A HOLINESS VOCABULARY

It is God’s will that you should be sanctified . . .

1 Thessalonians 4:3

Do we need a new vocabulary for teaching holiness?  This is what I’ve been hearing for the past few years when the topic of holiness comes up.  God has a great many things to say about holiness throughout scripture. He says four times in Leviticus (11:44,45; 19:2; 20:7), “Be holy, for I am holy.”  The Apostle Peter quotes the Leviticus passages and adds, “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do” (1 Peter 1:15,16).  The Apostle Paul makes it clear that this was God’s plan from the very beginning when he writes “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight . . . to the praise of his glorious grace” (Ephesians 1:4,6).  And Peter again proclaims the privilege of God’s people of faith.  We “may participate in the divine nature” (2 Peter 2:4) which we understand is holy love.  Holiness “to the praise of God’s glory” (Eph. 1:14) is the “not-so-new” normal throughout scripture. 

We understand holiness to be a major, underlying theme throughout the Scriptures.  William Francis, in his essay “Being Like God . . . Holy,” states “The Hebrew word for holy (qadesh) and its derivatives is used more than 700 times in the Old Testament.”  Its importance to the Christian life is easily notable throughout the life and teachings of Jesus, the New Testament writings of Paul, Peter, James, John, the author of the book of Hebrews, and the patristic literature of the early church fathers.  The history and biblical vocabulary of holiness is long and established as inspired and gifted by God.  But, nevertheless, there is the concern that the language of holiness is out-of-date and ineffective in communicating the idea of holiness to present and future generations.

I am strongly inclined to respond with a sophisticated theological expression: “Baloney!”  The idea of an established vocabulary being outdated is largely bogus.  The problem is not with the long established vocabulary, but with our benign neglect of teaching holiness using the words, concepts, and ideas that the use of Scripture and historical writings occasion.  If we look to other areas of knowledge and understanding, we find a richness of vocabulary with long histories of practical value.  These include medicine, engineering, architecture, information technology, literature, philosophy, business, economics, psychology, and so on.  No one says, “the vocabulary of medicine, or economics, or engineering is outdated. Let’s make-up a new one.”  I concede that each area of learning increases in new words and concepts as understanding and discovery progresses, but that takes place on a preexistent foundation of learning. 

There is a deeper problem.  In his letter to the Ephesians (3:18), in talking about the magnitude (high, wide, long, deep) of God’s love, the Apostle Paul, in reference to love, suggests that there is “knowledge that surpasses knowledge.”  It is not a cognitive knowledge of mere intellect.  Rather, it is the deep knowledge of the heart. Whether a new or old vocabulary were used in the teaching of holiness, the failure of discipleship would be the same if it did not convey a personal understanding of holiness as a knowledge that surpasses knowledge, an experiential knowledge of the heart communicated beyond a particular vocabulary.  The essence of holiness is the essence of God, pure love.  It must be taught with a pure heart and as early as possible in a child’s life.  That topic is worthy of follow-up postings. 

Do we need a new vocabulary? I’d be grateful to hear what you think!

For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.

1 Thessalonians 4:7