God's HolinessSample

It saves us AND changes us.

There’s a quote you may have heard before that says, "God loves you just as you are, but too much to leave you that way." I think this goes to the heart of what we’re thinking about today— God’s holiness and how it impacts us.

The Old Testament shows us time and time again that God’s holiness is so great that we cannot encounter Him without dealing with our sin. The Israelites used sacrifices and offerings to deal with their sin before they could come to the temple, and I thank God that we have a better way to achieve the same thing in Jesus. In Jesus, we are made holy, pure and without blemish in the sight of God, once for all. How amazing is that! And yet, in In His Image, Jen Wilkin writes that, "Christ’s sacrifice grants us positional holiness before God. We are set apart as His children. Nothing can remove our positional holiness. Yet, the Bible describes not just positional holiness but also practical holiness."

So, we ARE able to come into God’s presence and live as His children because of Jesus. As God’s chosen people, we’re also to live—in practice—holy lives. This is what it means in 2 Corinthians 5:17b (NIV): "The old has gone; the new is here." Because of Jesus, we’re saved to be transformed to be more like our heavenly Father, who is holy. God’s holiness is a familial trait. We’re supposed to embody it, too. We’re supposed to be recognised as part of the family because of our holy lives and have people say, "I know who your dad is." God’s holiness is amazing. It saves us AND it changes us!

Written by KATIE SMITH