Presented to the Swift Current Corps 13 February 2011
By Captain Michael Ramsay
In some places in Newfoundland apparently when people get so worked up that they start acting not quite so holy as they should, they have an expression to describe it: they call it ‘losing one’s salvation’… In context, for example: “I got so mad I almost lost my salvation over him or her or over this or that.” It’s an extreme expression. One I’m not necessarily 100% comfortable with but I think it does properly link salvation with holiness and it does drive home the importance of keeping our cool and remaining holy even when life seems to be out of control. 1 Peter 1:16: God says, “…be holy because I am holy”
We were at retreat this past week and relating to holiness and even peace in the midst of all the struggles of daily life, our Area Commander Major Judy Regamey shared this story with us. She speaks about two Officers, a husband and wife team:
The husband has had one of those weeks and is really starting to get worked up. He is quite upset so his wife says to him, “Look you need to calm down. Take a break; do something you really like and separate yourself from all the stress of your life right now”
“But I don’t need to take a break…this is important”, he snaps back.
“Come on dear, just take a break, do something you like, separate yourself from your stress for a while”
“Grumble, grumble, grumble”
“Why don’t you do a jigsaw puzzle? You like those”, she says as she walks him out of the room. “As soon as you are done, you should be calm and ready to get back at it.” He consents and she gets back to her work for a while when all of a sudden she hears some language almost unbecoming of an Officer –if you know what I mean- coming from the next room. She takes a breath and goes in to see why he is still so worked up. He usually really likes Jigsaw puzzles. She calls out as she goes to see him, “What’s the matter dear?”
Frazzled as ever, he yells out: “This isn’t working. On the box it is supposed to look like some kind of a bird, a rooster or something but it doesn’t look anything like the picture on the box.”
“There is a reason it doesn’t look like the rooster on the box but that’s all right dear”, she assures him. “Let’s just get a cup of tea and then I can help you put all the cornflakes back in the box.”
1 Peter 1:16: God says, “…be holy because I am holy.” The tenth doctrine of The Salvation Army says, “We believe that it is the privilege of all believers to be wholly sanctified [which means to be holy], and that their whole spirit and soul and body may be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” In our doctrine we rightly link blamelessness to holiness and sanctification. This is interesting. Have you ever really looked into what holiness is in the Bible? After all it is recorded in 1 Peter 1:16, that we are looking at today that God says, “…be holy because I am holy.” Captain Mark Braye, in Ontario, is compiling a book on this topic of holiness and has asked me to write a chapter or two on Biblical and environmental holiness so I have been looking into this subject a little bit lately. Did you know that both the Old and the New Testaments have more to say about holiness than about any other attribute of God? (Cf. Luke 1:49, John 17:11, 1 Peter 1:15-16, Revelation 4:8 and 6:10 for example)[1]
Leviticus speaks about holiness more than any other Old Testament book and the first time scripture records that God says, “…be holy because I am holy” is in Leviticus 11:44-45. Let’s take a quick look at that and see if we can learn anything about what the Bible means by holiness and what it means to be holy, shall we? Leviticus 11:41-45:
“‘Every creature that moves along the ground is to be regarded as unclean; it is not to be eaten. 42 You are not to eat any creature that moves along the ground [like snakes, lizards or centipedes], whether it moves on its belly or walks on all fours or on many feet; it is unclean. 43 Do not defile yourselves by any of these creatures. Do not make yourselves unclean by means of them or be made unclean by them . 44 I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by [eating] any creature that moves along the ground [like snakes, lizards or centipedes]. 45 I am the LORD, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.
So, if you want to be holy don’t eat centipedes or other bugs or snakes and lizards that crawl on the ground.[2] So as you go this week, I know this might sound harsh but I really don’t want to see anyone eating centipedes for lunch because God says, Leviticus 11:44,45 and 1 Peter 1:16, “…be holy because I am holy.”
While this is true, there is more to holiness than not eating centipedes and lizards obviously. God’s command to “be holy because I am holy” appears again in Leviticus 19:2 at the beginning of a most important chapter in a portion of Scripture known as the Holiness Code: Leviticus 17-27. This is where God tells us in detail some of what it will look like when we are holy as the LORD our God is holy. I am going to give you a quiz now to see how much more you already know about Old Testament holiness and the Holiness Code. Are you ready? Which of these things are a part of being holy as God is holy? True or False, let’s see how we do. A holy person…
1) Will say bad things about a deaf person when they are right in front of them because they can’t hear them anyway and a holy person will trip a bind person. (F: Leviticus 19:14)
2) Won’t ever get a tattoo anywhere on his body (T: Leviticus 19:18)
3) Will rebuke their neighbour when he does something wrong (T: Leviticus 19:17)
4) Will show favouritism to the poor (F: Leviticus 19:15)
5) Will leave food out in the fields for the poor and the immigrants to collect (T: Leviticus 19:9)
6) Won’t cut the sides of their hair or trim their beard (T: Leviticus 19:27)
7) Will check their horoscopes daily and get their palms read periodically (F: Leviticus 19:26, 31)
8) Won’t plant two different kinds of seeds in his field (T: Leviticus 19:19)
9) Will treat the immigrant the same way as you do a local; you won’t give them extra barriers or challenges (T: Leviticus 19:33-34)
10) Won’t wear cotton and polyester blends (T: Leviticus 19:19)
The list in this Holiness Code goes on for quite a while: Leviticus 19 tells us that when people are holy like God is holy we will respect our parents, we will observe the Sabbath, we will not make idols or worship anyone other than God, we will look after the poor, we will not steal, we will not lie or deceive one another, we will not pervert justice or show favouritism (in that context), we won’t hate our neighbour or seek revenge. Leviticus Chapter 25 also tells us that if we are holy than we will look after the environment. The land is God’s and if we the people do not take care of what is God’s, then He will not let us use it any more.[3] This Holiness Code, Leviticus 17-27, is extensive. Now this code is in the Old Testament and more than that, it is part of the Law which has been fulfilled (cf. Matthew 5:17-18). The Law has been completed now so how do all of these things about Old Testament holiness recorded in Leviticus apply to the New Testament and First Peter and how do all of these things apply to us today? We will look at that in a little bit.
It is really interesting, as I am researching holiness I have been spending quite a bit of time looking at the full meanings of the Greek word (hagios) that Peter uses for ‘holy’ when he tells us, 1 Peter 1:16, that God says “…be holy because I am holy.” Did you know a common New Testament word for Christian is ‘saint’? And did you know that the New Testament word for saint (hagioi) is a variant of this word for holiness, hagios?[4] Every Christian is a saint and every Christian is by definition supposed to be holy. 1 Peter 1:16, God says, “…be holy because I am holy.” As far as the New Testament meaning for the word ‘holy’, we know of course that ‘holy’ in general means to be separate, to be set apart from the normal, the profane things of life, to be different, to be apart (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:30, 1 Thessalonians 4:3-7, 2 Thessalonians 2:13, 1 Peter 1:2).[5] Those laws we read in Leviticus were supposed to show that God’s people are just that. Peter also has some suggestions as to what a holy life will and what it will not look like. Peter writes, Chapter 1 verse 14, that we should be like obedient children – not disobedient children who commit the sin of the book of Judges and do what is right in their own eyes (cf. Judges 21:25) – we should be like obedient children who do what our father tells us to do …like clean our rooms, or go to bed on time, or get up and ready for school on time, or wash the dishes, or pick up our coats up off the floor, or do their homework, or not forget to bring your agendas home, or stop fighting with your sister, or…. We should obey our Heavenly Father like obedient children, not doing just whatever we want to do. We need to obey our Heavenly Father and ‘not confirm to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance’ (1 Peter 1:14). Later on in this epistle, this letter, 1 Peter 4:2-3, Peter records too that when we do this we will live for the will of God. We will not live in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, detestable idolatry, or other forms of self-indulgence.[6] This list that he runs through is not exhaustive and it is very similar to lists we find in Romans 13:13-14, Galatians 5:19-21, and it is not dissimilar to 1 Corinthians 6:9-11. But these aren’t rules that Peter and Paul and others are setting up for us to make us holy.
The Apostle Paul tells us that if we start trying to obtain holiness/salvation through the Law or anything other than the faithfulness of Jesus Christ, then instead of being holy, instead of separating ourselves from sin, indeed we will be separating ourselves from Christ if we try to attain holiness like this (Galatians 5:1-12; cf. Leviticus 20:5).[7] Paul in his letter to the Galatians gets so upset with those who say that we should follow the rules of the old Israelite Law that he goes as far as to say that when they are telling people to get circumcised for religious reasons, he wishes that they -instead of stopping just at circumcision- he wishes that they would go all the way and castrate themselves (Galatians 5:12). Paul’s not too happy about the idea of trying to earn our salvation, of trying to achieve holiness.
The Law was never meant to be merely a list of do’s and don’ts that make us holy or get us saved.[8] Holiness is not a list of do’s and don’ts. It is much different than that. So then what does it mean, 1 Peter 1:16, when God says “…be holy because I am holy”? (Cf. Leviticus 20:5, Galatians 5:1-12)
Hagios, the Greek word here for holiness,[9] Hagios-Holiness literally means, from the Bible dictionaries, applying to God primarily and to the saints secondarily – which is all of us Christians, remember - Hagios-Holiness means to be perfect or to be spiritually pure.[10] G.B. Stevens writes, “It is evident that Hagios[-Holiness] and its kindred words…express something more and higher than ‘hieros’, sacred, outwardly associated with God;…something more than ‘semnos’, worthy, honourable; something more than ‘hagnos’, pure, free from defilement. Hagios[-Holiness] is more comprehensive.”[11] 1 Peter 1:16, God says “…be holy because I am holy” and being holy is more than being sacred, is more than being worthy, is more than being pure. Holiness is more than even being free from defilement. It is being perfect. Holiness is to be like God and God says “…be holy because I am holy!”
How do we do this? How can we possibly do this? How can we be as holy as God is Holy? 1 Peter 1:13 gives us some insight into this. In the NIV, it records for us that we must ‘prepare our minds for action’. What this verse literally translated says is that we are to ‘gird up the loins of our mind.’[12] We know what this means don’t we – ‘to gird up our loins’? In Bible time when men wore long robes when they were going to go to battle or when they were going to actually get down to doing some real physical work, they would take their robes and tie them up about their loins to keep their clothes clean and to keep everything else of theirs in its proper place so that they could work. In our vernacular today, 1 Peter 1:13 would probably say something like we must ‘roll up the sleeves of our minds’ – It says we should get to work and be holy now! Doctrine 10 of The Salvation Army says, “We believe that it is the privilege of all believers to be wholly sanctified [holy], and that their whole spirit and soul and body may be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Note to that as Kistemaker reminds us that this passage isn’t talking about the future. This command to be holy because God is holy isn’t talking about being holy at the resurrection, it isn’t talking about being as holy as God is holy when we die and it isn’t talking about being holy as God is holy when we get to heaven. It is talking about being holy now! The Greek is imperative. It says that we must be holy now as the Lord our God is holy. How can we be as holy as God?
One way is simply not to sin and when we do sin to confess our sins, repent, and start all over again not sinning anymore. Christians, 1 Peter 1:23, says we have already been born anew into this holy blameless life (Cf. 1 Peter 1:3-9). Our souls have already be purified, 1 Peter 1:22, and this is the good news (1 Peter 1:25). The Bible says we don’t need to sin. Just the opposite, here and elsewhere it records, instead we can be to be holy today (1 Peter 1:15, Leviticus 11:44-45, 19:2, 20:7). We can to be morally and positionally perfect today (Psalm 89:35, 2 Corinthians 13, Colossians 1:28, Hebrews 11-12). We can to resist all temptation to be anything less than holy. Isn’t this wonderful? We can be holy today as God Himself is holy. He would never command us to be something that we could not possibly be. He is a loving God; He would not set us up for failure. We can resist all temptation that is thrown our way, we can. James 1:12, ‘Blessed is anyone who endures temptation. Such a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.’[13] When we are holy and resist temptation we will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him (James 1:12).
We know that we don’t do this on our own strength or in our own power. 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 reminds us that it is God that makes us holy. We aren’t holy by anything that we do; we can be only because the Lord our God is holy. Holiness is entirely predicated on the Triune God (cf. Matthew 1:18; Luke 1:35, 49; John 17:11; Acts 3:14, 4:27-30; 2 Timothy 1:14; Titus 3:5; 1 John 2:20; 1 Peter 1:12-16; 2 Peter 1:21; Jude 20; Revelation 4:8, 6:10) and it is through His grace that He offers to every one of us the opportunity, the assignment, should we choose to accept it, to be holy as He is holy (cf. TSA d. 6, 10).[14]
So for any of us today who are struggling, for any of us today who have been struggling to live up to what we have already obtained through the grace of Jesus Christ, for any of us here today who have been holding grudges, for those of us who have had a complaining spirit, for any of us here today who have been trying to do things on our own, for any of us here today who have let anything get in the way of our holiness and by extension in the way of our very relationship with God, we don’t need to. We can really turn our lives over to God and be holy as He is holy. Jesus died and rose again so that we don’t need to be a slave to sin. Instead we really can be holy as the Lord our God is holy.
Let us pray. This prayer for us from 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, ‘May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you (us) through and through. May your (our) whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you (us) is faithful and He will do it.’
[1] Simon J. Kistemaker, Commentary the First Epistle of Peter (NTC: Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2007), 61.
[2] Cf. R. Laird Harris, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Leviticus/Exposition of Leviticus/IV. Laws of Cleanness (11:1-15:33)/A. Clean and Unclean Food (11:1-47), Book Version: 4.0.2
[3] Captain Michael Ramsay, Leviticus 25 1-23 in the Context of the Holiness Code: The Land Shall Observe a Sabbath, presented to William and Catherine Booth College (Fall 2006), available on-line at http://www.sheepspeak.com/OT_Michael_Ramsay.htm#Leviticus 25 1-23
[4] John D.W. Watts. 'Holy.' In Holman Bible Dictionary, general editor Trent C. Butler. Nashville, Tennesee: Holman Bible Publishers, 1991), 660. W.E. Vine. 'Holiness, Holy, Holily.' In Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Word. (Nashville, Tennessee: Royal Publishers Inc., 1939), 555.
[5] W.E. Vine. . 'Holiness, Holy, Holily.' In Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Word. (Nashville, Tennessee: Royal Publishers Inc., 1939), 555.
[6] Cf. Paul J. Achtemeier, “1 Peter 4:1-8,” Interpretation: a Journal of Bible and Theology 65, No. 1 (January 2011): 76-79
[7] N.T. Wright , Justification: God’s Plan and Paul’s Vision. (Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP Academic, 2009), 142
[8] N.T. Wright , Justification: God’s Plan and Paul’s Vision. (Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP Academic, 2009), 142
[9] Cf. The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, ‘40: Hagios’ (Nashville, Tenn.: Thomas Nelson Publishing, 1995), p.1.
[10] John D.W. Watts. 'Holy.' In Holman Bible Dictionary, general editor Trent C. Butler. Nashville, Tennesee: Holman Bible Publishers, 1991), 660. Cf. Paul Minear, Interpretation 37 no 1 Ja 1983, p. 22: In his death and resurrection, Jesus' holiness or sanctification became the measure and standard of all holiness, whether of places, times, things, or persons. (Key passages which reflect this are John 10:36; 17:17-19; I Cor. 1:2; 6:11; Heb. 2:11; 10:10; 12:14-24; 13:12-14.)"
[11] G.B. Stevens in Hastings’ Bible Dictionary. Cited W.E. Vine. 'Holiness, Holy, Holily.' In Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Word. (Nashville, Tennessee: Royal Publishers Inc., 1939), 557.
[12] David L. Bartlett, ‘The First Letter of Peter’ (NIB XII: Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon Press, 1962), 257.
[13]Cf. Captain Michael Ramsay, 'Luke 4 - Jesus' Forty Days’ Presented to Stony Mountain Penitentiary (18 June 2007), available on-line at http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2007/08/luke-4-jesus-forty-days.html
[14] W.E. Vine. . 'Holiness, Holy, Holily.' In Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Word. (Nashville, Tennessee: Royal Publishers Inc., 1939), 556.
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