"Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."
-1 Peter 1:13-16
What does it mean to be holy? If you look up the word in Webster's dictionary you find this definition: exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness, divine as in God. If you ask someone walking down the street you may get a response like this, "holy art thou...perfect?", or ask the Christian and you get the response "set-apart", "like Christ", "different". But the question in my mind is do we really understand what holiness means? There are many Christians who are passionate about living for the Lord, about following His commands, and about going to church services, but I don't think most Christians are passionate about holiness. So where does the Christian start in discovering what holiness truly is, in the eyes of our Maker, and how to strive for that...well lets start with God Himself. God is our standard of holiness. God's holiness shows His absolute perfection. Look at verses like 1 Samuel 2:2, "There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God." He is unlike any other being, He is completely absent from any form or even a hint of sin and therefore nobody can compare or even come close to his holy nature. Does that mean we get discouraged and stop in our pursuit of holiness? Absolutely not!
Look in Leviticus where God told Israel to be holy. He was in essence telling them that they were to be different then all the other nations at the time, they had to stand out. Israel was God's chosen people and He had set them apart for a specific purpose. God had set standards for them to live by so that the people might see that they were different and that they belonged to Him. In the verse in 1 Peter, Peter is calling the believer, the one in Christ, to be holy and set apart from the world. John reminds us as well that we cannot "conform to the world". God obviously is not calling us to perfection as holiness would define, but He is calling us to a different life, a different standard; one that doesn't match up to or measure up to the world by any means, but to Him alone.
How can you become more holy. Holiness, the pursuit of it begins the moment your life is surrendered to the Lord and He saves you! In that right relationship with Him through the work of Christ on the cross He begins a life long process of sanctification and your lifelong journey of holiness begins. Realize that just being part of God's family already sets you apart from the world. Then strive to set your life apart for Christ, be different, don't shy away from spreading the truth to all you know (remembering you can do all things through HIM- Philippians 4:13), and live to glorify Him in everything you do. As you continue to develop a deeper relationship with Him through time in His word, in worship, in church service, in discipleship etc. it will spur you on to be holy as He is holy!
A great resource is Nancy Leigh DeMoss' book Holiness
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2 comments:
Vanessa, this post is right on. I agree that not many Christians really think about holiness much. Thanks to your recommendation I just bought the Nancy Leigh DeMoss book--Can't wait to read it!
I like how you included the various responses to the question as to what holiness is, and then provided insight from God's Word. Thank you, and God bless! (^_^)
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