Holiness is meant to be an essential part of the life of a follower of Jesus, since we are instructed to “Make every effort… to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14, NIV). Yet holiness has gone out of fashion in much of the Church today, and that has resulted in – or perhaps is merely a symptom of — a lukewarmness and loss of vitality. There are many reasons for the decline in the emphasis on holiness, which include past abuse of the idea of holiness, making it into a type of legalism, which expects conformity and maintaining a righteous outward image; and a wrong teaching on grace, making grace into a license to sin rather than a means of restoration and reconciliation with God shop viagra online This trouble does not have to conquest an individual sexual life for the reason that the medicine takes effect so quickly. Later on, it can also lower blood pressure, relieve stress and build confidence. online viagra uk Fake viagra properien pose a real possibility that they may have been manufactured in factories with no real medical accreditation and no standard or quality protocols. If used viagra online no rx safely on people who are not vulnerable to its effects due to health conditions, Kamagra is absolutely a wonder drug. as we grow in faith.
The Hebrew word for “holy” is “qodesh” which can be alternatively translated in the Bible as “consecrated, set apart, and dedicated” (NAS Exhaustive Concordance). A synonym to these is “devoted”, which I prefer because the other words are often used as describing the state imparted to a person and therefore is external while “devoted” is used more often to describe something that a person has chosen and is internal. Jesus made fun of the external holiness of religious leaders, calling them “whitewashed tombs” (Matthew 23:27) and he extended what the law taught on murder and adultery to internal attitudes that could eventually produce the prohibited behaviors – anger and lust (Matthew 5:21-30).
Being devoted means that we are focused on loving God with our whole beings. It lays on the inside the foundation for true holiness which ultimately leads to an external holiness that can be observed by others even without us advertising it. It is not a difficult way of life, but it is different than many are taught. It is highly relational, as Jesus called us to walk closely with him and learn from him (Matthew 11:28-30). The Apostle Paul emphasizes the relational aspect of holiness, as well, telling us that if we walk by the Spirit the external aspect of holiness will take care of itself (Galatians 5:16-23).
My hope is that true holiness will come back into fashion, as it is not only a command for followers of Jesus but also the only way the Church will be able to fulfill its mandate to be a light and a hope to a lost world. May all who read this be like the yeast in Jesus’s parable in Matthew 13:33, spreading true holiness until the whole world is changed.