Unholiness

We know how essential holiness is to our life and destiny.  The nouns hagiasmos and hagiosune mean “separation” or the manifestation of holiness or separation.  Hagiotes means to set apart or separate, and the adjective hagios means “holy” or “separated from sin and therefore consecrated to God, sacred.”[1]  Those who have been separated to God are hagioi, “saints” or “separated ones,” those “set apart” to God and His service. The verb hagiazo means to make holy, sanctify, consecrate, or to separate.

At the point of salvation, believers are “called of Jesus Christ” and “called as saints” (Romans 1:6-7).  We are “holy” ones or “separated” ones through the work of God and Christ Jesus and the indwelling Holy Spirit.  Peter explains this: “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy’” (1 Peter 1:14-16).  Since God is holy (cf. Revelation 4:8), we also are to be holy, for we are to be “imitators of God, as beloved children” (Ephesians 5:1).  We must “purify” ourselves so that we will be like Jesus when He returns (1 John 3:1-3).

Holiness is not an optional part to our lives.  Not only are we “holy” ones or those “separated” from sin to God, but we are to live holy, consecrated, and separated lives for the Lord.  The Hebrew writer says, “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14, ESV; cf. Matthew 5:8).  We must have holiness or moral separation if we would ever see God!  Sin cannot be in God’s holy presence, thus we must be holy to go to heaven.  Those guilty of unforgiven sin will be cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 21:8) and will be forbidden to enter the City of God (v. 21; 22:15).  Therefore, “the one who is holy” must “still keep himself holy” if he would enter God’s eternal presence (22:11).

Can we see now why it is deadly to partake of any unholiness?  Many make fun of the devoted Christian by saying that he is “too holy” to partake of the office or workplace sin.  In reality this is true. We are too holy to indulge in unholy practices of the world.  They may call someone a “holier than thou” for his insistence on holy standards, but let them do so.  We must passionately pursue holiness (Hebrews 12:14).  The “God of peace” is to “sanctify [make us holy] entirely” so that our “spirit and soul and body” will “be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

Since we have died to sin and been raised to walk a new life, embodied in baptism, we are to present our members (the members of our body) “as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification [holiness]” (Romans 6:19; cf. vv. 1-18).  Thus, Paul admonishes us, “Now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification [holiness], and the outcome eternal life” (v. 22).  If we wish to enter God’s presence in heaven, we must be holy!  If we fall into unholy thinking and unholy behavior, we will never see God (Hebrews 12:14).

 

[1] W. E. Vine, Expository Dictionary.