Holiness In the New Covenant

What is Holiness? (And Why It’s Not About What You "Do")

What is holiness? I know many pulpit preachers equate holiness to a life of not "committing" sins—and they usually have a ready list of sins to prove their point. But really, does holiness (which essentially means being "set-apart") have anything to do with the things we... ahem, "do"? Can one become holy by simply doing good works? Is holiness equal to sinless-ness?

No wonder people—especially young people—are left in total confusion as to what constitutes holiness. After all, the scripture clearly says:

"There is none righteous, no, not one" (Romans 3:10)

"All our righteousnesses are like filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6)

Who is holy, then?

There is an impression given out by a certain section of people in church gatherings who sing "Holy, holy, holy" with a religious fervor that borders on a Pharisaic, "Holier than Thou" attitude (Isaiah 65:5). They look down on the so-called laity with disdain, thundering with emotion: "Thus says the LORD God: 'Be holy, for I am holy.'" Their message? You have to do something more to become holy.

But it does not take a great revelation to see that God is Holy. Anything that has to do with holiness must start from God Himself. In fact, not even the seraphim—the four living creatures who cry out day and night without ceasing, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord Almighty"—are counted as holy, even though they are doubtless sinless!

The Six Pillars of True Holiness

Let me show you what is given to us—those who believe in Jesus Christ under the New Covenant. It is a gift more precious than gold, and a status the angels can only dream about. Hebrews Chapter 1 compares the Son with the angels of heaven, concluding that the Son is greater. Because of Him, our holiness is secured in six ways:

1. The Caller is Holy

"...but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, 'Be holy, for I am holy.'" — 1 Peter 1:15-16

If your conduct is not founded on the Caller and His calling, all your "good works" amount to nothing. But if it is founded in Him, then our conduct is holy, too.

2. The Calling is Holy

"...who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began." — 2 Timothy 1:9

It is clearly not of our works, but of His purpose and grace.

3. The Called are Holy

"But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people..." — 1 Peter 2:9

4. The Cost is Holy (and so is the purchase)

"And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." — Hebrews 10:10

5. The Cause is Holy (and so is the effect)

"For if the first-fruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches." — Romans 11:16

Jesus has become the first-fruit, and He is holy. Jesus is the vine, we are the branches. Therefore, we, the branches, are holy.

6. The Community of Holy Brethren

"Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus." — Hebrews 3:1

Fulfilling the Mandate

That still leaves us with a question: How do we fulfill the mandate of God's calling to "Be holy, for I am holy"? The answer is given by Peter himself, just a few verses earlier:

"Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." — 1 Peter 1:13

The more you depend on His grace—fully depending on it—the more you will have a revelation of who Jesus is and who we are in Him: holy, precious, and beloved.

This is the final straw that breaks our mind-blocks about holiness. If God started it, and God is in the process of completing it, who are we to judge the believers in the congregation? Haven't they all passed from condemnation into new life? Why does the church continue preaching "Repent, Repent, and Repent" to believers, when we should be preaching, "You have been made holy by the work of Jesus Christ!"?

What God Has Cleansed

It requires a real revelation to look at the brother or sister sitting next to us in the church pews and say to ourselves, "Ah! That is my dear, holy brother!"

Peter had this revelation right at the beginning of his ministry. As a Jew, he was unsure about preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, whom he considered unclean and "common." But God set him straight:

"And a voice spoke to him again the second time, 'What God has cleansed you must not call common.'" — Acts 10:15

That is a warning to us when we are quick to judge others—especially other believers! What God has cleansed, we must not call common. Peter held on to this revelation and boldly declared that we are a chosen generation and a holy nation.

How wonderful! How marvelous! And my song shall ever be...

Salut! Holy brother.

Hello, Holy sister.

Praise Jesus.

"Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!" — 1 John 3:1

The Unnamed Relative: Why the Law Can Never Redeem You

Here is the enhanced version of your post. I applied the formatting checklist: using blockquotes for the scriptures, breaking the text into readable sections with clear subheadings, and using bold text instead of all-caps to emphasize your powerful points about the Law and Grace.

"Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin." — Romans 3:19-20

Jesus in the Center

As we study the Old Testament and divide it into two main portions—the Law and the Prophets—we find three books sandwiched between them: Judges, Joshua, and Ruth.

Now, we know that Joshua in Hebrew means "God is Salvation"—the exact same meaning as Jesus in Greek. So we see Jesus perfectly in the center of even the Old Testament! Just as He is the center of all creation, and the center of time itself, dividing B.C. from A.D. (Anno Domini—Years of Grace... chapter over, close the book! 😊 But we will come back to that later).

On the side of the Law is the book of Judges. If you take Joshua to be the central book of the Old Testament, it shows us a profound truth: if we try to come to Jesus through the Law, we will enter into Judgement. As Paul wrote, by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight (Romans 3:20, Galatians 2:16).

The Foreigner and the Closer Relative

But thank God, you can approach the heavenly Joshua from the other side—through what the Prophets foretold, and through the beautiful book of Ruth.

Ruth was a Moabite—a foreigner, a Gentile. She was disqualified in every way according to the Law of Moses. But by coming back to the place of bread (Bethlehem literally means "house of bread") along with Naomi, Ruth finds the Kinsman-Redeemer who is willing to redeem and marry her!

But hark! There is a problem. There is a still closer relative who must be consulted first (Ruth 3:12) to see if he can perform the dutiful redemption. Will he be able to perform the duty of a close relative? Can he redeem her and take her?

Who does this unnamed close relative typify?

My friends, it is the Law.

"I Cannot Redeem"

The Law demands perfection. It calls for excellence in performance, tolerates no failures, and is quick to judge every error. The Law says, "Do this, don't do that!" And when it comes to true redemption, do you want to know what this close relative says?

"I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I ruin my own inheritance." — Ruth 4:6

The Law takes off its sandals, saying, "I cannot walk that path of redemption for you." The Law boasts of not missing even the dots and crosses of the letter, yet it is utterly unable to justify even one person who tries to keep it. The Law shows how wrong you are, with all the right reasons, but it is entirely unable to make the wrong right!

It subjects everyone under it to a life of bondage—bringing up the Ishmael generation and the old covenant on Mount Sinai, while persecuting the children of promise (the Isaac generation) who hold the promises of the new and everlasting covenant on Mount Zion (Galatians 4:24-28).

Grace Finds Us

Thank God for grace. Grace that is greater than all my sin. Grace that pardons and cleanses within. Grace that pours until waters flow in deserts, and the scorching heat of summer turns to a springtime glow.

There is a true Kinsman-Redeemer: Jesus, God's own Son. The precious Lamb of God, the Messiah, slain for sinners. Just as Boaz redeemed Ruth and married her—turning a barren, foreign widow into the great-grandmother of Israel's sweet psalmist, King David—Jesus redeems us.

How do we find grace? Or does grace find us? It is a bit like asking, "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" Yes, grace found me. And yes, I found grace.

"So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free." — Galatians 4:31

Hallelujah! What a Savior! Hallelujah! What a friend!

Stay blessed in Jesus. Amen.

There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother - JESUS MESSIAH.