Being holy

Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy (Leviticus 11:45).

In a recent survey, 21% of Americans said that they regarded themselves as ‘holy.’ This survey also revealed that 73% of Americans believe that a person can become holy regardless of his or her past, while half of those surveyed said they knew someone whom they regarded as holy. The study went on to ask those polled to define what ‘holy’ is. The majority admitted they didn’t have a working definition; some suggested that holiness is "being Christ-like" or "making faith your top priority."

What is holiness? The Bible tells us that God is holy, and that God expects His followers to be holy as well. Several times in Scripture, the words "holy" and "blameless" are used in combination; this shows us that to be holy is to be completely innocent of wrongdoing. Holiness is a state of unimpeachable perfection. To be holy is to be without sin.

Are you holy, as God defines holiness? Is your life completely pure, untainted by sin? Scripture says, all have sinned; all fall short of God's glorious standard (Romans 3:23). Look back over your life all the way to childhood; can you in all honesty claim that you have never spoken an angry word you later regretted? Have you never even once insisted on getting your own way at the expense of someone else? No, the Bible has the right of it—we are all sinners, habitual offenders against God’s demand for holy living. And yet consider the words of St. Paul; in 1st Timothy 1:15 he says that he is the worst of sinners, yet in 1st Thessalonians 2:10 he writes: You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were, among you who believed. How can Paul admit to being a terrible sinner and yet at the same time speak of himself as holy and blameless?

Holiness only comes through Jesus. Hebrews 7:25-26 says He is able, once and forever, to save everyone who comes to God through Him. He lives forever to plead with God on their behalf. He is the kind of high priest we need because He is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. Jesus, who is holy and blameless, shares these attributes with us, as we read in Ephesians chapter five: Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy. Christ sacrificed His life on the cross for us, and the result is that Paul can say May He strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes (1 Thessalonians 3:13). It is only by the gift of Jesus that we can appear holy in God’s sight.