February 27th, 2023
1 Peter 1:15-16
15 But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. 16 For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”
15 But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. 16 For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”
What in the world does it mean to be holy? How can we be holy like God is holy?
These questions have been around for a long time. And these questions, these texts make us feel uncomfortable often.
Let me set up a scenario that maybe you resonate with. You have grown up in a very legalistic household. And for us Adventists, we know what that means. We can’t swim on Sabbath, we “guard the edges” so that we don’t break the Sabbath. We aren’t allowed to listen to that “worldly” music. We might even have burned or destroyed some cassette tapes of CD’s during a week of prayer at one of our academies, only to buy them back from Columbia House a few weeks later (I might be speaking from experience. . .)
Then, we encounter grace, and the liberty that is involved in understanding that we have a God who is for us and not against us, that is an invitation into heaven rather than a security guard trying to keep us out. What a phenomenal understanding to finally recognize that we have a freedom in the gospel, that it is not a burden, but a diamond.
However, often when we discover this, our pendulum of behavior swings, and we find ourselves even taking advantage of the newfound liberty and freedom. When we figure out that freedom, we sometimes allow ourselves to live in a manner that is perhaps a bit suspect for someone who is wanting to reflect Jesus in their lives.
Pendulums usually center themselves after a while. The tragedy is that we have spent too much time on either extreme. We have often had a disservice done to us by the extreme legalism we had to deal with, but when we swing, we might be abusing that liberty.
What I think ends up happening is that we become pretty uncomfortable with even the idea of Holiness. Remember, this text says we are to be holy because God is holy, not because we figured out how to be holy. It is Christ in us that makes us holy, not by the actions of our hands. While we strive to be great examples of God’s grace in the world, it is not by our actions that we are declared holy. Rather, it is by Christ living in us that creates in us Holy Ground.
These questions have been around for a long time. And these questions, these texts make us feel uncomfortable often.
Let me set up a scenario that maybe you resonate with. You have grown up in a very legalistic household. And for us Adventists, we know what that means. We can’t swim on Sabbath, we “guard the edges” so that we don’t break the Sabbath. We aren’t allowed to listen to that “worldly” music. We might even have burned or destroyed some cassette tapes of CD’s during a week of prayer at one of our academies, only to buy them back from Columbia House a few weeks later (I might be speaking from experience. . .)
Then, we encounter grace, and the liberty that is involved in understanding that we have a God who is for us and not against us, that is an invitation into heaven rather than a security guard trying to keep us out. What a phenomenal understanding to finally recognize that we have a freedom in the gospel, that it is not a burden, but a diamond.
However, often when we discover this, our pendulum of behavior swings, and we find ourselves even taking advantage of the newfound liberty and freedom. When we figure out that freedom, we sometimes allow ourselves to live in a manner that is perhaps a bit suspect for someone who is wanting to reflect Jesus in their lives.
Pendulums usually center themselves after a while. The tragedy is that we have spent too much time on either extreme. We have often had a disservice done to us by the extreme legalism we had to deal with, but when we swing, we might be abusing that liberty.
What I think ends up happening is that we become pretty uncomfortable with even the idea of Holiness. Remember, this text says we are to be holy because God is holy, not because we figured out how to be holy. It is Christ in us that makes us holy, not by the actions of our hands. While we strive to be great examples of God’s grace in the world, it is not by our actions that we are declared holy. Rather, it is by Christ living in us that creates in us Holy Ground.
Questions:
- Have you ever had that pendulum swing?
- What were you taught about behavior when you were young?
- How can we stay away from that pendulum?
- Is there a way to keep your kids or friends off that pendulum?
- If our actions don’t make us holy, then what does?
Explore our other series!
Recent
Archive
2023
January
Lovewell: A Theology - Day 1Lovewell: A Theology - Day 2Lovewell: A Theology - Day 3Lovewell: A Theology - Day 4Lovewell: A Theology - Day 5Lovewell: A Theology - Day 6Lovewell: A Theology - Day 7Lovewell: A Theology - Day 8Lovewell: A Theology - Day 9Lovewell: A Theology - Day 10Lovewell: A Theology - Day 11Lovewell: A Theology - Day 12Lovewell: A Theology - Day 13Lovewell: A Theology - Day 14Lovewell: A Theology - Day 15Lovewell: A Theology - Day 16Lovewell: A Theology - Day 17Lovewell: A Theology - Day 18Lovewell: A Theology - Day 19Lovewell: A Theology - Day 20Lovewell: A Theology - Day 21Lovewell: A Theology - Day 22Lovewell: A Theology - Day 24Lovewell: A Theology - Day 23Lovewell: A Theology - Day 25Lovewell: A Theology - Day 26Lovewell: A Theology - Day 27Lovewell: A Theology - Day 28Lovewell: A Theology - Day 29Lovewell: A Theology - Day 30Lovewell: A Theology - Day 31
February
Lovewell: A Theology - Day 32Lovewell: A Theology - Day 33Lovewell: A Theology - Day 34Lovewell: A Theology - Day 35Season 1 - IntroductionUncomfortable (S1) - Day 1Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 2Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 3Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 4Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 5Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 6Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 7Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 8Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 9Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 10Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 11Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 12Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 13Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 14Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 15Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 16Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 17
March
Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 18Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 19Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 20Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 21Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 22Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 23Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 24Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 25Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 26Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 27Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 28Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 29Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 30Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 31Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 32Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 33Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 34Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 35Campus WeekAfter - Day 1After - Day 2After - Day 3After - Day 4After - Day 5After - Day 6
April
After - Day 7After - Day 8After - Day 9After - Day 10After - Day 11After - Day 12After - Day 13After - Day 14After - Day 15After - Day 16After - Day 17After - Day 18After - Day 19After - Day 20After - Day 21After - Day 22After - Day 23After - Day 24After - Day 25After - Day 26After - Day 27After - Day 28
Categories
Tags
1 Corinthians
1 John
1 Peter
1 Samuel
2 John
3 John
Acts
Belonging
Campus Week
Certainty
Church
Clarity
Colossians
Community
Compassion
Connect Group
Crosswalk
Daily Study
Dave Ferguson
Deconstruction
Easter Week
Easter
Ecclesiastes
End of Series
End of the Week
Faith
Galatians
Galations
Gathering
Genesis
Group Study
Hebrews
Holy Wednesday
Hosea
Isaiah
James
Jeremiah
Job
John
Jonah
Joshua
Light
Lovewell: A Theology
Lovewell
Love
Luke
Mark
Matthew
Mike Rhynus
Paddy McCoy
Philippians
Proverbs
Psalms
Revelation
Romans
Sabbath
Service
Small Group Guide
Small Group Study
Small Group
The Little Letters
Timothy Gillespie
Uncomfortable
William Johnsson
Witness
Zechariah
choices
patience
rules
small group guides
1 Comment
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[i] and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven.