Sunday Reflection–Holiness

How’s your holiness today?  That’s not a word that we use that often in our every day lives.

Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. (Hebrews 12:14-15)

The Greek word for holiness is ‘hagiasmos’ which means purity and comes from the root word for sacred.  It literally means to set apart – set apart our thoughts, our words, our actions, our lives.

The writer of Hebrews says that without holiness we aren’t going to see the Lord.  So, how do we become holy?  Do we earn it?  Where does it come from?

Paul gives us a pretty good clue in his letter to those pesky Christians in Corinth.

Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God. We have done so not according to worldly wisdom but according to God's grace. (2 Corinthians 1:12-13)

I’m supposed to be holy, but if holy is purity I come way, way short all the time.  But it seems that holiness comes from God – through his grace.  That means it’s a gift.  Our task is to live it out in our lives – to let God’s holiness change who we are, what we do.

You, however, did not come to know Christ that way.  Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:20-24)

Holiness comes from the new self created – by whom?  Created by God through Christ Jesus.  When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to live within us and brings us the holiness that can come only from Him.