TIME TO BE HOLY
Romans 12:1-21
Westland Baptist Church
Roy Meadows, Lead Pastor
May 18, 2025
• What is holiness? It begins in the heart. Romans 12:1-2
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God - this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will.
Holiness is fulfilled in pursuing the first and the second commandments: love God and love people. When Jesus said He did not come to destroy the Law but to fulfill It, He gave us the clue that The Law(s) defined and explained and illustrated what loving God and loving people looks like.
Being holy means to live our lives in a way that reflects God’s glory, rather than conforming to the ways of the world (Romans 12:1-2). It means that we need to abide by the rules that God laid down for us in the Bible. It takes discipline to do this and it is not always easy.
• God is holy.
His Separateness
He is completely separated from all creation. He is in a category all by Himself. There are no other gods. There is nothing else worthy of worship. God is supremely holy. We are image bearers of God, but it is a faint shadow.
He Is Utterly Sin-Free
God cannot be the author of any sin. God and sin are totally antithetical. In the holiness of God, you have absolute purity and that means that God can only allow us into fellowship with Him if someone could satisfy God’s holy justice on our behalf. That someone would have to be as perfect as God, have obeyed the law perfectly, and pay for my sins with His own death. That someone can only be Jesus Christ. If man is ever to be saved, God’s holiness requires a total substitute.
The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit
In His Holy Spirit entering into us, we are made holy even as He is holy. It is partial in this life, but perfect in the next. (Dr. Joel R. Beeke)
• What does holiness look like? Romans 12:3-21
3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. 9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
• How can I be holy in my life? RUN! 2 Timothy 2:22 “Flee from youthful lust, pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace…” set boundaries, (“the 1000 foot pole” principle)
• Motivation(s) for holiness
Motivations for holiness include the reverence and fear of God’s judgment, the prospect of His reward, the understanding of being a sojourner and pilgrim on earth, the freedom from slavery to sin, and the lavish love of God. Other motivations include becoming partakers of the divine nature, pursuing Christlike character (to be like Jesus), and conforming to the likeness of God’s Son (to be like Jesus). Ultimately, holiness is pursued for the glory of God and to be with Him eternally.