“But 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’<\/em>” (I Peter 1:15-16).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Perhaps we who are Christians today do not often think about our holiness. But we should<\/strong>\u00a0think about it. If it does not sound very “practical,” that may be an indication of how much we’ve accommodated ourselves to the world around us. But whatever the reason for our neglect, Peter’s injunction still stands: “as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct<\/em>.”<\/p>\n
The basic idea of holiness is “separateness” or “distinctness,” and it has to do with separation from anything morally impure. God is not just partially but *completely* holy, of course, and we are to set His holiness as our goal and our intent (I John 3:2,3). Prone to error as we are, we are going to fall into sin from time to time and require His forgiveness. But at the very least, we must make holiness a commitment that we intend to keep<\/strong>. And we shouldn’t fool ourselves: God knows the extent to which our commitment is genuine.<\/p>\n
It’s an obvious fact that we are, for the time being, “works in progress.” But let’s be careful. Being “flawed” creatures does not excuse us from exerting effort – whatever impurity remains within us should be a major priority to remove. God will certainly help us, but if our holiness depended on God alone, He would have finished the job long before now. The unfinished nature of the work is not His fault; it is ours. So Paul put it in the form of a command that we are capable of obeying: “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God<\/em>” (II Corinthians 7:1).<\/p>\n
It will help if we can learn to see our holiness (or the lack of it) from God’s perspective. For Him, the “problem of sin” is not merely that it diminished the happiness we might otherwise have had. That is, at best, a side issue, a symptom of the problem. The problem is that sin marred the holiness that would have made us perfectly “in His image<\/em>” (Genesis 1:26-27), creatures with whom He could joyously commune. So let us grieve over our unholiness as He does. Let us yield eagerly to the help He offers in reversing our rebellious choices. And let us see our “salvation” as fervently as He sees it.<\/p>\n
“[God] is not an eternal blessing machine for men; he did not come to save men out of pity; he came to save men because he had created them to be holy” (Oswald Chambers).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Gary Henry via WordsPoint.com “But 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’” (I Peter 1:15-16). Perhaps we who are Christians today do not often think about our holiness. But we should\u00a0think about it. If it does…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[295],"class_list":["post-93852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-holiness"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":33015,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/holy-holy-holy\/","url_meta":{"origin":93852,"position":0},"title":"Holy, Holy, Holy","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 6, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Ken Green \"And one called to another and said: 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory' \" (Isaiah 6:3)! The very first rule, the commandment that earns the #1 spot, states who God is: \"I am the Lord your God,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":91173,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/be-holy-in-all-your-conduct\/","url_meta":{"origin":93852,"position":1},"title":"Be Holy in All Your Conduct","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 10, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Hugh DeLong \"But as the one who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct;\u2026\" (I Peter 1:15). Holy is from the same word in I Peter 1:2 that is translated 'sanctifying', which means 'consecrated', 'purified', 'set apart'. When we become Christians, we\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22020,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-a-young-man-seek-holiness\/","url_meta":{"origin":93852,"position":2},"title":"How can a young man seek holiness?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 15, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How can a young man seek holiness? Answer: In order to answer your question, we need to explore that is meant by \"holy.\" The word \u201choly\u201d translates a Hebrew word referring to something or someone dedicated to the service of a god. \"Holy\" includes dedication when it is applied\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":40138,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/holy-is-his-name\/","url_meta":{"origin":93852,"position":3},"title":"Holy Is His Name","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 13, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Psalm 99 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Near the end of his life Joshua told the people of Israel - Joshua 24:14-24 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0After their declaration to serve God, it seems strange for Joshua to tell them that they are unable to serve because He is holy. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0What is it about\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4427,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/mission-possible-holiness\/","url_meta":{"origin":93852,"position":4},"title":"Mission Possible: Holiness","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 20, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"by Eric Reynolds via\u00a0Biblical Insights, December 2012 Are you living in holiness? \"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,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":40134,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/regarding-god-as-holy\/","url_meta":{"origin":93852,"position":5},"title":"Regarding God as Holy","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 1, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Peter 1:13-19 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Peter charges all Christians to conduct themselves in holiness - I Peter 1:15-16 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We will not see God without holiness - Hebrews 12:14 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0And knowing that this world will end and we all must face God - II Peter 3:11 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Holiness\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93852","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93852"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93852\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}