Tammi's Treasures
Monthly Column by Tammi Rhoney

In our culture today, holiness is a word that we hear very little and see in action even less. Sadly many people, including some Christians, don’t take God’s command to be holy seriously enough and non-Christians could care less about this vital character quality. As Christian women, we should strive daily to display holiness in our speech, attitude and conduct. As 1 Timothy 4:12 says, "Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." In Noah’s day, when God saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, He was grieved in His heart that He had made man (Genesis 6:5-6). How much more is God grieved by the evil in our world today?

What is holiness?

J.C. Ryle, author of Holiness, writes, "Holiness is the habit of being of one mind with God, according as we find His mind described in Scripture."¹ In other words, hating what God hates, loving what God loves and measuring everything by the standard of His Word.² A woman who desires to be holy will hate every false way and have a great fear of displeasing God (Psalm 119:11,120). She will seek after God with her whole heart and strive to be more conformed to Christ’s image (Psalm 119:10, Romans 8:29). She will bear with and forgive others, even as God also has forgiven her (Ephesians 4:32). She will aim to be unselfish, humble, faithful and full of love and compassion for sinners, like Christ. She will deny herself in order to minister more effectively to others, just as Dorcas did (Acts 9:36-42). Sound impossible? Only by God’s grace and the work of the Holy Spirit can we ever hope to become holy and even with our best efforts we will never be perfectly holy in this life.

Why is holiness important?

Holiness is essential because God commands it. 1 Peter 1:15-16 says, "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.'" Hebrews 12:14 says, "Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy, without holiness no one will see the Lord." Scripture also says, "For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life" (1 Thessalonians 4:7). How much clearer does God need to be?

Another reason to be holy is that holiness shows the world whose we are. I Peter 2:9 says, "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light." J.C. Ryle says, "The only safe evidence that we are one with Christ, and Christ in us, is a holy life.^"3 We are called to be holy women that give the world proof that we love Christ.

Holiness is also important because we are the "Bride of Christ" (2 Corinthians 11:2; Revelation 19:7; 21:2, 9; 22:17). This expression is used metaphorically in the New Testament to show how close God intends the relationship to be between Him and His people. What bride-to-be doesn’t go to great lengths to prepare and adorn herself so that, at the moment when her groom first glimpses his betrothed at the ceremony, he is struck speechless by her beauty? Pursuing holy character likewise enhances our beauty in the eyes of Christ. Emalyn Spencer, in her book A Woman That Feareth The Lord, says, "If we ever came close to a comprehension of God, His majesty and holiness and power, and if we could even begin to see ourselves in all our filthiness and selfishness, we would prostrate ourselves in sackcloth and ashes, crying out for mercy and forgiveness.^"4

A Christian who exhibits holiness will stand out since holiness is almost non-existent in our culture. Christian women have the opportunity to shine for Christ by choosing to be obedient to Scripture’s commands to be holy. That means examining our hearts for sins that can keep us from holiness, like carelessness and dishonesty. Most of us can resist the big temptations because we fear the consequences, but do we give in to the smaller ones like eating those last three brownies when we know we don’t need them? Or do we take the name of the Lord lightly or in vain? Maybe we don’t take God’s name in vain, but we use expressions like “gosh”, "gee" or "golly". These are simply derivatives of God’s holy name. Growing up, my mother never allowed us to use God’s name in vain, or any of the above derivatives, or we were punished.

What Produces Holiness?

Holiness begins with the fear of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 7:1 states, "Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." Holiness is perfected or completed by obedience, which is produced by the fear of God. Emalyn Spencer says that there are four conditions that must be present in our lives in order for us to have the quality of holiness:

1. There must be a hungering and thirsting after God, His righteousness and His Word (Psalm 42:1-2);
   
   
2. We can never experience holiness without a repentant spirit (1 John 1:9);
   
   
3. The third condition for holiness is an abhorrence of all evil (Romans 12:9a);
   
   
4. We must consciously, deliberately and purposefully cling to that which is good (Romans 12:9b), which includes choosing our friends carefully.⁵

It takes time to be holy and there are no short cuts. Unlike oatmeal, there’s no such thing as "instant holiness." As we seek to develop a faithful and consistent prayer life and feed on God’s Word, the Holy Spirit will begin to produce Christ’s holiness in us.

In 1882, William Longstaff, a wealthy Englishman, heard a sermon from
1 Peter 1:16, "Be holy, for I am holy." This prompted him to write the hymn Take Time to Be Holy. The first stanza says:

"Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord.
Abide in Him always, and feed on His word.
Make friends with God’s children; help those who are weak,
Forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek."

May we seek to be holy women in all that we say and do. Then Jesus will be glorified and magnified in our lives and the world will see the beauty of holiness, without which no man (or woman) will see the Lord.

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¹ J.C. Ryle, Holiness (Old Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Co.),
p. 35.
² Ibid.
³ Ibid., 41.
⁴ Emalyn Spencer, A Woman That Feareth The Lord (Lawrenceville, GA: Christian Ed.&Pub., 2003), p. 9.
⁵ Ibid., p. 10.

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About the Author: Tammi has suffered with the debilitating illness known as Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (or “CFIDS”) for almost fifteen years. She is an on-line devotional writer for Rest Ministries. When able, she enjoys swimming, sewing, writing and traveling. Tammi’s passion is encouraging others with chronic illnesses to draw closer to Jesus Christ and find hope and strength in Him. Take a minute to visit her website at www.lordhelpmyhusband.com.