Acharei Mot Kedoshim (After the death-Holy People)
In Acharei mot our Messiah Yeshua is represented by the two goats spoken of; the first of which was selected to be the "ola chatat" or the "burnt offering for sin". The second goat was the scapegoat, the one upon which the sins of the entire nation of Israel was placed and which was subsequently sent out into the desert. This to me is a clear picture of what Yeshua did for his people Israel. In the portion Kedoshim, G-d chose us and has sealed us with His holiness. Our sages are divided between two schools of thought on the subject of holiness: the first is that our holiness is inherited when we are chosen and the second is that we need to earn and work on our state of holiness. Both ideas by our sages for me are correct but are more like a double-sided coin depending upon which side pf the coin we are seeing. We are holy because G-d is holy and through the process of maturing in our relationship with G-d, we are a testimony to the unbelieving world of the great G-d we serve.
When we know that we are chosen by G-d we are then responsible to uphold and maintain that very special position and in so doing we bring glory to His Name (Kiddush ha Shem). When we are a poor testimony by our behavior as children of God, we bring about Chillul ha Shem (a bad name or a curse to the Name of G-d).
Kadosh or holiness in itself is a generic term which describes the state of being of the noun with which it is coupled. For example in Devarim 23:18 the word kadosh is coupled with a prostitute who is to be separate from the people of Israel. G-d makes His chosen people, both Jew and Ger holy, separate from the world. He works in them through good and bad forming them into His remnant, his cohanim (priests) to be a living testimony of His greatness and power in the world.
No amount of religiosity will be able to make a person holy. The term “be holy for I am holy” has been misinterpreted bringing the false belief that it is what we do for G-d that makes us holy. This is extremely important for us as followers of Messiah to truly grasp. There is nothing that we can do to save ourselves or make us ourselves holy. It is all in G-d’s Hands, as Rabbi Shaul stated…so that no one can boast.
May G-d work in all of today to make us a testimony of His state of Kadosh.