Be Holy, For I Am Holy

Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
1 Pet 1:13-16

What a powerful statement at the end the above passage. We are called to be holy just as God is! If as Christians we are to be striving for that degree of holiness, then it’s obvious by the lives of many professing Christians that they have a low opinion of the holiness of God. I’m not sure that any of us can fully grasp His holiness this side of glory, but we do have several passages that help us in our awareness. One thing is clear. However holy our perception of God is, His holiness is far greater than we think.

In Is 6:5, the prophet sees God in His holiness and exclaims, “Woe is me, for I am undone!” “Undone” is translated in other verses as “cut off, cease, perish, etc.” In other words, he is in utter hopelessness as he examines himself next to God in his holiness. When John sees Christ in His glory, fully aware of His holiness, he falls at His feet as dead in Rev 1:17. Similarly, Ezekiel is found repeatedly on his face as He sees the glory of God. (Ez 1:28, 3:23, 44:4) These men weren’t wicked, lewd worldlings. They were the cream of the crop as far as men were concerned. Two were prophets of God, and the other was referred to as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” Our lives would pale in comparison to the faithfulness and obedience of these men, and yet they all had an overwhelming sense of their unworthiness when viewing God in His holiness.

I’m continually grieved these days to see those that claim to be Christians around the saints of God but have little to no witness among the world. In fact, in environments outside of the church, you can’t really tell any difference between them and everybody else. Paul said the practice of himself and those who labored with him was a one of “providing honorable things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.” (2 Cor 8:21) They didn’t become someone else when they were outside of religious gatherings. They had hearts fixed on the Lord at all times.

Why are we still here upon this earth, church? Aren’t we to be salt and light in a dark and unsavory world? Doesn’t that mean our manner of life should be different from the rest? I’m not saying that we should go beating everyone over the head with Bible verses while pointing out all of their shortcomings. Christ wasn’t nearly as offensive to the average lost person as he was to religious hypocrites. But one thing’s for sure. When Jesus opened His mouth, he spoke words of life. Consider his encounter with an average worldling when he meets the lost Samaritan woman at the well. He wasn’t concerned that talking about spiritual things would push her away. He didn’t just want to be a good friend to her. He did what we would consider unthinkable today by acknowledging her past and present sinfulness with the men that had been in her life, yet He did so without being condescending. And, He doesn’t leave her without hope. He uses the present experience of drawing water from a well to declare to her the living water that He could give her. He wasn’t hindered by the socially-acceptable lines that had been drawn to separate Jews and Samaritans. He crossed those barriers and expressed a sincere care and concern for her soul.

Why aren’t we more like Him? Why does witnessing to the truth feel so forced and insincere? Why are we more comfortable talking about the game last night, the latest blockbuster movie, or the current weather conditions? The answer is simple. We are not striving for the holiness that has God as its source and example. Are we obedient children, or still walking in the old familiar paths of our former lusts? That existence was one of ignorance, Peter says in our text above. He calls that the “past lifetime” in 1 Pet 4:3 when “we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries.” Is that really our past? There’s a problem if those things sound more like our present experiences? If we look at our hearts and say we’re doing pretty good, we simply don’t know God in His holiness. But if we’ve seen Him in His glory, if we’ve measured ourselves by His standard, then we know there’s much more work to be done to be holy as He is holy! May we continue to pray and strive to that end.

Jamie

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