Call to Holiness

I delivered this talk to students and faculty at a Bible College in 2025. The talks What is Holiness and Path to Holiness follow it.

Greetings! Thank you for honoring me to address you today. I feel unworthy, but I will do my best, and with God’s help, that will be enough.

The theme for this week’s Spiritual Emphasis is “Imitate me as I imitate Christ.” To fit that theme, I chose to talk about holiness. Today’s talk, I entitled “The Call to Holiness.” It is mostly an overview. Subsequent talks will detail it better.

I am a Bible teacher, not a preacher. I would love to ask questions and get feedback to read my audience better. However, with an audience this size, lecture style makes the most sense. Please, though, give me feedback afterwards. What was confusing? What helped? Since this is a series, I can adjust it in the talks ahead.

On holiness, I am unqualified to share with you what I’m about to share. You see, I have committed a sin, which few, if any, in this room have also committed. I am divorced. It was unwanted and against my will, but I’m the one who began it. With my words, I greatly wounded the woman I loved, and it festered in her heart to the point where she could bear my presence no longer. In the United States, this sin is common, even among Christians. However, in your country, it’s much rarer.

But before you dismiss me for being beneath you in morality, bear in mind that you sin too. In areas I am weak, you may be strong. But, in areas where you are weak, I may be strong. When someone struggles with the same sin I struggle with, I tend to empathize and understand. Yet when someone struggles with a sin I don’t struggle with, I tend to think they’re beneath me. Do you tend to judge people the same way? These tendencies are wrong; we must realize that we have something to learn from anyone, from the greatest saint to the most dreadful sinner.

Last year, I completed memorizing the book of Micah. It was a 15-month endeavor, interrupted every two chapters by a chapter from Acts. I chose Micah, because the sins of the rich and powerful exploiting the poor so exactly parallel modern times. Chapter 2 fits almost perfectly with the financial crisis my country experienced in 2009. And Micah contains other gems — “He has shown thee, O man, what is good and what the LORD desires of you, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8) However, memorization often brings to light things I missed before, and that’s what I want to share with you today:

“What misery is mine. I am like one who gathers summer fruit at the gleaning of the vineyard. There is no cluster of grapes to eat, none of the early figs that I crave. The godly have been swept from the land; not one upright man remains.” (Micah 7:1-2)

Micah contains the vineyard allegory. The vineyard allegory is a tale of a vineyard owner who carefully tends a vineyard, providing everything it needs to thrive, only to watch it yield poor fruit. Jeremiah 2 contains it in a verse; Psalm 80 details a similar allegory, but Isaiah 5 and Matthew 21 and its parallel passage, Mark 12, develop it fully. Here is the Isaiah section:

“I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit. ‘Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad? Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed; I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled. I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and briers and thorns will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it.’ The vineyard of the LORD Almighty is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the garden of his delight. And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.” (Isaiah 5:1-7)

Verse 7 makes plain the allegory: the vineyard owner is the LORD, his chosen people is the vineyard, and the fruit is righteousness. So, put straight, without allegory, the story goes like this: the LORD carefully cultivated his chosen people to bear the fruit of righteousness, but they didn’t, and therefore punishment awaits them. Micah 7, Matthew 21, and Mark 12 use these same elements, but Jesus adds one more element to the allegory. He adds tenants to the vineyard, who brutally harm the vineyard owner’s representatives, ultimately even killing his son. The tenants are the Jewish religious leaders. With that description, it seems the story ends with Jesus’ crucifixion, but it doesn’t. Pay attention to Jesus’ words at the end of Matthew 21: “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you [Jewish religious leaders] and given to a people who will produce its fruit.” (Matthew 21:43) God’s purpose for the vineyard still stands; he just expects it of Christians now, whether Jew or Gentile. The LORD tended you: he revealed the truth to you, saved you, nourished you, provided for you, and gifted you. You are a vine in his vineyard. And, he expects you to bear the fruit of righteousness.

In the vineyard allegory, the motive for holiness is this: God raised you to be holy and wants you to be holy. However, other Scriptures give other motives. Leviticus 19:2 states, “Be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.” Here the motive is to imitate God. The context is unclear, but it’s probably for two reasons. As God’s chosen people, we are to adopt his ways. And as God’s chosen people, we are to reflect his character. Listen to Jeremiah 9:23-24:

“This is what the LORD says: ‘Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,’ declares the LORD.”

In it, we see yet another motive for holiness (righteousness): the Lord delights in it.

So the Lord raised you to be holy, wants you to be holy, wants you to imitate him, and delights in holiness. And, if this were not enough, there are two sections I know that raise it even higher in importance. In Matthew 5, Jesus states:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:43-35)

Here, Jesus declares that holiness in loving your enemies makes you God’s son and daughter. And, finally, Jeremiah 22’s declaration on holiness still amazes me after knowing this section for many years. In it, Jeremiah contrasts the possession-grabbing selfish corruption of Jehoiakim, one of the last kings of Judah, with the charity of Judah’s previous king, his father Josiah. He writes,

“‘Did not your father [Josiah] have food and drink. He did what was right and just, so all went well with him. He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is this not what it means to know me?’ declares the LORD.” (Jeremiah 22:16)

Do you see it? Doing what’s right is equal to knowing God himself. Do you want to know God? Do what is good. Righteousness is the very heart of God.

And now that I’ve given you golden reasons for desiring to be holy, let us delve into what it is.

Holiness, unlike other components of Christianity, carries significant pre-Christian bias. Our parents taught most of us right and wrong from a very young age. And, even deeper, as C. S. Lewis points out in his book, “Mere Christianity,” a sense of right and wrong seems to be embedded into all of us, the indelible marks of a beyond-human Creator. We bring this pre-conception in when we become Christians. Yet, this understanding, while borne in truth, tends to be tainted. We inherit a cultural morality that is part-Christian and part-not.

I’ll give you a few examples. I was raised by loving parents. From them I learned hard work, kindness, and hospitality. However, not all was moral in my family. Growing up, I played video games on our family’s Apple II computer. Nearly all the games I played were pirated, illegally copied and distributed. Yet, my small-town culture considered sharing and using pirated software okay. We excused it, but the logic was faulty. Yet when I dated the woman I later married, a person 8-years younger than me in the faith and from a metropolis, she challenged my cultural norms. And as I considered her challenge, I realized she was right: using pirated software was stealing, and the Bible says, “You shall not steal,” (Exodus 20:15) and I repented for my sin. Here’s another example. In the United States, grudge-holding is normal. Someone might say, “He wounded me 18 years ago, so I no longer talk to him,” and we consider this perfectly fine. It’s so common, that when daughter-in-law and mother-in-law get along, we’re surprised. Yet, the Bible teaches, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” (Romans 12:18)

The specific failings depend on the culture. When I lived in Israel, our project’s chief physicist, Vladimir, and I one day had a heated argument over transistor physics. He was red in the face and raised his voice. I felt miserable afterwards, and I dreaded going to work the subsequent day. I expected the cold-shoulder grudge-holding Americans permanently create after confrontation. Instead, Vladimir visited my office the next morning and began, “Charles, how are you doing?” And he proceeded on a pleasant conversation about life. He clearly was over yesterday’s issue. Israelis don’t hold grudges, but they fail elsewhere. I remember standing in line for the bus, and a good half-dozen Israelis of all types regularly cut in front of me. But the Bible teaches, “Consider others better than yourselves.” (Philippians 2:3) I don’t know your culture well, but I’m sure if you carefully examined it according to Biblical morals, you would find plenty of cultural moral sins.

For the Christian, holiness is not what our culture taught us. Instead, holiness is what God teaches us through his word, the Bible. We must untrain our cultural morals and train Biblical morals. And that, first of all, takes study. You can’t know what is right, until you’re taught it. As Hosea says, “My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.” (Hosea 4:6) Commands in righteousness run across every page of the Bible, so I encourage full Bible Study. My next talk will cover many aspects of holiness in detail. But for today’s talk, where I give an overview, I will recommend the best two 3-chapter sections I know. First, from the Old Testament, I recommend Exodus 20, Leviticus 19, and Deuteronomy 6. And, from the New Testament, I recommend Matthew 5-7. I will give a quick teaser in each of these, hoping to motivate you toward their study.

When Israel camped at the foot of Mount Sinai, the LORD descended on the mountain in fire, an earthquake, and a trumpet blast. Moses went up to the LORD, and the first words the LORD delivered Moses are in Exodus 20. And those words begin with the 10 commandments: verses, like “You shall have no other gods before me,” (Exodus 20:3) and “Honor your father and your mother” (Exodus 20:12). Leviticus 19 contains verses like “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people but love your neighbor as yourself, I am the LORD.” (Leviticus 19:18) and “Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly, and revere your God.” (Leviticus 19:32) Deuteronomy 6 contains the Shema, the greatest commandment: “Hear O Israel, the LORD our God the LORD is one; Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5) Now I understand that Christ fulfilled the Law, and it no longer binds us. Therefore, the sacrifices and punishments sections of the law do not apply to the Christian, but the definition of right and wrong hasn’t changed with Christ. And these 3 chapters contain mostly that: right and wrong. Furthermore, as Christ taught in Matthew 19, the Old Testament law is easier to follow than New Testament law. Shifting from cultural morality to Old Testament morality is easier than shifting from cultural morality to New Testament morality.

Matthew 5-7 is best known as the Sermon on the Mount, a sermon Christ delivered to his disciples in Galilee. Nowhere in all of literature is the definition of right and wrong made so clear with thorough explanation. Moreover, it’s beautifully spoken; its inspiration is practically tangible. Here are some famous verses often quoted from it:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3)

“You are the salt of the earth . . . You are the light of the world . . . In the same way, let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:13-16)

“This then is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name’” (the Lord’s prayer Matthew 6:5-13)

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy and thieves do not break in and steal, for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21)

“Do not judge or you too will be judged.” (Matthew 7:1)

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24-25)

Aren’t these beautiful? Sometimes, studying the Sermon on the Mount discourages us, because we fail. Jesus sets the moral bar for the Christian extremely high. But it is good to know what he wants, and, to give you some hope, it is achievable with the power of the Holy Spirit.

Study these chapters diligently. As Moses taught,

“Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” (Deuteronomy 6:7-9)

When you put them that close to your heart, your mind possesses the knowledge to cast off cultural morals and put on Christian morals.

Once you understand Christian morals, it is time to act. Alone, knowledge is dangerous. As Paul taught: “Knowledge puffs up but love builds up.” (1 Corinthians 8:1) Knowledge without action fosters arrogance and degenerates the Christian. Knowledge with action fosters humility and creates maturity. Once we understand Christian morality, we must adopt it as our own. My third talk will cover this in detail. But for this overview, I will once again grant you a teaser.

In this case, action involves change. You must cease your cultural moral action and replace it with its Christian moral action. Using my video game past as an example, I had to cease playing pirated games and start buying them. Resolving to change usually comes short of genuine transformation, because we are creatures of habit. The Bible calls it being “a slave to sin.” (Romans 7:25) From your standpoint, you must first realize your former way was sin. Second, you must apologize for that sin, making any amends necessary. Third, you must act in a way that shows the apology was genuine. However, since you are a slave to that sin, those three actions are impossible without God’s help. Plead with your Father, and ask him for his help. And take heart, my friend. If your heart is right, God will answer. Remember this promise: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” (Matthew 5:6)

In today’s talk, I gave you the motive for holiness along with teasers on what holiness is and how to accomplish it. In my subsequent talks, I will dive into those last two topics much deeper. But for today, I hope I have made the compelling case for all Christians, old and young, to hunger and thirst for righteousness. For if you have the desire, you will get there, even if my subsequent talks help little. Having the right motive is 90% of the battle. Blessings to you all.