Editorial
July/August, 2004
Volume 39, Number 4
A common word used to refer to God in the Bible is “holiness.” We sing the song, “Holy, Holy, Holy”–to express what the Bible says of God in Isaiah 6:3. God expects His people to reflect His holiness, for He says, “Be ye holy, even as I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16).
Holiness means “separation.” It comes from the Greek and Hebrew words that mean “to separate or cut off.” When the Bible says that God is holy, it means that He is altogether separate from the common and the sinful. This holiness makes it impossible for God to commit or even look upon sin. He is untouched and unstained by the evil in the world.
To Isaiah, God was revealed as the “Holy One of Israel.” Isaiah had a frightening encounter with God (Isaiah 6:1-7), and this helped him to realize the absolute holiness of God, and his own unworthiness to stand before God. In the New Testament, we see Simon Peter’s reaction to the Lord Jesus in Luke 5:1-8, where Peter recognized his own sinfulness in Jesus’ presence, by saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”
The common thread of both accounts is that God overwhelmed each man. Each was penetrated to the very core of his being. Every sin, every wrong attitude, every secret motive was laid open before the God of the universe. Hebrews 4:13 (NASB) says, “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”
When we realize our sinfulness before God, we cry with Isaiah, “Woe is me, for I am undone!”—and we see that our only hope is to run to the Savior, Jesus Christ, who confers His righteousness to us when we accept Him.
The Apostle Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 6:14—7:1, that those whom God has called to be His own, are to separate themselves from the evil and unclean things of this world.. And not only are individual believers to be holy, but the corporate body, the church is to be holy as well: “That He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:27).
Our readers are encouraged to read the message featured in this issue of the Witness and note examples from the Bible and history of people who exemplified holiness in their daily lives.
Examining The Holiness of God’s People
By Harold S. Martin
The goal of this message is to look at examples of holiness in, the lives of persons in Old Testament times, in New Testament times, and in our Anabaptist/Pietist heritage.
The word “holy” speaks of moral perfection. Holiness is one of the elements of God’s nature, which also is to characterize the lives of God’s people. The first use of the word “holy” in the Bible is found in Exodus 3:5, when God told Moses that he is standing on “holy ground.” The second use of the word is found in Exodus 16:23, referring to “the holy Sabbath.” Elisha was called “a holy man of God” (2 Kings 4:9), and Herod feared John the Baptist because “he was a just and holy man” (Mark 6:20).
In the Old Testament, the primary use of the word “holy” is to describe the righteous nature of God. Holiness comes from being associated with the presence of Jehovah God. In the New Testament, the main use of the word “holy” is to describe the righteousness of God’s children. In the Gospels, the stress is placed upon Jesus as “the Holy One.”
A common New Testament synonym for holiness is the word “sanctification.” Sanctification is growing into God’s likeness. We are told to “cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1). And in Hebrews 12:14 we are told to “follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no one shall see the Lord.”
Holiness is hating what God hates and loving what God loves. Holiness is bearing with others in patience. Holiness is laboring to mortify the evil desires of the body. Holiness is measuring everything that crosses our pathway by the standards of God’s Word. Genuine holiness, according to G. Campbell Morgan, is not inability to sin, but ability not to sin; it is not freedom from temptation,
but power to overcome temptation; it is not the end of progress in the Christian life, but deliverance from standing still.
The early Brethren not only aimed to be correct in doctrinal beliefs, but also to be intense about living a Christlike, holy life. Our goal is to balance belief with upright and holy behavior.
1. Examples of Holiness in the Lives of Old Testament Persons
There were, in Old Testament times, those whose affections were, brought into harmony with the mind of God. Their lives were lived on a higher plane, than was evident in other persons around them.
a. The life of Ruth
The time of the Judges was one of the lowest points in Israel’s history. The era was marked by cruelty and lust and greed. People did what was right in their own eyes (Judges 21:25). There was gross violence and awful immorality. In the book of Judges, there are accounts of stealing idols, of grisly murders, and of tribal civil wars. The people of Israel were worshiping the gods of the Canaanite tribes.
But in the book of Ruth, we read about a different side of the dark period of the Judges. There were, in the time of the Judges, some individuals with wholesome convictions. There was a faithful remnant—a minority of people who were living godly lives.
A man named Elimelech (along with Naomi his wife and his two sons) had migrated to Moab to escape a famine in the land of Israel. When Elimelech and both of his sons died, they left three widows—Naomi (the mother), and Ruth and Orpah (the wives of the two sons).
Some years later, when Naomi (the mother) decided to return home to Bethlehem, Ruth (the Moabite daughter-in-law) chose to go along back with her. Ruth loved and respected her mother-in-law—and in one of the most touching passages in all of human literature, Ruth said to Naomi, “Entreat me not to leave you…for where you go, I will go; and where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God shall be my God” (Ruth 1:16).
Ruth’s decision to accompany her mother-in-law was not only a decision to go with Naomi; it was also a decision to live for the true God of Israel. She said, “Your people shall be my people, and your God shall be my God.” The Moabites worshiped the chief god Chemosh. Worshiping Chemosh included burning children in sacrifice to their god, and performing rituals for the dead. Ruth turned her back on all of that pagan Moabite ancestry, and became a faithful worshiper of the Lord God of Israel.
Ruth demonstrated holiness in her life, by her deep respect for her mother-in-law (1:14), by her willingness to glean grain in the fields (2:2), and by trusting the God of Israel, knowing that she was safely abiding under His wings (2:12). After Ruth married Boaz, the Lord gave conception to her and she bore a son (4:13). His name was Obed, and he was the father of Jesse, who was the father of David—who was the noted king in Israel, and was a forebear of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In our society there are lots of unfair negative jokes about mothers-in-law. It’s true that sometimes mothers find it difficult to see the affection of their sons or daughters being transferred to someone else (at the time of their marriage)— and they tend to poke their noses into the affairs of their married children. That can lead to difficulties. But for the most, part, mothers-in-law are great persons
who want to do all they can to see their children’s marriages succeed. If you have a living mother-in-law, you should be saying, “This is the person who gave life to the one I love.”
Ruth’s love for the God of Israel, and for her mother-in-law is not only a model for all of us, but is an evidence of genuine holiness in the life of a girl who came out of a rigid pagan society to serve the true God.
b. The life of Daniel
Daniel was a teenager when he was taken from Jerusalem into captivity by the Babylonians in 605 B.C. His commitment to God was strong. He was a person of deep piety. Daniel is mentioned in Ezekiel 14:20 as being one of the godliest of men, and in Ezekiel 28:3 as being one of the wisest of men.
Daniel and his three friends (Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah) were taken captive in one of the Babylonian raids against Judah, and were placed in special training as servants in the court of King Nebuchadnezzar. Their names and their diets were changed to reflect Babylonian culture. They were given a daily portion “of the king’s meat” (1:5). The Hebrew word for “meat” carries with it the concept of “an offering”—implying that the food was first presented before the pagan gods of Babylon.
There were other teenagers in the training sessions. Chapter 1:6 says that Daniel and his friends were chosen from “among these” other youths. But the four Hebrew boys refused to eat the food which had been, offered to idols, and meat from which the blood had not been properly drained.
The other young men are gone and forgotten. The corrupting influences of Babylon were too much for them, and they were useless in God’s hands. By way of contrast, Daniel and his three friends still bear a testimony-—because they were faithful to the laws of God. The lives that really count in this world, and in the next world are not those who go along With the crowd, but those who are determined to stand for the Lord regardless of what the crowd does!
Daniel 1:8 is one of the truly great verses of the Bible. The text says, “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank”—therefore he requested (he didn’t demand) that he might be given a special diet. Daniel didn’t take the. attitude, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” He remembered the revival under Josiah in his boyhood days. He had heard Jeremiah preach on the street corners. He even had a book of Jeremiah’s prophecies with him (9:2). Daniel knew the Scriptures; he was aware of the restrictions concerning the various kinds of foods; he purposed to live by the Word of God.
Daniel knew that God was looking down, and that he would have to give an account someday—and so Daniel purposed to obey God, and in the end he received a special blessing. Years later, when Daniel became a kind of prime minister in the Persian Empire (chapter 6), he performed blamelessly. His coworkers became envious, and they tried to find some flaw in his character. When they could find nothing for which to accuse him, they decided to find some complaint regarding his religious life. When they saw that he was praying to a God other than the king, they arranged to have him thrown into the den of lions (6:16).
Daniel was a man whose life was marked by holiness, and not once is anything negative said about his life. If we want to live a life marked by holiness, it must begin with a purpose of heart. There must be “a previous determination” that we are going to seek to obey God at any cost!
2. Examples of Holiness in the Lives of New Testament Persons
The New Testament clearly states that we are to “Pursue…holiness, without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). Does this mean that we must be perfect to go to Heaven? Is it a denial of salvation by grace through faith, as taught in Ephesians 2:8-9? The answer to both questions is “no.” None of us is perfect (as we use the term), on this side of Heaven; and no, we do not deny the doctrine of salvation by the grace of God. But over and over again, the New Testament speaks of a daily walk that flows from God’s work in us.
a. The life of Stephen
Stephen was one of the, seven deacons chosen in the early church (Acts 6:1-7), and later became the first Christian martyr. Of the seven men chosen to “serve tables,” Stephen alone is described as a man “full of faith and of the Holy Spirit” (6:5). The term “full of faith” means that he was willing to “empty himself” for Christ’s sake. And to be “full of the Holy Spirit” means that he was controlled by the Holy Spirit. Stephen went about preaching the Gospel, and verse 8 says that he was “full of grace and power”—doing “great wonders and signs among the people.” When he was tried before the Sanhedrin, his face glowed “as it had been the face of an angel” (6:15). And even though Stephen’s speech was interrupted by the hostile crowd (during the trial), and his stoning was pursued with a vengeance—in the final moments of life, he committed his spirit to Jesus (7:59), and he died, asking forgiveness for those who persecuted him (7:60).
The final day in the life of Stephen—how he lived, what he said, how he died—revealed him to be a man whose heart beat with sincere faith in God, and with a great level of holiness in his life. Any man who dies forgiving those who were stoning him to death, is displaying a mark of holiness.
b. The life of Onesiphorus
Onesiphorus was an upright Christian man from Ephesus who befriended the Apostle Paul. His name is mentioned in 2 Timothy 1:16-18. Onesiphorus ministered to Paul while he was working in Ephesus—and also during Paul’s imprisonment in Rome. The passage in 2 Timothy 1 says: “The Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain; but when he arrived in Rome, he sought me out very diligently, and found me. The Lord grant to him that he may find mercy from the
Lord in that day.”
Some of Paul’s helpers were fair-weather friends, but it was not so with Onesiphorus. This man was a true Christian whose cheerful spirit “refreshed” Paul, and whose love for the truth was so intense, that he Was not ashamed to be identified with Paul, even though the Apostle was in jail.
In fact, verse 17 says that Onesiphorus was so determined to find and help Paul, that he traveled all the way from Ephesus to Rome— and went all over the city diligently searching for Paul. I try and picture this dedicated, concerned brother: He traveled to Rome and threaded his way over unfamiliar streets in the big city. He knocked on doors and tried^ to learn where Paul was located.
He followed up on every clue until finally he discovered Paul (chained to a soldier) in some unknown prison house in Rome.
No wonder Paul felt such a profound sense of gratitude for this brother in the Lord! Just exactly what Onesiphorus did to cheer Paul, we are not told. Maybe he brought news about individuals and churches that had been established by the Apostle. Maybe he read Scripture passages to the aging brother Paul. Maybe he brought food and drink to help supply Paul’s needs. Anyhow, Paul invoked a special blessing upon this dear friend (and upon his family)—because of the kindnesses he had shown to Paul.
Paul was facing martyrdom, and so he could never repay Onesiphorus, but he asks the Lord to repay him on that future Judgment Day when the rewards are handed out.
c. The life of Tychicus
Tychicus was a faithful friend, a fellow work-er, and a trusted messenger who helped the Apostle Paul. Tychicus traveled on ahead of Paul from Macedonia to Troas, and there waited for the Apostle’s arrival (Acts 20:4). He was also sent to Ephesus and to Colosse, to deliver and read the epistles Paul sent to the Christians in those cities.
The one clue which speaks of the holiness that characterized the life of Tychicus is found in Ephesians 6, and repeated in Colossians 4. In Colossians 4:7 Paul speaks of him as “a beloved brother, a faithful minister, and a fellow servant in the Lord.”
Tychicus was “beloved” and “faithful.” Those two words describe wonderful combination of qualities. “Beloved” means to be kind and courteous, sensitive to people’s feelings. “Faithful” means to be loyal and uncompromising in one’s stand for the truth. Some are faithful, but not beloved—clear as ice when it comes to sound doctrine, but cold as ice when relating to people. Others are beloved, but not faithful—they pat everybody on the back; want to be nice to all, but they have no,strong biblical convictions. They seem to fall, for any new fad that comes along.
Tychicus had a healthy combination of doctrinal faithfulness, and at the same time, he possessed a warm loving spirit when dealing with people. That combination of qualities is a mark of true holiness.
3. Examples of Holiness in the Lives of Anabaptist Members
The Anabaptists stressed holiness in life, along with the certainty of salvation by grace through faith.
a. The life of Hans Bret
Hans Bret was a 21 year old Christian (living in Holland), who very diligently studied the Word of the Lord. He used key passages of Scripture to exhort his coworkers to a virtuous life, and to cultivate godly conduct.
He was brought before the criminal judges, where he confessed that he had been baptized upon declaring his faith in Jesus Christ, and he was sentenced to death. The law permitted membership only in the prescribed state churches. Hans Bret, as a result, was to be publicly burnt alive at the stake.
When the executioners came, they commanded Hans to stick out his tongue. And when he put out his tongue, the executioner fastened it with a U shaped piece of iron, and screwed it very tight with a handheld vise. And then he touched the end of the tongue with a hot iron, so that the swelling of the tongue would prevent the metal screw from slipping off. This happened on the fourth of January in the year 1577. The metal screw was fastened on his tongue to prevent him from giving verbal testimony while he was burning to death. (A picture of the type of screw that was used to fasten his tongue is found in the book, Martyr’s Mirror.)
b. The life of Dirk Willems
At one point early in Anabaptist history, 350 believers known for holy Jiving and purity of conduct were executed for their faith. Some were beheaded; others were” drowned. They were taken from their houses and led as sheep to the place of execution—and joyfully they met death. Some were not put to death’, but were tortured with great cruelty. The most common modes of torture included cutting off fingers, and burning crosses into the skin of their foreheads.
In the year 1569, Dirk Willems (who was a pious and faithful brother among the early Anabaptists), was apprehended and severely persecuted by the state church ‘leaders. Willems was determined to remain steadfast until the end.
One day he was pursued by an enemy, and rather than fight, Dirk tried to run away. As he was running over an ice covered pond, the man who was pursuing him broke through, and when Willems sensed that the man was in danger of losing his life—he quickly returned and helped the man get out. But in spite of this deed of kindness, Dirk Willems was soon put to death by being tied to a stake and set on fire.
c. The life of John Peter Miller
Peter Miller was a member of the Ephrata group of Brethren under Conrad Beissel. After Beissel’s death in 1868, Miller became head of the Cloister Community.
The story about John Peter Miller may have been embellished over the years. Peter Miller had an enemy named Michael Wittman, who did anything he could to make Miller’s life miserable. He spread slanderous stories, and one time physically injured the older preacher. But Wittman was involved in’ hostile activities outside his hometown. He was arrested for treason, was tried, and was sentenced to death.
George Washington was president of the United States, and was a friend of Elder Peter Miller. They had at one time briefly been in school together.
Peter Miller believed in forgiving one’s enemies, and when he learned of Michael Wittman’s death sentence, he walked the seventy miles to Philadelphia to appeal to the President—seeking a pardon for Michael Wittman. Mr. Washington said, “Sorry, Peter, but I cannot grant you the life of your friend.”
Peter Miller said, “He’s not my friend; he is the most bitter enemy I have.” The President said, “That puts the matter in a different light,” and George Washington granted a pardon for Michael Wittman. Leslie Flynn, in telling this story, says, “Peter Miller then took Michael Wittman back to his home in Ephrata, but no longer as an enemy.”
d. The life of Elder James Quinter
Brother James Quinter was born in 1816. He was known as a powerful preacher, an excellent debater, a godly man, and the editor of the Gospel Messenger. One of the unique things about James Quinter is related to the manner of his death.
Elder Quinter came to the grounds of the Annual Conference in 1888 (held in North Manchester, Indiana). He greeted a number of those he loved so well, and also much love and respect was shown to him by those who had gathered for the Conference. About 3 o’clock in the afternoon on the day of his arrival he went to hear the sermon. It was to be the last sermon he would hear in this world.
The preacher (Brother Daniel Vaniman) closed the sermon by reading in a touching way one of the hymns of the church and then Brother Quinter was to close the meeting!
Brother Quinter spoke a few fitting words about the sermon, and then called the great audience to a kneeling prayer. He thanked God that once more he was permitted to “meet with those of like precious faith.”However, those near him noticed that his voice trembled, but his words were clear and coherent. And then, as he continued, he said, “We are glad to meet again”— and his voice ceased, never to be heard again in this world.
Those who were kneeling by his side noticed that he grew pale; they caught his slumping body so that he was kept from falling to the floor. He was tenderly and gently raised from his knees, and he was laid on the table. He gasped a few times—and then surrounded by a weeping congregation, his spirit took its flight into the eternal world.
Elder D. L Miller, in describing this incident, says, “And so passed away one of our great and good men—not great as the world counts greatness, but great in all those noble qualities of true Christian manhood.”
“We are glad to meet again” were James Quinter’s last words. As he uttered those words, his voice was hushed in death. “Were those words spoken of us (D. L. Miller says), or were they spoken to those on the other shore, who were watching and waiting for the coming of our dear brother? God only knows.”
Elder James Quinter was later buried near his home in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania—but on a tree shaded sidewalk, near the Peabody Retirement Center, in North Manchester, Indiana— is a bronze plaque marking the exact spot where Brother Quinter was kneeling when he died.
The early Brethren aimed not only to be correct in doctrinal beliefs, but also to be intense about living a Christlike holy life. One of their mottoes was, “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).
Some day the holiness of God will sweep the universe clean, and will create a new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness (holiness) will dwell forever (2 Peter 3:13). The old hymn, “Faith of our Fathers”—exalts the Lord God Jehovah:
“Faith of our fathers! living still,
in spite of dungeon, fire, and sword;
O how our hearts beat high with joy,
whene’er we hear that glorious word!
Faith of our fathers! holy faith!
We will be true to Thee till death!”
“Faith of our Fathers! We will love—
both friend and foe, in all our strife—
and preach Thee, too, as love knows how,
by kindly words and virtuous life.
Faith of our fathers, holy faith!
We will be true to Thee till death.”
Holiness in daily life is one of the marks of God’s people.
Harold Martin has been the editor of the BRF Witness from its very beginning in 1966. He has served in the plural team ministry at the Pleasant Hill Church of the Brethren for more than 50 years. The article above is condensed from a message that was delivered at the Brethren Alive 2002 Conference held at
Elizabethtown College on July 27, 2002
