I grew up in one of multiple ‘holiness’ church groups. These fellowships championed a variety of extreme ideas. The group I was part of ranked somewhere in the middle. The negative reputation of the Biblical term “holy” was a consequence of some of their extreme behaviors and beliefs. Today’s culture, with its strong emphasis on individuality, independence, and self-centered ambition, finds these extremes especially repulsive. Holiness is rarely taught in religious settings, literature, or study groups nowadays, which is not surprising. Why is it that the Bible is so explicit about God’s demand for us to lead a holy life? Is God really that outdated? I’ve been driven by curiosity to investigate what the Bible truly says about this.
While Scripture frequently refers to being holy, the apostle Peter writes it most explicitly. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. 1 Peter 1:15 (NLT2) Grammatically, this is God’s command, not an ideal for us to consider. The context of the verse offers the best commentary on what this verse is really saying. First, it says we must define the term holy in the context of God’s holiness, not our fabrication of it. Second, it contrasted holiness with how you used to live, satisfying your own desires or the passions of your former ignorance. This is not just about outward holiness but one’s inner being, in how they think, behave, and respond. How critical is this matter? The Bible also says, make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness, no one will see the Lord. Hebrews 12:14 (NIV) That makes our inner holiness all important. So, why does God insist on us being holy when it is so diametrically different from human nature? He does so because He created us and knows the essentials for us to experience the most abundant life possible. (John 10:10)
The word “holy” means to be separated or set apart from the ordinary and devoted to what is true and right in the long term—Bible truths. While some may view it as piety, piety implies outward conduct rather than inner belief. Because of God’s pure integrity, He prioritizes a heart totally committed to loving Him over empty words or behavior.
I’ve been exploring John Comer’s book Live No Lies—a very enlightening book!! In it, he defines a lie and truth. He stresses that life includes a constant personal battle with the practice of living lies in contrast to truths.
We are being barraged with lies supported by friends, the media, politicians, educators—and yes, ministers at church. Jesus and the New Testament writers repeatedly warned against lies or false teachers. The fact is the growing dysfunction we see these days is simply the fruit of the decades of lies our world has embraced. The challenge we face is to discern correctly between the truth and deception in what we see or hear. The encouraging part is, God is not as concerned about the lies we may innocently follow as He is with how we respond to the lie when His Spirit enlightens us with His truth. That is when the call to holiness becomes vividly clear.
If you prayerfully examined the driving force behind your decisions, how many of them may have been rooted in personal preference and how many from God’s Word? Understand, no church group is flawless in their set of doctrines, so relax. God is focused on your response to His truth once He has enlightened you? How have you been responding when the Spirit reveals His truth about holiness—a life separated from the common and devoted to His truths? A holy life is a most abundant life.