

Struggling with Adversity

“Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” (rf. Job 2:10)

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (rf. Rom. 8:28)

            How easy it is for us to pursue a life of comfort and bliss! Indeed, it is the very goal for which are designed, according to the teachings of our culture and society. We are to avoid pain and suffering at all costs, seeking only to drive down roads that assure us of personal victory, freedom, and absolute well-being.

            It is then no secret that we are so caught off-guard when sudden tragedy and loss takes us unawares. Most of us live within a theological construct that does not provide for God to allow (or even direct) negative things to enter our lives. Much akin to the “Health, Wealth and Prosperity Gospel” is the belief system that many professing evangelical Christians have today that affirms God as never letting anything bad to happen to His children. Should something amiss occur, according to this faith understanding, the event or episode cannot be attributed to God in any way. It must be either our fault as human beings or originate as the work of our enemy, Satan along with his minions. Yet, this is a very dangerous and unbiblical perspective for God’s people to uphold, namely, because it undermines the doctrine of God’s unswerving sovereignty over His creation, including mankind.

            The Scriptures make it clear that God is so in control over all things that, as it states, He “caus(es) well-being and creat(es) calamity; (He is) the Lord who does all these” (rf. Is. 45:7). Notice what the passage does not say. God is not the author or originator of evil. Let’s make that abundantly clear. We look at disaster and tragedy as evil because, as sinners, we tend to view anything negative as evil, even opinions opposite those of our own. However, everything that God purposes, accomplishes, or allows to occur is righteous. It cannot be otherwise because of His holy character. Therefore, the Apostle Paul is absolutely correct in Romans 8:28 when he states, “all things”, in terms of good and bad as we perceive them. Job also had this understanding, by faith, in his ability to accept both good and “adversity” at the hands of the Lord. Job knew the Lord was behind the actions taken in his life because he believed in His absolute sovereignty, yet trusted implicitly in His great love for him.

            So should we do the same. Job was undeterred in his faith, so that by the end of the book by his name, this sovereign Lord rewarded Job’s trust in God. The Apostle Paul knew the same sovereign God in the Person of Jesus Christ, believing in Him completely to provide for Paul throughout the highs and lows of his life. In their faith in this God of the Scripture, they are our examples. As we go forward with the challenges of life, may we likewise know that this God who loves us immeasurably will be with us in “all things” good and bad, as He “creates peace and…calamity”. He has promised never to leave His children even until He takes us home to be with Him forever. We can trust Him to keep His word, living in the assurance that whatever may come, He will be with us to see us through it until the end.

"No Other Gods"

“You shall have no other gods before Me” (rf. Ex. 20:3)

            As believers in Christ, we know that idolatry is wrong according to the Scriptures. After all, it is a flagrant violation of the Ten Commandments. Like the rich young ruler of Jesus’ day (rf. Mt. 19:16-26), we pride ourselves on the fact that we have successfully fulfilled all of these precepts of Almighty God. Besides that, as Americans, the concept of idolatry conjures up pictures of natives or ancient men and women bowing down to rough graven stone or wooden images in their ignorance, to acquire the beneficence of unseen gods for the sustenance of their particular race of people. We, of the present, would never deign to stoop so low! Or would we? Do we?

            The truth is the people of God throughout the Bible never dreamed they would fall prey to the lure of gods other than the one true God…but they did. In the Old Testament, they were drawn away to worshiping Baal, Ashtoreth, and Molech, to name a few. New Testament believers found themselves torn between Jesus and Caesar, who fashioned himself to be the god of the Roman Empire. It is no different today. Only the names of the gods have changed.

            Now we are being drawn away from our devotion to the Lord by, not only charismatic leaders and their promises, but also our careers, pursuits of selfish interests and pride, not to mention the corporate and cultural gods of sports, technology, media, sex, political correctness, and others too many to name. Our worship and dedication to these gods takes the form of time, energies, and finances spent in service to them, diverted from the God-ordained institutions of family and His Church who should be the recipients of these precious investments. As a result of our idolatry, God is not at all pleased with us and we wonder why our lives are out of order, full of chaos and discord.

            The Lord demands single-minded devotion for those who choose to call themselves by His holy Name. He requires that we “love (Him) with all (our) heart, with all (our) soul, with all (our) mind, and with all (our) strength” (rf. Mk. 12:30). We can only do this by being fully surrendered to and controlled by His Holy Spirit at all times. Since we, like God’s people of old, have fallen under the spell of idolatry of one form or another, thankfully, He offers us His forgiveness and redemption, the opportunity to return to Him for a restart in regards to our relationship with Him in Christ Jesus our Lord. Jesus continues His merciful ways toward His people, endeavoring to keep us focused on Him even as the world and the surrounding culture seeks to pull us away.

Dealing with Change

“There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven…” (rf. Eccl. 3:1).

            For so many people, the word, “change”, seems to be a word of profanity, the proverbial “four-letter word”. This appears especially true for those moving up in age and for those involved in the Christian church. Imagine then how we begin to feel about the prospect of change if we are church-going, aging adults! We long for a supposed time, day and place wherein everything always remains constant, where things and people are never anything but dependable, and the days follow each other in monotonous succession with invariable sameness. A number who read these words might say that this would be their idea of “heaven on earth”.

            However, according to the Scriptures, especially as we consider the very passage that continues from Solomon’s words here in chapter three of Ecclesiastes, we must be reminded of an eternal truth found in our temporal reality—change happens! Indeed, change is part and parcel of our human existence. It is inherently woven in the warp and woof of our lives, so to speak. We cannot nor ever will not escape the prospect of change. Solomon in this text declares that “there is a time for every event under heaven” and that these “event(s)” bring the very changes that we speak of, as in birth, death, wars, peacetime, grief and sadness, joy and happiness, etc. Thankfully, in the Providence of God, there is a never a dull moment in human life because He both allows and brings change into our lives to draw us closer to Him and to instill greater and deeper faith and growth in our understanding of His character and the truth of His Word.

            Therefore, we should not nor ever fear change. We should, rather, be flexible, pliable in His hands, for Him to mold us, shape us, and to make us more into the image of His dear Son, Jesus Christ, day by day, year by year. After all, the Scriptures tell us that He is the Potter, we are but clay in His hands (rf. Is. 45:9). Let us then, whether as individual believers or as a local church body, place ourselves completely at the Lord’s disposal and say, as our beloved Savior did who always serves as our supreme example, “Not as I will, but as You will” (rf. Mt. 26:39 NKJV). Let us welcome the changes, good or bad, heartbreaking or joyous, that God Providentially brings into our lives, knowing that He only has our best interests at heart in bringing about His glory (rf. Rom. 8:28) and the reflection of His Son in us as He prepares eventually to receive us into His Presence once our journey and mission on this earth is complete.