Yeah, right. And pretty soon we will be healing people, casting out demons, and feeding five thousand. (Actually, Jesus said that in the end of days, we would be doing what He did and more.)
This passage reminds me that once a year, the chief priest sanctified himself, then entered the Holy of Holies in the temple to offer sacrifices for the sins of the children of Israel. They tied a rope around his waist so that if he died, they could drag his body out, because whoever entered the Holy of Holies unbidden died. Such is the holiness of God.
Holy means “set apart”. We are to be set apart from the world, the flesh, and the devil to minister to souls, His special creation. All Israel was holy, a nation consecrated for God’s service. That’s why the Lord disciplined them through the Assyrians and Babylonians, because they mingled with paganism.
Holy also means pure, abstaining from every kind of impurity and idolatry. If we do not separate ourselves from the world and its sinful influences, we have nothing special – nothing supernatural – to share with the lost souls who come across our path.
This sounds impossible; so how do we do this?
* Confess our sins quickly, because they then disappear and at that point in time, we are holy (without sin). They are like cancer, and will grow if we don’t remove them with the surgical knife of repentance and the radiation of the Holy Spirit. Unconfessed sin can even become portals for demonic influence. Unconfessed (cherished) sin attracts demons like raw meat attracts flies.
*
Spend time with the Lord in His Word, worship, and sacraments. When we spend time in the Word, our minds become transformed and we are better able to see the world as the Lord does, and act accordingly.
* Seek the Lord’s will in our lives. Don’t just ask him for stuff, but ask Him how He would have us live at this time.
Finally, pursuing holiness is a very serious matter:
“Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.” Hebrews 12:14
To God be the glory
Board of Evangelism