“Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.’” —Leviticus 19:2 NKJV

One of the lessons I learned in my stint in nursing school is still so embedded in my memory that I swear it will pop up on my tombstone! “Sterile to sterile is sterile, sterile to anything else is contaminated; and when in doubt—autoclave!!”

Mrs. Guilfoyle was an older-than-dirt, petite, blonde-wigged, old-school nursing instructor who was wonderful and well-loved by us all. However, she was an absolute stickler for things like standing when the doctor or another RN entered the room. She was merciless when it came to teaching us to do things right the first time around. She was brutal when it came to learning things like sterile technique. She drilled into us that clean did not cut it. If it wasn’t autoclaved, it wasn’t acceptable to come into a sterile field. More than once, we would hear, “You just contaminated the field. Re-gown! Re-glove! Do it again! And this time do it right!” And not necessarily said unaccompanied by a backhand either.

Remembering back to that early lesson, I realize what a great example it is of what it means when God commands His people to be holy, sterile, pure, and spotless. Being holy is the heart theme of Leviticus. In fact, it’s the heart theme of the whole Bible—“Be holy for I am Holy.”

Leviticus focuses on the dos and don’ts and how-tos of the Levitical Law for the priesthood and the life laws for the people, teaching why and how to live a holy life set apart to God. Being holy is the only way to come into the presence of a Holy God. No other way would cut it. But that standard must have seemed like such an impossible goal to reach. Every single day, the Israelites had to do something to measure up to God’s standard of perfection. Endless sacrifices to make, offerings to give, and holy days to keep. Rules about what they could not do and what they had to do—over and over and over and over. How exhausting that must have been, not to mention impossible to achieve.

That was the whole point! The Israelites had to reach the place where they realized they were incapable of attaining God’s standard of perfection by their own efforts. They needed someone outside themselves. They needed a Savior. One who could and would perfectly keep and fulfill the Law in their place.

Well, that was then, and that was for them. What about now? What about for us? Same thing! We have the very same calling. “But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’”  (1 Peter 1:15-16 NKJV). God’s own holiness and His demand for holiness do not change with time, circumstances, or generations.

When posed with the question whether or not a person thinks they are going to Heaven and, if so, how, the majority of people will say something like: “Well, I think so. I’m a good person. I do … I don’t do …. Hopefully my good deeds will outweigh the bad.” Then they spend their whole lives trying to be good enough by their own efforts. But no matter how “good” we are, or how hard we try, we still fall far short of God’s expectation. There is only one way to come into His presence—either in Heaven or while here on earth—and it is not by our own efforts.

That is just as impossible for us today as it was for the Israelites. How do we do it? The same way those men and women of faith did back then: They believed God, and they looked forward to what the coming Savior would do. We believe God and look back at what our Savior has done.

Holiness, being set apart, means being properly cleansed. In other words, it’s like being spiritually autoclaved. That happens when we agree with God that we are lost without Him and confess our sin. At that moment, He instantly forgives, cleanses, and inhabits us. Our old self dies, and we are now a new person. We no longer have to try to keep a list of unattainable dos and don’ts to be okay. Christ kept and perfectly fulfilled them all for us. Every single one of them. Then He paid the death penalty in our place, so that we are now made acceptable to approach a Holy God. Our dos and don’ts are no longer an attempt to obtain and maintain. Instead, they are acts of trust and obedience born out of changed, thankful hearts and a desire to honor Him.

Father, thank You for the Cross, my spiritual autoclave. Thank You for doing for me what I could never do for myself. 

I love You, Lord!
Donna Perkins

Sweet Selah Ministries

Vision
To inspire a movement away from the belief that “busy is better”
and toward the truth of God’s Word that stillness and knowing
Him matter most—and will be reflected in more effective work and service

Mission
To offer biblical resources and retreats that help women pause (Selah)
and love God more deeply as they know Him more intimately (Sweet)

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