If we want to teach our children anything important, we repeat it over and over until it becomes ingrained in their impressionable minds and in their lives. If something recurs numerous times in scripture, this may indicate an important matter God expects us to take to heart. In multiple forms, wording related to “holiness” appears well over a thousand times in the Bible, variously rendered “holy,” “holiness,” “sanctify,” “sanctification,” and “saints.” These expressions in the Greek NT, from the hágios word family, basically convey the sense of being “set apart” and “different” from anything contrary to God and his perfect will.
God himself is holy (Isa. 6:3) and through his holy word calls upon his people to be holy (Lev. 11:44; 19:2; 20:7; 1 Pet. 1:14-16). The triune Godhead makes our sanctification/holiness possible. The God of peace sanctifies (1 Thess. 5:23), Jesus sanctifies (Heb. 13:12), the Holy Spirit sanctifies (Rom. 15:16), the Spirit-inspired word sanctifies (John 17:17, 19; Eph. 5:26).
The Importance of Holiness
The primary focus of passages like 1 Thess. 3:13–4:8 is holiness. In view of the coming judgment, the stated goal for the reading audience is “to strengthen your hearts, blameless in holiness …” (1 Thess. 3:13).1 Our duty or obligation is to “walk” (live, conduct ourselves) accordingly, and the ultimate aim is “to please God” (1 Thess. 4:1; cf. 2:4, 15; Rom. 8:8; 1 Cor. 7:32; 2 Cor. 5:9; Gal. 1:10).
“For this is the will of God …” (1 Thess. 4:3a). The divine will has been revealed and is therefore knowable (cf. 1 Cor. 2:9-13; Eph. 3:3-5; 5:17). Here God’s revealed will is “your sanctification,” i.e., to be different (holy) and set apart from the sinful world. The admonition is directed to “each of you” (1 Thess. 4:4). There is an individual responsibility for everyone to “possess his own vessel,” i.e., continually and habitually control one’s own physical body2 “in holiness and honor.” This is God’s purpose for his people.
To reject a life of holiness is to reject the will of God (1 Thess. 4:5-8) and the very reason Jesus suffered and died for us (Heb. 10:10). To accept anything less than a life of holiness is to reject, despise, and dishonor the sacrifice of Jesus (Heb. 10:29). The cross is proof that a holy God cannot simply ignore sin. God’s holiness has demanded that the debt be paid. “Mercy and justice meet at Calvary; love and holiness join hands at the cross” (Rex Banks). Without holiness, one cannot spend eternity with the Lord (Heb. 12:14). One cannot be a Christian, go to heaven, or be with God unless one submits to the biblical pattern of holy living.
The Process of Holiness
Sanctification begins with our initial obedience to the gospel (1 Cor. 6:11) but must be maintained (Rom. 6:19, 22). As we present ourselves as slaves of righteousness for holiness/sanctification (Rom. 6:1-19), this must continue for the rest of our lives (Rom. 12:1-2). Holiness does not mean we will ever be sinlessly perfect, but with God’s help we are striving toward that goal. The opposite would be resigning ourselves to a life of complacency, not even trying to be holy, thus taking God’s grace for granted, abusing it, and conforming to the mold of this sinful world (2 Tim. 2:21). Saints (sanctified ones) are not holy by mere verbal profession but are to be holy in real life. The world doesn’t need a church that looks like the world!
The Pursuit of Holiness
“Pursue … holiness, without which no one will see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14). This is not something that occurs automatically or easily or by accident (2 Cor. 7:1; Heb. 12:10). In an absolute sense only God is holy (Rev. 15:4), but it is his will for us that we do our imperfect best to pursue it.
Practical application involves moral purity (1 Thess. 4:3). The only way to engage in sexual activity without being immoral is for each man to have his own wife and each woman her own husband (1 Cor. 7:2).3 While fleeing sexual immorality (1 Cor. 6:18), Christians should avoid compromising situations, like being alone with someone outside marriage where there is mutual attraction, open displays of seductive materials, online pornography, and places where people tend to dress immodestly. Make the commitment that Joseph made, so when faced with temptation the automatic response is: “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” (Gen. 39:9). The Christian is different from others in a world where abstinence and restraint are rarely taken seriously. We are called to a life of holiness.
Married couples must honor marriage vows, respecting and submitting to God’s teaching on marriage. Matt. 19:9 will be in our Bible until Jesus returns. One can ignore it, reject it, twist it, water it down, and explain it away, but it will continue to say the same thing: “whoever has divorced his wife, except for sexual infidelity, and has married another, is committing adultery …” Christian marriages must be different, because of holiness, in a world where divorce and remarriage are commonplace.
Holiness must characterize every aspect of our lives. The Bible does not specifically prescribe exact measurements and rules about how short, low, sheer, or tight one’s clothing can be. Nevertheless, in addition to the principle of modesty (1 Tim. 2:9-10), the Bible does call us to a life of holiness, and this in itself ought to govern the way we dress.
The Bible does not contain the explicit statement, “You shall not drink alcoholic beverages.” But being called to a life of holiness leads us away from anything that will damage our influence, lower our inhibitions, impair our judgment, or is associated with and responsible for so much evil in the world. Holiness is a way of life. It must govern our every decision, our every word, and our every action.
Conclusion
Holiness is possible. God does not expect what we are incapable of doing or being. The Bible sets forth these basic principles regarding holiness. (1) The biblical importance of holiness indicates the priority it must take in our thinking and our lives. (2) The process of holiness involves our cooperation with God; while we cannot do this alone, we must be proactive and do our part. (3) The pursuit of holiness implies intentionality and effort. Because sanctification is the revealed will of God for every Christian, like Jesus we ought to prioritize the divine will above our own (Matt. 6:10; 26:39; John 8:29). The pursuit of holiness must therefore be a primary focus for every child of God.
--Kevin Moore
Endnotes:
1 See K. L. Moore, “Looking in the Wrong Direction,” Moore Perspective (17 Jan. 2018), <Link>. Unless otherwise noted, scripture quotations are the author’s own translation, with emphasis added.
2 See K. L. Moore, “How to Possess Your Own Vessel,” Moore Perspective (7 March 2018), <Link>.
3 Holiness involves abstaining (present tense – ongoing, continual, habitual) from porneia (1 Thess. 4:3b), i.e., any kind of sexual intercourse that is not within a divinely approved marriage (cf. 1 Cor. 7:2; Heb. 13:4). Such a cautionary prohibition was particularly relevant to the mid-first-century Greco-Roman environment, although nearly twenty centuries later its applicability is still very relevant. Sexual permissiveness, perversion, and promiscuity were the norm in Paul’s day, not unlike the environment in which we currently live.
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