What is Holiness?!?

I grew up in a conservative Christian family and I'm sure I was taught the correct definition of holiness, but for some reason it never really clicked. It was a word that was jumbled in with a bunch of other religious words, like sanctification and r etc

I want my children to understand what holiness is and what it is not! I grew up thinking it was an unattainable state that we should strive for...I thought holiness was a synonym for being perfect! I thought I had to "act" perfect, which is far from the Truth of the definition of this word!!

The Hebrew word for  "holy" in the following references is found in the Strong's concordance as # 6918. 
קדךש in English it sounds like "kadosh" and means holy, sacred, consecrated, set apart as dedicated to God; by extension: pure, innocent, free from impurity.

Lev 11

⁴³ "Ye shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creepeth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled thereby.

⁴⁴ For I am the Lord your God. Ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy, for I am holy; neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

⁴⁵ For I am the Lord who bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. Ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy." 21st century KJV

^" You are not to make yourselves detestable with any of these swarming, crawling creatures; do not make yourselves unclean with them, do not defile yourselves with them. ⁴⁴ For I am Adonai your God; therefore, consecrate yourselves and be holy, for I am holy; and do not defile yourselves with any kind of swarming creature that moves along the ground. (Maftir) ⁴⁵ For I am Adonai, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. Therefore you are to be holy, because I am holy." CJB

 

Lev 19 
 And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying,

² “Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them: ‘Ye shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy." 21st century KJV

 Adonai said to Moshe, ² “Speak to the entire community of Isra’el; tell them, ‘You people are to be holy because I, Adonai your God, am holy." CJB

Lev 20

⁷ “‘Sanctify yourselves therefore and be ye holy, for I am the Lord your God.

⁸ “‘And ye shall keep My statutes and do them: I am the Lord who sanctify you." 21st century KJV

^{7 "}Therefore consecrate yourselves — you people must be holy, because I am Adonai your God.  ⁸ Observe my regulations, and obey them; I am Adonai, who sets you apart to be holy." CJB

 Num 15

^{39 "}And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them, and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring,

⁴⁰ that ye may remember and do all My commandments, and be holy unto your God.

⁴¹ I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the Lord your God.” 21 century KJV

³⁹ It is to be a tzitzit for you to look at and thereby remember all of Adonai’s mitzvot and obey them, so that you won’t go around wherever your own heart and eyes lead you to prostitute yourselves; ⁴⁰ but it will help you remember and obey all my mitzvot and be holy for your God. ⁴¹ I am Adonai your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt in order to be your God. I am Adonai your God.” CJB


Deut 7

⁶ “For thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God; the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto Himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.

⁷ The Lord did not set His love upon you nor choose you because ye were more in number than any people, for ye were the fewest of all people;" 21 century KJV

^{6 "}For you are a people set apart as holy for Adonai your God. Adonai your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his own unique treasure. ⁷ Adonai didn’t set his heart on you or choose you because you numbered more than any other people — on the contrary, you were the fewest of all peoples." CJB

Deut 14
 “Ye are the children of the Lord your God: ye shall not cut yourselves nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead.

² For thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto Himself above all the nations that are upon the earth." 21 century KJV

“You are the people of Adonai your God. You are not to gash yourselves or shave the hair above your foreheads in mourning for the dead, ² because you are a people set apart as holy for Adonai your God. Adonai your God has chosen you to be his own unique treasure out of all the peoples on the face of the earth." CJB

How can we be a 'set apart' people for YHVH? (I like to specify who my God is and choose to use the unpronounceable name He gave for us to use)

 

Have you ever noticed, that He gives us an instruction guide on how to be 'set apart'???

It's kinda interesting,  Deut 7:7 says  "Adonai didn’t set his heart on you or choose you because you numbered more than any other people — on the contrary, you were the fewest of all peoples."  I wonder if the 'instruction guide', is the reason He chose a small people group instead of a large people group?  I mean think about it.  We humans are stubborn and rebellious....we want to think we know it all, and don't want anyone to tell us what to do. It makes sense that YHVH picks the smallest group of people in order to restore the lost relationship He had with His creation.  It's easier to change, in a small group, less chance of mutiny...lol  And yet, there still arose many situations within the camp of YHVH's people during the 40 yrs in the wilderness.

 

I've noticed that very few people who claim to serve YHVH, obey or even consider the 'instruction guide' to be relevant to them. Do you know what that 'instruction guide' is?

It is the very foundation of faith in YHVH.  It shows us YHVH's character and why we should want to be restored to Him. It explains to us, what He thinks about things and how we are to act. It shows us pictures of the future and what we can expect in the End Times.

 

Why don't more of us study His guide and learn to live 'set-apart' the way He wants His people to? Are we too distracted? Are we too busy worrying? 

 

YHVH tells us how to be holy. And as we learn to live 'set-apart' for Him, we will become that pure and spotless Bride that He will soon return for.  It is as simple as obeying Him. To join with the original "church" at Sinai and say, "We will obey every word Adonai has spoken.” Ex 24:3.