Holy
Values that Must Shape our Congregation
I used to think holiness was God saving us and then saying, “Freeze. Don’t move. Don’t touch anything. Just wait here until I get back.”
A holy person, in my mind, was someone who avoided things–a life defined by “no.”
I had an unattractive, unattainable understanding of what “holy” meant.
Holy people paid someone else to fart for them.
I was one of those Christians who still occasionally had gas and… *GASP* sometimes thought a fart was funny.
The biblical picture of holiness is beautiful, not backbreaking or browbeating.
Holiness isn’t about freezing in place.
God’s holiness will bring a sinner to his knees, no doubt. But the unique wonder and worthiness of God is the fountain of all God’s creative and redemptive work.
God created us to enjoy His holiness. Christ redeems us to enjoy God’s holiness.
Because of Christ’s cross, we don’t have to run from the power of God’s holiness in fear of the penalty of sin.
In Christ, we do keep running, though.
Holiness is about running–running with the Spirit toward love.
The holy believer isn’t standing still, white-knuckling his way through temptation. He’s in motion, becoming like the God who gave himself for others.
Holiness isn’t static. It’s dynamic. And it ends in sacrifice for the people around you.
Holiness is Set Apart FROM
Holiness begins with departure. Paul commands believers to no longer live “as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts” (Ephesians 4:17-18).
The world has a way of doing things. It has a definition of success, a vision of leadership, and a set of values that seem obvious to everyone shaped by it.
But the leader set apart for God must see this clearly: the world’s wisdom is futile. Its understanding is darkened. Its heart is hard.
Set apart FROM means we refuse to influence others by the world’s playbook and value system.
We don’t measure success the way the culture does. We don’t pursue influence through manipulation. We don’t tolerate sin in ourselves to keep the peace or maintain an image.
The old self–with its deceitful desires–has been put off. We don’t go back, no matter how practical the worldly wisdom appears.
Holiness is Set Apart TO
But holiness is not merely leaving. It’s becoming. Paul continues: “Put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:24).
The goal is not emptiness–it’s likeness.
We are being renewed in the image of our Creator. Holiness means becoming like God. Receiving Christ’s righteousness, then his character becomes our standard and our pursuit. His heart becomes our aim.
This is why holiness cannot be reduced to rule-keeping.
Rules tell you what to avoid. Holiness calls you to become. The holy leader isn’t simply the one who doesn’t fall.
He’s the one being transformed–growing in the character of God himself.
Holiness is Set Apart FOR
And what does God’s character look like in action? Paul answers immediately: “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children, and walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:1-2).
Holiness aims at love. To be like God is to walk in sacrificial love.
The holy leader puts God first–and then spends himself for the good of others.
He is not set apart to be above but to serve.
He imitates the Lord Jesus, who gave himself up.
The surprising end of holiness is that it looks like a cross.
Set apart FROM the world’s selfishness. Set apart TO God’s character. Set apart FOR the kind of love that costs you something.
It’s worth reflecting:
Where am I still influencing others by the world’s playbook rather than God’s?
Am I pursuing holiness as rule-keeping, or am I being transformed into God’s likeness?
Does my leadership cost me anything for the sake of others?
Where is God calling me to walk in sacrificial love this week?