Holiness

1 Peter 1:13-16

13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

14 As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:

15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;

16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

God has given us a glorious adoption in the Lord Jesus Christ. Before we were saved we were alienated from Him, but once we are born again, we are born into the family of God and we are His children. (To learn about how you can become a Christian, please read the post from 04-23-08 called “The Gospel”) The Word of God tells us to be obedient children. We should not live like we did formerly, like we lived before we were His children. Before we were God’s children we lived according to any and every lustful desire our flesh had. However, now we have a holy calling. We have been called by the Holy One of Israel. The Bible says,

Psalm 145:17

The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.

Isaiah 6:3

…Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.

Revelation 4:8

…Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.

The Lord our God is holy. But what is holiness? To be holy means to be set apart or different. A holiday is a day that is set apart from other days as a special day. When you sanction a portion of something, you are setting apart a portion from the rest. When the Lord declared the Sabbath day as holy, He was setting it apart from the rest of the days of the week. When the Bible says that God is holy, it is saying that He is different, He is apart. He says in His Word,

Isaiah 55:8-9

8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.

9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

It is not that God is like us, but just better. It is not that we are like God, but just worse. God says that as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are His ways higher than our ways. He is holy. He is different. When we become God’s children, we are called to be like Him. That is why in 1 Peter 1:15-16 it says, “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”

Our lifestyle should be holy. Our conduct should be holy. Our delight should be in that which is holy. God says,

2 Corinthians 6:17-18

17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

We are called to be separate. We are called to be set apart for God’s pleasure. We should not be like the world, but instead we should be different. In 1 Peter 2:9 the Bible says that Christians are to be “peculiar”. Here is an important passage that tells us how to live a holy life for God,

Romans 12:1-2

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

In understanding holiness there is an important word, and that is sanctification. Sanctification is a Bible doctrine that can be taught in three basic parts; positional, practical, and permanent sanctification. The word sanctify means “to make holy”. The word saint means “holy one”. This is seen clearly in Spanish, as the word for holy and the word for saint are both “santo”. So, sanctification is the process of making something or someone holy. With Christians, sanctification occurs in three ways:

Positional: When a person gets saved, he is positionally declared holy before God. In the eyes of God, he is without sin. This occurs at the moment of salvation and is called positional sanctification.

Progressive: Each child of God is in a constant process of becoming more like Jesus Christ. He is continually being made more holy. This process is called progressive sanctification.

Permanent: God has promised that though Christians struggle with sin now, there is coming a day when their bodies will be changed into one like Jesus’ body. When Christ comes again for us, we will receive an incorruptible body that is without sin and incapable of sinning. This is permanent sanctification.

The passage in 1 Peter 1 is a passage that is referring to practical, or progressive, sanctification. God is holy, and so we are called to be holy. Holiness should be chief in every area of our lives; areas like entertainment, relationships, thoughts, clothing, philosophy, sexuality, education, and all others.

God says, “Be ye holy; for I am holy.”