A 10-year-old boy imitates evil habits of a friend at school or church.
A husband "checks out" the women of the church or takes a seemingly secret but not-at-all-secret (God's watching!) visit to an internet porn site.
A wife flirts with another man in the church who displays more leadership than her husband.
A father spends more time coaching a little league ball team than with his own son or daughter.

A common thread weaves its way through all of these: each one displays a lack of understanding of God's callings in their lives as well as the overarching principle of holiness in those callings. Furthermore, a deep-seated heart problem is in their relationship with God - there is no holiness of heart. Perhaps you can relate to one or more of these examples or know someone who can. I would like to stimulate your thinking regarding your callings in life, with some thoughts about you and the members of your family rising to the call of holiness. Articles 1-6 of The Chariot focus on a definition of a calling as well as how it applies to our lives. They can be found on the Spirit of Elijah Ministries website: http://www.spiritofelijah.com.

A brief review may help of what I mean when I use the term calling.

A call is an irrevocable act of God.
A call refers to a position or a place˜a special relationship established by the act of God.
A call also entails certain responsibilities, privileges, and promises which produce hope and purpose in one's life.

Why is this an important issue? Faithfulness in a calling prepares us for all future callings. Unfaithfulness or ignorance of a calling insures greater difficulties in future callings due to lack of preparation. If we love our children, we want to teach and guide them in their foundational calling as our children so they will be prepared for the other important callings of God in their lives. Furthermore, as we understand our callings have to do with our relationships with God, we have a deeper understanding of who we are, why we are the way we are today, and how we may mature and grow in the grace of God. An extremely important principle needs to be applied through all of our callings in life the principle of holiness.

Holiness is on the "Downgrade"

C. H. Spurgeon, the famous preacher of London in the mid-1800's, described a phenomenon of the church in general in his day. As he saw the departure from sound doctrine, the darkening character displayed in daily walk, and the troubling shallowness of devotion of the average church member, he sounded the alarm that the church was on the "downgrade." Today we might say it's on the slippery slope. When it comes to the concept of holiness, many of the older saints, who can compare decades of church life in our country, bemoan the declining spiritual state of the church. When large religious organizations of so-called Christians embrace and even honor homosexuality, openly announce their disbelief in the authority and sufficiency of Scripture, and tolerate or defend actions that for centuries God's people (and even ungodly people) condemned, one must stand dumbfounded by the unholiness displayed in Jesus' name! Why does this generation have so little understanding about holinessˆwithout which "no one shall see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14)?

Holiness has lost its relevancy

The answer may rest in the fact that holiness has no relevancy to most people. Holiness has little apparent application to everyday relationships and activities for most people. Perhaps they think it's a term for preachers, priests, and monks. Or maybe they associate holiness with legalism and strict self-discipline. It wouldn't surprise me if the first response to this introduction on the concept of holiness is one of caution. One might be thinking, "Look out, I'm about to get preached at!" I would like to change such thinking and make a case for practical holiness that makes sense and can be understood by anyone of any race, age, sex, or denomination. I want to bring holiness out of the stain-glassed cathedrals into our homes and everyday world. Let's begin in the stained-glass setting.

What is holiness?

Holiness means to be set apart and ordinarily describes a special relationship. That's where it connects with our callings. Since a call of God is an act whereby He establishes a special relationship, holiness is involved. The Greek word, hagios, signifies something as set apart from others or emphasizes the quality of standing alone. When God declares, "I am God and there is no one like Me." He announces His holiness. He is set apart from all other gods of man's making. There is no One like our God! He alone is God. Holiness also applies to relationships. In such cases, usually two aspects are involved. For instance, in relationship with God, one is set apart to God and set apart from anything else in this world. Again the idea of someone being singled out alone is the focus. God singled out Abraham from all the people in the world to become the father of an entire nation. Abraham was holy to God, and God became holy to him. We might say their relationship became special once God called him through His speaking to him.

We've been called with a holy calling

God's words to Israel are recorded in Leviticus 20:26,"Thus you are to be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy; and I have set you apart from the peoples to be Mine." God reminds His people through Moses' message in Horeb, "For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth" (Deuteronomy 7:6). In the New Testament, the wonderful truth that we have been called with a holy calling is clearly seen in 2 Timothy 1:7. Paul wrote we are "called with a holy calling." The apostle Peter applied holiness to believers in Jesus Christ in 1 Peter 2:9. "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." The children of God have been set apart to a special relationship with God through His powerful action of the new birth. God calls a person to Himself that He might be a father to them and they become sons or daughters to Him. I believe there are many reasons Jesus chose the analogy of birth when He explained to Nicodemus about seeing and entering into the kingdom of God (John 3), and one of the most important reasons is the fact it clearly communicates these vital truths:

Both births occur only by the power of God and not the will of man (Romans 4:17; Romans 9:11; John 1:12-13; Romans 9:16). Therefore, both are miracles!
Both births establish a special relationship between children and the parents (Genesis 22:2; Ephesians 6:1-3; 2 Corinthians 6:17-18). Therefore, both relationships are holy.
Both births are described as callings of God in God's Word (Romans 4:17; 2 Timothy 1:9). Therefore, both involve relationship with God.
Both births entail holiness in those relationships as seen in the responsibilities given to each by God (Malachi 4:5-6; Deuteronomy 7:4-7; Hebrews 12:14). Therefore holiness becomes relevant in every calling. Out of the cathedral into real life!

How does holiness become relevant to the next generation?

Children must practice holiness first to their parents so they will understand what it means to be treated by God as holy and to treat Him as holy. This may occur when children learn two hope-producing, life-impacting lessons about their callings as a result of their natural births:

God requires, by virtue of His calling them to their parents, to treat them as holy. They will answer to God for how they treat them.
They must learn, therefore, in a practical way, how to treat their fathers and mothers as holy. The principle behind every command and guideline for parent-child relationships in the Scriptures is holiness.

A tremendous value comes in your leading your family to discuss these two lessons. The first one deserves constant repetition. The second requires study, meditation, discussion, and constant application.

How is holiness to parents expressed?

Rather than give you all the answers to this one, perhaps I can stimulate your thinking and family discussion with an illustration. Then you can seek other practical ways to live out holiness to each other, and you'll learn and grow more through the process. We discover what holiness looks like by observing the responsibilities given in God's Word. For instance, Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:1-3 what holiness to parents looks like. "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER (which is the first commandment with a promise, SO THAT IT MAY BE WELL WITH YOU, AND THAT YOU MAY LIVE LONG ON THE EARTH." Although children owe obedience and honor to other adults, parents are "set apart" to them in a special way. God requires obedience to believing parents and gives a promise in order to produce hope for the future. Children who practice holiness to their parents in this way will give greater attention to their words, wishes, and warnings. Why? Because God is watching, and they will give an account to Him of their obedience. They must learn not to treat their parents' words as commonˆlike other adult's words. The reason children should obey other adults who have authority over them is because those adults teach or say the same thing their parents would say. However if another adult's words and commands contradict their parents' words and commands, then holiness demands they make an appeal to the other adult on the basis of what their parents have told them.

Here's a worthwhile exercise for your family to teach them holiness in their calling to you and prepare them for holiness to God, holiness to their future spouses, and holiness toward their children to come. May I suggest you and your children compile a list of the responsibilities of children toward their parents from the Scriptures? Then discuss how each one is an expression of holiness. How does it set the relationship apart in a special way? Note what promises are given to provide hope for children who practice holiness toward their parents. The book of Proverbs abounds with a father's appeal to his son to treat him as holy.

I hope this series of articles will be practical and life changing for you and your children. You might discover you are suffering consequences today from not learning and practicing holiness toward your parents during your earlier years. If God reveals any, I encourage you to make it right with God, with your parents (if they are alive), and with your children, who are learning from your example. This past spring, a young mother gave glory to the Lord as she described how God had healed her failing marriage. God revealed to her that she and her husband's problems in their relationship were because they hadn't practiced holiness toward their parents and consequently didn't know how to practice holiness toward each other. When she understood this concept of holiness in her first calling, she repented to parents for ignoring God's calling and for not treating them as holy before the Lord. The result was tremendous! The pastor/father wept as he told me of the healing in their relationship of deep wounds from conflicts during her teen years. Her face was bright with joy as she shared of the miraculous grace of God that flooded into their marriage once they both repented to their parents. They also forgave each other for not demonstrating practical holiness in their marriage relationship. I wonder how many relationships need the same cleansing and healing. Do yours? Remember what the writer of Hebrews wrote: Pursue peace with all men and holiness without which no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). Between now and next month's article, let's determine to make holiness relevant to real life by practicing it in all of our callings in life. I think we'll find greater insight into how to pursue holiness to the Lord as we consider holiness in our first calling in life as children of our parents.

            Norm Wakefield
            Elijah Ministries
            PO 377
            Bulverde, Texas 78163
            www.spiritofelijah.com