Proper Concern for Holiness – Part 1
In Leviticus 10:10,11 God, after the fiery death of Nadab and Abihu, teaches an important lesson to Aaron regarding approaching Him: “Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations: And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean.” The prohibition against alcoholic beverages was for a specific reason: so Aaron and his sons would know how to tell the difference between the holy and the profane.
Ezekiel instructs the priests in his day to observe this same distinction: “And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean” (Ezekiel 44:23). God was concerned that the people understand the difference between the holy and the unholy, between the sacred and the profane.
The New Testament reflects this teaching as well, although not couched in such specific words. In the Greek New Testament the adjective “holy” and the verb “sanctify” are all from the same stem-word, “hãg–” which has the idea of being set apart for a special purpose. When God sets something apart for a special purpose, it is divinely sanctified—divinely holy.
God spells out some things that are holy— that are sanctified. In Romans 1:2 we see that the scriptures are holy; they are set apart by God for a special purpose (see also 2 Timothy 3:15). In Ephesians 5:27 we read that the church is holy. Hebrews 7:26 says that we have a holy High Priest. And in the epistles of Peter, Christians are to be holy; they are a holy nation (1 Peter 1:15, 16 and 1 Peter 2:9). Are we concerned about holiness?
God bless you, and I love you.
Kevin Cauley