REFLECTIONS

Written by Stephen Shead

So far, we have seen that God’s holiness is his God-ness, in particular, his glory and his goodness. And yesterday, we learned that for us, to be holy is to be devoted to God, which means glorifying God and reflecting his goodness.

But how can sinful people possibly become holy? Only saints – only those who are wholly devoted to God – can dwell in his presence and not be consumed by his holy judgment. But how can sinners be sanctified? From the moment Adam and Eve rebel against God and are cast out of the garden of his presence in Genesis 3, that is perhaps the most pressing question in the Bible. We heard Isaiah’s despair at his own uncleanness when he glimpsed God’s holiness. When Simon Peter first got a hunch about Jesus’ holiness, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” (Luke 5:8).

But Jesus himself, the Holy One of God (John 6:69), is also the answer – God’s decisive, glorious answer to the question of how we sinners can become holy. The answer is: By his grace in Jesus Christ. That is, God makes us holy as a gift which is given through Jesus and which we receive by faith alone, not by our own effort or doing or deserving.

But that takes a stunning act of power, a dramatic rescue. By nature, we are dead in our sin and destined for God’s wrath (Ephesians 1:1-3). The Bible doesn’t just describe us as “basically good but occasionally a bit thoughtless.” It says we are slaves to sin (John 8:34; Romans 7:14).

That’s what makes Jesus’ death and resurrection so dramatic. It’s not just a self-sacrifice, the death of the Holy One in place of sinners – although it is that. It’s also a powerful rescue and liberation of slaves.

In the Old Testament, the Exodus from Egypt was the great event of deliverance from physical slavery. God rescued his people from slavery for a purpose – so that they would be his “treasured possession, … a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:5-6). God delivered them from slavery and devoted them to himself.

In the New Testament, it turns out that the Exodus was a picture of the real act of divine deliverance in Jesus. Paul uses the language of deliverance or redemption to explain what God has done for us through Jesus’ death and resurrection:

13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:13-14)

All the puzzle pieces are now in place. We’re ready for a final summary of how sinners can become saints, and what holiness means for us: To be holy means to be delivered from sin and devoted to God, by his grace in Christ Jesus, through faith in him alone.

All of that is why Paul can say:

It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. (1 Corinthians 1:30)

Jesus IS our holiness, from start to finish. We’ll dig deeper into that later on. But to finish for today, meditate on Paul’s words in Ephesians 1. Listen to how overwhelmed Paul is at the kindness and love and grace of God – and how every good gift from God, including redemption and forgiveness and holiness, comes to us entirely in Christ. As you read, marvel at God’s grace, and tell him how much you love him for it.

4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. (Ephesians 1:4-10)

Verses for further reflection: Titus 3:3-8.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Stephen is our senior minister.