What holiness isn’t . . .

Last night we were told that someone we know is seeing a medium. Her father abandoned the family when she was a baby and has since died. She wants the medium to connect her with the father that she never knew.

This is sad for two reasons. One, if the man was still alive and she was able to connect with him, she would likely be very disappointed. A father who leaves his family and never again contacts them is not usually the daddy that will please his little girl who is looking for him.

Secondly, turning to mediums puts a person in spiritual danger. In the Law of God, this is forbidden. The result is separation from the living family that that person already has . . .

“If a person turns to mediums and necromancers, whoring after them, I will set my face against that person and will cut him off from among his people. Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God. Keep my statutes and do them; I am the Lord who sanctifies you. For anyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death; he has cursed his father or his mother; his blood is upon him.” (Leviticus 20:6–9)

This passage is in a longer section that describes holiness. In these verses, God points out that holiness is being set apart and unlike other people — because God is God and He has set His people apart. This makes us different from the rest of the world. To define what that means, He gives many examples. In these three verses, those who are set apart will not mess with mediums or any ‘spiritualists’ who claim to be able to connect the living from the dead. While this practice is an illusion or actual is not the issue so much as it indicates a disregard for the holiness and lordship of God.

The other indication of lack of holiness is an extremely negative attitude toward parents. Here the example is cursing them. The punishment is death. While those who believe in God are no longer under these ‘laws’, they reveal the extreme nature of lacking respect for mother and father.

Much of our world has shaken their fists against the laws of God and have the attitude ‘I will do what I want’ only to experience consequences. Not only that, many cannot connect the dots between cause and effect. We who believe in God through faith in Jesus Christ ought never forget that God is holy and because we are His children, we are also expected to act like it.

^^^^^^^^

Dear Lord Jesus, as Tozer says, holiness depends upon contact with You. Sin is a barricade that breaks or impairs that vital contact. Slight or enormous, disobedience to You interrupts my communion with You and brings defeat instead of victory into my life. I’m extremely thankful for the Holy Spirit who helps me connect the dots. As painful and as humiliating that may be, it is the only way to keep my way clear. Without Your grace, the holiness You call for becomes totally impossible.