HOLY (קָדוֹשׁ) - qā·ḏôš
- kvcamp
- Aug 25
- 6 min read
They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
1 Peter 2:8-10
What is it to be holy?
To be holy is to be set apart or to be separate. God is separate from humanity, but we describe him in anthropomorphic terms in an effort to better comprehend who he is. Leviticus chapter 20 contains a descriptive list of sexually immoral behaviors that are defiling to the human body, soul and spirit. At the end of chapter 20, God explains that he does not want his chosen people to participate in those behaviors because the people living in the land of Cannan were practicing these perversions as a way of life. The Creator considered this civilization to be so corrupted that they had to be annihilated before their perversities spread to others. God’s people are called to be holy because God is holy (Lev. 20:26), and living a life that is glorifying to the Creator will allow for abundant living (John 10:9-11). Humankind was created to thrive but living outside the boundaries that Ya’ has set, brings a life of difficulties.
Communication
Throughout my seminary experience in apologetics, we were reminded to stop using “churchy” terms like sanctification or holy for instance. The challenge becomes a matter of how to describe, to the un-churched, the meaning of these terms when discussing the Christian faith. This is especially challenging when explaining why the Christian life seems so foreign to unbelievers. There are many professing Christians that do not understand the meaning of these important terms; therefore, it is not realistic to expect for those who are either new to the faith, or those who do not believe at all to comprehend them. Therefore, how do we do this?
The Bible tells believers that they are expected to be holy because God is holy, but what does that mean? Many believe that this means doing what the world deems as good behavior deeds. But there is a big difference between what God deems as good and what the world sees as good. Especially if one lives by the moto, “if it feels good, do it.” A humanist will suggest that as long as you do not infringe on someone else’s “rights” you are free to live any way that you see fit.
For one reason or another, many professing Christians are averse to even attempting to point others to Christ and claim that the best Bible that they can share is their good behavior so that others may see. My argument in response to that way of thinking, is that even a staunch atheist can be a very good citizen and be kind to others. In fact, I know some atheists and skeptics who have done wonderful things for the community and are very kind people, while their “Christian” counterparts remain hidden and withdrawn from the culture around them.
The World Benefits When We Are Obedient
Jesus mentioned to his disciples that they were in the world, but not of this world (John 15:9, 17:13-16). Some in the early days of the church took this to mean that they needed to retreat from the world and live in solitude or spend their lives in poverty. This way of thinking is not at all biblical. The disciples were very active in their culture; there is no indication that they retreated from the world and lived lives of solitude. How will anyone hear the Word of Life if those who know it, hide from the world (Rom. 10:11-15). I would imagine that the devil is very pleased when professing Christians retreat from the world because they feel that is the right thing to do.
All of Christ’s followers are called to be active in the world, while at the same time remain unblemished by their culture. When the Jews were exiled to Babylon, God told them that they were to marry and raise families and to be productive (Jer. 29:4-6). There is no record of God telling the people to seclude themselves from their captors. By their obedience to the Law of Moses, the pagan culture around them in Babylon (modern day Iraq), would see how they lived with integrity and would perhaps begin to ask questions about the God of Israel.
Archeological evidence shows that people around the globe were polytheistic in nature at this time in history, meaning they worshiped a pantheon of gods and goddesses. It is recorded that while the people of Judea were exiled to the pagan nation of Babylon, they did settle in. It is interesting that while the people were in exile a new mono-theistic religion began to emerge called Zoroastrianism (mid 6th century B.C.). The Jews were exiled between 586 – 539 B.C. so the time frame is interesting and fits. There are some scholars who claim that this religion was in existence long before the exile, however, there is no compelling evidence that this is true. It appears that the God of Israel was able to work on the hearts and minds of those who lived in this Pagan nation because His people obeyed his word.
Holiness
It is God who sanctifies us, and it is through that act of sanctification that makes us holy. Through the move of His Spirit, a person is set apart from the rest of the world (John 3:1-3). When we make a conscious decision to submit to the LORD, the Creator begins to reveal himself to us through his word. It is in this process that we begin to realize how sinful we are in our natural state. This realization should move us to a position of repentance and a desire to change. God sees our heart (1 Sam. 16:7) just like he saw the heart of king David and the disciples as they began to move toward righteousness (John 17:6-26).
Ultimately, redeemed Christians are set apart from the rest of the world in the spiritual realm while abstaining from the ways of the world even while living in the midst of a Pagan culture. All of the behaviors listed in Leviticus 20 will ultimately cause the individual to be drawn away from the Creator. Unnatural desires, coveting, lusting, conditions of the heart against others, and participating in deception are all behaviors that are against God and not in harmony with his intent for humankind. These deeds and others listed throughout Scripture will lead to a broken spirit and death (Prov. 13:11-14; James 1:14-15; Rev. 21:7-8).
To a culture that has truly lost its way, this focus on boundaries for purity seems outdated and moralistic, because they are far from God. It is imperative not to overlook who the Master of the universe truly is. He is the Creator and Sustainer of all life. He knows that any type of perversity, physical or mental destroys what He made. Humans are vessels and are capable of good and of evil (Gen. 3:22). Choosing evil is destructive to self and community whether it be the individual’s family or the culture at large.
God’s intent was to live with us, but Adam and Eve chose to live outside of God’s one boundary and had to be exiled from paradise for their own good. Ya’ waited for humanity to be ready for him to live amidst them once again. The Bible shows the reader how God went from a Tent of Meeting to a Tabernacle, to a physical Temple, to sending His Son in the flesh in his pursuit to be with humanity. The final Temple is the Creator’s indwelling of those who seek him and submit to his ways (John 14:16-18). If an individual is living outside of the boundaries that the Master has set for his created order, that person is choosing to remain in exile. Their desires will keep them from hearing the Spirit of God and finding life everlasting. The Word of God tells the reader that people will go from bad to worse (2Tim 3:12-14) which will be detrimental to their eternal salvation and destination.
All of humanity is called to be holy because our Creator is holy and He wants none to perish in the second death that awaits the disobedient (2 Pet 3:9; Rev. 21:7-8).
Map of Ancient Babylon:
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