“BE HOLY BECAUSE I AM HOLY” (Leviticus 19:2, New International Version). What does this mean? How can we be holy? These are questions I have asked myself and have come to as complete an answer as I can in my present walk with Christ. By looking at scripture and delving into the life and sacrifice of Jesus, we can understand how to be holy. Let’s start with a definition of holiness: “Holiness is a general term used to indicate sanctity or separation from all that is sinful, impure, or morally imperfect; i.e., it is moral wholeness.”1 Holiness is the condition that believers should strive for always, though holiness is not attainable by human effort. Holiness cannot be earned by human willpower. I cannot by my own desire become holy; holiness is not a work done on my own. However, Holiness comes only by Jesus’ sacrifice and then by believing in Him and finally through following His commands. This should bring great comfort to believers since this weight is not on us but on the shoulders of the Lord Jesus Christ. If we try to become Holy by our own power and desire, we will surely miss the mark. However, if we lean on Jesus as the one who purifies us, we can be made holy by Him. The first step towards holiness is salvation through believing Jesus Christ is Lord, as John 3:16 says: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life” (NIV). This is followed by doing good and avoiding evil. Colossians 3:5, which says, “Put to death therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry” (NIV), demonstrates what a believer should rid themselves of. Colossians 3:12: “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (NIV) explains to the believer what they should fill themselves with. Holiness is the action of throwing off the things of the flesh and putting on the things of God. The striving for holiness is a constant process of growth comparable to that of sanctification. We must continually strive to avoid evil and turn to the things Christ desires for us to do. Titus 2:14 says “[Christ] gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good” (NIV). Through this scripture, a believer may better understand that their salvation and being made new cannot be done on their own, but only by Christ purifying those who believe in Him through His sacrifice. It is by His sacrifice that we are able to be made holy. Holiness is choosing what God desires over what a person’s flesh desires. God desires for his people to be holy because he is holy. We do this by emulating Christ in everything we do, conducting our lives in such a way as to please Him. We, who believe in Him, should desire Holiness.
Written by Shane Heard
Bibliography
Unger, Merrill Frederick, et al. The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary. Chicago: Moody Press, 1988. https://ref.ly/res/LLS:14.0.15/2013-10-14T15:21:09Z/2857721?len=149.