Aug 27, 2021
For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession (Deuteronomy 7:6).
Today, let’s talk about being holy.
The way I phrased this is not helpful. This phrasing is a common misconception regarding holiness. Both outside the church and inside, holiness is considered as something that Christians do. Along with that, there is a perception that some of us are more holy than others. I occasionally encounter people who assume I am more holy because I am a pastor.
There is some validity to this misperception because we do read, “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do” (1 Peter 1:15). But that text is not the full story. As in most matters, it is important to look at the entire scope of scripture. Certainly, followers of Jesus are to live holy lives, but there is more. This is the second part of being holy.
Our text gives us an essential part of what it means to be holy, which is the first part. For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. Holiness begins not with what we do, but with what God does. He names us his holy people, he choses us, we are his treasured possession.
Peter applies this to the church as well, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:10).
Did you catch what Peter did? He makes clear what I am saying in this devotion. “You are a chosen people…God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him.” God’s choosing comes first, our change of lifestyle comes second, it is a result of being holy.
It is important to understand that if we sin, we do not lose our holiness. We remain God’s holy possession, redeemed in Christ.
Peter may have written this sentence as a summary of Deuteronomy 7. The entire chapter is about Israel’s holiness. As she took over the land of Canaan, she was to purge it of all foreign gods and religious worship practices so that she would worship the Lord God alone. Israel’s was a national religion. No foreign gods were to be worshipped in her land.
We have the more difficult task of being holy, worshipping God alone, while living among those who worship other gods. Most Christian communities do not separate themselves out from the world. But none the less, we are God’s chosen people, his special possession. Do we recognise ourselves as such? As we live out our lives among those who worship other gods, do we intentionally live as holy people?
Often, holy people are viewed as rather proud, snobbish, stand offish. Holiness is not considered a positive attribute. But God will have none of that. We are chosen not because of anything we have done, but because of God’s love and faithfulness. The first quality of holiness is humility.