. . it is written, ’Be holy, for I am holy’ —1 Peter 1:16
We must continually remind ourselves of the purpose of life. We are not destined to happiness, nor to health, but to holiness. Today we have far too many desires and interests, and our lives are being consumed and wasted by them. Many of them may be right, noble, and good, and may later be fulfilled, but in the meantime God must cause their importance to us to decrease. The only thing that truly matters is whether a person will accept the God who will make him holy. At all costs, a person must have the right relationship with God.
Do I believe I need to be holy? Do I believe that God can come into me and make me holy? If through your preaching you convince me that I am unholy, I then resent your preaching. The preaching of the gospel awakens an intense resentment because it is designed to reveal my unholiness, but it also awakens an intense yearning and desire within me. God has only one intended destiny for mankind— holiness. His only goal is to produce saints. God is not some eternal blessing-machine for people to use, and He did not come to save us out of pity— He came to save us because He created us to be holy. Atonement through the Cross of Christ means that God can put me back into perfect oneness with Himself through the death of Jesus Christ, without a trace of anything coming between us any longer.
Never tolerate, because of sympathy for yourself or for others, any practice that is not in keeping with a holy God. Holiness means absolute purity of your walk before God, the words coming from your mouth, and every thought in your mind— placing every detail of your life under the scrutiny of God Himself. Holiness is not simply what God gives me, but what God has given me that is being exhibited in my life.
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DJR Journal
Good Morning Lord,
I would have written this differently. Chambers says your only goal is to produce holiness in us. I would say that you have many goals but if it were narrowed down to one … that it would be to have a love relationship with us. That in turn would produce holiness. Perhaps it’s semantics or the chicken and egg, but it seems important which is comes first and which is the side effect or consequence. I have found that striving for Holiness doesn’t work so well in me. I can do it for a while but backsliding and failure followed by guilt mark that path. When I strive to merely tighten up the relationship, spend more time with you, learning to hear your voice and feel your heart … then Holiness kind of falls in place. And to the extent that it doesn’t … I receive your grace and know that Jesus’ sacrifice is making up the difference. Because of the relationship, I dont want to abuse that grace, but I dont feel driven by guilt to “get better” or more holy. Am I on the right track here?
Yes. Keep on coming to me. You will receive more than you expected, and part of what you receive will be the power to be Holy. Some unholiness will just fall away. In some cases there will be a decision point. But the decision will be empowered by my Love, not your will power. It will be a lot easier.
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