Heaven is equal to holiness because God is heaven. This means that heaven is the place where all things are holy and those who reside there are holy. Holiness is the delight of the saints because holiness means separation to and for the Lord. That is the standard meaning. When one sees holiness in the Bible the meaning can have a nuanced change to it to signify not simply separation, but a willing and desirous separation to and for the Lord. You cannot long for life in heaven if you are not longing for the life of God in you.
I begin this way because I believe that it is improbable, dare I say impossible, for one to go to heaven who is not happy, hungry and sees holiness as the singular worthy pursuit. The idea of heaven cannot be exciting pleasing for those whose idea of God and holiness is non-existent. One cannot want heaven, which is full of the holy God if one does not want God or desire to be holy on earth. In this way holiness is a moral imperative of and to those who are saved. The Hebrew writer says it clearly when he wrote, "Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14).
To understand this passage rightly and not move into the realm of heresy, it is important to understand the dual dimensions of gospel holiness. Two words make this description easy to understand: positional and practical. Positional holiness speaks to the real holiness we have as being in Christ. This means that when we were justified by faith alone, we receive all of Christ's righteousness which means that all of our sins have been dealt with by His death. Now, in Him, we stand forever without any condemnation (Romans 8:1, 31-34, 35-38). Practical holiness speaks to the moral imperative of those who have received Christ's holiness calling them to live lives that imitate Christ's life (1st Corinthians 11:1) and, as a consequence, to be pleasing to the Lord (Colossians 1:10). This aspect of holiness, practical holiness, is the focus of Hebrews 12:14 and the entirety of the next few posts.
The calling, the command, is clear in Hebrews 12:14 with the words "strive for." The words convey the basic meaning to pursue but there is another meaning that highlights the intensity intended by the Spirit. To strive for also means to chase or to hunt after. That is descriptive language. Holiness is ours in Christ (positional) but/and it is the absolute essential thing that we want and long to be reflected in our lives. Like a lion hunts his prey because he wants to and must eat, the Christian will hunt down holiness because we want to and must be holy in our lives. We want to have a life that is set apart for the Lord in such a way that our heart, mind, and life abandon worldliness and the works of the flesh with an intense desire and passion to display the life of Christ that is being formed in us (Galatians 4:19; Philippians 1:20-21).
This is instructive to us because it tells us what holiness is and how to obtain more of its fruit. Holiness is, at one point, the pursuit Christ and, at another point, holiness is experiencing and evidencing more of the Christ we chase down. Holiness is pursuing Christ and holiness increases in my life with the exposure of my soul to more of Christ.
Here are some probing questions:
Does this pursuit of Christ excite you?
Does the notion of your soul increasing in hunger for Him bring you degrees of happiness?
Does it move you with a longing and desire that urges your soul to chase holiness down?
If this practical holiness does not move or excite you one would caution whether you are positionally holy. A desire for practical holiness flows out of real positional holiness. Therefore, if one is positionally holy they will, by divine necessity and urging of the Spirit, desire and long to be more and more practically holy.
These probings are important because the gospel makes them important. The honor of Christ rests on those whose lives do not mock Him and the lives that do not mock the Lord are those who will be in an evident chase down of holiness. It is also important because the Hebrew writer makes a statement of eternal consequence: "Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). He teaches that moral (practical) holiness - because it is a necessary fruit of positional holiness - is the expectation of those who would have the hope of seeing the Lord in eternity.
This is not teaching salvation by works since that would be heretical and, therefore, unbiblical. Rather, the writer is saying what James said, that faith without works is dead (James 2:14-18). It is, therefore, impossible for people to not love holiness or fail to chase it down and have any level of confidence that the Holy Spirit is in them, working out in them a greater evidential expression of the life of Christ. This is why holiness is a radical pursuit. It goes against all that we are as sinful creation but it is all that we desire and long for as redeemed, new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). What this looks like in our lives is based on certain factors: those ways, thoughts, behaviors and passions in us that are actively running contrary to a love for Christ.
The way to know the specific holiness I need to chase down involves evaluating the sin that is in acting pursuit of me. It is this that dictates the nature and place of my fight for holiness. So, if you gossip, then you must pursue holiness, by the Spirit, with an intentional fight against being a gossiper. If you engage is sexual immorality, fighting those urges and the many ways that cause this passion rise in you, this is your pursuit of holiness. Whatever sin is at your door, killing it is the holiness you must pursue. In that way the battle is easy. Kill what it trying to kill your joy, hope, and Christ-likeness. It is the killing, however, that takes the work! But this work is ours if we are in Christ (positional holiness) and it is necessary if we would see the Lord (practical holiness).
I will end this end as I began above: Heaven is holiness. This means that heaven is the place where all things are holy and those who reside there are holy. Holiness is the delight of the saints because holiness means separation to and for the Lord.
I hope this excites you!
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