146. A Holy People Established
Deuteronomy 28:9 The Lord shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if you shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways.
God promises to establish the children of Israel as a holy people unto the Lord. This is conditional, of course: “if you keep the commandments of the Lord.” The Law of God enshrined in the Ten Commandments is the basic condition for these promises and blessings of the Lord. However, Bible history shows that they did not keep the Commandments and so did not become the holy people that God intended. But the Lord God of the entire world had something else in mind.
Out of this people would be born one human being, who was also God, who was holy and did live a holy life according to the perfect Law of God. This was the Messiah, Jesus, who was the “Holiness unto the Lord” that God promised. And Jesus kept the commandments for us, in place of the people who broke the Law of God. As our substitute, the Holy One would in truth, in reality, and in eternity, make a holy people unto the Lord.
Jesus established a holy people out of all the people who believe in Him through His Life, Death, and Resurrection. Then, because of that Event, He sent the Holy Spirit into the hearts of His followers, who would continue to work to bring the believers more and more into conformity with the Holiness of God in their actual lives. Thus, since Jesus met the condition for us, we are established as a holy people by faith, and we are accounted righteous by God. Then the Holy Spirit creates faith in the heart and dwells there in order to change behavior to bring us closer to the holy people that God intended.
God gave the Commandments so that we could see what holiness looks like. We also see it in the Sermon on the Mount. But seeing such holiness, still required by God for entrance into His Kingdom, we are convicted that we have broken the Law and have come up short of glory. This leads us to repent and believe the Gospel, which is the power of God for living and for saving. By daily repentance and faith we give the Lord a chance to live in us as the holy people God says we already are.