A preacher I listened to sometime ago questioned the opening text. He insinuated that the verse didn't really mean what it says. When I hear men who talk down on sacred things like holy living, it appears to me that some have certain struggles with the flesh in certain areas and they have given up on conquering it so they see holy living as impossible.
At other times, I've also come in contact with articles or writings suggesting the verse didn't mean what it says literally. Those in the latter category believe that we have been made holy so there's no need for a believer to pursue or strive to be holy.
I understand their drift from the standpoint of scriptures like: "Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; YOU WERE MADE HOLY; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."(1Cor6:11). You'll find similar phrasal expressions in Hebrews 10:8-10,14. This is what we call positional holiness.
Our salvation in Christ has made us holy not because of what we did but because of Christ's finished work on the cross.
Is that all there is to holiness? When reading scriptures, try to get all scriptures talking about a word or phrase to know the sense in which it was used and interpret contextually.
The scriptures cited earlier used the phrase "made holy" denoting a state, no addition no subtraction. A fait accompli. However "holiness" didn't end there. Some other scriptures enjoined that "we become" holy.
They suggested we make "holiness" an ongoing action or a lifestyle: "BUT NOW YOU MUST BE HOLY IN EVERYTHING YOU DO, just as God who chose you is holy." (1 Peter 1:15 NLT). This is different from other scriptures that presents holiness as an accomplished state. In Greek, this is called an imperative statement.
“Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1). We have a role to play in matters of holiness.
"Holiness is not just about what we have been made to be at the the cross but also about what we do because of what we have been made to be.
God expect us to be active in the "doing" aspect of holiness. A man can be 'made to be' something great and not live up to his full potential.
Our holiness should not only be positional but progressive or an ongoing action depicted through a life that is pure and set apart for God.
This is a foremost kingdom value you and me must hold dear if we want to see Jesus. It may seem awkward to the world that we're not compromising our faith. Even among some believers, holy living may sound outdated yet that is what God demands. God will not compromise on this kingdom value neither should we.
