Repetition and the Holiness of God

In Chapter 1 of In His Image, author Jen Wilkins talks about the value of repetition in helping us learn, so in an effort to get this week's lesson off to a fun start, I played the youtube video of Anita Renfroe's "Mom Song" (I used this one with only the lyrics so it would be easier to follow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9SARUZEBT0).

Speaking of repetition, I'm notorious for repeating myself when it comes to reminding students to get registered ON TIME. Over the last few weeks, I became a broken record: "Registration deadline is Friday, August 17 at 4 p.m." How long before I have to be registered? "Friday, August 17 at 4 p.m." I'll give it some thought and pray about what to take. "That's fine, just be sure to register by Friday, August 17 at 4 p.m." Repetition ... the mother of learning.

In the spirit of repetition, let's review key points from our introduction to the book last week:

• This semester we're learning to ask "the better question." Instead of "What is God's will for my life?", we want to ask "Who does God want me to be?"
• God is always more concerned with the decision-maker than He is with the decision itself (12). Jen gives the example of Peter ... he had the choice to acknowledge Jesus or deny Him. He chose poorly but Jesus still reached out to restore Peter after the resurrection.
• God does not hide His will from His children (13). "Try and guess what will make me happy?" NO! God's word gives us His direction as well as Jesus' example to follow.
• God's will for our lives is that we would be like Christ (16). We are called to "be conformed to His image" ... the image we were created in (see Gen. 1:27) but got messed up big time two chapters later when Eve chose her way over God's.

And it's THIS image that we were created in ... created to reflect ... that we are studying over the next couple of months.

INCOMMUNICABLE AND COMMUNICABLE

As we try to wrap our minds around our task for this study, we were quickly introduced in Chapter 1 to TWO types of character traits / attributes of God: incommunicable and communicable. I confess that -- at first (and second and third reading) -- I had to stand on my tiptoes ... this stuff is WAY over my head!

• Incommunicable Attributes: those traits that are true of God alone. Only God is infinite, eternal, immutable, omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, and sovereign. "When we strive to become like Him in any of these traits, we set ourselves up as His rival" (21). Remember that we were created to bear the image of God, not to be what only He can be. He is God and we are not! Job got a taste of this in his lengthy conversation with God (check out Job 38 to the end of the book!).
• Communicable Attributes: those traits of God that can become true of us as well: holy, loving, just, good, merciful, gracious, truthful, patient, and wise. "When we talk about 'conforming to the image of Christ,' THIS is the list we are describing" (22). Our hope is that in studying each of these communicable attributes, we will learn how to reflect who God is as Christ did.

GO BIG OR GO HOME

There's no easing into this study with a simple attribute ... NO, we're starting with the one mentioned the MOST in the Bible ... over 700 times (900 if you count the verb form) ... here's that repetition thing!

Holiness "can be defined as the sum of all moral excellency, 'the antithesis of all moral blemish of defilement'. It carries the ideas of being set apart, sacred, separate, of possessing utter purity of character" (22-23). Holiness is what sets God apart ... see bottom of p. 23 for contrast with other gods not being concerned with being holy.

Back to the repetition thing ... in addition to the number of times God's holiness is mentioned in the Bible, Wilkin points out how repetition is used in one place for extra emphasis. She explained that rabbis sometimes repeated words twice for emphasis but R.C. Sproul offered this about Rev. 4:8 & Isa. 6:3:

Only once in Scripture is an attribute of God elevated to the third degree. Only once is a characteristic of God mentioned three times in succession. The Bible says that God is holy, holy, holy. Not that He is merely holy, or even holy, holy. He is holy, holy, holy. The Bible never says that God is love, love, love; or mercy, mercy, mercy; or wrath, wrath, wrath; or justice, justice, justice. It does say that he is holy, holy, holy, that the whole earth is full of his glory. (Sproul, The Holiness of God, 25).

So, if God's holiness is something we not only need to know about but also reflect ... HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN?

"The Bible presents holiness as both GIVEN to us and ASKED of us" (25). Consider these terms: positional holiness and practical (or progressive) holiness.

Positional holiness is the gift given to us because of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. Hebrews 10:10 "...We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all." Our sin earned us eternity in hell with the enemy (see 1st part of Romans 6:23) but Jesus' death on the cross bought us eternity in heaven with God (rest of Romans 6:23).

Practical holiness: what are you going to do with the free gift you've been given? Open it and put it aside as decoration? Or open it and put it to use! Why? Because we're told over and over in the Word, Be holy as I am holy. (Lev. 11:44-45, 19:2, 20:7, 20:26; 1 Peter 1:14-16; 1 Thess 4:3,7)

Simply put, God's will for your life is that you be holy! (27)

Caution: Be careful not to limit your understanding to moral purity. Joel Scandrett in his article "What does God mean when he asks us to be holy as he is holy?" points out the following:

Prior to any consideration of morality, biblical holiness describes a unique relationship that God has established and desires with His people. This relationship has moral ramifications, but it precedes moral behavior. Before we are ever called to be good, we are called to be holy. Unless we rightly understand and affirm the primacy of this relationship, we fall into the inevitable trap of reducing holiness to mere morality. (christianitytoday.com/biblestudies... 2/28/2012)

I like how Jen Wilkin describes "growing in godliness" as a "process of acclimation" (28). She told a story of visiting Detroit in the dead of winter with clothes she might have worn on a cold day in Texas. She was ill-prepared ... but then talked about how her Texan brother had to learn new habits once he moved there to be better prepared for Michigan winters. He had to get acclimated.

As those who have been made holy, "we learn to behave like the children of God and not the children of wrath" (28). We throw some things off; we put some things off (remember study of Colossians 3:1-17?). It's a process ... a lifelong process ... but what will this look like THIS week? Don't get lulled to sleep but the words "lifelong process." Stay engaged; stay looking for opportunities to pursue holiness every single day!

One more thought ... comes from an article by Joe Carter, "How to Become Holy" (June 24, 2016):

As believers, we are to be holy not because we want to be loved by God but because we are already loved in Christ. We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). And the best way to show that we love God is by seeking to become holy because He is holy.

There's nothing you can do to make God stop loving you. There's nothing you can do to make Him love you more. He loves you. Live a live of holiness in response to this love.

INTRODUCTION to In His Image (Jen Wilkin)

So, who do you think I look like? My mom or my dad? Most people think I resemble my mom but I definitely have some of my dad's characteristics which, of course, makes sense since he's, well, my dad. :)

Sarah gets tickled when people tell her she looks like a mix of Allen and me. "How I am supposed to respond?" she says. "I mean, it's better to look like a mix of y'all than someone else, right?"

It's perfectly normal for us to look like our parents -- or a mix of the two. It reminds me of the nature vs. nurture debate over the years. We look like our parents because of genetics but we sometimes act like them because of nurture. Bottom line is we pick up traits of people around us.

As those who claim God as Heavenly Father, we know we have another influence in our lives. We see this first in Genesis 1:27, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." 

Created in the image of God ... not an exact replica ... but created to reflect Who and What He is!

In the book we're studying this semester In His Image, we are challenged to stop asking "What is God's will for my life?" and, instead, to ask "Who does God want me to be?" If we focus on the WHO instead of the WHAT, we have a quick and directed answer: Be like the very image of God!

Check out this progression if, indeed, we understand that God's will for our lives is that we be like Christ:

Romans 8:29 "For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers."

But why be conformed to "the image of His Son"?

Colossians 1:15 "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation."

Hebrews 1:3 Christ is "the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature."

How can we know how to do this?

1 Peter 2:21 "For to this you have been called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in His steps."

What's the bottom line here?

1 John 2:6 "Whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked."

Jen Wilkin points out that this is not just about actions. "If we focus on actions without addressing our hearts, we may end up merely as better behaved lovers of self. Think about it. What good is it for me to choose the right job if I'm still consumed with selfishness.... A lost person can make 'good choices.' But only a person indwelt by the Holy Spirit can make a good choice for the purpose of glorifying God" (13-14).

This reminds me of Jesus' words in Matthew 5:16, "Let your light shine before me, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

So why this book?

• Pretty cover and good price (Lifeway's July half-off sale caught my attention!)
• Author is well-known Bible study author (https://www.jenwilkin.net/)
• The title ... it is a phrase I used for signing letters and emails since early adulthood (maybe because of my photography; maybe because I was compelled even then to consider what it would mean to be created in the image of God).
• The synopsis on the back cover clinched it. (In addition to the "Who should I be?" redirect, the back cover text included: "Through Christ, the perfect reflection of the image of God, we will discover how God's own attributes impact how we live, leading to freedom and purpose as we follow His will and are conformed to His image." WOW!

Jen Wilkin states on page 17 the purpose of the book: "So this is a book that intends to, once and for all, answer the question of God's will for our lives. It intends to illuminate the narrow path for those of us who have grown forgetful of its existence or have wondered if it can be found."

She points out that the answer we are looking for is not hidden. It shows itself to those who have learned to ask, "Who should I be?" It shows itself to those whose "deepest desire and dearest delight" is to be remade ... IN HIS IMAGE ... one carefully placed step at a time (17).

My mom passed away almost 18 years ago at age 66. So many times I wish I could ask her for advice about a difficult situation or ask how she did something or just talk. But I can't. I've got photo books and other memorabilia but it's not the same as having her here.

God has left us with so much ... His Holy Spirit to guide us ... Jesus' example to follow ... His Word as "a lamp to our feet and a light to our path" ... we don't have to guess. We can move forward confidently, knowing He wants us to know Him and to copy His attributes. 

Lord, don't let us get distracted by hard stuff. Instead, keep us focused on who you are calling us to be and to keep this the main thing. How I pray for a heart that is not content with "good enough." I want to be like You.