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The
Holiness
There
are several words used for holiness in the Bible, for instance,
sanctification (Gen. 2:3), clean (Lev. 13:6), Holy (Lev. 20:7). In
Leviticus 19:2 the Lord says to the children of Israel
“Ye
shall be holy; for I the Lord your God am Holy”
In
the New Testament also the holiness is emphasized in Cor. 6:11 we
see
“But
ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of
the Lord Jesus and by the spirit of our God”
In
the Old Testament the holiness concept was based on certain rituals, but
in New Testament through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, the
concept of holiness changed from rituals to the inner part of every
person. That is why St. Paul
says
“Therefore
if any man be in Christ. He is a new creation; old things are passed away;
behold all things are become new” II Cor. 5:17.
From
rituals to the newness of the entire personality that is what the change
that took place. Therefore when Jesus says,
“Think
not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets; I am not come to
destroy but to fulfill” Mt. 5:17
He
brought this transformation not through the rituals, which were outward
signs, but to the inward signs. This inward transformation can be seen
through the fruits of the spirit, which are mentioned in Galatians 5:22,
23
“But
the fruit of the spirit is love joy, peace long suffering, gentleness,
goodness, faith meekness, temperance; against such there is no
law”
The
total transformation of inner ‘Being’ is what we see in New Testament
and this is the new concept of holiness. If anybody is not changed totally
from within he is not living a holy life, because the list of the fruits
of the spirit is the very life of Jesus Christ himself. He lived this life
when he was in this world and gave an example that we also must live the
same life. Prophet Isaiah [ch. 53:1-12] wrote regarding his sufferings,
which were beyond the suffering of any human being, which took him up to
the cross to die on behalf of us. So that no one can say Jesus was not
familiar with human trials and temptations. He lived the holy life and
therefore he preached to live the holy life in his sermon on the mount [Mt
5,6 and 7] Let us examine our
lives in the light of the scripture and pray to the Lord to strengthen us
to live a holy life.
May
the Lord bless you all abundantly.
Rev.
A S Joglekar
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