Endeavor To Be Holy
“As obedient children, do not conform to
the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who
called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy,
because I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:14-16)
In reading these verses, I was drawn into what the
Apostle Peter is saying about following Jesus Christ and being holy.
Peter is strongly encouraging us to remember that we have been made alive with
Christ and that our life is now in Him, not the past we used to have. We
all have a past and we all struggle not to slide back into the way we used to
live. It is done and over with. We are a new creature in Jesus
Christ. We are called to be holy and to live in a way that brings glory
to Him.
What does this mean? In Scripture, holiness is a rich concept. It is centered in the notion of being set
apart from common things for a special, divine purpose. In the Bible, priests were considered holy because
they had been singled out by God for service in the tabernacle. They were to live differently from those
around them so that they could be fully devoted to their holy calling.
Now, living holy is not easy because being holy isn’t natural, and it isn’t
something we can do under our own strength. No matter how hard we try, we
simply fail. Walking in holiness
requires the Holy Spirit. When we accept the Lord Jesus Christ into our hearts,
we become new “creatures.” (See 2 Corinthians 5:17) Holiness is only
possible when we put on the new self and live life as the new creatures God
ordained us to be. Although holiness
isn’t natural to us, we are instructed in Scripture to pursue holiness.
We are human and we fall short. If we are to be
obedient children of God, we must make the decision to live a holy life.
It requires much action on our part. A Christian needs only to turn on
the television to see programs encouraging adultery, fornication, abortion,
lying, cheating, stealing, foul language, and drug and alcohol abuse. Add our unrestricted
access to the internet to the equation, and our eyes and ears are bombarded on
every side by unholy activity.
I look back on my own life and I’m reminded of so many bad
choices I made. Some of those choices I still continue to drift back and
do again and again. But little by little, I feel myself learning and trying
to be holy and maintain my focus on God so I won’t keep going back to my old
ways. I must fully concentrate on God so that I can be strong and
continue my walk with Him. I want to be
holy in all I do, and I pray every day that God would give me the strength to
be holy and to follow the example of Jesus Christ. Yet, I find myself failing again each
day. But I get back up on my feet and ask for forgiveness and strength to try
again.
This is not to say that perfect holiness is attainable
while we live in this world. Although
God does call us to cooperate with Him in sanctification, we note that even
before we begin to put sin to death, God has first set us apart for Himself. (See
1 Corinthians 6:11) Therefore true
Christians can and will live holy lives, albeit imperfectly. John Calvin wrote, “As even the most
perfect are always very far from coming up to the mark, we ought daily to
strive more and more. And we ought to remember that we are not only told what
our duty is, but that God also adds, ‘I am He who sanctifies you.’”
It is God that first marks us as holy, and we demonstrate
that He is actively and continually sanctifying us only as we reject the evil
of this world and endeavor to live in holiness before Him. Yes, God gives us strength and the ability,
but we must first make the decision to move forward in walking with God to be
holy. He calls us to be obedient. He does not want to see us going
back and forth on our decision. However, we are human. We make bad
choices and we end up going back to the old ways and old habits that we do not
mean to revisit.
Remember, being holy and living a holy life is a choice we must all make each
day. It requires great effort and sacrifice. We must all make
choices to do away with whatever holds us back from walking more Christ-like and
becoming stronger in our faith. It is a daily battle we cannot take on by ourselves. We must rely on the power of
the Holy Spirit. Alone, we will fail. Together with Him, we can and
will succeed if we strive to live a holy life and focus on Him.
Consider this: Is my thought life and self-discipline
reflecting the high calling I have in Christ?
Can God change your life?
God has made it possible for you
to know Him, and experience an amazing
change in your own life.
Discover how you can find peace
with God.
