We have seen that reading the Bible and getting understanding produce holiness. There are other things as well.

Proverbs 16:6 tells us "And by the fear of the LORD one departs from evil." Some commentaries and study Bibles are quick to state that "the fear of the Lord" refers to "reverential awe." But when I looked up the Hebrew and Greek words, I found that the words translated "fear" mean "fear."

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; it is a springboard from which many other strengths can eventually grow. An interesting Bible study would be to take a colored marker, and the next time you go through the Bible, mark every time the phrase "fear of the Lord" appears. God pours out many blessings on a Christian who fears the Lord. But there are no blessings promised to those who obey a list of man-made rules.

What is better Than Man-made Rules?

Some years ago, a Ruckmanite pastor took a church running 19 people and built it up to 400 in two years. He established a Christian school, teaching a strict set of man-made rules in both his church and school. About a year ago, he began an affair with one of the married teachers, while both of them continued to follow the man-made rules. Three months later, a high school student saw them kissing, and while lying and slandering the student, the two of them continued to obey the man-made rules. Six months later, they got caught and he was forced to resign, still without having violated the rules.

How was this possible? Proverbs 6:32 tells us: Whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding

The woman later wrote in to a Christian hate site, blasting both the pastor and the student, claiming that the pastor had deceived her. How could that have happened? Proverbs 2:11-12 tells us that "Understanding will keep you, To deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things"

The man-made rules didn't make either one of them holy, but understanding would have. Job 28:28 tell us "...to depart from evil is understanding." So how do you get understanding?

Ps 119:99 I have more understanding than all my teachers, For Your testimonies are my meditation.

Ps 119:104 Through Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way.

Ps 119:130 ¶ The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.

Reading God's Word will give you understanding, and understanding will separate you from sin. Let's spend more time in God's Word today.

How does the Bible make you holy?

Folks, I have to apologize. My computer died, and living in Mexico, I needed two weeks to get it fixed. I'll continue to post about twice a week, and I appreciate your patience.

We've seen that holiness is obtained by reading God's Word. How and why?

1Th 2:13 ¶ For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.

This next part is important, so please pay close attention. When you practice obedience to man-made rules NOTHING HAPPENS. When you read the Bible, it WORKS EFFECTIVELY in you. God uses the Scriptures to deal with specific problems in your life. He uses His Word to make you grow as a Christian. Reading the Word of God produces results in your life. Following man-made rules does not produce results in your life.

How to Become Holy

There are sincere Christians who strongly believe in man-made rules, insisting that we need these rules in order to know how to live holy lives. Yet Colossians 2:20-23, clearly states that these rules will not make you holy.

In John 17:17, Jesus prayed "Sanctify them through your truth. Your word is truth." The passage could also be correctly translated "Separate them through your truth," or "Make them holy through your truth."

Now we see that God's Word (which does not contain man-made rules) does make you holy. The next question is "How?"

Holiness=Separation

We have seen that holiness cannot be obtained by obeying a list of man-made rules. So, how do you obtain holiness?

The words "holy," "sanctified," and "separate" are all the same words in the Greek and Hebrew. "Holiness" means "separation." It does not mean "spiritual" or "religious." The Bible uses these three words in only two ways: separation from sin, and separated to God. To become holy, you need to separate from sin.

Okay, how does this happen?

Do Man-Made Rules Make You Holy?

Is it possible to obtain holiness by obeying a list of man-made rules?

Col 2:20 Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations--
21 "Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,"
22 which all concern things which perish with the using--according to the commandments and doctrines of men?
23 These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.

Paul explains that these man-made rules only appear to have wisdom, because they cause you to sacrifice. But they do not improve your flesh or keep you from sin.

Why Fundamentalists Accepted the Rules

"Modernists" are people within Christianity who seek to turn their church or denomination away from Christ. In the early twentieth century, they were opposed by the "fundamentalists," who believed the fundamental Christian doctrines. The fundamentalists were not a new group; Christianity had always believed in the Deity of Christ and His virgin birth, the literal Second Coming of Christ, His literal resurrection from the dead, salvation by faith alone, and the total innerrancy of the Bible.

Having rejected Christ, modernists also rejected holy living, which is a natural product of the new birth (which they also rejected). Fundamentalists over-reacted, preaching holy living (which the Bible commands) but adding man-made rules that dealt with the current situation.

They preached against movies, cards, women wearing slacks, and various other offenses. At one time, some of these rules might have made some sense. But as the decades rolled by, the "current situation" that had produced these rules changed. Fundamentalists found themselves stuck with obsolete rules that their own people did not want to obey. Their response? Preach heavily on these rules; it was the only way to keep them in force.