Holiness is Not an Option

What do you think when you read a passage of Scripture like this, “Be holy because I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16)? How does it make you feel when you know that this command comes from God who is defined by this truth in Isaiah 6: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory”?

If you are like most believers you may feel inadequate, you may feel unworthy of holiness, you may think you can never be holy and meet this command, or you may never even think of holiness at all. Welcome to the impossibility of being holy and therefore, being what the Lord commands... unless you understand what He has already done for you. 

If we are to manifest His glory (what we were created to do) then we must have His character (what we were created to be). So, how holy do you feel? Well, hold on - let’s start at the beginning with what does holy mean. 

The literal translation is to be set apart and as we see in the Isaiah 6 passage, God is the most set apart being in the world. Not only is He holy, but He is holy - holy (the holier of the holy). Not only is He holy - holy, but He is holy - holy - holy (the holiest of the holier of the holy). There is no one like Him and this holiness is displayed in His nature and His character. So, when He says, “Be holy because I am holy,” what He is saying is that in order to show My glory, you must have My character - My holiness.

Impossible, right? Well, take a look at Hebrews 10:10 and Hebrews 10:14 and see what the Lord has done to solve this impossible situation. Hebrews 10:10 says, By That will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.    (NKJV). A close look here shows a very important truth - that by God’s will, we (believers) have been made (past tense - already done) sanctified (perfect - holy - set apart) by Christ’s offering (His death and resurrection) once for all. Wow! Through Christ’s work God has made us holy. 

Now look at verse 14, For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.  (NKJV). Here the writer of Hebrews says that by that one offering (Christ’s death and resurrection) God has perfected (made holy) FOREVER (how long is forever?) those (believers) who are being (present tense) perfected (made holy)!

Here is the incredible point: God made us holy (our position) through Christ’s work, so that we can be who He created us to be - holy in our daily lives (our condition) as we work in His power to live like who we already are. You already are what God commands you to be so you can now live like He wants you to live - holy. What an amazing God.