Holiness
Da 1:9
“Holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.”–Hebrews 12:14
Now God had brought Daniel into favor – Compare Ge 39:21; Pr 16:7. By what means this had been done is not mentioned. It may be presumed, however, that it was by the attractiveness of his person and manners, and by the evidence of promising talent which he had evinced. Whatever were the means, however, two things are worthy of notice:
(1) The effect of this on the subsequent fortunes of Daniel. It was to him a great advantage, that by the friendship of this man he was enabled to carry out the purposes of temperance and religion which he had formed, without coming in conflict with those who were in power.
(2) God was the author of the favor which was thus shown to Daniel. It was by a controlling influence which he exerted, that this result had been secured, and Daniel traced it directly to him. We may hence learn that the favor of others toward us is to be traced to the hand of God, and if we are prospered in the world, and are permitted to enjoy the friendship of those who have it in their power to benefit us, though it may be on account of our personal qualifications, we should learn to attribute it all to God. There would have been great reason to apprehend beforehand, that the refusal of Daniel and his companions to partake of the food prepared for them would have been construed as an affront offered to the king, especially if it was understood to be on the ground that they regarded it as “defilement” or “pollution” to partake of it; but God overruled it all so as to secure the favor of those in power.
Daniel is a story of the struggle of the world’s people and culture against God’ people and God’s culture, and it is. It is also a story of men who lived for God by choosing the path of personal discipleship and holiness. This is no contradiction, because it is only such persons who actually embody the spiritual standards of “the city of God.” It is only those who make a lasting difference in the world.
A great evangelical bishop of England, John Charles Ryle, wrote a classic study of holiness in which he urged holiness upon all who call themselves Christians. After some opening passages in which he describes holiness as separation to God, devotion to God, service to God, being of one mind with God and wanting God’s will Ryle went on to show why holiness, the kind of holiness exercised by Daniel, is so necessary.
vdq qodesh ko’-desh
from 6942; a sacred place or thing; rarely abstract, sanctity:–consecrated (thing), dedicated (thing), hallowed (thing), holiness, holy (X day, portion, thing), saint, sanctuary.
He listed eight reasons.
1.”We must be holy, because the voice of God in Scripture plainly commands it.” “Peter wrote, ‘As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written ‘Be holy, because I am holy’ (1:Peter 14 -16) As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy’. We must be holy because a holy God commands it.”
2. “We must be holy, because this is the one grand end and purpose for which Christ came into the world.” You say, “But I thought Jesus came to save us from our sins.” Yes, he did come for that. But the Bible also says, “Christ love the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or winkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless” (Eph. 5:25-27). Many Christians think they would like the benefits of salvation without the obligation to live for Christ, but they cannot have them because Christ came to make them holy just as much as he came to save them from the penalty of their sins. If you are fighting against holiness, you are fighting against nothing less than the purpose of God in the Atonement.
3. “We must be holy, because this is the only sound evidence that we have a saving faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.” How is that so? Well James in his letter speaks of two kinds of faith; a living, saving faith and a dead faith that saves no one. The devils have a dead faith; that is, they believe there is a God and that Jesus is his Son, sent to save his people. But they do not trust him personally. They do not live for him. A living faith does live for him and therefore shows itself in good works. That’s why James says, “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead” (James 2:26)
“4. We must be holy, because this is the only proof that we love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity.” Jesus was quite plain on this point. He said, “If you love me, you will obey what I command” (John 14:15); “Whoever has my commands and obeys them he is thy one who loves me” (v21); “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching” (v23); “You are my friends if you do what I command” (John 15:14) How could the point be more clearly spoken? If you love Jesus you will obey him; you will be holy. If you do not obey him you do not love him–whatever your profession. Do you love Jesus? We have a chorus in which we sing “Oh, how I love Jesus.” but you do not love him if you do not do what he says.
5. We must be holy , because this is the only evidence that we are true children of God. “Do you remember how Jesus made this point when he was talking with the Pharisees? They claimed to be children of Abraham and therefore in right standing before God. But Jesus said “If you were Abraham’s children, then you would do the things Abraham did” (John 8:39 – 40). Paul said the same thing in Roman’s, noting that “those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God” (Romans 8:14). The Spirit of God does not lead you to sin. The Spirit of God does not lead to disobedience. If you are led by God’s Spirit, you will lead a holy life, and the evidence of that holy life will be sound evidence that you are God’s son or daughter.
6. “We must be holy because this is the most likely way to do good to to others.” Many people today have some desire to do good to others, and many of our social and benevolence programs are an expression of that praiseworthy desire,. But, I ask, “Do you help others by advancing a low moral standard – one that is easy for them to live up to? Do you help others by whittling down the righteous standard of the Old Testament law of the New Testament precepts? Not al all? You help others by upholding the highest possible standards and above all by living according to those standards yourself. There are several places in the New Testament in which the godly conduct of a believer is said to be the best hop of doing good to someone else. For instance, Peter writes, “Wives…be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives when they see the purity and reverence of your lives ( 1Peter 3: 1-2) No doubt many besides husband have been won to Christ by consistent, holy behavior of some Christians.
Are you thinking this way? Let’s turn back to Daniel, who was not only resolved not to defile himself with the King’s food and wine but was also willing to put the matter to the test and prove God able in his circumstances Daniel said to the guard who had been appointed over him, “Please test your servants for ten days; Give us nothing but but vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see” (Daniel 1: 12-13).The guard agreed to this test, and at the end of the ten days the young men look healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. Moreover, it was not only in their appearance that Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah excelled. They also excelled in knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. The test concludes by noting that at the end of the three years of training, when the king brought his young protégés in for testing, Nebuchadnezzar “found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom” (v20).
Do not say, “If I live for God, I’ll lose out.” You may lose out on some of the things the world offers, which are not good for you anyway, but you will experience a richness of God’s bounty. The Bible Says, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
7. “We must be holy, because our present comfort depends much upon it. “ Not all suffering is directly related to a sufferings person’s sins Christ’s words about the man born blind (John 9:3) should disabuse us of attempts to make that an easy, one-to-one relationship. But although all suffering does not come directly from one’s sin, the reverse is true. All sin produces suffering.
We do not think this way naturally. In fact, we think just the opposite. We come up against one of God’s commandments, think that we would like to do something else, and immediately reason that if only we could do what we really want to do we would be happy. We think that we should be absolutely miserable obeying God. That was the devil’s argument in his temptation of Eve, but it is as diabolical now as it was then. To heed it is to forget whence our good comes. “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17) If we turn from the good, we do not turn to happiness but away from it.
8. “Lastly, we must be holy, because without holiness on earth we shall never be prepared to enjoy heave.” The author of Hebrews wrote, “Without holiness no one will see the Lord” (Heb 12:14) Revelations speaks of heaven, saying, “Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life” Rev. 21:27
Can I be Holy?
The objection likely is that these points are all very well and good but hat it is just not possible for you to live a holy life in your circumstances. “If I did the right think in my job, I’d lose it, “you say, Or, “None of my friends would speak to me.” Or, I’d never get ahead Or, I just can’t by holy, I’ve tried it and I fail.” The Bible says, “Seek first God’s kingdom and His Righteousness, and all these things will be given to you.
You can’t ever do it alone, but with God’s help all things are possible. God is more than able.
Daniel 3: 17 -If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king
Acts 20:32 – And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.
Romans 8:39 – Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
1 Co 10:13 – There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
2 Co 9:8 – And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:
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