Holiness, Make it Personal

Holiness. Scary ba? Medyo gets kita. It sounds like a very restrictive word. Synonymous sya sa salitang ‘killjoy’ to many of us. So while my aim is to exhort you to personal holiness, I think it’d be great to first expound on the idea a bit.

When we say ‘holy’, we mean that something is ‘set apart’ or ‘naiiba’. Alam mo yung pag may kaklase ka na sobrang talino, workmate na sobrang galing, or kaibigan na sobrang smooth ng social skills, sinasabi natin, “Ay! Iba ‘to!” That’s a good way of defining holiness.

In the Bible, holiness is mentioned as first an attribute of God then, a characteristic that believers should have. Holiness, though, can be described in what God has and what God doesn’t have.

God has holy love, patience, and grace. Ibang-Iba sya! San ka naman nakakita? Tayo ang nag-rebelde at naglayas tapos Sya yung naghabol sa atin at namatay para iligtas tayo! The world has yet to see a love like it. Not in kind. Not in magnitude.

God has holy separation from sin. God doesn’t have any evil in Him. Sobrang set apart nya from the corruption all around us. He thinks no wrong, feels no wrong, and does no wrong. Morally pure Sya!

Based on this definition of God’s holiness, I’d like to ask you two things:

1. Based on what you have. Do people see you as different in the way that you love others? Can your co-workers see your diligence, excellence, and integrity as “Iba!” or can your family members see extreme patience and care for them and say “Ibang-Iba ito”? Holiness is pursuing the good with God’s standard as the goal. We are to be like our Father in Heaven who sends the rain to both the just and the unjust.

2. Based on what you don’t have. Our lives should be free from sin. In fact, maganda ang standard ni Paul: not a hint. Do we do anything — kahit questionable — just to get that promotion? Do we watch that movie with explicit scenes and say na we’re in it for the story? Do we harbor jealousy in hearts? Do we speak behind our neighbour’s back? If any thing causes us to sin, holiness means that we would be willing to part with it. Immediately.

In short, holiness isn’t being a killjoy. It’s actually living life to the max of what God designed us to be! We are, after all, made in His image. Holiness is just us becoming who we really are in relation to God.

Ano naman connect nito sa pag-she-share ng gospel? Malaki. The gospel is that the holy God took on human flesh, lived, died, and rose again to save sinners from sin — its power, presence, and punishment.

Would you convincingly warn people to flee the sin that you are embracing? I don’t think so. It’s a strange salvation for us to enjoy freedom from hell but to remain in bondage to the sin that led us there.

And I’ll leave this last question to you: will people believe in having new life in Christ when you’re living like everyone else?

Share the gospel convincingly. Be holy!

Written by: Kyle Lucido