1 Peter 1:15-16 |“As He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy’”.
Ask any person today about his/her need to be holy and you will most likely get a bit of chuckle, if not treated with outright contempt. A picture of ‘holier than thou’ character will immediately comes into play. The concept of holiness has clearly fallen on deaf ears nowadays, and the consequences for failing to understand and apply its intended meaning have resulted in moral decadence of our society.
But the Scriptures has been quite clear on this instruction that God gave to His people:
“You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy” (Leviticus 19:2)
This is a command repeated throughout the Bible in both the Old and the New Testament (see also, 1 Cor.7:34; Eph.1:4).
Let’s look closely at the intended meaning of the word holy. The Hebrew words translated “holy,” 'kodesh' and its derivatives, carry the meaning of “separated or set apart”--sanctified, consecrated, hallowed. Bullinger’s Companion Bible comments that kodesh can also mean “consecrated, dedicated, hallowed, holiness, saint or sanctuary.” Modern English dictionaries will include the meaning of ‘devout’, ‘faithful’, ‘God-fearing’, ‘righteous’ and ‘virtuous’.
The Greek words translated “holy,” 'hagios' and its derivatives, imply an absence of fault or impurity. Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance translates 'hagios' into the English words sacred, blameless and consecrated. We find the word holy used in the Scriptures 567 times!
To be holy means to be cleansed of faults (sins) and be set apart by God, who is Himself faultless and pure. Once set apart, a person then must live a life of consecration [‘holiness’] to God. Holy means that God is present (in you). It is His presence, through His Holy Spirit that makes anything ‘holy’. Thus, it means we are to reflect the holiness of God in us (Romans 6:19,22; Ephesians 1:4; Titus 1:8; 1 Peter 1:15).
Holiness is a work in progress. It is the stamping God's character in us. As we continue to yield our life through the prompting and prodding of the Holy Spirit, then the image of His Son (Jesus Christ) will be imprinted in our character. It will be manifested in the actions and choices we do.
We are molded to holiness as we submit and surrender our will to His will. Shaping up the character in us. This is not an easy task of course, as this carries many challenges, temptations along the way, hence the repeated admonition to be watchful, prayerful, and overcoming (1 Corinthians 1:30; 2 Corinthians 7:1; Ephesians 4:23,24).
With this understanding we also need to realize that the values and focus of this world are not what we are called to follow or emulate. Rather, we are to ‘come out’ of this world (John 15:19,17:16, 2 Corinthians 6:17; Revelation 18:4) and live our lives representing the values reflected in God's “holy, just and good” law (Romans 7:12).
God wants us to be holy because He wants to share in us the righteousness of His Kingdom perfected in godliness and true holiness! (Ephesians 4:23-24; 2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 19:11)
"He who is holy, let him be holy still.” - Rev. 22:11b
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