Take Time to Be Holy

Words: William Dunn Longstaff (b. Nov. 26, 1822; d. Apr. 2, 1894)
Music: George Coles Stebbins (b. Feb. 26, 1846; d. Oct. 6, 1945)

(Stanza numbers in brackets below refer to the stanza number in The Cyber Hymnal. Find the link at the bottom of the article.)

It takes time to do a job well. It takes time to build meaningful relationships. And it takes time to develop a holy character. Holiness (and related Bible words such as: hallowed, dedicated, sacred, sanctified, and saint) basically means set apart, or separated–usually indicating a separation from sin and unto God, or a separation from common use and commitment to the Lord’s service.

In discussing this subject as it relates to Christians, it is important to distinguish between the holiness of our standing, and the holiness of our state. The two can be roughly compared to being granted official citizenship in a country (standing), and living as a good citizen of the country (state).

When we trust in Christ as Saviour, God sets us apart for Himself. A “saint” is a set-apart one, and all Christians are saints (cf. Phil. 1:1). We are credited with the righteousness of Christ (Rom. 3:21-24; 4:5; II Cor. 5:21; Col. 2:10), and clothed in His righteousness. Our standing is eternal; it does not change, because it’s based on what Christ has done. The Christian’s privileged standing is described in a hymn by Nicolaus von Zinzendorf.

Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness
My beauty are, my glorious dress;
‘Midst flaming worlds in these arrayed,
With joy shall I lift up my head.

But the hymn by William Longstaff deals not with our eternal standing in Christ, but with our daily conduct. And while our standing remains constant, our state can change from day to day. When we’re saved the Spirit of God clothes us in Christ, as to our standing before God (Gal. 3:26-27). Then, as to our state in daily experience, we have a responsibility to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to fulfil its lusts” (Rom. 13:14; cf. Eph. 4:22-24).

Consecrate yourselves [commit yourselves to living a holy life] therefore, and be holy, for I am the LORD your God. And you shall keep My statutes, and perform them [obey My Word]: I am the LORD who sanctifies you.

Lev. 20:7-8

It is that holy character of our lives that is developed by the Spirit of God (II Cor. 3:18; Gal. 5:22-23), through our meditation on the Word (Jn. 17:17; Eph. 5:25-26), and through our regular times of fellowship with God in prayer. And that takes a consistent commitment of time!

When Peter and John were brought before the Jewish Sanhedrin to give an account of their ministry for Christ, we are told, “They [the Jewish leaders] realized that they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13). That likely means simply that they identified them as followers of Christ. But whatever was meant, it is also a fine description of what our lives should be like. Others should be able to tell, by our words and actions, that we have spent time in the Lord’s presence.

Sometimes, service leaders, in introducing the hymn Take Time to Be Holy, will invite the congregation to sing one or more stanzas as “Take time to behold Him.” And while I wouldn’t advocate that we totally do away with the phrasing of the original, this does help to focus our attention on the means by which practical holiness of life is developed. Notice how the opening stanzas of the hymn (1 and 2) emphasize the time factor: “speak oft with thy Lord…spend much time in secret with Jesus alone.”

Questions:

1. What is the general conception of “holiness” in the unsaved world? And how does this contrast with what the Bible means by it?
2. What is meant by “make no provision for the flesh” (Rom. 13:14)? How is that done in practical terms?

Links:

• It Takes Time
• 26 February 1846 – George Stebbins Born
• 6 October 1945 – George Stebbins Died
• Take Time To Be Holy (The Cyber Hymnal)