At Noize camp I was asked this question by a teenager during the panel discussion session: "How do you please God truly?" I gave her an answer that I think sent her on a scavenger hunt to the Bible. So I decided to join her myself...... Here are some of the scriptures that really convicted me.
-Leviticus 11:45 " I am the Lord who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.
-Exodus 19: 6 "you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation."
-1 Peter 1:15-16 "But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."
Obviously Jesus wanted us to consecrate ourselves as Christ followers so that we would be set apart.
According to the Holman Bible Dictionary, the "Biblical use of the term "holy" has to do primarily with God's separating from the world that which he chooses to devote to himself." So our character as Christ followers should depict devotion to God. What does devotion to God look like?
The commandments He gave to the Israelites when he named them His chosen people are outlined in the Old Testament. However, Jesus affirms them in the New Testament. When the pharisees asked Jesus which commandment was the greatest, Jesus replied, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:37-40).
Ok, so obviously the way I live my life and the thoughts of my heart need to be used to display my love love to the Lord with all my heart, soul, and mind. So here is my question: if this is how I become "holy", then where is the balance between becoming totally legalistic about everything so that I am portrayed as "set apart" and relying on the grace of God to make me "holy" without any initiative on my part?
Let me know what you think.
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