Be Separate

Be Separate

Last Friday, my son Wade came home from Middle School and gave me a teachable moment. Teachable moments are times out of everyday life from which we can teach and learn more about God and what He requires of us. Wade told me about a young lady who is very cute and is showing some interest in him. After I got over my 7th grader having a girl who likes him, I asked Wade a little bit about this girl. Once I found out some basic information about her, I dropped a big question on him. “Is she a believer?” He looked at me kind of funny and then said, “I don’t know Dad.” We then got to learn about what I read in 2 Corinthians 6:14 where Paul reminds us that we should “not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers.” Paul continues in this passage to tell us that we should come out from among a non-believing world and be separate unto God.
What does being separate mean according to God’s word? This is summed up in one word: Holy. In Stephen Olford’s book, The Ways of Holiness, Olford defines holiness as the following: “Given spiritual life, holiness means the maintaining in health of that life before God and the setting apart of that life for His service alone” (p. 49.). “Be holy, for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16). Holiness is not merely a suggestion, but it is a mandate from heaven. I don’t know about you, but when I think about that passage, I am a little overwhelmed. How am I, a lowly, ugly vessel like we looked at last week, able to be holy? When I start to think about this I can’t help but exclaim “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of host; the whole earth is full of His glory!” (Isa. 6:3). I also can’t help but proclaim “Woe is me, for I am undone!” (Isa. 6:5). Mandates from heaven are never designed to overwhelm us. Whenever God demand something from us, He provides the means for us to accomplish it. In 1Cor. 1:30, Paul reminds us that “Christ…became for us...holiness.” This simply means that God makes holiness available to us through the indwelling life of Jesus Christ in us through the power of the Holy Spirit. On our own, we are unable to be holy, but “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength” (Phil. 4:13).

“Therefore, having all these promises, beloved,
let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit,
perfecting holiness in the fear of God”
2 Corinthians 7:1

With the Power of the Spirit,
Aaron Hodges