To quickly create and offer the Ford Pinto for sale in the 1970s, management knowingly sold a car that became “notorious for its tendency in rear-end collisions to leak fuel and explode into flames. More than two dozen people were killed or injured in Pinto fires before the company issued a recall to correct the problem” (Max H. Bazerman and Ann E. Tenbrunsel, “Ethical Breakdowns,” Harvard Business Review, April 2011). Ford’s management valued selling merchandise more highly than providing a safe vehicle. This is a tragic example of unethical intentions.
In order for the divine Godhead, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Jesus, and the Holy Father, to dwell in us, we have to be more than ethical in our lives. We have to be holy. “Saint” is the word that God has used most often to define or identify His followers. The word is used 60 times in the NT to refer to Christians. That is God’s way of reminding us that if we have been baptized into Christ and had His blood wash our sins away (Acts 22:16; Eph. 5:26-27), we are “saints.” We are holy. But, let’s back up a ways…
MAN (ADAM AND EVE) WERE EXPELLED FROM GOD’S PRESENCE – Genesis 3:22-24:
When Adam and Eve listened to Satan tell his lies, they decided not to trust God and obey His word. They brought sin into their lives and, consequently, “expelled” the holy God from their sphere.
GOD COMMANDS ISRAEL TO CREATE A TENT OF WORSHIP – Exodus 25:1-9:
This tent was made holy through the sacrifice of the blood of animals: Leviticus 4:6, 17. Then it was the responsibility of the Levites to keep sin from entering the tent of worship because when you enter God’s presence to worship, you are entering holy ground. In Numbers 1:50-53, God commanded Moses to appoint the Levites to kill anyone who tried to enter the tent of worship who had not been authorized by God.
THE SPIRITUAL HOUSE FOR THE HOLY PRIESTHOOD – 1 Peter 2:4-12:
So all Christians are part of a holy priesthood – the holy priesthood – and Peter mixes metaphors when he also pictures Christians as “living stones,” that is – we are the temple of God, the dwelling place of deity. Everything that we give to God by what of worship, honoring Him, glorifying Him, serving Him, they are spiritual sacrifices given to God.
THE GATES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS – Psalm 118:19-23:
It is marvelous that sinful humanity can be righteous in the eyes of God, holy in the presence of God – but, of course, this only happens when we are immersed into Christ for the forgiveness of sins.
HUMILITY KEEPS THE SANCTUARY UNDEFILED – Luke 20:46-47:
When we are embracing our place in the kingdom of God, as royal priests and living stones that a builder has chosen for his work, we are doing the work of becoming holy. Jesus invites us to depend upon and follow him. These are rather passive actions, yet they require submission to his leading and trust that he wants us and knows what he is doing. It is the Word of God that makes us holy when we obey it: John 17:17; 1 Peter 1:22.
IMMORALITY DEFILES THE SANCTUARY – 1 Thess. 4:7-8:
God has made us holy, cleansing us from the filth of sin. But we have to make our own choice whether to continue in that purity or not. We know that the Holy Spirit left King Saul because of his disobedience (1 Sam. 16:14) and King David, after he had committed murder and adultery, prayed that the Holy Spirit would not leave him (Psalm 51:11). But we do not know just how much sin God will allow us to engage in before the Holy Spirit leaves us. That’s why it is so important for us to continue to repent whenever we know that we have sinned. Because we can’t be saved if we are not holy. The Hebrew writer tells us to “pursue holiness without which no one will see God” (Heb. 12:14).
Seeking holiness with humility opens the door for God to dwell within us. Let’s walk this path together!
Paul Holland
