01/14/2026
Being Holy is more than a distant aspiration or some lofty goal that only the most pious of Saints can ever hope to reach. We are all called to be Holy. So, what is holiness, and how can we reach a state of Holiness in this fallen world? Well, we can study becoming holy at-nauseam but let’s boil it down to its simplest and most basic form. Let’s let Jesus gather us up in His arms and carry us with Him into holiness.
“For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground.”
Leviticus 11:44 ESV
Being holy isn’t just obeying the Ten Commandments or doing good works because God told us to. No, when we read this scripture in Leviticus as it pertains to the food laws, we come to understand a very different approach to obedience. We are not told to obey the law and be Holy, we are told to consecrate ourselves... to be like God. We are told that if we do this we will become Holy. Our prime motivation then is not to simply obey, but to behave and indeed be like God... not to BE God, but to be LIKE Him.
Right now, you are probably saying to yourself “Wow... that didn’t help much! How am I ever going to BE like God?” In a way you are right; this could indeed be a daunting task. So for help we must turn to the New Testament; yet at first glance it seems to reiterate this same understanding of being Holy...
“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."”
1 Peter 1:14-16 ESV
So, let’s think about this a bit more in context of New Testament teaching... maybe we have missed a vital connection here... and as we read further we find that when we become Holy by being like God, we become Holy by allowing Him to dwell in us, or in other words, by giving up ourselves and our natural inclinations to Him. Is this beginning to sound familiar and does it remind us of something Jesus told us? Is there some help for us in what Christ said?
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
John 15:4-5 ESV
So, we are told to abide in Jesus but is there more? How does this tie us back to to God and His holiness? Well, if we recall, Jesus extended this thinking for us with the words He spoke in our previous reading… listen again…
“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."”
1 Peter 1:14-16 ESV
Hmmm... Jesus is in God, and I am in Him. I am beginning to see the tie between myself and the holy nature of God, but even though I know that God is Holy, and I know that Jesus is Holy, how does this really extend to me? It extends to us when we assume the nature God through His Son Jesus. Listen to what Paul says…
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Galatians 2:20 ESV
Let’s put this in simpler modern language; when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior we die to who we once were and become a new person; Christ begins to live in us. So, we are very much LIKE Jesus, and He is without a doubt like God, and God is Holy! This is the culmination of God’s original plan for us. Pastor Andrew Murray used these words to convey this as he explained God’s plan and desire for us as it relates to holiness...
“Holy is the word that reveals the purpose with which God from eternity thought of humankind and foretells our highest glory in the coming eternity - to be partakers of God’s Holiness.” - Andrew Murray
Being Holy may seem impossible to us as fallen men and women, but it is a reality of God through Jesus Christ. So, we trust in the Word, and know that our being Holy is more than a distant dream... it is a reality through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul spoke to the Philippians regarding this, and if we desire to be more that obedient followers of Jesus, and seek to be like Him, then we too will find ourselves to be the holy image that God always imagined us to be…
“Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.””
Genesis 1:26 ESV
And thus in Christ we can once again become holy and…
“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
Philippians 4:13 KJV
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for gathering me to yourself through Jesus Christ your Son. I thank you for allowing me to partake of your Holiness, and for the deep desire within me to be more like you with each passing day. My faith leads me on, and your will is that this selfsame faith would increase in me to the point of righteousness and holiness. Bring me into consecration Father as I seek to be like you in every aspect of my life. I find comfort, rest, and holiness in Jesus, and in knowing that just as He abides in me, I abide in Him, and He in you. In this way I share in these things that you have made possible for me through Him... and that indeed all things which are holy are thus made possible for me through Him. Give me confidence in my holiness, Abba, because if I don’t believe your Word in this, then I am lost in all things. Praised be your name Father for you are great and your will for me is perfect. Holy, Holy, Holy, art thou and endless is your mercy and grace as I become righteous, Holy, and worthy in your sight. Holy are you who makes me to be as you desired me to be from my inception… created in your image. In this my created self, and for this my created purpose, I give you all the honor and glory forevermore, and eternally love you with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength… just as you have always loved me.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
John 3:16-17 ESV
“Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 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.””
1 Peter 1:13-16 ESV
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Amen!
Rich Forbes