Even in our pain, we can live with hope as citizens of a future heavenly reality. Living as strangers here on earth hammers home the idea that our earthly lives with all their challenges and struggles are only temporary. This process is the Holy Spirit’s work of sanctification: “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18).Īs part of his teaching on cultivating holiness, Peter instructs believers to “live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear” (1 Peter 1:17). When our inner thought life, our purpose, and our character are changed into the image of Christ, our outward selves and outworking behavior will alter naturally. This change of behavior begins on the inside with our attitude and mind-set.
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When we “do not conform to the evil desires” (NIV) we had before we came to know Christ, we live in response to God’s holiness, adopting His behavior as our pattern. “You must live as God’s obedient children,” says Peter, “Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires” (1 Peter 1:14, NLT). But if we live with total trust that Jesus Christ will return to accomplish all that He started in us (Philippians 1:6), it will make a significant difference in how we live. If we focus only on the short-term-our current situation-we run the risk of straying off course. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12–14, CSB). Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. Paul expresses it like this: “Not that I have already reached the goal or am already perfect, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. This mental discipline requires a concentrated focus on trusting in the Lord to get us to our final destination, where we will experience the fullness of God’s grace in Jesus Christ. We are to exercise self-control and stay alert both mentally and spiritually. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world” (1 Peter 1:13, NLT). First, he says to discipline our minds: “So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control.
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Peter also lays out how we can live in the light of God’s command to be holy as He is holy. Included is the charge to “love your neighbor as yourself. The commands continue, covering every aspect of spiritual, moral, family, work, and community life. They were to honor their parents, keep the Sabbath, not practice idolatry, worship and offer sacrifices properly according to God’s instructions, provide for the poor, not steal, cheat, seek revenge, and not follow pagan customs and rituals.
#Be ye holy for i am holy how to#
In Leviticus 19:1–37, God applies the Ten Commandments to various areas of life, spelling out in great detail for the Israelites how to be holy as He is holy. Both passages (Leviticus 19:2 and 1 Peter 1:16) and their surrounding verses stress that those who wish to replicate God’s holiness must reflect His holy nature in their relationships with other people and their sincere love for fellow believers. The Bible reveals that God’s holiness of character is a model for believers’ lives and our shared communion with others. So how can we set ourselves apart to reflect God’s holiness in the way we live? God is morally and ethically perfect by nature. But, for God, holiness is not a mere action or a set of behaviors. Humans generally think of holiness as obeying God’s law.
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Yet He calls His people to be holy as He is holy. In Hebrew, the words translated “holy” and “holiness” have to do with being “set apart,” “separate,” “different,” or “dedicated.” The absolute moral purity of God’s character sets Him apart, making Him different from every other living creature. Both the Old and the New Testament stress the importance of cultivating personal holiness in the life of every believer: “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy’” (1 Peter 1:15–16). Through Moses, God spoke to the people, saying, “Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy” (Leviticus 19:2). Perhaps better than any other chapter in the Bible, Leviticus 19 explains what it meant for Israel to live as a holy nation.