What does the Bible teach about Holiness? What does it mean to be holy? How can I be holy? The posts from the last three weeks, “Holiness Unto the Lord: The Beauty of Holiness,” “Holiness Unto the Lord: The Marred Beauty of the Church,” and “Holiness Unto the Lord: Hope for the Church,” began to answer these questions. With last week’s post, I introduced the first in a series of podcasts taken from a course developed over the years entitled “The Biblical Basis for Christian Holiness.” The purpose of that course, and these podcasts, is to give a whole-Bible view of this important subject. My hope and prayer is that these recordings will not only be intellectually informative but that God will be able to use them to help His people live the holy, flourishing life that He intends for them. I’ve moved podcast #1, “Made for Holiness,” here for the convenience of those who haven’t yet listened to it. Podcast #2, new of this week, “Holiness Lost,” follows #1.

You will find background for these podcasts in my Christian Faith in the Old Testament: the Bible of the Apostles (Thomas Nelson, 2014). See the relevant page on this site.

Podcast #1 “Made for Holiness”. Genesis 1-2.Summary: As human beings made in God’s image we were created to live in obedient fellowship with God, harmonious fellowship with one another, and responsible enjoyment of the world. To be holy, then, is to live in obedient fellowship with God reflecting His character in our relationship with others and with the world. Holiness is essential to human flourishing.

Podcast #2. “Holiness Lost.” Genesis 3. Summary: In response to temptation human beings began to distrust the goodness of God and His intentions for humanity. As a result they displaced God by putting the self at the center of their lives as the one who would determine what was good for them. This led to direct disobedience, and to the distorting of humanity’s relationship with God, with others, and with the world resulting in dysfunction and misery.

Podcast #3: The Tragedy of Disobedience. Podcast #3 explored Genesis 3 and addressed the loss of the holiness so necessary for human flourishing. This podcast explores Genesis 4-11, especially the accounts of Cain and Able in Gen 4:1-16 and the Tower of Babel in Gen 11:1-9, in order to expose the severe dysfunction caused by this loss of holiness.