ON HOLINESS Introduction .... 1 Holiness As 1 A Metaphysical Abstract .... 1 A Concrete Standard .. 3 Testament As .

. 4 The Old Testament as the Problem of Holiness . 4 The New Testament as the Solution to Holiness ... 6 Greek Lexical Terminology of Holiness ........ 7 Hagios ........ 7 Eusebeia ..... 7 Dikaiosune, Dikaios, and Dikaioo ..... 8 Pneumatos Hagiou ..... 8 Saint-Making: The Process of Holiness .... 9 Conclusion ... 10 Bibliography .... 10

INTRODUCTION What is a saint? Ask a teenage boy from New Orleans and hell probably want to talk to you about football. Ask a busy mother and shell likely tell you that it is the kind neighbor who agreed to watch her kids a few minutes while she ran a crucial last-moment errand. Ask a devoted Catholic and theyll probably mention some great Christian of the past who is now recognized by the church and honored in heaven. Ask the Apostle Paul, however, and hell surely describe the elect crowd called by God to be where he is. A saint, then, in a word, is holy. Holiness is a buzz word (and too often a bad word!) amongst Christians since it tends to become pejoratively associated with legalism; true Biblical holiness, however, is the most desirous of attributes, since only by its processes does the earthly Christian come to reflect the exalted Christ. It is no simple concept, but then again, it is the special domain of no simple God. HOLINESS AS. . . A Metaphysical Abstract. Not surprisingly Erickson lists holiness as an attribute of Gods goodness, or, in other words, amongst the high moral qualities which define his character.1 God is certainly holy and separation from sin is perhaps the most obvious aspect of that term. However, Erickson also hints that a weightier examination will reveal more: that holiness and the holiness of God in particular must be much more than simple sinlessness. There is a mystery to divine holiness that transcends moralism. As a matter of differentiation, purity is an important part of holiness, but holiness encompasses much more than just purity.

Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology, 2 ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1998), p. 311.

In Isaiahs iconic vision (Is. 6), powerful, fiery seraphs overshadowed the throne and worshipped the Lord, calling particular attention to his holiness with their jarring tripartite cry.2 These bold creatures who attend God around his throne are evidently themselves sinless. Just compare their courageous worship with Isaiahs self-loathing; the prophets awkward response to the presence of God was an immediate confession of his own sin. Now it is certain that true worship can only occur where the one who receives the adulation is greater than the one who offers it. Since there is no quantity less than zero, sinless is sinless and even God himself could not logically be any less sinful than the seraphs. Yet those same seraphs worshipfully attributed to the Lord a holiness superior to their own, meaning that holiness and sinlessness cannot be simple synonyms. The Hebrew masculine noun usually behind the English rendering holy is qodesh, which is employed nearly 500 times in the OT. Aside from holy, qodesh is also frequently translated sacred and even sanctuary, the latter being a picture of a safe place or refuge. 3 Of course, such an abstract term requires more than a dictionary definition to be understood. J.R. Williams explains that its fundamental meaning contains the note of that which is separate or apart.4 Holiness then, metaphysically speaking, is the quality of otherness. Erickson agrees but differentiates the paradigm of holiness for Israel with that of the surrounding nations. Everywhere else holiness referred to elements within the religion; in Israel, holiness belonged to the LORD.5 Christian holiness, then, again metaphysically speaking, is the distinct value of separation that belongs exclusively to God alone. Far from pantheism which suggests that God is in everything, the holiness principle dictates that God is personally set apart from everything. In the light of this understanding, can holiness properly be identified with transcendence? Erickson thinks so, noting that the throne room scene in Isaiah 6 marks Gods transcendence, since the Lord is shown in his elevated majesty while being hailed as holy, holy, holy. Thus, Gods transcendence over us, Erickson notes, must be seen not only in terms of his greatness, his power and knowledge, but also in terms of his goodness, his holiness and purity.6 However, the theologian also asserts that by saying, His majestic splendor fills the entire earth (6:3)7 the seraphs were noting Gods immanence.8 Holiness, therefore, appears to be tied to both qualities. On the one hand, He alone possesses immortality and lives in unapproachable light (1 Ti. 6:16). While on the other, in him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28, NIV).
2

In Hebrew, seraph comes from a primitive verbal root meaning to burn. See the NET translators note (tn) on Isaiah 6:2 for a brief, but interesting discussion of the nature of these beings.
3

Edward W. Goodrick and John R. Kohlenberger III, The Strongest NIV Exhaustive Concordance (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2004), p. 1482.
4

J.R. Williams, Holiness, In Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, edited by Walter E. Elwell, 561-63, (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2001) p. 562.
5

Erickson, Christian Theology, 311. Ibid., 339.

Except where otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations in this document are from the New English Translation, https://net.bible.org/#!bible/ (accessed August 12, 2012).
8

Ibid.

It is transcendence that somehow, sovereignly results in immanence which best describes the otherness belonging to God. It is Gods very near distance and his intimate separateness that defines the mystery of holiness. Specifically, it is an otherness that makes others other. A Concrete Standard. Then, again, the call to be like God, found throughout the Scriptures, is a call to practical, personal holiness a separation from the world along with a dedication to the LORD enthroned above. This is the way in which metaphysical holiness, at the human level, must result in specific lifestyle choices to reflect identification with God. J. C. Lambert correctly observes that [m]en cannot resemble God in His incommunicable attributes.9 It is no use trying for omnipresence, since men are trapped to a single set of coordinates within space time. Likewise even the most learned must give up on omniscience and no matter the size of their libraries! So it is with holiness: the metaphysical variety is the exclusive domain of the LORD Almighty. However, he invites humanity to join him where he is and furthermore expects mankind to honor the invitation. The injunction, [B]e holy because I am holy (Lev. 11:44, 45) is a cornerstone of JudeoChristian ethical thought. When the apostle Peter takes up this very charge, he adds to it the significant advice that the Christian community live out the time of your temporary residence here in reverence (1 Pet. 1:17). In other words, they would do well to view themselves as travelers passing through a foreign territory and avoiding integration into the sinful culture surrounding them. Like Abraham they are to have their affections set on a better place, the city with firm foundations, whose architect and builder is God (Heb. 11:10). Such people truly [d]o not love the world or the things in the world (1 Jn. 2:15), because they are constantly cognizant of the inferiority of the present system as compared to the glory of the coming age. They recognize the costly traps of present worldliness, understanding that all that is in the world (the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and the arrogance produced by material possessions is not from the Father, but is from the world (1 Jn. 2:16). Along with Moses they would rather put off the temporary gratification of sin and accept present hardship, because their eyes too are fixed on the reward (Heb. 11:26).10 Holiness and righteousness are naturally related terms, so, of course, righteousness is part of the concrete standard which God demands. Conceptually, righteousness is concerned with the dealings of man with other men. In Hebrew, tsedeq is a masculine noun which speaks of doing what is right. 11 However, since justice is also in its semantic range, this seems to be a rightness of relations. Nathan Stone explains, It is applied to the outward obligations and relationships of men. The book of Leviticus, where Jehovah is revealed as MKaddesh who sanctifies and demands sanctification of life, the book that reveals the basis of approach and manner of worship, also reveals the standards of right and just relationships among men. Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity. Use honest scales and honest weights I am
9

J.C. Lambert, Holiness, in Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE), 2 ed., ed. James Orr (OSNOVA, 2010), Kindle Locations 80184-5. 10 The NET translators note (tn) for Hebrews 11:26 indicates that in Greek the phrase fixed on carries the idea of looking away too. In other words, Moses was focused on something distant but that he still preferred over any present possibilities.
11

Goodrick, The Strongest, p. 1478.

[Jehovah] your God (Leviticus 19:3536). In Deuteronomy 25:15 such a righteous practice is one of the conditions of prosperity and stay in their land.12 In a very real sense, qodesh is a state of separation, while tsedeq is a demonstration of how holiness actually plays itself out in ones transactions with others. One of those others with whom we must interact, as Stone also makes clear, is God himself. He explains that righteousness toward God is living with complete trust in the Lord and walking in the humble awareness that no person (and especially we ourselves) is completely free from sin.13 An excellent OT example of personal righteousness is Job. His lifestyle can be seen upclose in chapter thirty-one of his book. Interestingly, almost the entirety of the uprightness that so impressed God (2:3) consisted in Jobs virtuous dealings with others. He respected women as individuals and not as sexual objects, covenanting with his eyes to view them innocently (31:1, 9). He never used dishonesty as a means of getting ahead, but rather shared his own abundance with the poor and needy providing them with food, shelter, and clothing (31:5, 6, 16-19, 31, 32). He refused to take advantage of his servants by denying the rights they sought from him (31:13) He would not even seek the destruction of his enemies or rejoice when the worst happened to them (31:29, 30)! In righteousness towards God, Job was no slouch either. The man was rich, but wealth was not the source of his security (31:24, 25) Even the grand march of sun and moon could not entice him to false worship, for his heart belonged wholly to the invisible God (31:2628). How different is this list from the lists preached in too many pulpits which tend to emphasize the priorities of the preacher rather than stressing those things noted in Scripture to be of value to God. Hebrew definitions and even the example of upright Job are, of course, insufficient for truly grasping Gods expectations. As Stone determines, Human language is at best insufficient to convey the full comprehension of the ideas of righteousness and justification contained in this word. It is only as we see it exhibited in Gods character and acts that we see it clearly.14 The LORD is certainly one who practices what he preaches. Therefore to observe the righteousness of God is a real key to unlocking the nature of concrete holiness. Thanks to the incarnation, such observations can be made in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. TESTAMENT AS. . . The Old Testament as the Problem of Holiness. As literature the entirety of the Old Testament demonstrates the problem with practical human holiness. Sin, once it entered the world, did not hide in a corner, but quickly expanded, flaunting itself and growing in number and intensity. Adam chose the wrong snack. His son, Cain, murdered his own brother. Within a few generations the problem was so out of hand that God sent an apocalyptic flood. Human creatures were meant to walk with God in perfect holiness, but something had corrupted their nature. Martyn Lloyd Jones diffuses the notion of original sin into a guilt component and a pollution component. He explains it this way,

12

Nathan Stone, Names of God, (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2010), Kindle Locations 1649-53. Ibid., Kindle Locations 1660-4. Ibid., Kindle Locations 1669-70.

13

14

What, then, do we mean by this term original pollution? Well, first and foremost, obviously, it means in us what it meant in Adam - the absence of that original righteousness which Adam had. He was made in the image and likeness of God, and a part of that was that he was righteous with a righteousness corresponding to the righteousness of God Himself. But Adam lost it, so that all of us are born with an absence of original righteousness. Not only that. We are also born with the presence within us of a positive evil. There are those two aspects to this matter of pollution.15 The covenantal Old Testament, on the other hand, demonstrates just how deep the holiness problem goes. Israel was called to holiness despite her inner pollution. Now if sinless Adam failed his test (a single command) being pure, how would the covenant people fare against theirs (an entire legal code) while diseased with sin? The answer, of course, is not too well. Judgment upon horrible judgment came their way as the people could not live up to the ideal of the Law. The reason is apparent: sinners cant be saints just by wanting too! The standard is too high, while sinfulness has humanity sunk too low. By the end of the OT era Israel had lost her kingdom, her land (at least as her own distinct possession), and only held on quite precariously to her national identity. The people who confidently vowed, All that the Lord has commanded we
will do! (Ex. 19:8) learned that human effort alone is not nearly enough to conquer sin and satisfy a Holy God.

Some might argue that this case is overstated, that history in fact proves that certain individuals have been able to meet Gods expectations. Consider what God said to Ezekiel about national judgment, Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in [the land to be judged], they would save only their own lives by their righteousness, declares the sovereign LORD (EZ. 14:14). Do not those three prove that holiness is merely difficult and that the problem is only the lack of trying? First, it must be seriously questioned whether such extraordinary men are valid examples of true holiness. The Scripture did indeed highly accolade Job by saying, There is no one like him on the earth, a pure and upright man, one who fears God and turns away from evil (Job 1:8). Noah is lauded similarly: Noah was a godly man. He was blameless among his contemporaries. He walked with God (Ge. 6:9). Both Noah and Job were singled out as the foremost examples of godliness during their individual lifetimes. However, Noah did not escape Scripture with flawless testimony as shown clearly in Genesis 9:18-24. Likewise, Jobs repentance in Job 42:6 insinuates that he recognized his own shortcomings. In any event, passages such as Psalm 14 and Romans 3 make it clear that all Adams progeny are sinners. So all talk of blamelessness and uprightness must have a more limited interpretation. Each and every sin violates Gods holiness, meaning that even these three are disqualified. Moreover, just because a few could somehow approach so close to Gods standard, does not mean that everyone else could do the same. A few, for instance, can build houses. The present writer, however, would probably be stuck in the rain if it came down to that particular challenge. Some face more harrowing backgrounds that leave them scarred and less able to cope with life, while others are more inclined at the genetic level towards certain unwholesome activities. All of this does not excuse the sinner, of course, but it certainly casts serious doubt on any Pelagian world view.

15

Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Great Doctrines of the Bible (three Volumes in One): God the Father, God the Son; God the Holy Spirit; the Church and the Last Things (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2003), Kindle Locations 3061-4.

The New Testament as the Solution to Holiness. Popular preacher Joseph Prince has pointed out the blessed difference between the two great covenantal eras of salvation history. Both were established on the Day of Pentecost, the first with the coming of the Law, the second with the impartation of Gods Holy Spirit. Prince elaborates, When God gave the Law on Mount Sinai, it was on the first Pentecost, exactly 50 days from the Passover, when the Lord delivered the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt. Do you know what happened when the Ten Commandments were given? At the foot of Mount Sinai, 3,000 people died. Now lets compare this with the New Testament. When the Day of Pentecost had come, God poured out His Holy Spirit upon all flesh and what was the result? Peter stood up to preach the Gospel and 3,000 people were saved that day.16 This does not make the Torah somehow bad. Paul said expressly that the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good (Rom. 7:12). However, such events quite effectively highlight the inability of mortal, sinful man to cope with a call to Gods holiness. Something more was needed, a change agent, something or Someone! able to work from the inside out. In Romans 7, Paul wrestled with the body of death (v. 24), lamenting his inability to conquer his own sin nature which again and again thwarted his best intentions of honoring Gods holiness. Finally, the solution is revealed: it is Jesus Christ our Lord (v. 25) and the work of the Holy Spirit who lives inside (8:2, 9, 10). Christ justifies, the Spirit sanctifies and the believer is vivified, raised to newness of life. Some have made the theologically bankrupt claim that God helps those who help themselves. In reality, God does it all for those who are helpless. A long time ago, when dirt was still young, and mankind was lost in its sin, God planned eternal salvation. He also proclaimed it, prepared for it, and put it into effect. From the divine perspective, not only was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8, AV), but mysteries were hidden (Matt. 3:35), a Kingdom was prepared (Matt. 25:34), Christ was elected as the agent of salvation (1 Pet. 1:20), and believers were chosen as recipients of the same (Eph. 1:4). In other words, the highway of holiness was paved via sovereign election long before its travelers were ever born. God didnt stop there either, because he also takes the salvific initiative at the individual level. The Father draws the sinner unto himself (Jn. 6:44), and even supplies the measure of faith by which he believes (Rom. 12:3). Nor can the believer claim credit for confessing Christ, since it is only one speaking by the Spirit of God that is able to make such confession (1 Cor. 12:3) Even after conversion it is the fruit of the Spirit not a prescriptive regulation, but a natural formation that characterize the believers sanctified lives (Gal. 5:22, 23).17 Holiness, therefore, is a better by-product than it is a product. The direct pursuit of holiness is like a man trying to climb a ladder into heaven. Not only will he expend all his energies, but he will do so fruitlessly, since the only way to enter Gods domain is to be lifted and placed there by the LORD himself. What a privilege it is then that he raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:6). A bit later the how
16

Joseph Prince, Destined to Reign: The Secret to Effortless Success, Wholeness, and Victorious Living, (Tulsa: Harrison House Publishers, 2007), 120. 17 Gordon D. Fee, Paul, the Spirit, and the People of God, Reprint ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 1994), Kindle Locations, 1954-57.

will be examined, but positional holiness inevitably results in ever increasing measures of practical holiness. Therefore, those who are called to be saints (1 Cor. 1:2) do eventually become sanctified (1 Cor. 6:11), and are even presentable as a church glorious not having a
stain or wrinkle, or any such blemish, but holy and blameless (Eph. 5:27).

GREEK LEXICAL TERMINOLOGY Already we have studied the significance of some important Hebrew nouns associated with holiness and used in the Hebrew Scriptures. Likewise, in order to truly appreciate what the New Testament teaches about the subject, a few specific Greek terms must be observed. These are hagios, eusebes, and dikaiosune, along with the latters important cognate, dikaios. Additionally it may be helpful to discover what the phrase Pneumatos Hagiou teaches about the beloved third person of the Holy Trinity. - Hagios. The most important NT word in this study is far and away the adjective which translates into English quite diversely depending upon the context in which it is used. Its basic use is to describe a thing which is consecrated to God. Therefore it is most often rendered simply holy (a total of 161 out of 234 usages in the NIV, or more than 2/3 of the occurrences). When the context would apply hagios to people, it is rendered saints; when the context speaks of a place, then sanctuary is preferred. There are a variety of other constructions, including believers and Gods holy people to mention just a couple.18 Henry Gehman attests that hagios along with many of its cognates was the choice of the Septuagints translation team to replace the Hebrew holiness vocabulary.19 - Eusebeia. This is a positive pietistic character quality of a right reverential attitude toward God that impacts ones lifestyle. It is almost always translated godliness (12 of 15 times) in the NIV,20 though, technically speaking, the word God is not part of its make-up. (A pair of very similar NT terms which actually incorporate theos (God) is the noun theosebeia and the adjective theosebes, though these are used only once each.) Pieterson contends that eusebeia conveys the sense of conformity to moral order21 and goes on to explain that [i]n the most general sense the eusebeia word group (eusebeia, eusebs, eusebe) denotes respect for the orders of life, especially in connection with family and government.22 The term is prevalent (rampant even!) in 1 Timothy. In this letter Paul certainly uses the term in an ethical sense, but also assigns it a more theological meaning to connote the Gospel events. See especially 1 Timothy 3:16 for this usage.

18

Goodrick, The Strongest, p. 1523.

19

Henry Gehman, Hagios in the Septuagint, and Its Relation to the Hebrew Original, Vetus Testamentum 4, no. 4 (October 1, 1954): 337-48, ATLASerials, Religion Collection, EBSCOhost.
20

Goodrick, The Strongest, p.1555.

21

LK Pietersen, Spirituality as good Christian Citizenship in the Pastoral Epistles? Acta Theologica 15: 15466,http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/actat.v31i1s.9 (accessed August 11, 2012), p. 157.
22

Ibid., 159.

-Dikaiosune, - Dikaios, and - Dikaioo. The former is a noun basically meaning righteousness and rendered that way in the NIV text 74 times. The middle entry is a closely related adjective used to describe the standard of God, most often translated righteous. A significant verb, dikaioo, appearing 39 times in the NT, most often as justified, bespeaks the process of making or declaring another person to be righteous (or just).23 Just as hagios replaced qodesh in the Greek OT text, even so dikaiosune replaced tsedeq and tsedeqah.24 According to Thayers Lexicon, the noun refers to the state of him who is such as he ought to be and speaks of the condition acceptable to God.25 Pneumatos Hagiou. The designation Holy Spirit occurs approximately 93 times in the English NIV text, almost exclusively in the New Testament. There are only three occurrences in two OT passages Ps. 51:11 and Is. 63:10, 11. Interestingly both of these passages are negatives. In the former, David pleads with God not to take his Holy Spirit (Hebrew: Qodesh Ruwach) away from him. In the latter, the people grieve the Holy Spirit, bringing horrible consequences. In the New Testament a cognate of + a form of pneuma (almost always spirit in the NT)26 make up the title. Perhaps far too often overlooked in discussions of the third person of the Trinity is the Holy of the Spirit; while the church argues about baptisms, questions of personhood, and the nature of charismatic gifts, it usually misses the key point that the Spirit comes with the express purpose of making men holy. Paul exhorted his readers in Thessalonica: For God did not call us to impurity but in holiness. Consequently the one who rejects this is not rejecting human authority but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you (1 Thess. 4:7, 8). The clear implication is that the work of the Holy Spirit is actually and realistically to set Christians apart for the LORD, transforming them in their very natures. Gordon Fee explains, Any rejection of holiness on the part of the Thessalonians is a rejection of the God who gives his Holy Spirit into you.[9] It is the presence of the holy God himself, by his Holy Spirit, whom they reject if they reject Pauls call to holy living. We may conclude that for Paul, Christ has made the new covenant effective for the people of God through his death and resurrection; but the Spirit is the key to the new covenant as a fulfilled reality in the lives of Gods people.27

23

Goodrick, The Strongest, p. 1542.

24

Denny Burk, The Righteousness of God (dikaiosune Theou) and Verbal Genitives: A Grammatical Clarification, Journal for the Study of the New Testament 34, no. 4 (May 25, 2012): 346-60, doi: 10.1177/0142064X12442849 (accessed August 11, 2012), p. 353.
25

Blue Letter Bible. Dictionary and Word Search or dikaiosyn (Strongs 1343). Blue Letter Bible, 1996-2012, (accessed August 11, 2012), < http:// www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=G1343 > .
26

Goodrick, The Strongest, p. 1584. Fee, Paul, Kindle Locations 508-11.

27

Saint-Making: The Process of Holiness From a certain perspective the purpose of the salvation plan and by extension the purpose of all of salvation history was to call forth from the human race a new, redeemed humanity who is able to walk with her Maker in spheres of holiness. The call to be saints is accompanied by divine activity which makes its fulfillment possible. This process involves the removal of the guilt of original sin (along with the regeneration of the dead spirit), the renovation of the believer into the likeness of Christ, and finally the total glorification of the body to finally rid the believer entirely of his sin nature. These stages justification, glorification, and sanctification result in the total transformation of the individual such that he (or she) stands perfectly as the very image of God, just as was originally intended. Justification is the past-tense of the believers salvific journey. It is the wonderful place of repentance where the Lord Jesus hears the faith filled confession and clothes the sinner with himself, such that all iniquity is finally covered and the believer is made wonderfully right with God. In that very instant the Christians spirit is made alive and the Spirit of adoption welcomes him (or her) into the divine family. Likewise, glorification is the future tense of the believers salvific journey. It is that blinking of an eye instant when the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed (1 Cor. 15:52). Sanctification, on the other hand, is very much the present-tense of the believers salvific journey. Erickson writes, Sanctification is the continuing work of God in the life of the believer, making him or her actually holy.28 This is the painful part of soteriology where Christian rubber meets Gods road. Here divine heart surgery takes place as God works on desires, motivations, actions, and attitudes. Just as Christ is the instrument of justification, the Holy Spirit Gods great change agent is the active power in sanctification. It is he that prods the believer ever onward toward holiness. Speaking of prodding, this is also the lone place where the Christian can cooperate in his own salvation. There is a proactive element to sanctification. That element is called discipleship and it is the proper counter-weight, balancing grace teaching. Reliance on grace apart from discipleship results in spiritual anarchy. (On the other hand, discipleship apart from grace is just another recipe for legalism.) Jesus charged the apostles to go and make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:19). Dallas Willard, notes however, that many today are not interested. Who, among Christians today, is a disciple of Jesus, in any substantive sense of the word disciple? he asks, before continuing. A disciple is a learner, a student, an apprenticea practitioner, even if only a beginner . . . In contrast, the governing assumption today, among professing Christians, is that we can be Christians forever and never become disciples. Not even in heaven, it seems, for who would need it there? That is the accepted teaching now. Check it out wherever you are. And this (with its various consequences) is the Great Omission from the Great Commission in which the Great Disparity is firmly rooted.29 One may well wonder whether believers who refuse to cooperate in sanctifying discipleship truly believe at all. It is one thing to accept from God the gift of salvation, it is another to allow him to
28

Erickson, Christian Theology, p. 980. Dallas Willard, The Great Omission (New York, NY: HarperCollins e-books, 2009), Kindle Locations 131-39.

29

10

meddle in ones life. As one wise preacher pointed out, the words No, Lord are oxymoronic in nature. They ought not be uttered by anyone on the road of holiness. As Paul urged the Philippians, So then, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, continue working out your salvation with awe and reverence (Phil. 2:12). Furthermore, the call to be saints is a plural, accomplished in community. Jesus did not train one disciple at a time, but led the lot of them all at once. Discipleship, and therefore, holiness is a group activity. Too often the church becomes a collection of individuals who meet every Sunday, but walk out their Christian journeys as solo expeditions. Such is not the New Testament ideal: believers are meant to function in community. And let us take thought of how to spur one another on to love and good works, the writer of Hebrews encourages, not abandoning our own meetings, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and even more so because you see the day drawing near (Heb. 10:24, 25). If the way is truly narrow and few indeed find it, then the disciples ought to be exceedingly precious to other disciples. Conclusion What is a saint? Probably the more correct question would be who are the saints since God deals with his people in community and in concert. Anyhow, in the end, saints are nothing less than the elect members of a new humanity, headed by a new Adam, and partaking of a new tree. Though imperfect, they are being perfected, though sometimes soiled, they are being washed. Their holiness stems temporally from what they do, but eternally from what their gracious progenitor has already done.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Burk, Denny. The Righteousness of God (dikaiosune Theou) and Verbal Genitives: A Grammatical Clarification. Journal for the Study of the New Testament 34, no. 4 (May 25, 2012): 346-60. doi: 10.1177/0142064X12442849 (accessed August 11, 2012). Erickson, Millard J. Christian Theology. 2 ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1998. Fee, Gordon D. Paul, the Spirit, and the People of God. Reprint ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 1994. Gehman, Henry S. hAgios in the Septuagint, and Its Relation to the Hebrew Original. Vetus Testamentum 4, no. 4 (October 1, 1954): 337-48. ATLASerials, Religion Collection, EBSCOhost. Goodrick, Edward W. and John R. Kohlenberger III. The Strongest NIV Exhaustive Concordance. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2004. Lambert, J. C. Holiness. In Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE), 2 ed., edited by James Orr, Kindle Locations 80156-241. OSNOVA, 2010. Lloyd-Jones, Martyn. Great Doctrines of the Bible (three Volumes in One): God the Father, God the Son; God the Holy Spirit; the Church and the Last Things. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2003. NET Bible. https://net.bible.org/ (accessed July 14, 2012). Pietersen, LK. Spirituality as good Christian Citizenship in the Pastoral Epistles? Acta Theologica 15 (Publication date): 154-66. http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/actat.v31i1s.9 (accessed August 11, 2012). Prince, Joseph. Destined to Reign: The Secret to Effortless Success, Wholeness, and Victorious Living. Tulsa: Harrison House Publishers, 2007. Stone, Nathan. Names of God. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2010. Willard, Dallas. The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus's Essential Teachings On Discipleship. New York: HarperOne, 2006. Williams, J.R. Holiness. In Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, edited by Walter E. Elwell, 561-63. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2001.