God has saved us and called us to a holy life . . . (2 Tim. 1:9)
We’re to be holy because He’s holy (1 Pet. 1:16). Consequently, the holiness of God must matter in ministry.
About the Holiness of God
We often think of the holiness of God as something that should instill fear as His holiness defines His expectations for us –“just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do” (1 Pet. 1:15-16). Stepping outside of those boundaries leads to spiritual death for the unbeliever because “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23) and “without holiness, no one will see God” (Heb. 12:14). Lack of holiness in the believer can lead to discipline as “God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness” (Heb. 12:10-11).
We could get to feeling like we are in trouble. No matter how many years we have been a Christian and have served the Lord, we will fall short. And, the people we work with and serve will not be holy. “There is no one righteous, not even one” (Rom. 3:10). Your experience has probably confirmed this truth.
Yet, God’s holiness is as much of a blessing to us as His love and grace.
Perspective in Ministry Because of a Holy God
Through God’s holiness we find perspective to endure ministry hardships and difficult people. Here’s why:
- God’s holiness can be a source of hope and encouragement.
Because of God’s holiness, even on the worst ministry day, we can know that there is something better. This sin ridden world will one day be consumed by His holy fire and a new heaven and earth will be ushered in (2 Peter 3:10-13). Knowing this gives us reason to join with the heavenly creatures in Revelations 4:8 saying “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.”
- God’s holiness can be a tool that helps us be more understanding of those we serve.
God’s holiness points us to His grace as He “saved us and called us to a holy life — not because of anything we have done but because of His own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time” (2 Tim. 1:9). Realizing that only by His grace will we be holy, we should be more patient and understanding of those with whom and to whom we minister.
Your view of the holiness of God matters in ministry but so do His other attributes. Check out the Our Great God from A to Z Discipleship Tool Download for alphabetical renderings about who God is and what He does for us.
I used to feel like I was in trouble but as I have grown in Christ I understand it more! The Devil is sometimes the culprit now to make me feel like I’m not doing right! I have many times asked for Satan to get behind me in the Name Of Jesus Christ! Satan tries his best to deceive us as Christians if he can. The Pastor of my Church has asked me to help him more recently and I feel blessed in helping him with God’s help! I don’t take the credit to be able to help our Pastor. I’m not afraid because I know God will help me in anything I do for Him!! As I’ve said before we are helped in our weakness! God disciplines us to make us stronger! The more humble we are we can do more through Jesus Christ 0ur Savior who died for us so that we might live! In 1 Timothy 1:12 it tells about us being thankful for being chosen to be in His ministry and being given strength to be faithful to Him! The more I do for the Church and the unsaved, the more I am blessed! Leonard!
How true, Leonard, that understanding increases the more we grow in Christ. As we get to know the fullness of who He is, not just certain parts, we start to see a big picture that helps us with the harder to understand parts. We know we don’t have to fear God because of His holiness because we know He is also gracious, loving, good, merciful, etc. We know that even when He disciplines us, it is for our good … as you said, “to make us stronger.” We will look to Him not only for the standard in how we should serve because He is holy but also for the strength to serve because He is also a powerful God and does indeed help us in our weakness. He isn’t standing over us with a stick, ready to beat us down. When we understand the fullness of who He is and how “apart from Him we can do nothing” (Jn. 15:5), we can’t help but be thankful as mentioned in the verse you gave.