Word of the day, 7th March 2015
Yesterday (Saturday) morning there was a breakfast for the men of our church – between 30 and 40 men went to it. After eating, our pastor David, presented a short talk about holiness, so I thought it had to be the word for today.
holiness /ˈhəʊlɪnɪs/ or more probably /ˈhəʊlɪnəs/ – the state of being holy.
holy /ˈhəʊli/
To be frank, these are words you are very unlikely to hear in everyday conversation. People generally do not like to think about this topic. I believe it is because deep down we realise how “unholy” we are, and also perhaps people think of “holiness” as “being boring“.
The dictionary definition of this word seems to relate it only to people or things. So someone who is thought of as being “holy” is someone who is “dedicated or devoted to the service of God, the church, or religion“. A thing that is “holy” is “specially recognized as or declared sacred by religious use or authority“.
However, the Biblical meaning of this word is much deeper than this.
The Bible says that God Himself is holy.
In this sense, He is separated from His creation (because He created it; He is not creation itself), and separated from sin and evil. He is just (meaning He carries out justice fairly) and righteous (He is the source of all that is right and good).
Question:
Is it possible for us to be holy ourselves?
How can we be accepted by this holy creator God, when we are not holy?
Words pronounced similarly to “holy“:
- holey /ˈhəʊli/ (adjective): describes something that is full of holes.
“All of my socks are holey – I need some new ones.“ - wholly /ˈhəʊli/ (sometimes pronounced /ˈhəʊlli/ to emphasise the difference)
(adverb): completely, totally, or entirely; without exception; exclusively.