Holiness Is Not a Costume
Qadash is the Hebrew word for holy. According to Strong’s Concordance, it has three definitions:
Sacred (ceremonially or morally)
Used as a noun in reference to God
By eminence, an angel, a saint, or a sanctuary
There are also two definitions for the word holiness:
Absolute purity (God’s perfect moral character)
The state of being set apart or separated from what is common and sinful
You may ask, why is holiness important? In Leviticus 11:45, the Lord commands us to be holy because He is holy. Emphasis on command. A command is an order that must be followed. Since the Lord is righteous and does not tolerate sin, we too must be righteous and despise sin if we claim to be children of the Most High.
1 John 2:5–6 states:
“But whoever habitually keeps His word and obeys His precepts [and treasures His message in its entirety], in him the love of God has truly been perfected [it is completed and has reached maturity]. By this we know [for certain] that we are in Him: whoever says he lives in Christ [that is, whoever says he has accepted Him as God and Savior] ought [as a moral obligation] to walk and conduct himself just as He walked and conducted Himself.”
If you live your life according to the Lord’s precepts and conduct yourself just as Jesus conducted Himself, then you are obeying the command, “Be holy, for I am holy.” Notice in verse 5 it says, “habitually keeps His word and obeys His precepts.” Living holy is continuous; it is not designated for one day out of the week.
A man of God that I know coined the term SMO, which stands for Sunday Mornings Only. Many people only live right on Sunday morning, then proceed to live raggedy Monday through Saturday—and even Sunday afternoon after church.
1 Thessalonians 4:3–7 states:
“For this is the will of God, that you be sanctified [separated and set apart from sin]: that you abstain and back away from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor [being available for God’s purpose and separated from things profane], not [to be used] in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God and are ignorant of His will; and that in this matter no man shall transgress and defraud his brother, because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we have told you before and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us to impurity, but to holiness [to be dedicated and set apart by behavior that pleases Him, whether in public or in private].”
Whether you are in church, at work, at school, in the store, or in the privacy of your own home, you must live holy. Do not be deceived into believing that you can be a lover of sin and still inherit the Kingdom of God.
The Lord states in Jeremiah 11:15:
“What right has My beloved [to be] in My house when she has done many vile things and acted treacherously [over and over again]? Can vows and the meat of your sacrifices remove your wickedness and cancel the consequences of your sin, so that you can [escape your judgment and] rejoice?”
Ask yourself this: What gives you the right to be in the Lord’s house when you habitually choose to live a life of sin? Brothers and sisters, I urge you to repent. Do not put it off for tomorrow when you can start living right today. Call on the Lord your God while He is near, and do not miss your opportunity for salvation.
Remember: holiness is a way of life, not a costume