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The Face of Holiness

Hope Ministries - Columnist
Posted 1/24/20

Let's start today with a pop quiz. What facial expression best depicts the scripture, “Be holy because I am holy” (I Peter 1:16)?

A. A sour face that tries hard to keep every commandment and …

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The Face of Holiness

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Let's start today with a pop quiz. What facial expression best depicts the scripture, “Be holy because I am holy” (I Peter 1:16)?

A. A sour face that tries hard to keep every commandment and rule yet looks down in disapproval and judgment upon others who don't? Or…

B. A smiling face that joyfully knows the Lord and allows His love, mercy and grace to flow through them.

I choose answer B.

This scripture first appears in Leviticus 11:44-45 under the Old Covenant of keeping the Law. That was a stern covenant under which you could die if you sinned and disobeyed the rules. It was based more on fear of what would happen if you weren't holy.

But then in the fullness of time God sent His one and only Son, Jesus, to show us a new way. He ushered in the New Covenant of Love, and everything changed. Yes, we are still told to be holy as He is holy, but Jesus' holiness looked a little different. What does the holiness of Jesus' New Covenant look like?

In this covenant, holiness is show-cased in love rather than fear. God not only wants our obedience of the rules, but our hearts, our whole beings. Jesus says in John 15 that if we love Him, we will keep His commands. Our obedience and holiness now come from a place of love for God. We love Him and want to please Him.

Jesus' holiness is still the holiness of a righteous God. There was the time when He arose in righteous anger to turn over the tables of the money changers and clear out the unholiness from His Father's house, the temple. (See Matthew 21:12.) The religious leaders were usually out to kill Him, so He dealt with them more sternly.

But mostly the holiness of Jesus is loving, giving, kind, smiling, laughing, and holding children. It brings healing and wholeness, body, soul and spirit. It loves sinners, taking the time to minister to them and forgive them. It casts out demons and raises the dead. Jesus' holiness brings mercy and grace, weeping over the sin of the world, being broken for us, and willing to die for us to give us fullness of life here and eternal life forever more.

So why are we still living under the Old Covenant, thinking our sour faces make us look holy? Why do we fear God's wrath and punishment when Jesus already took our punishment upon Himself? Why do we hesitate to be holy as He is holy, letting His holy love and brokenness flow through us to a hurting world?

We must strive to be more like Jesus, to model the holiness that He modeled. God's perfect love casts out all fear (I John 4:18), and we can know and receive this love as we learn to know and receive Jesus as our Savior. He offers us only good, and wants to put a smile on our faces.

Hope Ministries is a Christian counseling center, and we are here to help. If you would like to speak confidentially with someone, give us a call at 482-5300.

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