Welcome to the cultivating growth podcast where each week we discuss different ways in which we can grow as followers of Christ. This week, we tackle the idea of holiness. 

What does the Bible have to say about holiness and and more than that, our responsibility to grow in holiness. That'll be the direction of the discussion today, and I look forward to sharing it with you. So with that, let's get to it.  Still good?  Yeah.

Alright.  Well, John, cultivating our growth when it comes to holiness. Holiness is or being holy is is an interesting term. It is throughout scripture. I mean, both Old Testament and New Testament.

It's a very Bible y word, and it's 1 that I think oftentimes,  and rightly so, when we think about holiness, we first think of God. Right? We think about God and his holiness. And And I think we do that more so than thinking about our own holiness. And and they're similar in the fact that, you know, it's, you know, a similar definition for the word.

But I think for our discussion, maybe spending the time and talking about our holiness is is gonna be the most helpful. So let's start kind of with the definition. You know, kind of when we think about the word itself and just kind of the simplest kinda most layman, you know, kind of way, when we think about holiness or holy, how would it how is it that you would kinda define that word? Well, I think the the basic definition, the 1 that probably everybody has heard is to be set apart. You're you're being you're being set apart for something.

And, certainly, when we're talking about holiness from the perspective of God and scripture, it is God that is setting us apart. We are being set apart for God and by God. And so when we think about being holy and holiness  as a characteristic that as Christians we're called to embody,  that calls to mind the responsibility we have to realize that God is the 1 making us holy. It's it's not something that we are doing. It is God who is setting us apart  for his purpose.

And and so I think that in and of itself is an important place to begin because I think sometimes we can get caught up in the idea of, you know, this is all about what I do or it's all about the, you know, my actions and how I'm behaving. That's that determines my holiness. And certainly, there's responsibility that we bear in this. I don't want any way to negate that, and I'm sure we'll talk about that as we go. But this is holiness is something that God is doing.

He is setting us apart for his work and for his purpose. And we see that certainly go you mentioned going back to the Old Testament. We see him doing that with the people of Israel. He sets them apart. They're different than the other nations of the earth during that time.

He set them apart for his purposes and and so it is that same idea that is being carried over into New Testament teaching that God sets apart his people. He calls us out to be different and to make us holy in in doing so. Yeah. And kinda sticking on the, you know, just kinda general big picture kind of things. You know, I think about, you know, God.

And, you know, there's a passage in first John chapter 1 that kinda, you know, John kinda gives us definitions of God in a lot of ways. So he used that God is love, and we kind of that God is these things. And in first John chapter 1 in verse 5, he makes the point that God is light. Right? God is light.

And then he reiterates that what that means is in him, there is no darkness at all. And so if we're gonna use the definition of this word, the idea is that god is separated from darkness. He is light, and he is holy. And so, therefore, he is separated from darkness. And a lot of times when I think about holiness, I really kind of think about that idea.

Listen, there's a passage in first Peter that we will reference a lot. Almost the exact same passage is in Leviticus chapter 19. So you see it in both testaments that call to be holy. But there in first Peter chapter 1 and verse 15 goes to the point that you had just made. But as he who called you, so we're being called by God, As he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct. 

And so for me, when I think about my holiness as compared to God's holiness, he is separated completely from darkness. And so just by way of mindset in the in the big picture terms, just by way of mindset, that really helps to understand that my holiness is up is to be striving to the level of God's holiness. Not to the level of the holiness of the people around me, which we would love to do. And we we are often tempted to do that, but it is to God's holiness that's the standard that's set. And that is similar to we we talked about love a few weeks ago.

Similar to to that idea, when God is your standard, then there's always room for growth. And that's why talking about this from the perspective of growing in holiness is so important because I do think 1 of the stumbling blocks we face is thinking of holiness as kind of a 1 and done type of I've I've I've reached the goal of holiness,  and that simply is not a biblical way of looking at this this concept. It is something that is we are continually striving for because God is our standard.  And so it brings to then the question of, alright. Well, how do we grow in this area then?

We kind of have our definition of what it is. We recognize God is the standard of our holiness. Well, then how do we grow in holiness? And I think that is where probably a lot of Christians, I think, have a lot of questions. Maybe you've been struggle with that idea, and it's something that, yeah, I've wrestled with as well over time is I I want to be more holy.

What does that look like? What does it mean to be more set apart? What is it? How how do I do that? And I think this is where it comes to recognizing what God has done for us.

And it took me to Ephesians chapter 4 as I was thinking about this, as Paul is writing about this new man that we are to become, when we put to death the old man, the 1 that's that's full of sin and lewdness and works of uncleanness and greediness, as he says in verse 19, and we put on this new person. In in verse 23, it says we're to be renewed in the spirit of our mind and that you put on the new man which was created according to God in true righteousness and holiness. And so that tells me that this new man that I am becoming, this new man that I'm to put on,  is 1 that's been created by God in true righteousness and holiness. When when I make the choice to become a child of God and put off the old man of sin and put on this new creature in Christ, become this new new person in Christ, I am now becoming something that has been set apart by God, created by him in righteousness and holiness, and now I have an opportunity to thrive in this new creation. Just like when a child is born, they are born into this new creation.

Right? They're experiencing the world for the first time, but they don't stay as that little baby. That's when they're born into this new creation, and they now grow and thrive and mature. And the same is true for me as a Christian. When I become a child of God, God sets me apart and now gives me a chance to thrive and to grow in this holiness that he has created for for me.

Yeah. I mean, a couple of things that kinda struck me as you were you know, talking about that. You know, the first is, you know, the the verse that you read there in verse 23 of chapter 4 in Ephesians, you know, be renewed in the spirit of your mind. Mhmm. We we didn't read the verse, but, you know, that is a very similar kind of phrasing that's used by Peter in first Peter chapter 1.

Yeah. Right where we were and talking about how, you know, he who has called us is holy. We we are to be holy. I mean, in that same context, the very really beginning of that conversation we were in verse 15, but just 2 verses up in verse 13, kind of at the outset of that conversation. He he's you know, you get that great visual picture of girding up the loins of your mind and be sober and be vigilant in this.

And and that he he then works his way, you know, into holiness. But, you know, as we really kinda think about Ephesians chapter 4, very similar phrasing that's used in Colossians chapter 3 and really in other places, Romans chapter 6. I think when we talk about  growing in our holiness, another thing that's gonna help us is really understanding what it is that we are separate from. If, you know, we're defining it as being separate or separated from, we've gotta have a good understanding about what that is. What am I to be separate from?

And you know, again, you can use Ephesians chapter 4. You can use Colossians chapter 3 just in that same text that you were using and to understand that as a new creature, as a new man, I am to be separate from what was the old man. And so I think that's why you see Paul use, you know, phrases as put to death the old man. Not to push him away or to put him into a closet or to, you know, to kinda push make some distance in between you. You you get that phrasing of put to death.

And so you see that separation.  You know, you see that separation. The other passage that came to mind was in James chapter 4  that, you know, the picture that James is talking about, our relationship with the world. If we wanna have a relationship with God, we cannot have a relationship with the world. We've got to be separate from the world.

If we want to draw near to God, we have to be separate from the world. And so the way that the world operates and the mindset that the world operates from, we've got to be separate from that. We've got to operate not with a physical mindset, but with a spiritual mindset. And that's a big part of what holiness is about. It is.

And I think that mindset is so important, and it's it's very a natural way of thinking about really anything.  If I want to grow in holiness, well, I can't spend all day thinking about things that are unholy.  That that is counterintuitive  to my stated objective. In the same way, if I wanna grow in love, I can't spend all day dwelling on hate. Right?

I have to think about loving things, and I have to focus on love. And the same is true with holiness. If I want to grow in holiness, then I need to spend time thinking about holy things, things of God, things that he treasures, things that are important to him. Dwell on those things, meditate on those things. You know, just last week, we talked about with with Andy Cantrell, we talked about the importance of meditating on God's word.

Well, the more that I meditate on things that are holy, the more that I'm gonna experience growth in holiness. But if I'm constantly meditating on and thinking about and spending time with things of the world that are not set apart, that are not different, that are not holy, then then I can't be surprised when I struggle  to thrive in holiness and to grow in holiness. We we have to be diligent about making sure we are spending time thinking about things that are holy. And so that takes us to God's word. It takes us closer to his people.

It it takes us closer to things that he sees as important. And that is where we spend our time and that's where our mind dwells. And as a result of that, then we'll see the growth in holiness that we're after. I mean, we see that throughout scripture. And and I think listen.

Everybody listening to us, everybody's a smart person. We understand, you know, how this how this works. Right? We understand the reality of that. You know, that's why you have I mean, we've made mention of Ephesians 4, Colossians 3, kind of parallel passages, but you have that passage beginning in Colossians chapter 3 with Paul saying, listen.

You've gotta set your mind on things above. That that's that's where your mind needs to be. Now we can go to Paul, you know, with the brethren in Philippon, Philippians chapter 4, when he's making that list of all these great things to be thinking about. And he he makes a list of all of these incredible holy things, and then he even ends that if there's anything praiseworthy. Anything that's praiseworthy, you think on those things.

And you you start to understand that if I'm filling my mind up with holy things, that that's going to then present myself as a as a holy life. But if I'm filling myself up with unholiness, I'm not then going to live a holy life. And and so to me, you're right on the money. 1 other thing that I think is a big part, not just filling our mind up with holy things, but spending our time with holy people Mhmm. That we're surrounding ourselves, not just in what I'm putting into my mind by what I'm seeing or listening to or watching or reading or thinking about.

But the the people I'm spending my time with, those choices that I'm making, are those holy people that I'm surrounding myself with or are those unholy people? All of that is going to have a massive impact on if I'm growing in my holiness or I'm not. And you know, 1 of the passages that I was thinking about that it kind of points to the conclusion of this is in Hebrews chapter 12 and verse number 14. It says, pursue peace with all people and holiness. So pursue it.

Pursue peace and holiness without which no 1 will see the Lord. There there is this idea that's being presented. If you're not actively pursuing  a life of peace with other people and a life of holiness, there is no relationship with God to be had. There there is no closeness to be had with him. There's certainly no eternal home to be had with him.

We have to be pursuing this life of being called out, this life of being different, this life of being separated  for God and his works so that we can spend time with him, so that we can have a relationship with him, so that we can see him as the writer in Hebrews says. That should be our desire and our goal. And outside of pursuing holiness, that can't be attained. It's that important that day by day we focus on this pursuit. Yeah.

There's no doubt about that. Well, let's close it up here with a little bit of a recap. We're thinking about cultivating our growth when it comes to to holiness. Certainly, we have to understand what our standard is, that our standard is God and his holiness. That's what we are pushing ourselves towards.

We've got to understand what it is we are being separated from. That is that old man, it it is things of the world. We're separated from that. And then how can we kind of be working on that right now, all of us? Let's be thinking about what we're putting into our minds when it comes to holiness.

Let's make sure we're filling our head up with holy things, and let's make sure we're surrounding ourself with holy people. If we're able to do that and work on that, we're certainly going to be cultivating our growth when it comes to holiness. Let's close with the passage. Second Corinthians chapter 7 and verse 1, he said the apostle Paul has this to say about our holiness. Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness and the fear of God.