“But as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all conversation, for it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy’” (1 Peter 1:15-16).
What does “Be Holy” mean?
What does “holy” mean in 1 Peter 1:15-16? The word translated “holy” means sacred, morally blameless, consecrated, holy (see Strong’s G40 for more). God is looking for people consecrated or set apart for His use. And He knows who these saints should be because He has chosen us (Ephesians 1:4) and called us to be holy for His purpose (2 Timothy 1:9).
“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. » (Ephesians 1:4).
“He has saved us and called us to holy living, not because of anything we have done, but because of his own purpose and grace. » (2 Timothy 1:9).
The King James Version of 1 Peter 1:15 uses the word “conversation.” The word translated “conversation” means behavior. The verse says that our way of life or behavior should reflect holiness because God is holy.
Christian women should stand out and stand out. Our lifestyles must be distinct from those of unbelievers and correspond to our profession of faith. But it’s not easy, is it? In an age where anything goes, Christian women constantly face the temptation to live in a way that is not pleasing to God. Although ungodly living is encouraged, accepted and expected in today’s world, God’s Word remains a beacon of hope, life and instruction for Christian women.
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Our challenges for living holy
A Christian woman only has to turn on the television to see programs encouraging adultery, fornication, abortion, lying, cheating, theft, foul language, and drug and alcohol abuse. Add our access to the Internet to the equation, and our eyes and ears are bombarded from all sides by ungodly activities.
We laugh with sinful videos, and share them so others can laugh with us. Even many of the celebrities and clergy we follow on social media exemplify anything but a holy lifestyle.
Instead of renouncing the hidden things of darkness (2 Corinthians 4:2), we accept and affirm them. We call evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20). It is time for the Church to be set apart, which is what God intended. It is time for us to be holy because God is holy.
Our vocation:
Just because the world says ungodly living is okay doesn’t mean the Lord says it is okay. The Lord expects us to be holy because He is holy and dwells in us.
Jesus Christ is the perfect example of someone who walked in holiness. If we look at how he lived and exemplified holiness, we see a life committed to honoring God, showing love, honoring his parents, serving others, and keeping his body holy.
Let’s look at 6 ways we can “be holy” just as Jesus was holy and as we are called to be.
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1. Honor God
If we want to be holy, we must honor and revere God. Without respect for the Father, we will not be able to live holy. Christian women should have a reverential fear of God, submit to the Lord, and desire to please Him. If we want to walk holy, we must honor God by seeking His face in prayer and the study of His Word.
A relationship with the Father is imperative for those who want to be saints. Since we are his children and members of his family, we should be like him. We should follow in his footsteps. If we are not part of his family – if we are not his children, we cannot live holy.
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2. Show your love
God is love (1 John 4:8). Love is the foundation on which everything else is built. 1 Corinthians 13:1 teaches that without love, the work we do is not profitable for us. Thus, love is essential to holy living. The love that flows from Christians must be pure, without hypocrisy, a healing balm that soothes the tired, angry and exhausted soul. Holy men and women should have forgiving hearts, full of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience and tolerance (Colossians 3:12-13).
Those who are holy and walk honestly before the Lord must guard against harboring unforgiveness, anger, and resentment in their hearts. We should be quick to forgive and spread the love of Christ wherever we go. If we want to be holy as He is holy, that means we must show love and forgive even when the recipient does not deserve our love or forgiveness. Sometimes we will have to love others first, even if we don’t want or want to love them (see 1 John 4:19).
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3. Honor parents
Jesus Christ was the Word of God incarnate (John 1:14), and even He honored His parents by continuing “to be subject to them” (Luke 2:51). Christians should honor their parents as much as possible, without following any immoral, illegal, or sinful behavior they may engage in.
- Honoring our parents means loving them and helping them as much as we can.
- To honor our parents is to bear witness to them Jesus Christ and remembering that we would not be on earth without our parents.
Loving our parents and forgiving them, despite their faults and shortcomings, is a great way to be holy because God is holy.
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4. Serve others
Matthew 5:16 tells us: “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Being holy glorifies the father. Jesus Christ imitated the Father by serving others. And since Jesus served people, we must also serve them.
- We can serve anyone by using our gifts, talents, and resources to share the good news of the gospel of Jesus, feed the hungry, and provide shelter to the homeless.
- We can serve our fellow believers by edifying, exhorting, and comforting them (see 1 Corinthians 14:3) throughout their Christian journey.
- We serve the Lord by obeying His Word and glorifying Him on earth.
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5. Abstain from sin
Our bodies are the temples of God (1 Corinthians 6:19). We must keep our temples holy because the Spirit of God dwells in our temples. Christian women should dress modestly, so as not to draw attention to themselves. We want to draw people to God, not to ourselves. Even if the world tells us otherwise, Christians must rely on the truth of God’s Word and guard against the lusts of the world.
Romans 12:1 teaches us to offer our “bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God,” because this constitutes our reasonable service.
The Bible also tells us to flee fornication and “avoid fornication” (1 Corinthians 7:2). An interesting point about sin is that the Bible tells us to avoid the very appearance of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22). So, not only are we to avoid sin, but we are called to holiness to avoid the appearance of evil.
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6. Market conduct
Those who desire to live holy will reflect that desire in their conduct wherever they go (see 2 Peter 3:11). Therefore, being holy includes our conduct or behavior in the places we visit most frequently: stores and our work.
Christian women should not engage in worldly behavior in the workplace. We must respect our managers and colleagues. We must also show respect to those in the market. We should not be seen in stores using foul or foul language with cashiers or other customers, or engaging in sinful behavior (such as stealing). Christian women should remember that our lives are epistles read every day by the people around us (2 Corinthians 3:2-3).
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Equipped to be holy
“And that ye put on the new man, which after God was created in righteousness and true holiness,» (Ephesians 4:24).
Being holy is not natural, and it is not something we can do in our own strength. Walking in holiness requires the Holy Spirit to be received as we become “new creations.” When we accept the Lord Jesus Christ in our hearts we become new creatures (2 Corinthians 5:17). Holiness is only possible when we are clothed with the new self and live as the new creatures God has ordained us to be. Although holiness does not come naturally to us, the Scriptures command us to follow or pursue holiness.
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Training to be holy
We should look for opportunities to be holy. Being holy can mean:
- Not listening to the same music as our family and friends or watching the same television programs.
- Holiness may involve changing the way we dress, think, or respond to temptations.
- Most certainly, holiness means being set apart for the Master’s use.
To walk in true holiness means to be like our Father.
Aretha Grant serves her local church as a Bible teacher and elder. She loves to write and is the author of Overcomer: 25 keys to walking victoriously. Aretha resides in Hagerstown, Maryland with her husband and two youngest children. You can read Aretha’s blog at www.arethagrant.com.
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Originally published on Thursday October 4, 2018.
