Love versus Holiness, or Love and Holiness? Part 8

Love versus Holiness, or Love and Holiness? Part 8
Friday, February 25, 2022 by Dr. James W. Walraven

Categories: Apologetics / Contemporary issues / Scripture discussion / The church / Thought for Today

Is holiness essential?

Before we address that question, we must examine another related question: What is holiness?

For many within the church, holiness has been traditionally defined via a “holiness code,” a list of do’s and don’ts. In some ways the view stems from the Old Testament Law, which in essence was God’s list of do’s and don’ts for the Old Testament nation of Israel. If one did the “do’s” and avoided the “don’ts” one was considered holy. As we saw in an earlier post, Jesus took items on that list and applied it just not to our actions, but to our thoughts as well.

More than anything, holiness, from the Greek hagios, means set apart, sanctified, or consecrated, in a general sense, a saint (all true Christians are described biblically as saints). It relates specifically to separation in the service of Deity. It is intended that we share in God’s purity, abstaining from what God defines and describes as sin.

Holiness relates to being pure and clean, especially morally. It also can mean being without blemish, perfect (one thinks back to the Old Testament animal sacrifices). It refers to all who have the Holy Spirit living inside of them, who have been purified by Him, meaning all true Christians. It also means being set apart from a common use to a sacred use and purpose. In practical terms, Christians are to be like God in terms of morality and purity, as opposed to being like the world, embracing what the world embraces, what the Bible calls sin.

The trouble comes in when we “fence the law”. If God says “X is wrong,” we put a boundary far outside of “X” in an attempt to make sure that no one ever does “X”. What happens next is our “X” is first made equal to, and then over time gets placed above, what the Scriptures state.

In many churches in the United States, the use of alcohol serves as a classic example. The Bible has a great deal to say about drunkenness. Indeed, as we saw with the Galatians quote, drunkenness is one of the sins that will result in a person’s eternal separation from God. In order to prevent drunkenness, drinking itself, even a glass of wine, is made a sin, thereby building a “fence” around drunkenness. Yet, biblically Paul urges Timothy to take a bit of wine (1 Timothy 5:23), and even strong drink (think the hard stuff) is allowed, with some exceptions, under the Law (Deuteronomy 14:26). But woe to the pastor who doesn’t abide by the local church’s holiness code of total abstinence.

Legalism soon follows. One is “in” or “out” based on one’s adherence to the local holiness code. It is no accident that in general the most legalistic Christians are the least loving. It is not a surprise that those who emphasize holiness as a result of our own actions, often tend to downplay love and forgiveness. The closer one is tied to the Old Testament Law, the greater the danger.

Much of the book of Romans, as well as Galatians deal with the place and use of the Law. Even as Christians, in the end we still uphold the Law, but it is done by faith through the Spirit, not on legalistic human efforts. As Peter well describes in Acts 15:15–16, neither they, nor their fathers could bear up under the law. Rather, salvation is through the grace of the Lord Jesus. There isn’t a one of us who can keep it. The Law points us to our need of salvation through Christ.

That is the danger of elevating holiness at the expense of love, as we’ve seen some do in their reaction against false teachings about love. But, where does that leave us? Is holiness essential? We will turn to that question in the next post.

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