“You shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.” Leviticus 20:26 ESV
How curious that many times what we consider our freedom actually leads us in the opposite direction…self-imposed bondage. And just one of those examples is the circles we run in. That is, the company we keep, the friends we adhere to, and most importantly the resulting topics, conversations, and actions our circle of influence produces. And yet once again, just as the all-knowing Father that He is, God sees the possible peril of this and clearly instructs us in His wisdom how to avoid such peril. He is Holy, He calls us to be Holy, and to do that we must separate ourselves from those that refuse to do so.
Social separation today has many labels. And many of those lean towards the negative. Antisocial, non-assimilator, rebel, loner. Yet just as God called the Israelites to be separate from the world in which they lived in the Old Testament, God continues to call us to separate ourselves from this world in the New Testament (James 4:4, 1 John 2:15-17). So, the question stands today for the son or daughter of God that has been redeemed by Christ…how do you live in a world without interacting with it? More specifically, how do you walk in a filthy, muddy, dirty world and remain squeaky clean?
God knew the world in which His chosen peoples, the Israelites, were living when He issued this command in the book of Leviticus. He had rescued them out of the evils of generations of Egyptian slavery and they brought much more than just physical souvenirs along with them as they also brought idolatrous Egyptian customs as well. (for example, the golden calf in Exodus 32 is believed to be an idol fashioned after the Egyptian god Apis) You see, whether you like to admit or not, we are not immune to the fact that we are greatly influenced by the packs we run in. We act like them, talk like them, do what they do, and even begin to base our value and worship systems on them. God knew all this and still does.
And so, just how do you live in a sinful world controlled by satan (1 John 5:19, 2 Corinthians 4:4, Ephesians 2:2) inhabited by 100% sinning sinners (Romans 3:23, Eccliastes 7:20), and still maintain the righteous walk that God commands? Well, as the Holy Sprirt inspired James to eloquently state in his New Testament contribution, don’t just read God’s Word, study it in a way that allows you to do what it says. And within our study verse above we see three action items we can do in this day to walk upright before the Lord in a fallen world.
1) Be Holy like God. Well, that’s a big fail on this one, right? I mean how can anybody be perfect like God, never even thinking of sinning much less doing it? Well, as the great Christian motivational speaker Zig Zigler says, “if you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time.” And we must have something to aim at that is separate and Holy from this sinfully polluted world. (that Zigler quote is funny because the root of the word “sin” is based in ancient archery terminology and means to “miss the mark.) Jesus primarily came to be the perfect innocent lamb of God sacrificed for the sins of all people, but He also came as a Holy example. He was Holy, lived a perfect sin-free life, and during those roughly 33 years, He showed us and told us how we could do the same.
2) Be separated like God. The Hebrew root of the word holy means to “be set apart” and (surprise) “to be separate.” God is set apart from His creation and God is separated from all sin. And He commands us to do the same. If you have been redeemed by Christ, it is no accident. No one is accidentally saved by the grace of God. God is intentional in calling His children close to Him and He has a special calling for their lives. A call to see His children live lives in freedom from the evils of sin. Sin that destroys. Sin that will bring guilt, shame, and judgement into a life that was meant to have none of those. God desires His children to avoid the pitfalls of sin and instead choose a life that He emulated in the life of Christ, as a result, seeing them enjoy the blessings of a life that is jam-packed with joy, freedom, purpose, and get this…a level of peace that surpasses all human understanding. (Philippians 4:7)
3) Know who you belong to. God is jealous and possessive of His children. And not in a bad sinful way the world wants to paint, but just as any loving Father wants the absolute best for his children. But if you are Christ-follower today, do you readily see yourself as belonging to God? Or do you instead cling to the idea that you belong to no one and serve no one? The proper view of a child of God being a slave is very unpopular in our world today. The term bondservant is used throughout the New Testament (1 Corinthians 7:21-23, 1 Peter 2:16, Colossians 4:7) and is a term to describe a slave that has been freed, but out of love and loyalty, decides to stay in the service of their master…for free. Yes, a freed slave that decides life is better serving their master for free than attempting life on their own. And guess just who proclaims to be a slave (bondservant) of Jesus Christ in the Bible? Paul (Romans 1:1), Timothy (Philippians 1:1), James (James 1:1), Peter (2 Peter 1:1), and Jude (Jude 1:1) as well as many others. Folks, today if you have called upon Christ to save you from the eternal death penalty of your sin, are you ready to call him master and owner of your life? If you can claim this with all of your heart then His commandments are much more than mere recommendations for your life. They are law. And if you love Him and know you beling to Him, you will keep His rules for this life. (John 14:15) And praise be to God, as you are living as a slave under the rule of a master that has only the best intentions for His bondservant, His blessings, mercies, and amazing grace will rain down.
Today, carefully look at every decision and situation and ask yourself if it is Holy. Is it something that God would approve and of and even do Himself? Does it honor Him and His name? Or is it what you want in the moment allowing your pride to be elevated and His holiness cast down? Today, be separated as one that follows a Holy God and is called to be just as Holy. Refuse to run with the world and do as the world does. Refuse to dance to the beat of your own drum (a popular term for pride run amuck) and instead, simply walk in the ways of the Lord. And finally, know who you belong to. You were bought with the highest of prices...the life of the only Son of God and as such, God desires only the best for you. And many times, that involves not simply choosing the good, but separating yourself from the bad.
May you today walk Holy and separated from this world as you bow down to the Master that holds the keys to eternal life…Jesus Christ.
Fight the good fight ~ Dan
“As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:14-16 ESV
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