"Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord." (Heb 12:14, NLT) One of the fundamental belief and generally accepted notion of christianity is the fact that God expects us to be holy. No one has ever argued that. It is almost a rule of thumb. It is a cliche, and a requisite. In Leviticus 20:7, God said "be ye holy for I am holy". It is a command, one that many fail to keep. In this lesson, we shall look at what holiness is and how to attain it. What does the scriptures say about holiness and how can one become holy..
Many people are a little afraid of the word "holy" because they feel they could never be holy no matter how hard they tried. And they are right! This is because they feel that holiness implies a lot of restrictions - rules about what you can't do as a christian. Yet, holiness is far more than that. It is a positive active quality rooted in God's character. He wants people to be holy just as He is.
What does a person have to do to be considered holy? That is usually the question. What can I do, What can't I do... These are the wrong questions to ask when it comes to holiness. These are not the way to go about holiness. If we try to become holy by what we do or don't, we will be frustrated and discouraged because we can't. Holiness isn't just a matter of rules and regulations and right actions. It is an attitude and an aspect of character that comes from God and becomes part of our inner motives. Granted, it affects our actions. But we are not holy because of what we do, rather we do what we do because we are holy. Let me rephrase. We are not holy because we don't tell lies or fight or fornicate, etc.. No, we don't do those things because we are holy. In oher words, the actions do not produce holiness, rather holines gives rise to the actions. Until we understand this we will never embrace God's precious goft of holiness.
What then is holiness? Holiness refers to a dedication to God and commitment to doing His will. When we accept Jesus into our life, we make a promise to dedicate our lives to God. When we make that promise, God gives us a garment of holiness (Zech 3:1-10). It is at that point that we become holy. Holiness is the gift God gives us when we promise to dedicate our lives to Him. It is His way of showing that He has accepted our dedication. It is His way of sanctifying us. That gift of holiness is what enables us to live a holy life - one that is totally committed to pleasing God. One that is free from sin. When we focus on God as our sole desire and object of affection, He will direct our motives to be pure and holy.