What does it mean to be holy? Is it attainable? If it is attainable, how do we become holy? If it is not attainable then, what difference does it really make? Does it really matter if we are holy? Let me show you what I have concluded about being holy.
Holiness is to be dedicated or consecrated to God or a religious purpose; sacred: devoted to the service of God: or morally and spiritually perfect. I certainly do not meet this definition at least in my physical being.
I struggle with the idea of holiness and the standard I am held to in 1 Peter 1:14-16, “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (ESV)Quoted from Leviticus 11:45. I struggle because I have not been able to even live a morally perfect life for even part of one single day. So, how can I be holy? On my own I cannot but I believe with God’s help, I can try. In part I believe that I must try because God has asked me to be holy. As it says in 1 Peter and again in 1 Thessalonians 4:7, “For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.” (ESV)
I have discovered God tells me that I must clean myself of anything that defiles me. 2 Corinthians 7:1 “Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.” (ESV) I believe I can do this only through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. It is through Him and Him alone that I am made spiritually holy.
I must also put off my old sinful and unholy self and be renewed by the Holy Spirit who dwells within me as Ephesians 4:21b-24 explains, “as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” (ESV) This is the process of maturing in faith in Jesus Christ. It does not happen overnight, but it happens over time, one step at a time.
It is clear to me that becoming holy takes work. It takes work with the help of the Holy Spirit. It is important because without this holiness I will not see the Lord. Hebrews 12:4 says, “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” (ESV) You may ask, since absolute holiness is not possible for me then how can I see the Lord? The answer is simple it is by knowing Christ as my personal Lord and Savior. In believing in Jesus, I become holy in the sight of God because God the Father sees through His Son Jesus and Jesus has removed my sins as far as the east is from the west and God will remember them no more.
I have found when I think about attempting to be holy that it is not in my striving that I receive eternal life. I strive to be holy not because I must be holy to be saved but rather, I strive to be holy because I love Jesus and want to be holy for Him. The Bible is clear that it is not by my works that I am saved but it is by God’s grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone am I saved. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9 (ESV)
Join me in stiving to be holy. Knowing confidently that we are made holy by the only one who is completely perfectly holy, Jesus. Jesus allows us to be seen holy in the eyes of God which brings us everlasting hope. Hope is part of the gifts that God gives you when accept Jesus. Understanding that the hope you have is because of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross satisfying the penalty for sins. His payment satisfies all my sins from the past, in the present and in the future. My penalty and yours was satisfied on the cross by the death of Jesus, God’s greatest act of love and wrath, who became sin for me and you. It was also God’s greatest act of faithfulness because “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 (ESV) Because holiness shows us, we need to believe in Jesus. I hope that you join me in helping others to choose Jesus.
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