Without Holiness Shame
Without holiness nobody will see the Lord. – Hebrews 12:14
That verse used to keep me under a burden of guilt and shame. Whenever I felt I was not being affective revealing God to others, I would use this verse to beat myself up. There must be some hidden sin or some sin I haven’t confessed enough keeping me from fully realizing the potential God wanted to see in my life.
I wanted God to fully use me, I wanted to be a vessel fully committed to His purposes, but I guess I just wasn’t that committed. I assumed sin was in me hindering others from seeing God shine through me.
Shame and Guilt are Removed
How many of you understand? You use the results of your life as proof that there is something defunct in you. You feel God can’t truly use you in any significant way.
Who can save us from ourselves? Thanks be to God who delivers us through Jesus Christ. There is now no condemnation for us in Christ Jesus (Romans 7:25; 8:1). Jesus redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us (Galatians 3:13). Through Jesus, everyone who believes is set free from every sin (Acts 13:39).
What is Holiness Not?
Refraining from sin is not the definition of holiness; that is righteousness. To be in right standing is to do what is right. In the Old Testament righteous was thought to be abstaining from sin and doing all the commands of the law. Paul in writing Romans showed us that even then righteousness was not connected to sin.
The righteousness of God is revealed as a righteousness that is by faith; the righteous will live by faith (Romans 1:17). No one is righteous from obeying the law (Romans 3:20).
This is not an open invitation to sin. But we need to remove the pressure and focus of avoiding sin and instead run to God in everything and for everything.
What is Holiness?
Therefore if holiness is not measured by how much we do or do not sin, what is it? In the Bible, holiness is defined as being set apart for God (Exodus 19:23 & Romans 12:1). For the Lord is holy; there is none like Him (1 Samuel 2:2). Refraining from sin is not holiness, although it should be a byproduct of holiness. Holiness is being set apart for God.
You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own. – Leviticus 20:25
Others Will See God in Us
If we want people to see the Lord through our lives, we need to set our hearts and minds on things above (Colossians 3:1-2). We need a single focus. We are not serving man, but serving God (Colossians 3:23-24).
If we can do this, others will see God in us. They will have to see it because we are city on a hill and you cannot be hidden (Matthew 5:14). We are the light of the world. As we follow God, people will see God in us (2 Corinthians 4:7).
God doesn’t want to leave you discouraged. He is the hope of the world and has commissioned you as ambassadors of that hope. He is the hope we profess and the joy of our lives. Nothing can hinder the world from seeing Him in us, as long as we chose to remain set apart for Him.
It’s Easy to Be Used By God
This post is not intended to change the focus of your guilt from being too sinful to not fully setting yourself apart for God. Guilt has not place in the kingdom of God. Jesus removed the guilt from us. The purpose of this article is to free you and show how easily it is to be used by God.
Instead of punishing yourself for not seeing God move through you, ask Him to use you and then trust that He is. Jesus’ yoke is easy and His burden is light. Let’s stop straining and striving. Just abide and let His love flow over and through you. He is good, and He loves you very much.