# Session 1 ## What does it mean to be holy? - appears hundreds of times in the [[Bible]] - but what does it really mean? - [[God]]'s people are routinely told - Let's turn to [[1 Peter 1]]:13-16: "Be holy because I am holy" - quote from [[Leviticus]] - Let's bring some context -- in v. 3-5, where [[Peter]] is writing to [[Messiah]]nic [[Jew]]s across the [[Mediterranean]], telling them they've been born again in a new hope and therefore to be holy - It bridges both [[Old Testament]] and [[New Testament]] - It's even on the [[Bible]] -- usually referred to as "Holy Bible" - It must be a good thing, because [[God]] is holy - But it sounds like a very "religious" word, like the opposite of fun - In the eyes of the world, can often be a bad thing ("holier than thou"), or they just don't know what it means - in the game [[Worms 2]], the "Holy Hand Grenade" was just a extra large exploding grenade with an accompanying choir ## Holiness in the [[Old Testament]] - Often going to the [[Old Testament]] to understand definitions is a good start - Let's look at: - [[Isaiah 6]]:1-3 "Holy is the [[Lord]]". He is described as gigantic - [[Psalm 102]]:18-19 describes [[God]] looking down from [[Heaven]] in holy height - [[Deuteronomy 26]]:15 "heaven, your [[Holy]] dwelling place" - [[Psalm 24]]:3-4 "who shall ascend the hill of the [[Lord]]", "who shall stand in his [[Holy]] place", "clean hands", "pure heart", "not deceitful" - [[Holy]] seems to be describing places where [[God]] exists in -- **[[God]] is [[Holy]]** - Holiness is a feature of who he is rather than what he makes - If you make a lego model, there is a sense in which you are "holy" with respect to the lego model - [[God]] retains his whole space even after creating the cosmos. World divided into two regions, the [[Heaven]]s above and the earth below - It's not literally the sky; it makes sense in the [[Hebrew]] worldview because everyone there knows one is limited to the world below (in the modern day we do have ways to get to the sky) - The core point is the same -- there is an element of [[God]] inaccessible to us. He is a 4-dimensional being, beyond our comprehension - So he can't just hang out in the creation he made, he has to be separate and distinct. And that is [[Holy]]ness - Common atheist statement: "If only [[God]] would appear to me, then I would believe". According to [[Isaiah]], that would instantly kill them - But holiness can still enter the world, see [[Holy Spirit]] - Therefore the whole of creation also reflects him, since his spirit is at work within it - Sometimes the [[Bible]] calls it his "fullness", or "glory". It reflects something he is - So: **how can a [[Holy]] [[God]] dwell on earth?** It shouldn't be possible. But the second half of [[Exodus]] gives a template, which gives us a picture of just how difficult and special holiness is - Some of the distinctions there can seem arbitrary, but they are all distinctions [[God]] is choosing to make - compare it to building a nuclear power pant -- you have to put all these careful barriers and separations in order to properly contain the special thing ## [[God]] calls us to be [[Holy]] like him - ... because he is [[Holy]] - If [[Holy]]ness means [[God]] must be separate in the [[Heaven]]s, what does it mean for us to be [[Holy]]? - Recap - In [[Genesis 1]], [[God]] creates a good world but it is corrupted by [[Sin]] in [[Genesis 3]] (good world but broken at the same time) - Then in [[Genesis 12]], [[God]] calls on [[Abraham]] and begins a project with him ([[God's promises]]) - Humanity is now divided into two groups: everybody else, and [[God]]'s one chosen nation that he has committed himself to (doctrine of [[Election]]) - [[Abraham]]'s people are a people that [[God]] has personally committed himself to, hence the name change [[Abram]] to [[Abraham]] in [[Genesis 17]], and one day they are to inherit all of creation (the [[New Creation]]) - Note that holiness isn't mentioned much in the above sequence, besides in the beginning in [[Genesis 1]] where creation is first called holy - It is only centuries later in [[Exodus]] where [[God]] really explains and elaborates and talks about holiness more - With [[Moses]] we see the first time that [[God]] really brings his presence in ([[Moses]] is required to take his sandals off but the predecessors weren't) - See [[Exodus 19]]:4-6 "You yourselves have seen what I did... how... I brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully...you will be for me... a holy nation" - text wise, this is a sort of climax of [[Exodus]], though many of our memories end with the [[Red Sea]] episode. That's less than half of [[Exodus]]! - what's really going on is that [[God]] is bringing [[Israel]] to himself - "Let them go so that they may serve me" - In some sense they are going from one form of slavery (to [[Pharaoh]]) to another (to [[God]]) - [[Israel]] is being required to reflect something of [[God]]'s holiness to the world ## So what? - Holiness is not an optional extra - We should not hesitate to say that as [[Christian]]s we are part of his holy people, and called to be part of the kingdom of priests - It's a wonderful privilege but also a serious responsibility - Some may think being [[Christian]] is like adding [[God]] to our lives. But it's more accurate to say that he is adding us to his life # Session 2 - If I don't live a holy life, will it actually affect my [[Salvation]]? - Well you already are holy if you are [[Christian]], as you have been called in - So [[God]] takes it seriously how you live out that holy calling - But it's not the same thing as saying we must all pass some sort of moral exam before [[God]] - Recall the [[Exodus]] narrative -- they weren't saved due to anything they did, but solely because he made a promise to [[Abraham]] - They were saved because they were part of the right family, and the same is true for us via [[Jesus]] - But he is also very aware of those who pay attention (see end of [[Deuteronomy]], where the salf-satisfied "will be swept away") - We may walk away smugly satisfied, or we may panic - The right response is to take it seriously from today on (not to live in fear of the past) ## Why holiness is actually a really good thing ### What is holiness? - What does holiness mean *in practice*? - Holiness is more about who we are than what we do. IT's about being set apart for the service in the Lord, rather than "trying to be a good person" - But again, many of the [[Old Testament]] "holy" laws may seem quite arbitrary to us today - Whatever is the case, they are all wrapped up in the idea that his people must be a distinct nation from the people around them - The chapters in [[Exodus]] and the rest of the [[Torah]] are still very foundational to what the idea of holiness is, and the [[New Testament]] only builds on that - Besides ceremonial holiness, there is also moral holiness, which may make more sense to us in this age - In the [[Old Testament]] this is fairly mixed with ceremonial holiness (see [[Leviticus 20]]). They are to separate themselves from the people around them who do child sacrifices and weird sex stuff, and in the same passage they are also to separate clean and unclean animals - But there is still good independent emphasis on moral holiness, with themes of treating other people well - [[David]] mentions "who shall dwell with [[God]] in his holy abode?" Specifically mentions those who don't charge high rates of interest - Sensuality is also a dimension, and the sort of control you exercise over your own bodily instincts. According to [[God]] it's not okay to indulge bodily instincts however you want, there are appropriate and inappropriate ways ### Why is holiness good - my thoughts: - distinction from moralness. What is holiness, orthogonalized against moralness? - [[God]] is holy, and [[God]] is good. So in some sense it's kind of axiomatic - the ceremonial aspect is the residual, showing just how distinct and special being holy is - comparison with "pure math" vs "engineering" - sometimes engineers empirically discover some method that works well. But pure math will reveal the underlying structure that reveals why those things work well, and can help guide you to things that often work even ebtter - morality can be thought of from many schools of thoughts, but the [[Christ]]ian perspective is that holyiness is the underlying structure beneath moral principles. Like how $e^{\pi\sqrt{163}}$ being almost an integer is connected via [[Heegner Number]]s to the [[Monster Group]] and $j$-function. More practically, seemingly byzantine series of steps like those in the [[Discrete Fourier Transform]] or [[PageRank]] are clarified when viewed from the perspective of [[Linear Algebra]] and [[Orthogonal Projection]] and [[Spectral Theory]] respectively #### Privilege - It is a great privilege to be [[God]]'s treasured people - Holiness is not a duty we have to carry out, it's something we should do with joy - Like being chosen as an athlete to represent your country. Hard work, but glorious #### Good for humanity - Can be hard to believe in a world that seems to ignore [[God]] yet prosper - Holiness provides plenty of perhaps counterintuitive things that guide is in the right way (e.g. it is more holy to give than to receive, to sacrifice than to hoard) - Grasping why [[God]]'s way is a good way is grasping holiness, and is a large part of what we do these studies for - E.g. the importance of not indulging sensuality. "As long as it doesn't bother others its fine", yet we have eating disorders, porn addictions, etc #### [[Evangelism]] - implication of the first two points - If it's an honour, and good for humanity, than naturally it is evangelistic - e.g. if you're a school teacher and treat all your students fairly and with dignity, the world will see something of the holiness of [[God]] #### [[Eschatalogical]] - Holiness points us to the ultimate future of all things - Back to [[1 Peter]]: "prepare your mind for actions, and set your mind fully for the grace that will be brought to you" - Like shooting a movie -- actors must think about every detail they are directed to do. But when the movie is finished, they can sit back and enjoy, and see their contribution, and see what good the directorial choices have done -