If a little Boy or Girl would come up to you and say my teacher said according to the Bible that we are to be Holy, can you tell me just like you can describe the steps of Salvation?
1 Peter 1:16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service.
Hi Richard. The word 'holy' in Greek is 'hagios'. And this means, 'holy, sacred, set apart'. When the word is used for those who have been saved, born again by the Spirit of God, it means that the Spirit immediately causes the believer to be marked & set apart from anything not of God & also belonging to Him alone. But can the believer just rest in that wonderful fact & then remain stagnant, careless or lethargic in his life from God? The one in whom the Spirit of God resides can never remain in such a sad state - the indwelling Lord will not permit it.
When we see important Scriptures as you shared, as in 1 Peter 1:14-16, "As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: but as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy", we see a couple of things. Once our lives were lived according to our own desires & dictates from the world. Peter instructs that all that is now past because God has "called you", or, God has chosen you to receive salvation & eternal life. And if God has called & He is Holy, then our new lives lived in the Spirit will be according to the dictates of His Spirit. And He says 'don't fashion yourself to the world but to the One Who has redeemed you'. If we subject ourselves to Him, then He will direct our lives to live in a manner that is pleasing to Him. Are we then freed from sinning? If so, then we must also be free of this sinful flesh & free from the struggles of this flesh with the spirit. Since we're never promised that in this life, striving for holiness will always be the quest of the spiritual person, desiring to please the Lord Who ransomed him & be circumspect in every area of life.
Some might give up & say that this is impossible to achieve. We need to keep the Lord always in view, & 'run with patience the race that is set before us' ( Hebrews 12:1,2). The road ahead won't be smooth, but finish we must.
Your answer is correct and true Chris but you may have missed my question how do you explain how to be Holy to a child knowing that you are Holy through Christ because of their Salvation when it says in 1 Peter 1: 16 and Romans 12:11 that we (are to be Holy)!
And because Jesus is holy, when He died on the cross for us, He not only forgave us our sins when we repented, He also gave us His holiness. Only the people God makes holy can be with Him. 1 Corinthians 1:30 tells us that when we are in Jesus (i.e. we belong to Him), He not only redeems us, but also makes us righteous & sanctifies us (or, makes us clean & holy people, separated from others who don't love God). That means we can stand before God and God only sees the holiness and righteousness of Jesus in us, Jesus who lives within us (by His Spirit), instead of seeing our sin. But if we do sin, we can quickly repent to God & he will forgive us and restore us as His precious holy children ( 1 John 1:9).
Here are a few verses that you can read together and discuss:
Leviticus 20:26 (God separated Israel as a holy people for Himself).
1 Samuel 2:2 (Hannah's prayer that there is no other God & nothing compared to His Holiness).
Isaiah 6:3 (the cry of praise by the seraphim (heavenly beings), who worship God continually declaring His Holiness).
Mark 1:23,24 (even the unclean spirits, as also the Devil, recognize the holiness of God & His Son).
A thoughtful child may ask, 'If I sin then don't I become unholy & God wouldn't love me anymore?' Then, you would have to talk about our sinful nature, of our propensity to sin, of repentance, of being forgiven. We aren't like God, One Who cannot sin at all - we can sin, we all sin but we must repent & hate that sin. God has made us holy by separating us from the Devil & the world & making us a part of His family. He wants us to be careful & always try to live to His Standards. If we fail Him, He won't cast us out, but wants us to say 'sorry' & enjoy being in His family to please Him in everything. I trust something here may be helpful Richard.
My apologies Richard, I gave a response based on your last question, not taking into account that the matter of 'being holy' was actually to be explained to a child.
Of course, the age of the child & its understanding of biblical Truth would determine our response. Probably a very young child would not be introduced to such a subject, nor would he hear it from a teacher. Given the child's age is between 6 & 12 for example, ages when they can understand yet inquisitive to everything they read or hear, I would approach it as follows:
Firstly, Define it: To be holy means to be unique (special), but separate from all other things, and absolutely pure and perfect, doing no wrong.
Secondly, Know It: God is Holy, which means He is distinct (totally different in character/person) from every other person or thing. His Holiness means that nothing can make Him less than perfect, even when He lives within us. Because God is Holy, sin can never touch Him. God's Holiness is an important reason why we worship (pray to) Him.
Thirdly, Talk about It: Ask: when you think about the word "holy," what do you think of? They may think of songs sung in church. Such as, 'Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty', or 'O Holy Night', might come to their minds. We say the word "holy" a lot at church. We pray to our 'Holy Father', we also say 'Holy Spirit', or we talk about how Jesus is Holy. But what does it mean to be holy? And can we also be holy like Him?
When we're talking about God or Jesus, the word 'holy' means two things. First, it means God is distinct or different from everything else that ever was or ever will be. He's the one & only God, and He is separate from His creation which has been affected by sin (of course, the child would need to know about sin & its outcomes). Secondly, it means that God cannot be corrupted or made to be anything less than holy (stained) by sin. He's uniquely perfect, totally untouched by sin. That means that Jesus His Son is too.
Hello Richard, As a teacher of young children I would suggest that you explain to this child that God is holy and good. He wants to be this way. He loves what is good and He loves to do good. He loves those who believe in Him.
Then I would say, that I (yourself) desire to be like God in this, loving what is good, loving to do what is good, and loving God who is always good.
Then I would explain what it is to love what is good (all that God has said is good, and hating all that God says is sinful)
Then what it is to love doing what is good (always trying to do what God says is the right thing to do because this is how we show God we love Him),
then what it means to love God (love Who He is, think and speak kindly about Him, accept His determination of what is right and wrong, etc.)
Then I would explain what holy means in regards of being 'set apart" for God's will and purposes as Jesus was and did. Not being like everyone else who follows the worlds values, but following what God values, always being aware that we belong to God, having been purchased from the world, sin, and its ways by death and resurrection of Jesus.
Then speak about how God is set apart. he alone is God, there are no other gods but Him. He is perfect in every aspect about Him. He cannot be tempted by sin and will never do what is wrong. He made all that there is in all of the Universe, so everything belongs to Him, He is King over all. He is worthy of our worship, devotion, and obedience. He is the most valuable Being of all.
This is practical language that a young teen can "chew on". Of course, you can cite bible verses, but i would not give every verse there is in the Word on each point, as that would be overwhelming.
That Jesus died for our sins. John 3:16 and He is the only way to be saved from sin and He is the only way we become Holy. We still may sin but Jesus has us covered you won't want to sin anymore hope that helps.
Thank You!
Proverbs 22:6, it's a process of examples by living teaching by example, showing what love one another means.._..
Matthew 25:31-46, James 1:27, I would start there
Hopefully these are helpful
1 Peter 1:16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service.
When we see important Scriptures as you shared, as in 1 Peter 1:14-16, "As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: but as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy", we see a couple of things. Once our lives were lived according to our own desires & dictates from the world. Peter instructs that all that is now past because God has "called you", or, God has chosen you to receive salvation & eternal life. And if God has called & He is Holy, then our new lives lived in the Spirit will be according to the dictates of His Spirit. And He says 'don't fashion yourself to the world but to the One Who has redeemed you'. If we subject ourselves to Him, then He will direct our lives to live in a manner that is pleasing to Him. Are we then freed from sinning? If so, then we must also be free of this sinful flesh & free from the struggles of this flesh with the spirit. Since we're never promised that in this life, striving for holiness will always be the quest of the spiritual person, desiring to please the Lord Who ransomed him & be circumspect in every area of life.
Some might give up & say that this is impossible to achieve. We need to keep the Lord always in view, & 'run with patience the race that is set before us' ( Hebrews 12:1,2). The road ahead won't be smooth, but finish we must.
And because Jesus is holy, when He died on the cross for us, He not only forgave us our sins when we repented, He also gave us His holiness. Only the people God makes holy can be with Him. 1 Corinthians 1:30 tells us that when we are in Jesus (i.e. we belong to Him), He not only redeems us, but also makes us righteous & sanctifies us (or, makes us clean & holy people, separated from others who don't love God). That means we can stand before God and God only sees the holiness and righteousness of Jesus in us, Jesus who lives within us (by His Spirit), instead of seeing our sin. But if we do sin, we can quickly repent to God & he will forgive us and restore us as His precious holy children ( 1 John 1:9).
Here are a few verses that you can read together and discuss:
Leviticus 20:26 (God separated Israel as a holy people for Himself).
1 Samuel 2:2 (Hannah's prayer that there is no other God & nothing compared to His Holiness).
Isaiah 6:3 (the cry of praise by the seraphim (heavenly beings), who worship God continually declaring His Holiness).
Mark 1:23,24 (even the unclean spirits, as also the Devil, recognize the holiness of God & His Son).
A thoughtful child may ask, 'If I sin then don't I become unholy & God wouldn't love me anymore?' Then, you would have to talk about our sinful nature, of our propensity to sin, of repentance, of being forgiven. We aren't like God, One Who cannot sin at all - we can sin, we all sin but we must repent & hate that sin. God has made us holy by separating us from the Devil & the world & making us a part of His family. He wants us to be careful & always try to live to His Standards. If we fail Him, He won't cast us out, but wants us to say 'sorry' & enjoy being in His family to please Him in everything. I trust something here may be helpful Richard.
My apologies Richard, I gave a response based on your last question, not taking into account that the matter of 'being holy' was actually to be explained to a child.
Of course, the age of the child & its understanding of biblical Truth would determine our response. Probably a very young child would not be introduced to such a subject, nor would he hear it from a teacher. Given the child's age is between 6 & 12 for example, ages when they can understand yet inquisitive to everything they read or hear, I would approach it as follows:
Firstly, Define it: To be holy means to be unique (special), but separate from all other things, and absolutely pure and perfect, doing no wrong.
Secondly, Know It: God is Holy, which means He is distinct (totally different in character/person) from every other person or thing. His Holiness means that nothing can make Him less than perfect, even when He lives within us. Because God is Holy, sin can never touch Him. God's Holiness is an important reason why we worship (pray to) Him.
Thirdly, Talk about It: Ask: when you think about the word "holy," what do you think of? They may think of songs sung in church. Such as, 'Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty', or 'O Holy Night', might come to their minds. We say the word "holy" a lot at church. We pray to our 'Holy Father', we also say 'Holy Spirit', or we talk about how Jesus is Holy. But what does it mean to be holy? And can we also be holy like Him?
When we're talking about God or Jesus, the word 'holy' means two things. First, it means God is distinct or different from everything else that ever was or ever will be. He's the one & only God, and He is separate from His creation which has been affected by sin (of course, the child would need to know about sin & its outcomes). Secondly, it means that God cannot be corrupted or made to be anything less than holy (stained) by sin. He's uniquely perfect, totally untouched by sin. That means that Jesus His Son is too.
Then I would say, that I (yourself) desire to be like God in this, loving what is good, loving to do what is good, and loving God who is always good.
Then I would explain what it is to love what is good (all that God has said is good, and hating all that God says is sinful)
Then what it is to love doing what is good (always trying to do what God says is the right thing to do because this is how we show God we love Him),
then what it means to love God (love Who He is, think and speak kindly about Him, accept His determination of what is right and wrong, etc.)
Then I would explain what holy means in regards of being 'set apart" for God's will and purposes as Jesus was and did. Not being like everyone else who follows the worlds values, but following what God values, always being aware that we belong to God, having been purchased from the world, sin, and its ways by death and resurrection of Jesus.
Then speak about how God is set apart. he alone is God, there are no other gods but Him. He is perfect in every aspect about Him. He cannot be tempted by sin and will never do what is wrong. He made all that there is in all of the Universe, so everything belongs to Him, He is King over all. He is worthy of our worship, devotion, and obedience. He is the most valuable Being of all.
This is practical language that a young teen can "chew on". Of course, you can cite bible verses, but i would not give every verse there is in the Word on each point, as that would be overwhelming.
I hope this is helpful.
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