I have lived long enough to see the meaning of words change, whether through the gradual evolution of culture or the fickle influence of slang. An example of the former, when I was a child, “gay” was commonly used to describe a merry disposition; now it refers exclusively to a sexual lifestyle. In terms of slang, “bad” is good; “ridiculous” means awesome, and so does “sick.” “Crazy” has come to connote intensity, e.g., crazy in love. Word geeks (like me) find all of this so fascinating. Yet there is a downside to etymological entertainment: ideas and meanings are weakened when we dilute the words that define them. Take “holy,” for instance.
If someone were to ask you to describe yourself, would you say, “holy”? Probably not, for its connotation has accumulated some cultural baggage along the way. “Holier than thou” carries the pejorative notion of self-righteousness, which is not holy at all. Some associate “holy” with a pious aloofness and separation from “the great unwashed.” This also is not holy. Reflecting on our thoughts, words, and deeds, we presume to judge ourselves in our own trial as “Not holy.” There is just one little problem with all of this—if, by faith, Christ lives in you, you are holy; God has seen to your holiness. In the letter to the Hebrews we read, “By [the Father’s] will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”1 You are holy. Get used to it.
So, let’s define it. Holiness is being set apart, both unto God and from the world—not the people of the world, but the ways of the world. To wit, Jesus did not withdraw from those socially marginalized as “sinners;” He sought them out in love and engaged them in warmth, enduring the scorn of the religious ruling class in the process. Conversely, Jesus neither condoned people’s sinful ways nor marginalized their sin, rather, He redirected them back to God where they would find forgiveness, peace, and joy. Rescuing the adulterous woman from the death penalty, Jesus urged her, “Go now and leave your life of sin.”2 There is a freshness to holiness: it gratefully celebrates and humbly partakes in the goodness of God, and it leads us from the dark hopelessness of worldly ways with the liberating light of Christ. Isn’t this what we want? Then in such grace may we effectively flourish in what is already true about us: in Christ we are holy. It’s a good word, when you think about it.
“But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life.”—Romans 6:22 NLT
Father, You have done something we could never do: You have set us apart from darkness and unto You. Thank You! Be glorified in us, Your holy people. In Christ we pray. Amen.
1 Hebrews 10:10 NIV
2 John 8:11 NIV
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Paul Nordman—Author 