Be Holy, Because I Am Holy - Hebrews 13:4–6

In the OT book of Leviticus, chapter 11, God makes this statement to the ancient Israellites: “I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy.” In other words, set yourselves apart from sinful humanity to glorify and be like your God. God commands them to be like Him because of who He is to them. 

Later in Leviticus 11, God repeats the command, but with an addition. He says, “For I am the LORD who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.” God delivered them to be set apart, saving them from bondage, not because of works they had done, but because of His gracious promise and covenantal commitment. God initiated the covenant of grace with them, and He instructed them to live according to His truth and His ways because He saved them by His grace. Not that they loved Him, but that He first loved them. 

Fast forward to the NT. We understand that the NT church is the continuation of the OT people of God; however, rather than God’s people being one nation, they will come from and live in every nation. The apostle Peter understood this continuation, and so he quotes Leviticus 11 as he instructs Christians to pursue holiness. Peter writes, “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 

It has always been the will of God for His people to be like Him in this way, to love what is good and hate what is evil. Of course, we live in a world where the opposite is often the case. All around us are the results of the Sexual Revolution of the 1960s, widespread materialism, selfishness and continual grabs for power and control. The world indulges in sexual immorality, greed, covetousness, and self-reliance. 

In John 17, Jesus prays for His people and He says to the Father, “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.” The church is to be set apart from these things while still living among them. But the church is susceptible to all the sins in which the world indulges. 

Take these three verses today from Hebrews 13: They are warnings for God’s people regarding our potential to fall into sin. All people are predisposed to these sins. They naturally appeal to us in some form or fashion. Throughout every age, people are basically the same; hence these NT commands in Hebrews which echo or reiterate some of the Ten Commandments of the OT. These are all moral issues, dealing with God’s moral standard. The OT people of God broke God’s law; so do we. Sexual immorality, greed, covetousness, self-reliance: we all fall short.

But Jesus Christ did not. In His life, death, and resurrection we must trust, and through His life, death, and resurrection we can pursue holiness. Jesus makes us able and He gives us strength to be holy because He is holy.

Since Jesus has done this, we should pursue holiness in our daily lives. But how can we be holy when we are so enticed by and susceptible to sin? We’re justified by Jesus, yes. We’re born again and eternal life is certain. But how can we pursue holiness now, and obey commands like these, while our sinful nature remains? 

Well, these commands must be approached in light of the command at the beginning of Hebrews 12, where the writer says this: “let us also lay aside...sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.” We must look to Jesus. 

There’s an outline for you on page 6-7 in the WG. To pursue holiness in a world enamored with sexual immorality, love of money, and lust for power, God’s people must: practice self-control, assured of your position of purity in Him who knew no sin, practice gratitude, assured of your position of wealth in Him who supplies every need, and practice courage, assured of your position of security in Him who has all control.

Now, notice the beginning of verse [4] again. “Let marriage be held in honor among all.” The Scriptures teach that marriage is to be between one man and one woman. Genesis 2 in the OT describes the first marriage, established by God between the first man and woman at the start of humanity. 

Jesus quotes Genesis 2 when he upholds marriage in Matthew 19. Jesus adds, “What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” Biblical marriage is foundational for society. Not everyone must or will get married, but the covenant relationship of marriage is decreed by God.

In the first-century church, some false teachers claimed that only singleness and celibacy were truly holy. The apostle Paul argues that marriage was created by God and is therefore good. It is good, not only for procreation, but for the unique relationship and shared enjoyment that should only take place between a man and woman married only to each other.

There’s no shortage of disparaging jokes about marriage today. Movies and TV shows depict marriage as a trap, as an antiquated institution, as a burden or even a prison. Marriage is often described as a relationship that keeps you from so many things life offers. But there are some things in life that should only be enjoyed within marriage. The original language of verse 4 expresses that marriage is to be viewed as precious. To God, marriage is like a jewel of great price; it is especially dear and should be treasured.

Look at the rest of verse 4, “let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.” The marriage relationship can be violated, so effort must be made to keep it pure. It should not be debased through adultery or any kind of sexually immoral behavior. Marriage should not be deformed through any kind of redefinition. Marriage should consist of a husband and a wife whose romantic thoughts and desires are only for each other and only fulfilled by each other. Anything else violates God’s moral law. 

Obviously this was a problem and a temptation even in the first century. If you read the OT, before you even get through Genesis 4 marriage is being redefined as Lamech takes two wives. Still today, marriage is often seen as a human invention that can be adapted to modern opinions and preferences. But God made marriage; God defines it. Only God establishes the boundaries and blessings of marriage.

If you are married, do you treasure your marriage and honor it in this way? It’s easy to take it for granted. If you are married, do you guard your eyes and your thoughts from immorality, do you aim to protect your marriage? Do you cultivate pure desires only toward your spouse? Notice the end of verse 4 again: a blameless God is our Judge. His standard is absolute purity. Sexually immoral behavior and humor are praised in our society today. 

But the body of Christ must practice self-control, and to do so, to resist the defilement of marriage in any way, we must be continually reminded and assured that our position before God in Jesus Christ is already one of purity. God “made him to be sin who knew no sin,” who knew no impurity, “so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” So that in Jesus, we could be pure in the sight of God. The righteousness record of Jesus is our only hope for purity. 

Fix the eyes of your heart on the pure One, the One who endured a death deserved by the defiled men and women. Jesus transfers His purity to His people by grace. In Titus 2, the apostle Paul writes that the grace of God teaches us “to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, [14] who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” Look to our great God and Savior.

Greed and covetousness also keep us from being holy like God. Look at verse [5], “Keep your life free from love of money.” Of course money is a necessity for having what we need to live. And money can be a blessing, providing many things to enjoy. Also, money creates opportunities to glorify God. Money is not bad. 

But what is in view here is something else; it is a warped view of money; a wicked desire to be rich. This is money as your god. It includes wanting specifically what someone else has. To covet. Notice the rest of the verse: “and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Here is the rationale for being grateful for what we have: the devoted God is our Provider. The apostle Paul told the church at Philippi, “my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Paul says earlier in the letter to the Philippians that the secret to contentment, whether you have much or you have little, is this: “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” 

It’s not just poor folks who can be discontent. There are many wealthy people who are still not content, though they have much. Jesus practiced perfect contentment on behalf of His people. Jesus lived a content life. That was part of his saving mission. And trusting in Him, looking to Him, with the strength that only He can provide, we can practice gratitude, we can be content, assured of our position of wealth in Him who supplies every need. We can have and use money without being controlled by it.

Are you content with what you have? Of course, we all go through difficult times, financial troubles. But are able to trust God and wait on Him? Are you able to be thankful for what you do have, or are you bent out of shape inside over what you do not have or over your dislike of what you do have? 

Are you angry or frustrated over what others have that you do not? Is what God has decreed for you not quite good enough for your taste? This creeps up in all of us, but in Acts 20 in the NT we learn about something Jesus said during His earthly ministry that teaches us an important lesson about money: He said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” We all like to get; but happy is the one who gives for the glory of God and looks to Jesus and says, “You are my shepherd; I have what I need, and I’m thankful for what I have.” The Shepherd will never leave or neglect us. 

Through Jesus, we have God’s promise that He will not forget us or give up on us. So we can be confident that He knows what we have and what we need. He is for us, not against us; the person and work of Jesus assures us of this. And “so,” or “for this reason,” look finally at verse 6, “we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” 

This comes from Psalm 118 in the OT. God’s covenant love and commitment are in view. We can practice courage, we can face life bravely, when we are assured of our position of security in the One who has all control. A strong God is our Helper. He is stronger than men, stronger than our enemies. He is greater than our fears. Our future is secure in Him.

Jesus said that He would send the Helper to His people, the Holy Spirit of God. The Spirit indwells or lives within each person who is born again; in fact, you can only be born again if the Spirit of God first regenerates you or brings you to life once again. We are all naturally born dead in our sins. So if you see your need for Jesus, if you know His glory and His salvation, you can be assured that God is with You. 

Therefore, you don't need to chase after power or control. You don’t need to scheme for security in this life. God is your security. But with so much swirling around us each day that causes us to fear, how can we remain confident in God’s control over our lives? How do we keep walking by faith when things appear to be out of control? 

Again, we look to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. Over and over the Scriptures tell us that all dominion, all power, belongs to God. We look to the powerful One, and He produces holy confidence in us. We look to the owner of all things, and He produces holy contentment in us. We look to the pure and righteous One, and He produces holy desires in us.

We can grow in holiness because Christ our Lord is holy. Have you been striving for holiness in your own strength? Or have you scoffed at holiness or given up because sinful desire seems to be too strong and immorality seems to just be too pleasurable? Your eyes have drifted from Jesus. Perhaps you’ve forgotten the believer’s first love. Perhaps you find yourself far from where you once were, and you’ve lost the awe and the wonder of the mercy and grace of God in Christ Jesus. 

Or perhaps you never knew Jesus, and you see that now. Admit your sin to God, turn from it, and cry out to Jesus, asking for His forgiveness and trusting in Him as Lord and Savior. And then you can be holy, because He is holy.

Let’s bow in prayer.