Our theme this year is “Take Time to Be Holy.” Later this year, we’ll consider “taking time” for holiness, but first, we need to understand what it means to “be holy.” It’s a definition worthy of more thought and study than we might initially think. “Be holy” means more than just “be good” or even “be pure.” It’s a thread that runs through the Bible, helping us understand how to think about God and live in his presence.
God Is Different
In the book of Revelation, the heavenly victors praise God, singing, “You alone are holy” (Rev. 15:4). Why attribute holiness only to God when other parts of the Bible call us to “be holy” as God is holy (1 Pet. 1:16)? Holiness describes God’s extraordinary uniqueness. By extension, it describes anything he chooses, purifies, and dedicates for himself. “One does not define God. Similarly, the idea of holiness is at once understandable and elusive. Nevertheless, there is no term equal to the fullness inherent in holiness … Holiness is what God is. Holiness also comprises his plan for his people” (Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology).
Exodus and Leviticus explain holiness through the accounts of God’s redemption of a holy, covenant people and his establishment of a holy priesthood to serve before him. At the burning bush, God told Moses not to “come near” but to take off his sandals because God’s presence made that space “holy ground” (Exod. 3:5). Later, Moses led all of Israel to that same mountain. Still, they couldn’t step foot on it because of the Lord’s presence (Exod. 19:11-13). His presence came with thunder, lightning, earthquakes, and a thick cloud. The people needed to know he is the Lord “who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see” (1 Tim. 6:16). One critical application for us is to approach God “with reverence and awe,” offering “acceptable worship” because “our God is a consuming fire” (Heb 12:28–29). Honor his holy name and let the Lord choose how we should worship and serve him (Lev. 10:1-3; 22:31-33).
God Sets Apart
Only the Lord can make us holy. There’s no “holying” yourself up. Notice God’s emphasis in the Old Testament passage Peter draws from: “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exod. 19:4-6).
What grace God has shown us (like Israel), saving us, bringing us to himself, and letting us serve him. Rather than “holier than thou” pride, humbly submit to God who cleanses and sanctifies (Luke 18:9-14; 1 Cor. 6:9-11). “God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord’” (1 Cor. 1:28-30).
Before the Lord descended on Mount Sinai, the people needed to be consecrated and “ready” (Exod. 19:10-11). In the Pixar movie The Incredibles, Helen Parr tells her son, Dash, “The world just wants us to fit in. And to fit in, we just gotta be like everybody else.” When he talks about being “special,” she tells him, “Everyone’s special.” And her frustrated son rightly observes that’s just “another way of saying no one is.” I understand his mom’s point, but those who God has made holy can’t be “like everybody else.” We have a special calling, so we must be “separate” from the world and get used to a different kind of life than everyone else around us (2 Cor. 6:14-7:1).
God chooses those who believe (1 Pet. 2:6-8) and obey (Exod. 19:5) to be “a people for his own possession” creating a new “race” of people (1 Pet. 2:9). God’s people must strive to live with moral purity that reflects his holiness. “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 Pet. 1:14-15).
People like to say, “I’m no saint.” It’s comforting to let ourselves off the hook and tell everyone to set their expectations low. But no Christian should ever say that. Paul referred to the Corinthian Christians as “those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours” (1 Cor. 1:2). Our prayer for everyone is that “the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it” (1 Thes. 5:23-24). He will do it if we respond to his call!
Set Apart to Serve
From an early age, most people seek to discover and define their unique identity, so when we find a Bible passage (like 1 Peter 2:9) that tells us Christians have a special role in the world, it gives us direction and clarity. But recognize why God has called us into a unique role: so that we can serve him and the world around us in a special way! We have a new identity to do a new work, bringing glory and worship to God and shining his light in the world. You’re now a royal priest of God (1 Pet. 2:5,9).
In the next lesson, we’ll study the job of a priest (1 Pet. 2:5).