I Pet 1:15, 16
The One who has called you is Holy. Therefore be holy in all you do.
We all would agree that we do know that we need to be holy at all times because God expects us to be, but we also agree that it is one of the most impossible things and the struggle we face in trying to be and keep ourselves holy at all times and in everything.
To set the context for this blog, let's quickly see what all is considered to be 'holy' in the Bible.
1. God Himself(2 Pet 1:15)
2. God's law(Rom 7:12)
3. God's name(Ps 97:12)
4. The Spirit of God(Holy Spirit)
5. God's promises(Ps 105:42)
6. God's holy place(Ps 24:3)
7. God's throne(Ps 47:8)
8. God's temple(Ps 11:4)
9. God's mountain(Is 56:7)
10. God's hill(Ps 99:9)
11. Men of God(2 Pet 1:21)
In the O.T, these other few things too were considered to be holy.
1. Altar(Ex 29:37)
2. Oil(Ex 30:25)
3. Offering(Lev 22:10)
4. Garments(Ex 28:2)
5. Cities(Is 64:10)
6. Sabbath(Ex 20:6)
Everything about and associated with God is holy.
No wonder that that Angels and the elders praise Him all day saying "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty".
We are His Children. No wonder God expects us also to be holy like Him.
The opposite of holy is "unholy". But there is another word to denote that "has the likeness of holiness but is not holy in the true sense". We can call that as "fake or false holiness".
In these last days, there are many things that 'look/appear' to be holy but are not "God-holy".
Some of the things that we need to be aware of and be vigilant about are:
1. False Godliness(2 Tim 3:5, Mark 7:3, 4)
- Vain and empty traditions, doing something as a ritual or just as a practice, for the sake of doing it
2. False witness(Ex 20:16) and False oath(Zech 8:17)
- God hates gossips and false witnesses.
- God has nothing to do with people who make false oaths(Ecc 5:4)
3. False prophets(Mat 7:15), False dreams(Jer 23:32) and False visions(Jer 23:16)
- They tell things claiming it to be from God but in reality it is out of their own wicked self, selfish thoughts and corrupted ambitions, just to show themselves great and gain fame.
4. False Spirit(Mic 2:11)
- The devil works through people and performs miracles and wonders(like during Moses' time & Paul's)
- Spirit of laughter in churches, saying the Holy Spirit gives everlasting joy.
5. False Humility(Col 2:18)
- Pretending to be very humble in front of others but having a hidden agenda & pride in themselves.
6. False doctrine(2 Time 4:3, 4 , Acts 20:30)
- Twisting the word of God according to their convenience
- Not taking or understanding the scripture in context and meaning but half-understanding even forming cults
7. False brethren(2 Cor 11:26)
- Acting like true and genuine believers but work behind our back
- Not firm in the faith and trying to please/have both world and God.
Yes, the list so far was long and contained a lot of scripture references, but:
Lev 10:10 - this is what God wants us to do
He wants us to be able to distinguish between the holy and the unholy. Why?
What was the first verse we read? "Be holy..."
If we are not aware of what is on the other side of holiness, what amounts to unholiness, what is classified as 'unholy' or has the potential to corrupt our holiness, then it would be difficult to maintain our holiness.
Now the question.. How to know if something is holy or not?
1. I John 4:1 -- Test the Spirit
God gives us the Spirit of discernment to be able to distinguish between the right and the wrong, the holy and the போலி.
We can make us of this grace to know what is holy or not.
2. Mat 12:33 -- See the fruit, the outcome of doing or following a particular thing.
- Whether it leads us to know God better
- Whether it prompts us to seek God more
- Whether it inspires us to read His word even more
- Whether it glorifies God
- Whether God is the focal point of it
(or)
- Whether it makes us to forget God
- Or whether it makes us to take away our focus from pleasing God
- Or whether it brings praise or fame to anything or anyone else other than God.
3. I Thes 5:21 -- Finally, test all things
In other words, don't simply follow or do something that you hear. Test it and see if it is truly 'holy' and 'Godly'. The questions in the previous questions would help us to determine that.
We, so far saw all the holy things and the போலி(false) things that we need to keep away from. But, what is that thing or possession that should ultimately be protected from being corrupted by these false things? All of those things corrupt our "what"?
Jude 1:20 - "Your most holy faith"(உங்கள் மகா பரிசுத்தமான விசுவாசத்தின்மேல்..)
All of the above mentioned போலி things in some way or the other try to tamper, hinder or shake our faith. Woah! God considers our "faith" to be so holy!
Till now we saw the surrounding things, regarding whether it is holy or போலி. But, now, the question turn to you.
Are you holy or போலி?
To be able to understand & test this, we first need to know what things in us make us to be போலி.
Jesus refers to this as "hypocrisy"(போலித்தனம்).
What are the characteristics of a hypocrite? Read carefully and assess yourself.
Prov 11:9 - With his mouth, destroys his neighbour
Job 36:13 - stores up wrath in his heart
Mat 7:5 - tries to point mistakes of others instead of first looking at him/herself.
Luke 12:56 - tries to act smart but does not do what is required at that time(eg. seeing the destruction, sins and persecutions of the people, does research about it, stays updated about it, but is not broken to pray for it or do their part to share the gospel to someone)
Mat 23:13 - they know what is right but do not do it. They also prevent others from doing it.
Mat 23:27 - they show a very godly figure on the outside but their hearts and minds are filled with all greed, filth and sinful thoughts.
Mat 6:2 - they boast about their possessions and deeds
Mat 28:23 - they listen and follow only what is pleasing to them. They are even courageous to misinterpret the scripture.
Most or even all of us would have got caught in at least one of the above points at some point in our life, even just some days or hours back.
Remember, even one act of hypocrisy is still hypocrisy.
The prime content of the blog ends here. This was just an exposition. I've just written down all the facts regarding holiness and போலிness. It is now time for us to take a minute to think and analyse our life. I believe that the Holy Spirit is convicting most of us now. He is talking to our hearts. Please don't harden your heart or suppress your conscience.
We know who we are, we know what we've done, we know what we fake & pretend to be, we know we try to put a mask in front of people, in the church, but at the end of the day we still resort to a filthy, ungodly and hypocritic life.
We may not be a 100% hypocrite but even one small act of hypocrisy is still... hypocrisy.
The word of the Lord is strong towards you even as you read this. Don't harden your heart. Stop faking. Stop deceiving yourself.
You might even be getting worried like "what if someone comes to know about this", "what will happen if this is exposed", "how will people react towards me if they discover this in me". Surrender to God.
உன் வாழ்க்கையில இருந்தா போலி
அதுல சாத்தான் விளையாடுவான் கோளி
கொஞ்ச நாளைக்கு இருக்கும் அந்த ஜாலி
அப்படியே விட்டனா நீ காலி
இப்பவே கழட்டு அந்த கோணி
இன்றைக்கே கர்த்தரிடம் வா நீ
If you wish to correct yourself,
1. Lev 20:7 - Consecrate yourself
2. Ps 119:128 - Hate every false way
If you do not, Rom 11:16 - if the root is not holy(in this young age), then in the future, your branches will and can never become holy.
Friend, I close with this scripture. Rev 22:11. The last chapter of the last book in the bible.
He who is unjust, let him be unjust still.
He who is filthy, let him be filthy still.
He who is righteous, let him be righteous still.
He who is holy, let him be holy still.
Trying to balance between God and things of the world will split you and rip you apart into pieces because both the forces are opposite in direction.
Repent, surrender today. This is your time. Close your eyes and make a diligent prayer.
God bless you!
Yorumlar