But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. 1 Peter 2:9
Striving to be a holy child of God is often difficult. On rough days like today, I really have no desire to be responsible for anything. I don’t want to do anything; I don’t want to think; and I don’t want to interact with others. I just want to withdraw, move as little as possible and emote. However, that is not living well. To be sure, we must address the needs of our bodies that arise due to illness and aging, but even in our frailty we are called to be obedient and proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called us. One of the ways that we do that is rising to be faithful, obedient, grateful, kind, considerate and caring despite the challenges that we face. It is certainly a battle to be holy, but understanding various facets of the struggle allows us to fight intelligently.
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. Psalm 51:5
As reflected in this passage, King David was very aware of his handicap…the one we all have. Our sinful nature is easy to forget as everyone has it. When we do see it, we prefer to acknowledge the problem in others rather than ourselves. The question is: what do we do with sin once we become aware? The choice is to either allow it to rule us as “everyone else does” or fight it. As Christians, we called to wage war against all forms of sin and evil. The first tactic is to acknowledge it honestly for what it is. It is an inherent weakness that we did not choose but must manage and overcome…just like illness and tragedy. Notice God’s response to the sins of godly people in scripture. Abraham had a son with Hagar because he and Sarah became impatient; Isaac (like his father before him) said that Rebekah was his sister because he doubted God’s protection; Moses got angry and struck a rock instead of speaking to it as commanded; Samson allowed his affection for Delilah to interfere with God’s plan for him; David had an affair and committed murder; and Jonah tried to run away because he feared Nineveh would repent and God would be forgiving…to name a few. In recounting these stories, God provides the important facts, the problem caused and the outcome without abasing His children. In other words, He reveals the sin and the consequences without exaggeration or insult. We do well to do the same, that is, acknowledge our sin, seek to turn from it and accept the consequences when we choose not to obey. Self-abasement and exaggeration don’t serve us well in the battle. Rather we need to review our failures honestly, learn how God addresses them in scripture, and then make godly choices as we move forward.
Then die on the mountain where you ascend, and be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people, because you broke faith with Me in the midst of the sons of Israel at the waters of Meribah-kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin, because you did not treat Me as holy in the midst of the sons of Israel. For you shall see the land at a distance, but you shall not go there, into the land which I am giving the sons of Israel. Deuteronomy 32:50-52
Deuteronomy 32 recounts Moses’ final words to the Israelites. God then commands Moses to go to the mountain so that he can see the Promised Land. However, Moses is not permitted to enter because of his sin. Earlier, God had told him to provide water for the people by speaking to a rock. However, frustrated by the grumbling of the Israelites, he got angry and smote the rock as God had commanded him to do on an earlier occasion. In short he did not respect our Lord’s holiness, but rather acted in the haste of anger. Because our nature is the same as Moses’, we can sympathize and would likely make allowances for Him. However, our just God does not, as His holiness is not something to be trifled with. Just as we must recognize our sinful nature, our struggle to be holy also requires that we keep the holiness of God ever before us as an incentive to obedience. It helps us to keep the proper focus and understand the goal of living a holy life.
Keep watching and praying that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Mark 14:38
The night before His crucifixion, Christ went to the garden to pray. He awakened his disciples to pray as well. As we read Mark’s account, we see that Christ recognized that their souls desired to be obedient and faithful to Christ. However, He also recognized that their sinful nature, like ours, would cause their flesh (human nature) to be weak. Reading the rest of the story, we find that they slept instead of praying and later scattered in fear. Further, Peter denied His Lord as forewarned. Like David and the disciples, we have the same struggle between our souls and our flesh. In order for our souls to win the battle, we must, like the Christ’s followers, request the help of the Holy Spirit. 2 Timothy 1:7 reminds us that “God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.” However, to employ it, we must draw near to God and ask for His help to not only have the strength to overcome temptation, but to also keep our focus in the right direction…on God. Hence, prayer is our third tactic in our battle to be holy.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
Thankfully, when we fail, we can go to our Savior and request forgiveness knowing that He understands and intercedes before the Father on our behalf. While the consequence of our sin may remain, our Heavenly Father promises to forgive those who repent sincerely and turn away from sin. The truth of our sin and God’s holiness leads us to repentance; the forgiveness and grace of God allows us to move forward with confidence knowing that our strength rests in Him.
Striving
Despite and in the midst of our trials and hardships, striving to be holy is a battle that must be waged. While we may receive a pass and/or forgiveness from our fellow man, we must recognize that the holiness of God and our love for Him demand our obedience. Striving to be holy is: being thankful and testifying to God’s goodness and mercy in spite of our pain; seeking the peace of God rather than allowing bitterness and anger to overrun our demeanor; bridling our tongues when frustrations wells up due to our circumstances; or continuing to be helpful, kind and merciful despite our own pain. These are but a few of choices; through the power of the Holy Spirit, our souls are able to recognize the appropriate action or behavior in every situation. However, we must rise above our sinful nature and choose to be holy in every circumstance of life.
The Calling
We are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, which has been called out of darkness into His marvelous light. As such, we are beckoned to walk in the light as holy children of God. On our own we will fail. Thankfully, God has given us the wisdom to understand our sinfulness and His holiness. He has provided scripture, prayer and confession as effective weapons in the battle. Finally and most importantly, we have the powerful resources of our understanding Savior and the Holy Spirit to intercede, sustain, guide and strengthen us as we seek to be the holy people that God calls us to be. Living life according to God’s holy ordinances proclaims Christ and promotes lasting peace for us in this life as well as the one to come.