March 1, 2012 | Leave a comment Today, Thursday March 1, 2012, is Day 6 of preparing our hearts, souls, and minds for Easter Sunday. Today I must “put off” sin and “put on” holiness. The concepts of sin and holiness are greatly misunderstood by many Christians today, yet, each of us who wish to authentically follow Jesus Christ are called to pursue “holiness” while ridding ourselves of “sin.” But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. Romans 6:22 First, we begin by discussing the concept of sin. The very concept of sin presumes a moral absolute. In our culture which continuously promotes tolerance for all religious views the belief in moral absolutes has come to be in disrepute. It seems strange, however, that while our culture fails to denounce sin and strive to be holy; individuals within our culture seem to be continuously obsessed with assessing blame and thereby affixing guilt upon others. People in our culture are continuously seeking redress from the government, the courts, and businesses to be made whole. Ours is a culture of victimization, yet, if there are no moral absolutes how can anyone be victimized? Parents feel guilty that they do not spend enough time with their children, spouses feel guilty that they are not meeting the needs of one another, and many feel a general sense of guilt for reasons which they cannot adequately verbalize. What is the source of this desire to blame others and proclaim them guilty? Sin! There are three principal words in Hebrew used to convey the idea of “sin.” The principle Hebrew word for “sin,” “hata” means to miss the mark, and is usually translated into English by the word “sin.” The concept of sin assumes the existence of a divine standard to which people do not live up. The second term in the the Hebrew vocabulary of sin “pesa” indicates a conscious revolt against the divine standard and it is usually translated “rebellion” or “transgression.” A third Hebrew word used to describe sin “?awon” represents a deviation from or twisting of God’s standard and is usually translated into English as “iniquity” or “guilt.” Today you and I need to “put off” sin, rebellion, and iniquity! How do we do this? We repent of all the “sin” in our life. Ask God the Holy Spirit to convict you of all your sins. As he does His work repent of every sin that comes to your mind and ask God to forgive you. As sins come into your remembrance throughout the day take time to confess and repent of them. Being freshly confessed enables us to better understand our own individual pursuit of holiness. The point of the process of salvation is to make us holy. 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will. Ephesians 1:3–5 Individuals who wish to be saved simply so that they do not go to hell miss this whole point. Becoming like Christ (that is becoming holy) is the goal of the Christian life. If you are unwilling (notice I did not say unable) to become free from your sin but instead seek to discover the maximum amount of sin which God will tolerate in your life then your comprehension of the concept of salvation is terribly and greatly misunderstood. Holiness means to be pure, set apart, sanctified. God, Himself instructed his chosen people that; I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves along the ground. Leviticus 11:44 The apostle Paul reminds us that our bodies are to be holy to the Lord. Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Romans 12:1 In case we have missed it Peter explains the absolute standard by which we are all to live. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:15–16 It is very simple. Each one of us who claims Christ as Savior and Lord must strive to be holy because He is. He is our standard and each time I fail to be as holy as He is, I sin, and am in need of repentance. Today I need to “put off” sin and “put on” holiness! How about you?