By Pastor Greg
Saturday, as I was returning from District Conference, I was passed by an individual driving erratically and dangerously; weaving in and out of traffic. He actually passed me on an exit ramp, cutting back into traffic just as the lane came to an end; his tires throwing gravel as he spend through traffic at a furious pace. It was in that moment I lost my holiness. I passed judgment upon an individual I did not know and who was perhaps dealing with a situation unknown to me. I did not wish the driver well. I did not pray for his traveling safety. I actually began to hope that something would happen in order to teach the driver a lesson. It was about then that I realized the sinfulness of my thoughts, and how unholy my attitude really was. And in that moment, I felt unclean.
I recently read an article in Leadership Journal called When Clean and Unclean Touch. Author Mark Buchanan challenged his readers to think about who Jesus touched while He walked this earth. And that is something that has often touched me. As I read about the people Jesus actually touched, most all of them were individuals the religious people of the time would have avoided. These were people deemed unclean or unholy. Yet, as Mark Buchanan points out, those who were unholy were made holy by the touch of the Master’s hand. It’s an interesting piece, which I have made available out on the bulletin board shelf. But one thought continued to run through my mind as I read this article; the idea that there is a difference between holiness and righteousness.
About a month ago I spoke about how the Holy Spirit helps us to know we are loved by God. If you’ll recall, Paul points out that, “we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love” (Romans 5:5). But in spite of that tremendous gift, many people struggle to really feel the depth of the Father’s love. Many people are still haunted by past sins, and they continue to bear guilt that God has actually removed. I pointed out that sometimes we are the ones who resurrect guilt from sins Christ has put to death. But sometimes the one who reminds us is Satan. And if we will let him, Satan will not hesitate to remind us and remind God of our apparent lack of holiness, just as he did to Joshua, the High Priest.
One day, the prophet Zechariah received a vision from God, and in that vision, he sees three characters; the Jewish High Priest Joshua, the Angel of the Lord (which is Jesus before He was born), and the Satan. And Satan was up to his old tricks. Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. The Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?” Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and standing before the angel. (Zechariah 3:1-3)
When Judah returned from captivity in Babylon, Joshua (son of Jehozadak) began leading the Jews in worship and sacrifice to God. But the adversary, the Satan, simply wanted to point out just how unholy Joshua truly was. And indeed, Joshua was clothed in filthy garments. He certainly was not completely holy. But that didn’t change the Lord’s opinion of Joshua. It didn’t seem to faze Him one bit. The Lord simply rebuked Satan’s attempt at passing judgment on someone’s holiness. And instead, the Lord spoke of Joshua’s righteousness; that the Lord decided to snatch Joshua from the fire.
“Holiness”, as described in the Bible, basically means cutting off or separation from what is unclean. In Old Testament times God gave Israel the Law so the people might know how He expected them to live. It was not given as a means to righteousness. The Apostle Paul says, “Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.” (Romans 3:19-20). In other words, righteousness is not found in perfect obedience to God’s laws, but, as Paul points out, “We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.” (Romans 3:22). A person was holy when they lived according to the Law, but not Righteous; not right with God. Righteousness has always been and will always be a gift from God for our faith. “Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins” (Romans 3:24).
Righteousness is given to us by God because of our faith in Jesus Christ. It is not earned. We are not made right with God because we have stopped smoking or drinking or chewing or hanging around people who do. We are not made right with God through obedience to His Holy Laws. But it is our unholiness that Satan likes to attack. It is our filthy clothes, stained by our sin that the Satan uses against us.
Since salvation comes by Faith and not by obedience, then why does Satan use our unholiness against us? Why does he work so hard to convince us that we do not deserve God’s grace, mercy, and love? It’s because he is trying to deceive us. Satan wants us to believe that we obtain the Father’s love and are made right with Him by obedience to a set of laws and rules. But that simply is not true. As a matter of fact, God demonstrated the depth of His love for us when He sent His Son to the cross while we were still covered with filthy sin. Satan lies. He has twisted holiness around as something to be used to his advantage; something to drive a wedge between us and God.
Although the Bible is filled with laws and commands, a Christian is not made right with God by obeying those laws and commands. So why were they given? Why has Jesus commanded us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us? Why should a Christian live a holy life (a life set apart and different than the rest of the world)? We don’t strive to be holy so God will declare us righteous. We strive to be holy because God is holy. And if we are to represent God to the people of this world, we need to act in a way that reflects His holiness. “You must be holy because I, the LORD, am holy. I have set you apart from all other people to be my very own” (Leviticus 20:26). “You shall not profane My holy name, but I will be sanctified among the sons of Israel; I am the LORD who sanctifies you” (Leviticus 22:32). In other words, a Christian strives to be holy because a holy life becomes an offering to God.
When a Christian strives to be truthful, honest, loving, and kind; when a Christian turns the other cheek or prays for their enemies, these deeds become an offering to God. The Christian exclaims “Lord, I give You my honesty. Lord, I give You my sexuality. Lord, I give You my integrity. Lord, I give You my obedience to Your holy standard of living”.
Righteousness is a gift from the Father; holiness is our gift to the Father. We strive to be holy so that God might be glorified and so that the world might know He is Holy. As Christians, we follow God’s commands of Holiness not because it makes us righteous, but because it demonstrates the character of God to the people in this world. And if the Satan can keep us from doing that, then God is mocked and His name is defamed before the unbelieving people of this world.
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