“…my thoughts [are] not your thoughts, neither [are] your ways my ways, says the Eternal” (Isaiah 55:8). We can know almost as much about the Creator’s thoughts as a grasshopper can know about our thoughts.
If I gave a lukewarm cup of water to you and said to you, “keep it cold”, you would probably think I had a bad choice of words. You cannot keep something cold if it isn’t cold to begin with. You might put it in the refrigerator and make it cold.
By the same token, we, as humans, can’t make any thing holy. Only God can make something holy. We, as humans, can only do our best to keep something holy after it is already made holy by God. Human trying make something holy, including themselves, is a major break with reality.
We, as humans, cannot make ourselves holy. We can do our best to attempt to keep ourselves holy but this is only after the Father (the Most High God) has made us holy through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10:9-10). The King James word “sanctified” is from the Greek word “hagiazo”, which means to be set apart for a holy purpose. In fact, keeping ourselves holy can only be accomplished with the help of the Comforter, the Holy Spirit (John 14:26 and John 15:26).
The King James word “comforter” is from the Greek “parakletos”, which means “called to one’s side”, indicating a manifest aid for helping keep us holy in the sight of God. This comforter, the Holy Spirit, is the power and presence of the One who sits at the controls of this vast universe. It costs you nothing except ultimate commitment.
Religious leaders who try to make merchandise (2 Peter 2:3) of people are ,at times, in the category of idol shepherds who leave the flock (Zechariah 11:17). Religious leaders are sometimes referred to as “hirelings”, particularly if their only motivation is to make money from their followers.
In today’s world of religiosity, you will find many hirelings, hired hands who see religion as a business and their part of the business as performing in order to receive a paycheck. There is nothing wrong with getting a paycheck if you really care about the people who are seeking a closer walk with the Eternal. But the hireling doesn’t care. “The hireling flees, because he is a hireling, and cares not for the sheep” (John 10:13). But Christ is the good shepherd who laid down his life for the sheep (verse 14-15).
The Eternal is not willing than any should perish but that all should come to repentance. However, Christianity is exclusive. There is no other way through which humans must obtain salvation (eternal life) other than through Jesus Christ (Acts 4:10-12).
“…he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still” (Revelation 22:11). Individuals who are holy will be taking part in the first resurrection, thereby avoiding the second death (Revelation 20:6).
Wily Elder
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