Holy Walk

For I am The Lord your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy. Leviticus 11:45

From this single verse, we see two things upon which God's call for Israel to be holy stood: He is their God, and He is holy. If, for example, a Jew was asked why he observed the laws requiring him to be separated from all things that are unclean, his simple answer would have been, I belong to the Lord, and He is holy. In other words, he recognised that he belonged to a holy God, and, therefore, could not live as people of other nations lived.

But in the New Testament era, what does it mean to be holy? To be clear, we do nothing to be holy, we are made holy, and are required to walk as a people who are related to God. Like the Jew, if a Christian is asked why he separates himself from the world, his answer will be, "My Father is holy".

For the believer in Christ, he is born holy because holiness is the nature of his Father, therefore, in his holy condition, he cannot make progress, just as God cannot make progress in His holiness, but in his walk, the believer is expected to grow in his experience of holiness. The one who is making progress in his walk in holiness cannot say to another, "I am holier than you". However, it is expected that everyone who is holy should aspire to grow in the practical demonstration of his holy nature. Being holy is one thing, walking in holiness is entirely another. It is to the latter that all who have been made holy are called.

Toni