Are You Holy or A-holy?

(11 Characteristics to Test Yourself With)

I don’t cuss.

There’s no judgment there, as I hang around many different circles of friends and am never offended by those who do. But I made a personal decision decades ago to not make it a regular part of my vocabulary.

Those close to me are typically shocked if they hear me utter an occasional curse word; but they also recognize it was deliberate – either to make it clear I’m serious THIS time or to throw them off for fun.

Thus, it surprised me several years ago when I had a series of vivid dreams where I drove people to repentance by calling them “a**holes.” And, yes, I would use the full word (if you want to fill in the asterisks). In one dream, I called a guy an a**hole and a demon came out of him.

Of course, all of us have those dreams where we wake up thinking, “that was weird,” and then move on in life. But these dreams seemed meaningful. I couldn’t shake the feeling there was a deeper message.

But what did they mean? Was I being called by God to start an actual ministry of telling people they were “a**holes?”

Looking at the world around me, there was certainly no lack of qualified customers. Religious people and fellow Christians were no exception. 

But who was I to be the judge of people’s a**holery? After all, I could think of plenty of times from my own life where I fit the bill. And how does one go about calling other people “a**holes” without becoming one in the process?

Furthermore, what exactly qualifies someone as an a**hole in the first place? Certainly, there were many out there I would give the label to who simply saw themselves as doing what is right. Was there some official “line” that separates the a**hole from the good? There’s an entire subreddit titled “Am I the A**hole” (AITA) in which people try to figure out if they have crossed that line. Opinions are often varied.

But are human beings who often act as a**holes and subject to their own biases really a good measure of the bad vs. good? It is my belief that our current culture wars (in politics, on social media, etc.) are a search for that mysterious line, with many self-assuredly proclaiming they are the official arbiters of it.

But who gets to be the final judge? Not me, for sure. If this was to be a ministry, I needed to know what God thinks? What standard does the Foundational Being that created, designed and operates the whole universe use to measure people?

Then the word “holiness” came to mind – an elusive term that simultaneously elicits fear and wonder – a word seemingly reserved for God alone and that no human being on their own can ever live up to – but a measurement nonetheless. In fact, it’s a measure we are commanded to pursue.

“Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness,” admonishes the author of Hebrews (Heb 12:14a).

“Be holy, because I am holy,” commands the LORD our God (1 Pet 1:16, Lev 11:44).

Thus, if “holiness” is the measure, then “a-holiness” (like a-moral, a-political, a-symmetrical, etc.) means to be without holiness.

An a-hole, therefore, is someone who acts in a way that is unholy, or a-holy.

This new word and definition, obviously, fit better with my non-cussing ways. But what IS holiness? If this was going to be my new ministry, I needed to understand it more.

I consequently spent years researching holiness, studying the Bible and classic theological literature.

One of my first discoveries is that holiness itself is hard to define. Every book I read struggled to come up with one solid-definition, often relying on multiple chapters in order to get to the concept.

As R.C. Sproul explains in The Holiness of God, “The difficulties involved in defining holiness are vast. There is so much to holiness, and it is so foreign to us that the task seems almost impossible. In a very real sense, the word holy is a foreign word” (Sproul  37).

In his book The Pursuit of Holiness Jerry Bridges notes, “The concept of holiness may seem a bit archaic to our current generation. To some minds the very word holiness brings images of bunned hair, long skirts, and black stockings. To others the idea is associated with a repugnant ‘holier than thou’ attitude” (Bridges 18-19).

Bridges then clarifies that the word actually signifies “‘separation to God, and the conduct befitting those so separated’…. Holiness is nothing less than conformity to the character of God” (Bridges 19, 26).

Samuel Brengle, in his time-honored Heart Talks on Holiness, shares one of my favorite summations, when he states, “Holiness is a thing of the heart; it is the purging away of the dross of the soul; it is the renewing of our whole nature so that we are made ‘partakers of the Divine nature’ (2 Pet. i. 4). It makes ‘the tree good’”(Brengle loc 1237).

J.C. Ryle, in his 1879 classic Holiness: It’s Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties, and Roots, elaborates when he writes,“ It is something of ‘the image of Christ’ which can be seen and observed by others in our private life, and habits, and character, and doings!” (Ryle loc 2525).

In short, holiness is taking on the otherly character of God as reflected in the nature and disposition of Jesus Christ.

It should stand to reason, therefore, that those who call themselves “Christians” should display holiness in their everyday lives. But do they?

I was surprised when I read the following from Ryle to see how little has changed in the one-and-a-half centuries since he first wrote these words:

“Practical holiness and entire self-consecration to God are not sufficiently attended to by modern Christians in this country. Politics, or controversy, or party-spirit, or worldliness — have eaten out the heart of vital piety in too many of us” (Ryle loc 2459).

“I believe there is far more harm done by unholy and inconsistent Christians than we are aware of. Such men are among Satan’s best allies. They pull down by their lives what ministers build with their lips” (Ryle loc 3487).

I agree. After studying holiness, I believe that not only non-Christians, but too many Christians themselves, are living as a-holes.

Hebrews 12:14 warns, “without [holiness] no one will see the Lord.”

Ryle asks, “Are we holy? Shall we see the Lord? That question can never be out of season.…there is no time, no, not a day, in which a man ought not to be holy. Are we?” (Ryle, loc 3318).

I’ve asked myself ever since. 

In answer, I’ve compiled a list of 11 characteristics of a holy person (vs. an “a-holy person”). At this stage I have no plans to use this list as a bludgeoning tool to go around and call people a-holes (or a**holes per my dreams). Rather, this is a tool for self-evaluation.

As you read through these, ask yourself the question: Are you holy, or are you a-holy?

 

1) Fruity.

One of the first places to look is whether your qualities match up with that of the Holy Spirit. Per Galatians 5:22 these “fruit of the Spirit” are: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. 

Many Christians of late seem to think these qualities are irrelevant when it comes to responding to the “perilous times we are in.” But there is no indication in scripture that any of these are to be set aside at any point.

Of course, no human being (other than Jesus) gets through life without occasionally falling short in one or more of these. The question is whether these are things you are known for.

A holy person consistently displays the fruit of the Spirit.

 

2) Goodness Gracious.

One issue as you pursue holiness and inevitably fall short is the tendency to beat up on yourself for your “failures.” But God’s grace and mercy toward your shortcomings are themselves attributes of God’s holiness.

This does not mean, of course, you have freedom to do whatever you want so that “grace may abound,” (Rom 6:1), or that there aren’t natural consequences. But it does mean God’s holiness is more clearly revealed in our weaknesses (2 Cor 12:9).

This in return means that we, who are attempting to be holy as God is holy, are to offer the same level of grace and mercy to others. Otherwise, it’s easy to fall into the judgmental “holier than thou” trap.

A holy person receives God’s grace and mercy and freely offers the same to others.

 

3) Humble Pie.

In contrast to “holier than thou,” holy people do not see themselves as above others.

As Paul notes, you are to “consider others as more important than yourselves” and even “adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus who…. emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant” (Phil 2;5, 7). 

This does not mean you are to be constantly down on yourself or that you don’t establish proper boundaries. But it does mean that you soberly reflect upon your own shortcomings before judging others, and you continually and sacrificially seek the best for all of God’s image bearers.

A holy person humbles themselves before others.

 

4) Members of the Justice League.

Psalm 106:3 proclaims, “How happy are those who uphold justice, who practice righteousness at all times.” This means not only to guard your own behavior, but also to ensure we live in a just society, establishing fairness for all and bringing proper judgment upon those who do evil.

Furthermore, scripture after scripture commands us to look after the fatherless, the widows, the resident alien, and the oppressed. 

One caveat, however, is you must do this without neglecting the other aspects of holiness. Too many passionate seekers of justice forget the fruit of the spirit, mercy and humility in the process.

As the prophet Micah exclaims, “And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (6:8). Holiness is never an either/or – it is all of these.

A holy person seeks justice for all, with compassion and humility.

 

5) Cherry on Top.

Closely related to justice is God’s encouragement of benevolence toward others in need. Charity work provides for some of the greatest witness to the world of God’s love and holiness and is often far more effective than simply “preaching the Word.”

It is living it out, and “God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor 9:7).

A holy person is charitable to those in need.

 

6) Truth be Told.

Christ himself declared he is “the way, the TRUTH, and the life” (John 4:16) – not A truth, but THE truth.

Yet lately, of those who proclaim to follow him, I’ve witnessed quite a few willing to compromise truth as a sort of “ends justify the means.” This particularly shows up in politics and social media, where people either purposefully or carelessly spread misinformation as a means of defeating their “enemy.”

But as followers of THE truth and pursuers of holiness, Christians are called to demonstrate the power of truth over deception.

A holy person is a truth-seeker and a truth-teller.

 

7) Scaredy Cats.

German theologian Rudolph Otto in his work, The Idea of the Holy, coined the term “mysterium tremendum,” indicating that God’s holiness simultaneously elicits awe and fear.

We are told throughout scripture to fear God. But this is a different kind of fear than, say, to be scared of the boogeyman, or even to simply be scared of being punished.

Rather, it is having a deep, reverent respect for God and God’s ways, recognizing that the foundational being behind all of creation always knows what is best for us, even if it sometimes seems counter to our own personal desires.

A holy person lives in awe and fear of God and God’s ways.

 

8) Still Baking.

The reality is that God’s holiness is so far above and beyond that of humankind, that no one ever fully reaches it.

As Ryle points out, “I have yet to learn that there is a single passage in Scripture which teaches that a literal perfection — that a complete and entire freedom from sin, in thought, or word, or deed — is attainable, or has ever been attained, by any child of Adam” (Ryle loc. 2533).

But this does not excuse anyone from continually pursuing it. Repentance is an important aspect of holiness, and a person who pursues it is always growing and changing from who they were before.

A holy person is always in process and never the same person they were yesterday.

 

9) Oh My Heart!

Contrary to what many believe, holiness is never about making a list of a bunch of rules to follow. And when one does, one inevitably fails. This was demonstrated in the Old Testament as the Israelites continually fell short of the multiple lists of commandments.

In the same spirit today, Christians continually come up with new lists of dos and don’ts in terms of what is sin and what is not. But that’s not holiness. 

Holiness involves an actual heart change – changes reflected by one’s deep, inner desires as opposed to worries of getting it right or wrong. Furthermore, this heart change only occurs by remaining continually connected to God. Rules don’t change you; relationship does.

A holy person does not live by “sin checklists,” but rather has a genuine change of heart that beats in sync with God’s.

 

10) Pure as the Driven Snow.

Despite my reservations to include this on the list, there is no mistaking there’s a close connection between holiness and sexual behavior. The number of scriptural references to “sexual immorality” are simply too great to ignore.

What’s less clear, in spite of so many checklist-makers’ certainty on the subject, is what all that entails.

What’s become more clear to me is that sexual activity is fully tied into what’s going on in the heart, and its measurement has more to do with the nine characteristics listed above than with any checkoff box of “sins.”

When put under that level of microscope, almost no one truly is sexually pure apart from the grace of God.

And it is my belief that almost all sexual sin checklists are actually created out of a means of self-justification, allowing us to either excuse ourselves or point the finger at others without having to examine our own hearts.

I’ve also often witnessed finger pointing victims display more fruit of the spirit in their lives than the ones doing the pointing. Many self-appointed judges have abandoned love, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, grace and humility in the process of pointing their fingers, while simultaneously failing to uphold justice on behalf of those who’ve truly been sexually harmed in their own midst.

A holy person pursues sexual purity by practicing all the other characteristics of holiness.

 

11) Gift That Keeps on Giving. As noted earlier, no human being ever reaches perfection in holiness. Thus, other than Jesus Christ, technically there has never been and never will be someone that truly is “a holy person.” Instead, the pronouncement of holiness upon our lives is a gift freely given to those that never earned it.

To put another way, Jesus, who was holy, took upon himself the consequences of our a-holiness so that we also might be declared holy.

Catch #1 is that it’s necessary for you to actually receive that free gift. You must open up your heart to accept it.

Catch #2 is that it’s important for you to demonstrate you’ve received the title by living it out – by continually pursuing holiness in your life.

A holy person recognizes the free gift of holiness given to them and makes every effort to testify to it by their way of living.

 

As part of his challenge to whether we are holy, Ryle notes, “Our lives will always be doing either good or harm to those who see them. They are a silent sermon which all can read” (loc 3480).

What kind of sermon is your life preaching? What would others say? 

Are you holy or a-holy?

 

Works Cited:

Bridges, Jerry. The Pursuit of Holiness. NavPress, 2016.

Brengle, Samuel. “Heart Talks on Holiness (1897).” Top 7 Classics on Holiness, 2012, loc 886-1317.

Otto, Rudolf. The Idea of Holy: An Inquiry into the Non-Rational Idea of the Divine and Its Relation to the Rational. Galaxy Book, 1958. 

Ryle, J.C. “Holiness: Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties, and Roots (1879).” Top 7 Classics on Holiness, 2012, loc 2393 – 6776.

Sproul, R. C. The Holiness of God. Tyndale Momentum, 2008. 

Note: all scripture verses are CSB unless otherwise noted.