The Spirit of Holiness

In Romans 7, Paul outlined for us by means of his own autobiography just how grave our situation is without Christ. Our circumstance is so pitiable not because we are terrible creatures bent on doing evil. We might say the situation is actually much worse than that. Paul claims that even when we are well intended and seek to do God’s will sin is so powerful that it perverts our attempts to follow God’s law. The result is that rather than adherence to the law producing righteousness and life, it actually produces injustice, sin, and death. In the language of the prophet Habakkuk, “the law is paralyzed and justice goes forth perverted.”

But that is without Christ. That is the realm of Adam’s existence. And Paul has made it clear in chapters 5 and 6 that what God has done in Jesus Christ has transferred us to a new reality in which there are new possibilities for life and righteousness. Paul reiterates this point at the very beginning of chapter 8 when he says “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus set you free from the law of sin and death.” That is, we are no longer enslaved by the law of Adam’s disobedience with the production of sin as our only option. We have now been set free for a new option; that of life, holiness, and righteousness. We have this option because God did in Jesus Christ what the law was never able to do. The law was never able to defeat sin since it did nothing to empower weak human flesh against it. God, on the other hand, sent his son in this same flesh so as to condemn sin.

Paul says that the purpose of God’s actions in all this was “in order that we might fulfill the righteous requirements of the law.” This is the very thing that Paul has been saying was so impossible without Christ! Even in following the law to the last letter, we couldn’t actually produce righteousness. But now, because of God’s actions in Jesus, we can actually fulfill the righteous requirements of the law. I don’t think it would be unfair to say that this is a poignant and concise summary of Paul’s gospel. The reason Jesus is such good news is because he provides the first real possibility of genuine righteousness in this world.

Again, much as in chapter 6, Paul reiterates that this is not all automatic. We must walk according to the Spirit if we are to truly fulfill the law. We can still decide to walk according to the flesh and, by doing so, fail to produce righteousness. But once again the emphasis in on what God has already done. Paul says in v. 9 “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit since the Spirit of God dwells in you.”

This is the real crux of the matter for Paul. If the Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you (which he says it does), then that Spirit which overcame death can also overcome the power of sin. Everything hinges on this dwelling of God’s own Spirit among us. The pouring out of this resurrecting Spirit is what makes the difference between the realm of Adam and the realm of Christ.

It may be helpful here to think back to Romans 1:18-32 and remember all the nasty things that Paul said about Gentiles. Like most of his fellow Jews, Paul viewed Gentiles as hopelessly blind, entirely ignorant of the ways of God and God’s law, clueless in their  perverting the ways of God that should have been evident to them in creation. If Paul’s fellow Jews were enlightened and well-intentioned despite their inability to produce righteousness, the Gentiles couldn’t even claim that. They walked entirely in darkness without the slightest understanding of God’s law or any aim to fulfill it. It is these same clueless, hopeless, lawless Gentiles (along with his own fellows Jews) that Paul now claims can fulfill the righteous requirements of the law merely because of the Spirit’s presence in their lives! This is testament to just what a transforming power Paul understood the Holy Spirit to be in the life of 1st century Christian congregations. Anyone, even Gentiles, could fulfill the righteous requirements of the law if they walked according to the Spirit.

Holiness and righteousness are real possibilities in this life, for Jews and  Gentiles, because God’s own Spirit has made its dwelling among us. Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Working with Grace

In the previous section of his letter, Paul argued that Christ, like Adam, did something that impacted all of humanity. More specifically, what Christ did reversed what Adam had done. Whereas Adam's disobedience had allowed the corrupting forces of sin and death into the world, Christ's faithfulness brought righteousness and life into the world. In fact, one way of understanding Romans 5:12-21 is to organize it into two very neat but opposing columns.

          Adam                                                Christ
          Disobedience                                     Faithfulness
          Sin                                                    Righteousness
          Death                                                Life
          Law                                                  Grace

In this chapter, Paul is emphasizing the objective reality of what Christ has done and stressing that it has overcome what Adam did, even going so far as to say in v. 20 that "where sin abounded, grace abounded all the more." If Paul had left off here, it would be easy to think that this was all very formulaic and automatic; Adam messed up the world, Christ fixed it. End of story. We might as well go on living our merry lives and, in fact, go on sinning while we are at it since our sin is what led to God's grace anyway. This is why Paul begins as he does in Romans 6.

"What shall we say then? Shall we remain in sin so that grace may increase? 

Paul answers emphatically "May it never be! How can we who died to sin live in it any longer?" The change that Christ has brought about in the world is not something external to us that doesn't involve us. The movement from that left column to the right one is not merely something Christ is doing in the world around us. It is something Christ wishes to accomplish in us. Paul believes that this is what happens in baptism. Just as Christ's faithful death and resurrection made the movement toward that right column a reality in our world, so also in baptism we die and are raised with Christ allowing us to move from the left column of sin and death to the right column of righteousness and life. For Paul, baptism is nothing less than a transfer of our being from one reality to another, an induction into a completely new way of being human. Paul's whole argument in this chapter rests on that premise. It is essentially "Given that we've been caught up in this entirely new reality in Christ, how can we possibly go back to the old one?"

Of course, the fact that Paul has to make this argument at all is the first indication that life, even in life in Christ, can never be as neat and tidy as two columns. Even though Paul believes that baptism is nothing less than the portal into this new way of being, he also knows that baptism does not guarantee a sinless life. It is not automatic. If it were, there would be no need anywhere in Paul's letters to correct his congregations or to say as he says here:

"Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal bodies...Do not present your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness." 

Paul is emphatic that the victory has been won in Jesus Christ and that the way to participate in that victory is through baptism but he is just as emphatic that for all Christ has done he has not left us with nothing to do. The Church is called to "present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life and your members to God as instruments of righteousness." Like soldiers presenting arms before a commanding officer, we are to present ourselves before God as those who are ready to carry out his mission of righteousness in the world.

I think any person with military experience would attest to the reality that simply signing papers to join the military isn't the same thing as being a trained soldier. To be sure, when you sign those papers your status has changed in a very real way. In that single act you have been transferred from the life of a civilian to that of a soldier and you are no longer your own master. But despite the very real change that has taken place, you do not suddenly become a combat ready warrior by signing your name. There has been a change of status that has tremendous consequences but it will take enormous amounts of discipline and training for that change in status to be fully realized.

I think that is something like what Paul is saying here. When we are baptized, our status really has changed but it would be foolish to think that all the consequences of that change will immediately and automatically take effect. Instead, we must continually choose to engage in discipline and training that will shape us into people who can be agents of God's redemptive movements in our world. We need worship, prayer, scripture, communion, fasting, service to others, Christian fellowship and all the other things we call "means of grace" and "spiritual disciplines" because these are our training, our boot camp. Baptism alone will not turn us into a people who imitate the faithfulness of Christ. We need the work of the Holy Spirit through these disciplines to be the people of holiness, mercy, compassion, and justice that we are called to be. Salvation is by grace but there is work to be done if that salvation is to be fully realized in our lives and the lives of those around us.

Gracious Holiness

Haggai 2:10-19 depends on some ideas of ritual purity which are rather foreign to us. As I mentioned in some of my posts on Leviticus a few months ago, sin and impurity were seen almost like a disease or pollutant. It could easily spread from one object or place to another and if it contaminated the house of God, it could threaten to drive the presence of God right out of Israel's midst. It is this basic idea which underlies the questions which God commands Haggai to ask of the priests.

"If someone carries holy meat in the fold of his garment and touches with his fold bread or stew or wine or oil or any kind of food, does it become holy?" The priests answered and said, "No." Then Haggai said, "If someone who is unclean by contact with a dead body touches any of these, does it become unclean?" The priests answered and said "It does become unclean."

In short, impurity is contagious. Holiness is not. If someone touches something common with something holy, it does not make the common object holy. But if someone becomes unclean and touches something common then that common object does become unclean.

God says through Haggai that this is how it is with the people of Israel as well.

"So it is with this people, and with this nation before me, declares the Lord, and so with every work of their hands. And what they offer there is unclean." 

We have heard previously in Haggai that the people have begun to rebuild the temple. This verse seems to imply that they have also started to offer sacrifices there as well. One would think that this would be a good thing but God declares that "every work of their hands" is unclean because they themselves are unclean. They are polluting the very sacrifice which is meant to bring cleansing, not because they are offering the sacrifice wrongly but merely because they are an unclean people. It is God's presence alone which can sanctify this people and their gifts but it is their own impurity which drives God's presence away. In essence, it seems a hopeless situation.

But God promises to bless the people anyway. Rebuilding the temple and offering sacrifices isn't enough to make room for God because no matter what works are done they are offered by unclean hands. But God ignores that reality and promises to dwell with the people and bless them despite their impurity. God chooses to enter into the very contaminant of sin and impurity which should guarantee God's absence.

This passage in Haggai reminds me of a story in the first chapter of Mark's gospel. A leprous man came to Jesus asking to be cleansed. Mark tells us that Jesus was moved with pity and reached out and touched the man. According to Jewish ritual law, this action should have made Jesus unclean. Instead, just the opposite happens. The leper is cleansed.

In many ways, this is the essence of the gospel. We live in a world fouled by the stench of injustice and contaminated by the sins of misdirected love. Even whatever good works we might offer, are stained by the brokenness of our frail nature and the corrosive systems that surround us. These are the things that should drive a holy God away from us. Instead, this God steps into our world and into our flesh and even into our death and bursts the bonds of all our corruption and weakness with the new breath of resurrection life. This is grace. Grace that is greater than all our sin...

And I think this grace of God says something about what it means to be the holy people of God too. Often, in our "holiness tradition" as Nazarenes especially, we have envisioned holiness as a separateness from our culture. Undoubtedly, there is something to be said for being a people who live differently than those around us. But perhaps we should consider what it means for our notions of holiness to accommodate this passage from Haggai and the story from Mark as well. If we are the body of the Christ whose touch cleansed the leper rather than being contaminated by him then perhaps we can rub shoulders with those who might threaten our "purity" without fear. Maybe if we remember that we serve a  God who sanctifies the un-sanctifiable, namely us, then we will understand that holiness is not something we maintain by our own act of separation. It is not the absence of certain things. It is the presence of the sanctifying Spirit of God in our lives; a presence which is not threatened by the impurity of our world. It is a presence which can bring healing if the Body of Christ which it inhabits will only be moved by pity and reach out to those who are hurting.

Darkness, Light, and Entire Sanctification

1 John begins with an abrupt assertion of orthodoxy.  No introduction.  No greeting.  Just a blunt, nearly grammatically incoherent assertion of faithfulness to the Johanine teaching about Jesus.

"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life..."  

It is easy for us to forget just how much diversity there was in early Christianity, how many disagreements there were over really fundamental questions like "Who is Jesus?" and "Was he really human?".  But these questions lingered for centuries before the Church worked out what it believed.  It seems likely that the Johanine community was in the midst of debating such a question, though the enigmatic, proverb-like language of 1 John (just think how different 1 John sounds from Paul's very logical, sequential arguments) makes it difficult to discern just what that question might be.  Nevertheless, it is clear that the writer of 1 John (John himself? a disciple of John?) wishes to assert right away that his understanding of Jesus is the one the Johanine community should follow.  He asserts that his teaching is the one that has been since the beginning (thereby implying that the beliefs of his opponents are heretical innovations) and that it is this teaching which has been publicly verifiable (seen, heard, even handled) and passed on to those to whom he is now writing.

This message is that God is light and in him there is no darkness (v.5).  With this summary statement, the writer turns to a series of alternating and escalating statements which describe the relationship between light/truth and darkness/falsehood in the life of the believer.  The writer begins the alternating pattern with a darkness/falsehood statement.

"If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth." v. 6

"If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us."  v.8

"If we say we have not sinned, we make him (God) a liar and his word is not is us." v.10

Each statement escalates in severity.  If we claim fellowship with God but walk in darkness then we lie.  If say we have no sin then we lie to ourselves.  If we say we've never sinned then we make God a liar.

Interlaced between these statements of darkness/falsehood are statements of light/truth, each meant to counter-balance the darkness/falsehood statement that comes before it.  

"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of his Son cleanses us from all sin." v.7

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." v.9 

 These statements are dialectical.  They are meant to stand in tension with one another.  We can almost imagine each sentence tugging on the others.  As long as each statement continues to pull its weight then a balanced view of the Christian life will emerge.  But if we begin to lean on one statement or group of statements too hard then the tug-of-war will be thrown out of whack and we will end up with a distorted view of the Christian life.

On the one hand, v.6 and 7 make plain the expectation that a Christian is to walk in light rather than darkness.  That is to say that being a disciple of Jesus requires a certain kind of living, it requires "practicing the truth" and avoiding sin.  On the other hand, v.8 and 10 tug back the other direction so as to make it equally plain that avoiding sin is not the same thing as saying that we don't sin or have never sinned.  Finally, v. 9 gives another tug back in the direction of v.6 and 7 by reminding us that if we confess our sins God really does forgive those sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

This brings into clearer focus what it means to "walk in the light".  It is not sinless perfection.  If it were then confession would be failure.  Instead, the recognition and confession of our sinfulness is the very thing that allows God to forgive us and cleanse us and thereby make righteousness possible.  Confessing our sinfulness allows God to work in us in such a way that further sin can be prevented in our lives.

As a people who believe in a doctrine of Entire Sanctification, we Nazarenes would do well to meditate on these verses day and night, letting them soak into the deepest parts of our existence.  We are a people who are optimistic about the extent of transformation that is possible by God's grace in this life.  When 1 John says that we can be cleansed from all unrighteousness, we take that to mean that God frees us from all of sin's power in this life so that it really is possible for us not to sin, to really live righteously in this world.  However, as these verses remind us, that is not the same thing as saying that we will never sin again once we are entirely sanctified.  Too often in our tradition entire sanctification has been confused for a spiritual plateau, a place where spiritual growth levels off because one has already reached the highest possible state of holiness.  As a result, confession has become somewhat of a lost art in our denomination since there has at times been an implicit expectation that those who are entirely sanctified shouldn't have anything to confess.  This in turn has led to an abundance of legalism and self-righteousness.

This is not to say that we should give up on our hope of transformation, sanctification, and righteousness in this life.  1 John clearly calls believer to "walk in the light" and to be "cleansed from all unrighteousness". It is to say that such sanctification is not a state that we reach once and for all but a path we must continually walk and the means to staying on this path of light is not pretending that we have no sin.  For the concealing of anything will only require that we seek out even more darkness.  But if we remain on the well lit path then even our darkest deeds will be exposed and it is that exposure itself which will eliminate the darkness.  It is the exposure of our whole selves to the light of Christ that makes our cleansing from all unrighteousness possible.

Blameless in Holiness

Although Paul praises the Thessalonians for their exemplary faith, it is also very clear from the rest of the letter that their faith is not yet complete, they have not "arrived" in spite of their "faith that has gone forth everywhere."  Paul urges them on to something more.

In 2:12, Paul reminds the Thessalonians of his own presence along with Silvanus and Timothy among them.  "we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God who calls you into his own kingdom and glory".  "Walk" is used almost as a synonym of "live" in scripture. When Paul exhorts the Thessalonians to "walk in a manner worthy of God" he is saying that the Thessalonians whole lives should reflect the holiness of the God who has called them.

Throughout chapter 3, Paul is expressing his desires to be with the Thessalonians so as to continue to encourage them in their faith.  In 3:10, he says specifically that his desire to be with the Thessalonians is so that "we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith", again implying that there is something the Thessalonians are missing.  This chapter concludes with a prayer that God may make the Thessalonians "increase and abound in love for one another and for all... so that we may establish your hearts blameless in holiness".

In 4:3, Paul again urges this need for holiness upon the Thessalonians saying "For this is the will of God, your santification..." ("santification" coming from the same Greek root as holy, holiness).  Again in 4:7, "For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness."  Finally, in 5:23 Paul prays, "Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Clearly, Paul is concerned for the holiness/sanctification of the Thessalonians throughout his letter to them.  But what does Paul mean by these words?  To answer that question thoroughly would certainly take more than a single blog post.  But there are a few things that stand out about Paul's use of those terms in Thessalonians.

1)It is God who sanctifies and make holy....  Paul's prayer in 3:13 and 5:23 is not that the Thessalonians would make themselves holy but that God would establish their hearts blameless in holiness and sanctify them completely.  Holiness is not a human accomplishment but an act of God.

2).... but we also have a responsibility to our holy calling.  Even though it is God who makes us holy, Paul makes it clear in his admonitions to the Thessalonians that we have a responsibility to live in step with what God has already done.

3)Our sanctification is our salvation...  We often talk about being "saved" (by which we usually mean having our sins forgiven) and then later being "sanctified" (by which we usually mean being freed from the power of sin).  But Paul talks about sanctification as something God does as the beginning of our salvation.  To be saved is to be set apart for God's purposes (which is the most common meaning of sanctification in the Old Testament).  In 1:9, Paul describes the Thessalonians salvation as having "turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God", echoing the language of Ezekiel 36 in which Israel is cleansed from its idol worship in order to return to Yahweh.  Holiness is not something added onto salvation.  It is the very means and purpose of salvation.

4)...but it is also more than just having our sins forgiven.  Although our sanctification begins with the forgiveness of our sins, Paul clearly expects more than simply this for the Thessalonians.  Paul prays that the Thessalonians will be sanctified entirely, indicating that Paul expects that God can do something more in the lives of the Thessalonians than has already been done.

5)This sanctification is bodily....  Sanctification is often talked about as something God does in the heart.  That is certainly true.  But in saying it that way, we shouldn't miss the fact that this "heart-cleansing" has very physical implications.  When Paul describes sanctification as the will of God in 4:3, he immediately goes on to talk about sexual relations - the most bodily, physical of acts.  The point here is that if we think holiness is only about "good intentions" or "the spiritual" or what's "on the inside" to the neglect of what we do with and to our own bodies, the bodies of the others, or our material resources then we haven't yet understood Paul's (and God's) call to holiness.  Sanctification is a work of God in the heart but it is a work that leads to very physical consequences.

6) ...and communal.  Holiness is not merely (or even primarily) individual in nature. It is worth noting that as Paul is discussing sexual relations in 4:3-8, in 4:6 the reason he gives for abstaining from sexual immorality is so "that no one transgresses and wrongs his brother in this matter".   Paul's concern here is not merely inappropriate sexual relations in themselves but that such relationships will tear at the fabric of the community of faith.   Likewise, when Paul prays for the Thessalonians holiness in 3:13, it is intertwined with the prayer that their love would abound for "one another and for all".  While the call to holiness certainly has consequences for an individual's lifestyle, Paul's emphasizes that holiness concerns our life together.  The holiness and love of God is reflected in our relationships of holy love with one another.

Article X

Below I have posted the revision of our tenth article of faith in the Church of the Nazarene recently adopted by the General Assembly in Orlando, Florida. It must now be ratified by two thirds of the districts around the world. If that happens, then these changes will appear in the 2013 version of our manual.

Brackets indicate a deletion. Underlining indicates an addition.

X. Christian Holiness and Entire Sanctification
13. We believe that [entire] sanctification is [that] the [act] work of God[, subsequent to regeneration, by] which transforms believers into the likeness of Christ. It is wrought by God’s grace through the Holy Spirit in initial sanctification, or regeneration (simultaneous with justification), entire sanctification, and the continued perfecting of the Holy Spirit culminating in glorification. In glorification we are fully conformed to the image of the Son.
We believe that entire sanctification is that act of God, subsequent to regeneration, by which believers are made free from original sin, or depravity, and brought into a state of entire devotement to God, and the holy obedience of love made perfect.
It is wrought by the baptism with or infilling of the Holy Spirit, and comprehends in one experience the cleansing of the heart from sin and the abiding, indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, empowering the believer for life and service.
Entire sanctification is provided by the blood of Jesus, is wrought instantaneously by grace through faith, preceded by entire consecration; and to this work and state of grace the Holy Spirit bears witness.
This experience is also known by various terms representing its different phases, such as “Christian perfection,” “perfect love,” “heart purity,” “the baptism with the Holy Spirit,” “the fullness of the blessing,” and “Christian holiness.”
14. We believe that there is a marked distinction between a pure heart and a mature character. The former is obtained in an instant, the result of entire sanctification; the latter is the result of growth in grace.
We believe that the grace of entire sanctification includes the divine impulse to grow in grace as a Christlike disciple. However, this impulse must be consciously nurtured, and careful attention given to the requisites and processes of spiritual development and improvement in Christlikeness of character and personality. Without such purposeful endeavor, one’s witness may be impaired and the grace itself frustrated and ultimately lost.
Participating in the means of grace, especially the fellowship, disciplines, and sacraments of the Church, believers grow in grace and in wholehearted love of God and neighbor.

In my opinion, the revision of this article represents a major step forward in our expression of one of our core doctrines as Nazarenes. I think the wording is a little more wholistic than the previous wording in that it sets entire sanctification within a larger understanding of holiness. I also appreciate that this revision more explicitely connects holiness to the idea of being Christ-like. Additionally, the final sentence is an important step in the right direction (though it could be a little smoother grammatically for the sake of clarity). I see it as a significant return to our Wesleyan roots to affirm that holiness is nurtured by the means of grace in general and the sacraments in particular.

However, I also think that this article could continue to be improved in a couple of ways.

1) I would like to see the third paragraph, about the baptism or infilling of the Holy Spirit, completely eliminated. To say that we are baptized or in-filled with the Holy Spirit only once we are entirely sanctified seems to imply that we did not receive the Holy Spirit when we first believed which is certainly not a biblical idea. The book of Acts records repeatedly that believers received the Holy Spirit upon their conversion. In Galatians, Paul asks the church there if having begun with the Spirit they are now being perfected by the flesh? Paul's point is that the Spirit has been with these believers since they became believers. John Wesley even stated that while some in the Methodist movement used this language to describe entire sanctification, it was not really accurate in its depiction of God's work and Wesley himself avoided the phrase for that reason.

2) I would like to see the language of "instantaneous act" reconsidered. In the second paragraph, entire sanctification is desribed as an "act" of God, implying a single crisis event. Again in section 14 it is said that a pure heart is obtained in an instant while a mature character is the result of growth in grace. In my view, the emphasis on entire sanctification as an instantaneous, distinct second work of grace comes from two things. One is that this was simply the experience of a lot of good Nazarenes. Many people experienced entire sanctification in a clearly distinguishable moment in their life separate from their initial conversion. I think the other reason this language is important is because it reminds us that entire sanctification is not the same thing as simply maturing as a human being. It is something that God does in us with our cooperation. But it is not something that just occurs naturally if we are a Christian long enough. This is important and is an emphasis that should not be lost. However, I think that there are ways that we can talk about that without having to put everyone in the box of having to experience a distinct second act of God that is somehow qualitatively different from others acts of God in our lives. It may well be that it takes three or four or five distinct acts of God for us to continue on the path of maturing holiness. Furthermore, it is difficult to find scripture that supports the idea that there must be this distinct second act. Scripture certainly urges us onto perfection/maturity and expects that is not something we do on our own but do only through God's grace but it does not insist that this happen in a distinct second work of grace. I think that we can find ways to talk about God's continuing work of grace to make us holy and entirely sanctified without insisting that it always be a decisive two step process.

Delivered for Life Together

The Ten Commandments.

At first glance, they appear to be a simple list of "Thou shalt's" and "Thou shalt not's". Do this. Don't do this. Honor your father and mother and God's name. Keep the Sabbath. Don't have other gods or idols. Don't murder, commit adultery, steal, lie, or covet. Simple, right?

Well, like most things in the Christian life, yes and no. The commandments are pretty simple and straightforward. We at least get a basic idea of what is required of us but like most things in scripture we have to figure out how the details work out in real life. For example, do only small man made statues count as idols or shall we include everything that distracts us from God in that category? Of course, we know we should value life too much to commit murder but what does that mean when it comes to abortion, capital punishment, war, and poverty? When it comes to keeping the Sabbath, should we follow the examples of the Pharisees? And what does it actually mean to honor your father and mother?

The intersection between sacred scripture and real life is one of complexity and ambiguity.

Despite the difficult tasks we face in sorting out these ethical dilemmas, there does seem to be one overarching theme that is clear in Exodus 20:1-17; God has delivered Israel for the specific purpose of living a certain kind of life together. Before a single command is given, God makes a statement about himself and his relationship to Israel. "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery." The God who delivers is the same God who gives these commandments. God didn't just deliver Israel so that they might be free to do as they please and thereby end up enslaved to their own desires. God delivered Israel so that they might be a holy people. He delivered them so that they might be different from the other nations; a reflection of God in their life together as a people.

So while there is and should be serious and meaningful debate about what it means to be holy, there can be no question that we are, in fact, called to be holy. We are called to be a different kind of people. This is precisely the reason God has delivered us from our sin in the first place. Not simply for our own sake but so that we might be a truer reflection of him in our life together.

Contagious Holiness

Cleansing is central to the episode recorded in Mark 1:40-45. A leper comes to Jesus and says "If you are willing, you can make me clean". Jesus responds "I am willing, be cleansed". Mark then tells us that "Immediately, the leprosy left him and he was cleansed". Finally, Jesus tells the former leper that he must go show himself to the priest and offer for his cleansing what Moses commanded.

In first century Judaism, it would have been difficult to find categories that were more important than that of clean and unclean. Ritual cleanliness and purity were almost synonymous with holiness and therefore with Israel's understanding of its mission as God's people. To be unclean, like the leper in this story, was to be excluded from participation in God's covenant relationship with Israel.

In this passage, Jesus seems to simultaneously challenge and uphold these notions of purity and cleanliness. As has already been noted, cleansing is central to the story. It is important that this leper be made clean. Furthermore, after the man is cleansed, Jesus tells him to go show himself to the priest and take actions in accordance with the law of ritual purity.

Nevertherless, Jesus' response to this leper is not completely in line with first century Jewish standards. The standard response would have been to avoid the leper completely. Instead, Jesus is moved with compassion and reaches out to touch the man. This contact with the leper should have made Jesus unclean but what actually happens is the reverse. Jesus makes the leper clean.

Passages like this one can and should go a long way in guiding those of us in the so called "holiness tradition." Too often, our ideas of holiness are much like those of Jesus' contemporaries. We try to maintain a certain level of purity by keeping ourselves separate from everything in the world that might make us unclean. While holiness is certainly an important and essential part of our mission as the Church, we should not underestimate the power of Jesus at work within us to make clean those with whom we come in contact. If Jesus' touch has been powerful enough to cleanse us, why shouldn't we assume that it will be powerful enough to cleanse all those to whom we reach out in Jesus' name? A truly scriptural holiness ethic should not lead us to separate ourselves from the world with all of its impurities. It should lead us to engage our world with the love and compassion of Jesus.