When God chose Israel to be His people, He called them to be a “holy nation.” They were to be sanctified and set apart from all the other nations around them. Exodus 19:3-8 gives a clear picture of what God expected of His people and what the people agreed to.
And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. Now, therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.” So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which the Lord commanded him. Then all the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” So Moses brought back the words of the people to the Lord.
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Holiness is a biblical concept and mentioned in the Bible over six hundred times. It is one of the central themes of Leviticus and other books of the Bible. 1 Peter 1:16 says, “Be holy because I am holy.” But what does that look like for Christians today? How do we live lives that are holy? Is that even possible? To grasp the concept of holiness we need to go back to the very beginning of Genesis.
I have claimed the title “Christian” for over 40 years and yet not a day goes by when I don’t learn something new from the Bible or feel God correcting me where I am wrong about something. When I had my first child, I was still what many would consider very “young” in my faith. A baby myself, but trying to do the right things to honour God. I came to Christ when I was 18. Six years later I was married to a Christian man, who was and still is an excellent provider, husband and father. Unfortunately, for my kids, I was a baby Christian.
If you haven’t noticed how Christians have been viewed by the world lately, then you have probably been living under a rock. In less than 30 years, we (and by that I mean the entire church body – those who follow Jesus as Saviour from all denominations) have gone from a force of good in the world to something that is mocked and shunned. One has to wonder, why? What happened? When did it become acceptable in society to mock God?
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