Hebrews 12:14-17

14Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. 15See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. 16See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. 17Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears.

This last week I preached a message on holiness. I spoke from Genesis chapter 6 primarily. The point I made is that God expects holiness from us. He expects us to be different, set apart, committed to Him. Noah was holy in that he was considered righteous, blameless and he walked with God. He was unlike his peers or the rest of the culture. He was different. He was committed to God. Holiness saved him and his immediate family from the judgment and destruction that came upon sinful humankind in the great flood. You can’t walk with God without holiness.

Holiness is the opposite of sinfulness.  It entails loving what God loves and hating what God hates. Jesus is holiness incarnate.

The writer of Hebrews calls all followers of Jesus to holiness.  He nails it here with examples that we cannot afford to miss.  Living lives of strife and envy along with sexual immorality and a love for the things of this world more than the promises of God will prohibit us from seeing the Lord!

Holiness isn’t something we earn by our good deeds. It’s something we pursue with all of our hearts. It is the essence of God, given to those who choose to trust and obey Him.

Many Christian people live spiritually anemic lives.  They experience little or no power over sinful habits and attitudes that keep them from enjoying life and experiencing God’s presence.  Yet I am convinced from my own journey and the journeys of others that I have witnessed and read about, that a deep and genuine passion for holiness is often what’s missing.  I have found that God meets me with His power when I genuinely pursue holiness.  Change and power for living may come over time or may surprise me and come quite quickly, but it always comes eventually, when holiness is my goal.

Pursuing holiness for me is about integrity.  It’s about being the person on the inside that produces the behavior on the outside that pleases God. It’s also about pursuing a life of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  After all, these are the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

This doesn’t come easily or naturally for any of us.  But it is what the Lord wants for us.  He is determined that we find holiness and are changed by it – for our sakes and for His.

Listen to what the writer of Hebrews says just a few verses earlier:

Hebrews 12:10-11

10Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. 

A harvest of righteousness and peace sounds good to me. Sounds like a solid life – with certainty and conviction that produces fulfillment and joy.

Want to see the Lord? Want to know His presence in your life?  Want to know real success and victory in life?  Pursue holiness with me.  Let’s see what happens.