How can one letter separate man from God?
Well, it doesn’t really since those are English words. But there is something else that really does cause separation: holiness. This concept is what creates a wide gap you’ll battle in all the days of your life.
Why is there such a strong push to walk in any path other than Abba’s? Why do we prefer to look like the world instead of being set apart? What exactly is it that prevents us from full abandonment?
There must be some deep seated motivation that has us convinced we know best. There are some commands we agree with, others we don’t. Because if we did agree, we’d keep them. All of them.
In Leviticus 19, we see a list of qualities that separate holy people from common people. Here is a summarized list:
This list addresses our internal-to-external effects whereas, the rest of chapter 19 primarily addresses the external-to-internal. This difference here can be summarized as thoughts vs actions.
Sure, sexually defiling yourself or visiting a psychic should be obvious that you aren’t behaving in a set apart fashion, but it’s your true motivations that define your holiness. You can put on a show for others to make it look like you’re holy from the outside but your thoughts are not always on display to tell the truth about yourself on the inside.
And it’s what’s going on within us that really sets us apart.
Abba did not give His commands to us so that we’d be miserable in this life. He gave them so we would be full of joy in this life. They are there to revolutionize our lives so that we are no longer swayed by circumstances or our environment. So many of us choose to operate as a victim and this fuels so many poor decisions and responses in our lives. And we’re miserable -- because we don’t keep His commands.
There is an idea out there that says Abba put these very strict laws on Israel to prove to them that they can’t keep them. He wanted to prove His holiness and their miserableness. What kind of a Father is this?! It definitely isn’t the type of father I strive to be with my kids. And Abba is an infinitely greater Father than I could even pretend to be.
His commands are not burdensome. Our stupidity is. Our pride is. Our rebellion is.
But is it really possible to live a sinless life?
Absolutely.
Holiness is something we can walk in because we saw that there was a Man that came before us that did exactly that. Most people will claim that was only true because He was the Messiah. Is it?
Was He always the Messiah? Or did He have a choice?
Mark 1:7 He proclaimed: “After me is coming someone who is more powerful than I — I’m not worthy even to bend down and untie his sandals. 8 I have immersed you in water, but he will immerse you in the Ruach HaKodesh.” 9 Shortly thereafter, Yeshua came from Natzeret in the Galil and was immersed in the Yarden by Yochanan.
John 1:15 Yochanan witnessed concerning him when he cried out, “This is the man I was talking about when I said, ‘The one coming after me has come to rank ahead of me, because he existed before me.’”
There is one coming after that has come to rank ahead of John.
Luke 2:51 So he went with them to Natzeret and was obedient to them. But his mother stored up all these things in her heart. 52 And Yeshua grew both in wisdom and in stature, gaining favor both with other people and with God.
He gained favor with God. This implies a process. And this process came to a head:
Matthew 3:13 Then Yeshua came from the Galil to the Yarden to be immersed by Yochanan. 14 But Yochanan tried to stop him. “You are coming to me? I ought to be immersed by you!” 15 However, Yeshua answered him, “Let it be this way now, because we should do everything righteousness requires.” Then Yochanan let him. 16 As soon as Yeshua had been immersed, he came up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, he saw the Spirit of God coming down upon him like a dove, 17 and a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; I am well pleased with him.”
His obedience perhaps resulted in Him taking on the role of the Messiah. Meaning He walked in the commands perfectly and He was in fact, holy -- set apart. Paul tells us in the Book of Romans:
Romans 5:18 In other words, just as it was through one offense that all people came under condemnation, so also it is through one righteous act that all people come to be considered righteous. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man, many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the other man, many will be made righteous.
We have the luxury of using our foreknowledge of Yeshua’s life to help shape our understanding, but there was one man that should have known for sure but didn’t. Despite growing up with Yeshua and watching the Spirit fall upon Him, even John the Baptist questioned if Yeshua was the One:
Matthew 11:2 Meanwhile, Yochanan the Immerser, who had been put in prison, heard what the Messiah had been doing; so he sent a message to him through his talmidim, 3 asking, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for someone else?” 4 Yeshua answered, “Go and tell Yochanan what you are hearing and seeing — 5 the blind are seeing again, the lame are walking, people with tzara’at are being cleansed, the deaf are hearing, the dead are being raised, the Good News is being told to the poor — 6 and how blessed is anyone not offended by me!”
Yes, He was the One. The healing was real. The forgiveness was real. The truth was real. People were being set apart for salvation. Because He was set apart for us. And now we are to be just like Him: perfect.
Matthew 5:48 Therefore, be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
Yeshua:
What about you? How many excuses do you have that prevent you from walking fully in the light? How many people frustrate you to the point of judgment?
Is your life a visible testimony to your allegiance to Abba? Or is it an allegiance to the world?
Why don’t you want to be holy? Is it because the world’s ways are much more satisfying? Is it because you simply can’t forgive those that hurt you?
“Yeah, but you don’t know how badly I was hurt. No one should be treated that way.”
You’re right. But all that means is that when you enter into full forgiveness and finally release the pain, you will then be able to help others overcome their own unconquerable pain. Your authority in that space will eclipse what the rest of us are able to do for them. Unfortunately, your excuses are now preventing others from being set free. Death sowing seeds of death. Selfishness at its finest.
No! We’re here to show everyone who He is. He first loved us so now we have it within us to love others.
Leviticus 19:17 “‘Do not hate your brother in your heart, but rebuke your neighbor frankly, so that you won’t carry sin because of him. 18 Don’t take vengeance on or bear a grudge against any of your people; rather, love your neighbor as yourself; I am Adonai.
Do you know how to love yourself? Can you see yourself through His eyes? If you did, you wouldn't try to win the favor of the world. Instead, you’d seek to love those in it.
This isn’t fluffy meaningless love. It’s the love of God. It’s love that has power, not pleasantries.
Yeshua did not seek the approval of man. He sought to change them -- by revealing the Father's love to them. Sometimes with compassion, sometimes with a hard word. But all the time with their salvation in full view.
This is what we are called into. You have received the promise of salvation so that you can share this exact thing with everyone you meet. Not with pamphlets and clever quotes, but with love. The kind of love that supersedes anything the world has ever seen. Seeing people through the eyes of God instead of through the eyes of lies, unforgiveness, and pain.
If you are one of His followers, this should be your full time profession:
Loving your neighbor as yourself.
But what if you don’t love yourself?
You will treat others as poorly as you treat yourself. Feeding unforgiveness and addictions. Annoyed by your parents. Flippant with His Shabbat. Feeding idolatry, stealing what isn’t yours and swearing falsely against others. Speaking curses against the deaf and tripping up the blind. Walking in a skewed judgment and continually slandering others.
Here’s the sad part: The true believer will be totally convinced that they love their neighbor as themselves. And they aren’t wrong. They will treat others in the same pathetic way they treat themselves.
A travesty. Negating the model the Messiah has put before us all.
Is this what being a follower means to you? Or should you reconsider what He says it means to follow Him?