1 - Be Ye Holy As I Am Holy
1 - Be Ye Holy As I Am Holy
1 - Be Ye Holy As I Am Holy
Introduction
The Divine Imperative: “Be ye holy as I the Lord your God am holy!” (Lev 19:2)
Much of the Old Testament, including Leviticus, presents us with a collection of rites, rituals, and customs
originating within an ancient Near Eastern culture. Many of these seem strange to us. Even today, Oriental
culture, religious beliefs, and ways of thinking, are quite different from those of our Western culture. To
better understand some of the more difficult portions of the Bible, we need to bridge these gaps, by realizing
that Eastern ways of thinking are very different than ours. Western thinking tends to be logical, linear, and
propositional. By contrast, Orientals think in terms of pictures, descriptions, characterizations, leaving it up
to the hearer, or reader, to draw the appropriate conclusions. That’s why we have so much trouble with
parables, because it is an Oriental genre. We tend to feel most comfortable with the New Testament
epistles because of their Western orientation.
To better understand the concept of sanctification in the Old Testament, a logical place to start is the book
of Leviticus, due to the prominence of the divine imperative: “Be ye holy, as I am holy!” This imperative is
explicitly stated three times and implied in at least a dozen other places in Leviticus 19-20. But, from a
practical standpoint, what does this command look like under Law and under Grace? Is there really any
difference? We will see that this command is quoted by the apostle Peter (1:15-16), and its essence—living
a holy life, is applied by Paul (1 Cor 7:34; Eph 1:4; 5:27). Both Paul and Peter apply the idea of “being
holy” to Christians. Finally, there is one other important command in this context: “Love your neighbor as
yourself” (Lev 19:18). In the New Testament, this command is referred to as the “Law of Christ” (by Paul)
and the “Royal Law” (James 2:8) where it is applied to Christians. So, the bottom line is that to be holy as
God is holy we have to become more like God. But what does that look like? It involves many aspects,
not the least of which is the quality of our relationships to those around us.
How are we to understand the divine imperative “Be ye holy as I am Holy!” and its relationship to
sanctification? We first need to recognize the great divide caused by sin. We were not born holy, or
sanctified. The entire human race fell in Adam. Leviticus sets forth the first significant step of God’s remedy
for this serious situation. But, before we can appreciate this fact, we need to consider the larger context of
the book. The first and only (OT) occurrence of the imperative “Be sanctified” [ “Be holy”] appears in our
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favorite devotional book—Leviticus. The connection between the ‘great gulf’ and this book’s remedy
becomes more clear to us if we understand the significance of the book’s title, which is not Leviticus.1 As
with many Old Testament books, the Hebrew title is taken from the first word or two of a book’s opening
statement, which here is wayyiqra4) [“Then He called”]. That is, the Lord “called to Moses.” The
complete phrase is wayyiqra4) )el mos]e [“Then he called to Moses”]. This phrase appears only one other
time in the Hebrew Bible. Exodus 24:16 states “Then He [the Lord] called to Moses”
[wayyiqra4) )el mos]e]. It was here that Moses came face-to-face with the Lord as he received the Law
(Ten Commandments) on Mount Sinai. And, if you remember, afterward, Moses’ face continued to glow
long after the encounter. It is important to realize that not since the Lord walked with Adam in the Garden
of Eden had a human being come into this kind of contact with God.
So, Moses came face-to-face with God at Mt. Sinai. But what about the rest of God’s people, Israel?
Their experience was anything but pleasant. At Sinai, the Lord’s manifestation was terrifying, even
dangerous to them. At Sinai, the Lord appeared to them as the holy and terrifying God—the “consuming
fire” that devoured anything that came near. Moses was only able to come into God’s presence after much
spiritual preparation. This was symbolized by a tangible ritual—the forty days of fasting. Much later, an
overzealous pharisee, Saul of Tarsus, would be knocked off his horse and struck with blindness in a direct
confrontation by the risen Lord as he beheld the blinding glory of his holy radiance.
It is apparent from both these contexts dealing with the initial personal encounter of the sinner with a holy
God, that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of understanding God—who he is and what he is like. This
fear includes genuine fear for loss of life as well as awe and respect. Sanctification cannot have its starting
point until we experience this confrontation with the utter holiness of God as it shines upon our souls and
reveals to us our exceeding sinfulness. The first step in the long journey of sanctification must begin with the
initial point of salvation, with the realization that we are in need of it. We were not born as God’s buddies.
There can no salvation or sanctification until we recognize our great need. The repeated refrain in Leviticus:
“Be ye holy for I am holy” assumes that we are not holy. The unholy must come to grips with his or her
unholiness. This can only happen through divine confrontation, whether by direct manifestation (salvation
historical), or through contact with the convicting power of God’s Spirit through his Holy Word.
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Nor is the book about Levites. The word ‘Levite’ appears only four times in the entire book, and that, in
the space of only two verses dealing with the Levite’s relationship to a particular regulation—the law of Jubilees
(Lev 25:32-33).
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At Sinai, Moses came into the presence of the Holy God of Israel only by personal invitation—and that,
only after long and difficult preparations. The same invitation was not extended to Israel, though. So, how
were God’s people Israel to approach a holy God? How would they learn what it is like to be holy?
Fortunately, in book of Exodus, God sets in place fundamental steps toward a solution. Following the
Mount Sinai experience, Moses received the blue print and plans for the construction of the tabernacle.
This was followed by the institution and establishment of the priesthood, with Aaron being appointed as
High Priest. Once the tabernacle was completed and all its personnel and equipment were in place,
something spectacular happened. The Lord’s presence settled upon the tabernacle and filled it with His
glory. So ominous was the event that not even Moses could approach (40:35)! How could this be? Who
can approach a God whose fiery holiness is so dangerous. If sinful man tries to approach he will be totally
annihilated. From this point forward, God’s glorious presence would accompany the tabernacle and dwell
there, as a glorious cloud by day and as a fiery pillar by night (Exod 40:34-38).
At this point, God is present with his people, but there is still a problem: how can unholy people come
into the presence of a holy God for worship? The solution comes as Exodus closes and the book of
Leviticus begins. Except for the English title ‘Leviticus,’ the movement between the two books is seamless,
as it is in the Hebrew Bible. Leviticus begins with Moses standing a safe distance from the Tabernacle.
Then the Lord calls to him and speaks to him from the tent of meeting, saying: “Speak to the sons of Israel
and say to them: ‘When any man of you brings a qorban2 offering to the Lord . . . [if it is a burnt offering] . .
. he shall offer it at the doorway of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before the LORD, and
he shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, that it may be accepted for him to make
atonement on his behalf.”
The priests would then manipulate the blood of atonement according to specification. This was followed by
the cleansing of the animal’s entrails, the unclean part of the animal. Even this unclean part of the animal was
accepted as holy as it was burned and its smoke ascended heavenward. Such offerings pleased the Lord.
It was “an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the LORD.” The apostle Paul makes reference to
such an offering as he compares it to the Christian’s life. He relates the spiritual reality behind this ritual to
Christian sanctification. Sanctification begins as a desire to know God and to please him. It begins with a
commitment to sacrifice our lives and our will, to give them over in service to him. This new beginning is
intended to be part of a process resulting in positive spiritual progress.
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living
sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service. And be not
conformed to this world: but be being transformed [i.e. continually] by the renewing of your
2
The root of qorban [Heb. qrb] means to “draw near,” or “approach.”
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mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (Rom
12:1-2)
Paul is not necessarily saying something new here. Rather, he is articulating very clearly for us the practical
spiritual reality that has always stood behind these sacrifices. In the Old Testament the mechanical
performance of the ritual was efficacious only to the extent that it satisfied the theocratic demands of the
Law. It was never intended to be spiritually efficacious. That only happened when the heart of person
performing the ritual matched the truth being taught in the ritual. As Christians, we have our own set of
rituals: baptism, the Lord’s Supper, singing of hymns, the public invitation, etc. But none of these have any
spiritual efficacy unless the heart of the participant embraces the spiritual truth communicated by them.
So, how is the Israelite to approach God? In the remainder of Leviticus, Moses receives further instruction
on how to come into the presence of a holy God. Except now it is to be done through a system of rituals at
the tabernacle in the desert. Much later this would continue at the temple in Jerusalem on Mount Zion.
Both the Tabernacle and the Temple at Zion function as counterparts to the experience at Sinai. Unlike
Sinai, the Tabernacle/Temple and its rituals present Yahweh as the approachable God. The legislation sets
for guidelines for proper spiritual preparation—that is, sanctification, for worship. This special privilege is
accompanied by a carefully regulated system of laws a rituals formulated to safeguard this new relationship
between the Lord and His people.
III. Sanctification: “Be ye holy”: What did it look like under Law? 3
God desires spiritual progress in specific areas of life
Step #3: God’s instruction under the Old Covenant shows us what He expected
To understand what sanctification looks like under Law, we must first establish the addressees of the divine
imperative. And who were they? According to context, the addresses were those who were already in a
relationship with the one true God—Yahweh (or, Jehovah). They had agreed to the terms of the covenant
(Exod 19:8). They were professing believers in the one true God. Hence the commonly recited credo:
yhwh )elohe4nu= yhwh )eh9ad “Yahweh is our God! Yahweh is One!” (Deut 6:4, my translation). The
possibility that some professions were not genuine is always a real possibility (James 1:25).
But the primary addressees in scripture are genuine believers. Why? Because most of its content is
exhortation. That is, it is motivational in nature. As Christians, most of us would say that a lost person
cannot please God until he or she trusts Jesus as personal savior, and that this is only the beginning of a
3
Note: this distinction can be misleading if pressed too far. God extended mercy and grace to the Old
Testament believer. The fact that they were God’s chosen people means they were ‘under grace’ as recipients of
divine favor. Likewise, the New Testament believer is ‘under law’ in the sense that we are under the law of Christ
(versus the Mosaic Law). The New Testament is full of commands issued to Christians. These operate much the
same way as those of the Old Testament in the sense that obedience brings God’s blessing, but disobedience
brings chastisement: “Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the
commandments of the LORD your God” (Deut 11:26-27; ch. 28; 30:1; NT: Heb 12:5-6).
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process we call sanctification. But before we talk about sanctification as an activity building off an initial
profession of faith, we need to ask the question: what did that initial profession of faith look like in the Old
Testament?
When looking at salvation in the Old Testament, we need to realize that the saving work of Christ has many
counterparts, or forerunners, which anticipate this. Since ‘Salvation in the Old Testament’ was the topic of
my workshop last year, I will only mention two. The first one, which we have already introduced, was the
atonement sacrifice in Leviticus chapter one. The second one is related to spiritual lessons taught in Israelite
exodus from Egypt, which was the greatest saving event on the plains of human history prior to the cross. I
summarize those principles in Chart 4, taken from my previous workshop.4 It is important to see from this
that the same Savior was at work in the both the Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament, Jesus as
Savior, revealed himself as Yahweh (Jehovah). In the New Testament, Jesus’ name means ‘salvation.’
English ‘Jesus’ is taken from the Greek ¹Ihsou=j which is a transliteration of the Hebrew Jeshua or
Jehoshua (Joshua), which means ‘salvation.’
So, what about sanctification? What did God desire to see in the life of the Israelite? The Old Testament
employs various kinds of literature (genres: law, stories, psalms, proverbs, prophecy, etc.) to express this.
But our particular focus, here, is upon the holiness code in Leviticus 19-20, because it shows us how a
sanctified life was to look. It is also important to notice that these laws are interspersed with exhortation
(preaching). The exhortation begins with the mandate to “be sanctified!”:
This idea of sanctification is made even more explicit in this command from chapter 20:
;{× ke y"hol)
E hÙwf hºy yÛni )
A yÖKi {yÕ$
i odq: {Ùt
e yéyh
: wé {êT
e $
: D
i qa t
: h
íi wº
“Sanctify yourselves! And be ye holy! For I [am] the LORD your God.” (Lev 20:7)
(Hithpael Imperative 2mp/ qds]) Qal Pf 2mp/ hyh
The holiness code focuses on a number of qualities God expected to see regarding attitude and behavior.
The fact that these guidelines contain imperatives and examples of specific application suggests that the Lord
4
This is discussed in more detail my workshop from last year: ”Salvation in the Old Testament: Exactly
What Did God Require?”(Workshop Session II - #8, NLC 2002).
5
The 2nd masculine plural imperfect verb here has imperatival force because it is a second person address
in a context where one will (Jehovah’s) is making an appeal to another will (us, believers).
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expected progress in the specified areas. Why? Since the imperatives became part of scripture, they
would have been be read aloud on a regular basis. They were intended to be memorized and recited daily
(Deut 6:7-8). Also, daily recitation would have the effect of continually pulling a person to a higher level
regardless of the current level of spiritual achievement.
This evidence suggests that we are not talking about a one-time response, or a supernatural zapping that
magically ushers a person into a state of perfection, or holiness. That will happen someday, but it is not our
focus here. The initial point of conversion is only the first step at the beginning of a long, and oftentimes
difficult, process which continues until we are taken to our permanent home in heaven.
Sanctification has two aspects, then. It has a starting point and continues as a work in progress. This is
supported by the fact that the command “Be ye holy!” and its closely associated phrase “for I am the
LORD your God!” function to structure and unify the text thematically (see Charts 1 and 2). For example,
the command to “Be Holy!”appears three times at regular intervals within the holiness code (Lev 19-21)
where it is being applied to various real life situations (see Charts 1, 2). In other words, he is saying: “This is
what being holy looks like in everyday life.” These situations affect both the vertical relationship (between
the believer and God) and the horizontal one—that is, between believers, primarily. But also to the
“stranger” or “foreigner” residing among them (Lev 19:33-35).
Now why should believers extend God’s grace to those around them? What is the motivation?
Because we were all aliens in bondage prior to salvation: “You shall love him [the stranger] as
yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am Jehovah your God . . . who brought you out from the
land of Egypt” (Lev 19:33-36). And, as we will see, this is true for New Testament saints as well, since
these commands are repeated within the New Testament and applied to Christians.
A convenient way to get an overall picture of what sanctification looked like under Law is to refer to my
two summary charts (Charts 1, 2). Let’s summarize some of our findings:
IV. Sanctification: “Be ye holy”: What does it look like under Grace?
God desires spiritual progress in specific areas of life
Step #4: God’s instruction under the New Covenant shows us what He expects of us
We have seen that Leviticus 19-20 serves as an essential text for understanding Old Testament
sanctification. This section explores some New Testament quotations and allusions from it to see how they
are applied to Christian audiences. As an aid to this end, I have provided a brief chart ( Chart 3) of pertinent
references. For example, particular significance is attached to the sanctification mandate from Leviticus: “Be
ye holy!” This is quoted by Peter. There are also a number of allusions to it where Christians are exhorted
to be holy. Only a few are listed in the Chart. Other important references refer to exclusive worship and
reverence God, as found in Ten Commandments of Deuteronomy 5, and sprinkled throughout Leviticus 19-
20.
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But the most quoted verse is the one which is a central focus in Leviticus: “You shall not take vengeance,
nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself! — I am
the LORD” (19:18). This first half of this verse is quoted a total of ten times, far outweighing quotation from
the first two: “Be ye holy,” and “Love the Lord with all your heart.” This verse is quoted numerous times in
the Gospels as it is applied by Jesus, and is used by the apostle Paul in Romans 12: “Never take your own
revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for its is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’
says the Lord” (12:18a).
But of particular importance is Jesus’ application of the second half of this verse (19:18b): “But you shall
love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt 19:19; Mark 12:31; Luke 10:27; Rom 13:9; Gal 5:14; James 2:8),
which is referred to as the both the “Royal Law” (James 2:8) and the “Law of Christ” (1 Cor 9:21; Gal 6:2).
The context of this statement is that of an answer to the question by the scribe: “Master, which is the
greatest of the commandments?” To which the Lord responds: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart,
soul, and mind (Deut 6:4), and the other is like unto it: “Love your neighbor as yourself (Lev 19:18), on
these two (commands) hang all the law and the prophets.” Both James and Paul refer to the royal law of
Christ as they apply it within contexts admonishing harmony among Christian brothers and sisters.
Conclusion:
Laying aside cultural differences and salvation historical distinctions (Law versus Grace), it should be no
surprise to us that God’s spiritual principles remain the same for both. Respect toward God and our
treatment of others doesn’t change under the New Covenant. The Royal Law (Law of Christ) encapsulates
the entire essence of the Torah (Law of the Old Covenant). Both Jesus and the apostles emphasize the
two-dimensional nature of sanctification, the vertical: reverence toward God, and the horizontal: love of
neighbor. These two areas serve as a barometer of spiritual progress. In this sense, they are the foundation
to New Testament sanctification.
Bottom Line:
The Royal Law of Christ (Deut 6:4 & Lev 19:18) was and is the foundation for
sanctification in both the Old and New Testaments
1. Some things never change: our reverence toward God/our treatment of others
a. Christ has given us greater spiritual resources through his saving work on the cross
accompanied by the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
b. He has also raised the bar on accountability: “To whom much is given, much is
required.”
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Application:
Our treatment of others is a good barometer of our spiritual health
1. If the horizontal relationships are not healthy, then we must conclude that the vertical one
(our reverence toward God) is compromised as well.
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Guilt Offerings remedy interpersonal (horizontal) wrongs, whereas Sin Offerings (more accurately “Purification
Offerings”) are applied to sins against God (vertical).
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Chart 3: “Be ye holy”: What does it look like under Law & Grace?
LAW GRACE
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(James 2:8)
Chart 4: Israelite Exodus: Warfare as a Teaching Picture of
Salvation
Israel witnessed the first, most graphic and awe-inspiring, act of holy warfare in her exodus from Egypt. All
of the elements of salvation, as explained in the New Testament, were plainly demonstrated through a drama
of cosmic proportions. With her back against the Red Sea, with the most powerful army in the world in hot
pursuit, Moses extends forth his rod over the sea and proclaims: “Stand back and watch the salvation of the
Lord!” Well, you know the rest of the story. But there were four truths taught in this single event, which
formed the basis for every war Israel would engage within her subsequent history.
Four Principles
1. The covenant Lord enters into a relationship with a defenseless and undeserving people
a. The Israelites were slaves in Egypt.
b. They were constantly complaining against Moses and the Lord due to the extra hardships imposed
upon them during the ten plagues.
3. The covenant Lord is greater than any opposing force—be it physical or spiritual
a. The Egyptian army was the most powerful human force in the world.
b. But they were no match for the God of Israel.
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