Influencers Weekly Devotional- The Holiness
The Holiness
by
Rocky Fleming
“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” (1 Peter 1:14-15 ESV)
The above passage is intimidating for most believers, for it gives us instructions to be holy, as God is holy. Now this says a lot. To be holy like God…come on now? That can’t be done, can it? Can we really be holy as God? He is perfect. His holiness is so great that He can’t even be looked upon without dying. We are corrupt by nature and the only way we can approach God’s holiness is through the holiness of Christ being our substitute. But that is part of the answer isn’t it? It is first to be in a right relationship with God through Jesus where His perfection becomes the substitute for our imperfection, and His holiness becomes our holiness. But it doesn’t stop there, for the passage above says that we are not to be conformed, or fitted, into the old ways of our pre-Christ days. This means that we do not continue in our old ways. Rather, we are to be transformed and converted to have new ideals and a new strategy for life, and this is where personal holiness, or our part, comes to the front. It begins with the holiness of Christ in our life to give us the perfection that is needed to be adopted into His family, but then our personal holiness is required to allow us to walk closely (abide) with Him. In one sense, we cannot achieve the holiness of God by our own goodness and it requires His help, but in another we are to volitionally live our life dedicated to Him as He is dedicated to us. Since there might be some confusion on the word and its implication on our life, I feel that it is important to begin this devotional about being holy by understanding what the word means, and what it does not mean. Let’s start with some common misconceptions and corrections:
ho.ly (defined) – sacred / consecrated / blessed / set apart / dedicated to God
- Holiness doesn’t mean perfection – But it does mean Christ’s perfection has made us perfect in His eyes.
- Holiness doesn’t mean a higher form of spiritual status – But it does find a special place in God’s heart.
- Holiness doesn’t mean we are better persons, but rather we are simply ordinary people walking right with God, and this makes us better people.
- Holiness doesn’t mean that God loves us more – But His favor falls on the man who lives his life for Christ, and this makes him holy.
- Not being holy doesn’t mean that God loves us less – for He is a gracious God and His love surpasses our failures and disobedience.
- Being holy is not impossible – for being holy is simply a dedicated effort to be right with God. This dedication (or consecration) begins the process of becoming like Christ. We do not suddenly become holy because we become good. It is the reverse, because being holy grows goodness in us. We do good because we have consecrated our life to God and goodness follows. It is the fruit of a dedicated life.
- Achieving holiness is not the result of legalistic determination. It is an act of surrender, the admission of need for God’s help to live our life for His glory, and the presentation of our life as a living sacrifice to Christ.
- We can and should be holy. It is within our ability and our responsibility as followers of Christ.