Being Holy

“Be holy, for I am holy”

This is a command given by God to His people, repeated four times in the OT (Leviticus 11:44, 45; 19:2, 20:7) and once above with clarity and power in the NT (I Peter 1:16). By “holy”, God is not requiring His people to be perfect as without all sin for He knows such a standard would be impossible for us to achieve on this side of heaven. However, we must understand that this does not give us liberty to go out and sin as much as we feel is possible without the vexation of conscience (rf. Romans 6:1-14). He does want us to refrain from sin as much as possible with the indwelling power of His Holy Spirit, depending on Him not on ourselves to accomplish this.

The very NT context of the passage surrounding “Be holy” shows that God’s expectation of “holiness” has a direct connection to our actions.

“As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior...” (rf. I Peter 1:14-15)

Moses in the Old Testament and Peter in the New both mean by “holiness” being separate from the world by the way that we live, the things that we do and say as we obey the teachings of Scripture, God’s Holy Word. Specifically, in the NT, the teachings of Jesus Christ provide all the guidance necessary for us to follow God’s precepts to live holy lives. As stated before, He also gives us the indwelling power and Presence of the Holy Spirit to enable us to be obedient to this task.

If we were to take this truth of being holy seriously (since it is a command), we would surely be a much different people of God, expressed as the Church today, than what we are at present. We would not be complicit with the attitudes and actions of our culture. Rather, we would be counter-cultural in all that we do. We would not be encouraging the ways of anti-Biblical movements whose practices and beliefs that run cross-grained to the historically-held truths of the Christian faith. We would be speaking truth into these groups with the love of Christ in the hope that, by being agents of light and grace, we could be a transforming influence to each and all.

We should also address within our own ranks the growing ills of rampant adultery, drunkenness, fornication/living together, lying, cheating, pornography and the many other sins that have subtly increased like cancers in our midst. Our church fellowships are sickened by hypocrisy because they have brought into the sanctuary the god of “political correctness”, the philosophy of mutual toleration, a new cover for the “multitude of sins” and have set it up for all to bow down to and worship. This new idolatry allows for church members to freely use Saturday nights for bar-hopping and then come to church on Sunday as a matter on conscience-soothing penance. On the opposite end of the spectrum, for those of the “holier-than-thou” mentality, one can just as well act “super-spiritual” while masking a heart full of pride and self-righteousness. In either case, as long as “political correctness” occupies the sanctuary, no one will ever bring up the subject of accountability or submission, the two words most abhorred and feared in the realm of idolatry.

Yet, in reality, these are two of the greatest needs in His Church. Reasserting our submission to Christ and our accountability to Him and His Word are paramount. We must “come clean”, confessing and repenting of our individual and corporate hypocrisies. Only by doing this can we start afresh and have the correct foundation upon which a holy life can be firmly built.

If God has commanded us to “be holy” (and He has), then we have no other option, no other choice, than to be obedient if we truly want His blessing upon us. Therefore, may we take an honest look at our own lives. Do away with the things that are unholy and start living like the “peculiar people” He wants us to be. Others might not want to be around us anymore. We may lose friends as a result. Family members could think us as strange. So be it. The most important thing for us to remember is that we should be obedient to the One Who has purchased us with His blood. He is the One Whose acceptance and pleasure of our actions and heart attitudes counts the most in the end.