How to Live a Holy Life
Share
When Moses stood before the burning bush and God spoke to him, God said, “Do not come near here. Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground” (Exodus 3:5). This verse is the first time in the Bible God speaks of His holiness. He later tells His people to be holy, for He is holy. What does God mean when He tells us to be holy? How are we to live a holy life?
What Is the Bible’s Definition of Holy?
Holiness is a hard concept for humanity to grasp because “holy” is defined as “set apartness,” “sacredness,” and “separateness.” We cannot appreciate holiness apart from God making Himself known to us, and we cannot live a holy life unless we know Jesus as our Savior and Lord. We must know the trinitarian God: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
“Holy” as it refers to God means He is perfect in His set-apartness from His creation (yet He wants us to know Him – John 17:3). He is perfect in purity (1 John 3:3), and no darkness abides in Him at all (1 John 1:5).
Reading the reactions of people in the Bible when exposed to God’s holiness is an apt and proper way to get a better grasp of God’s holiness.
Fear/Awe/Wonder
Isaac blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-Aram to take a wife from one of his uncle Laban’s daughters. On the way, Jacob slept at a certain place when nightfall came and had a dream where he saw a ladder ascending to heaven. At the top of the ladder stood the Lord, Who spoke to Him and blessed him. Jacob awoke, “And he was afraid and said, ‘How fearsome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven’” (Genesis 28:17).
Utter acknowledgment of one’s depravity
When Isaiah witnessed the Lord in the temple “high and lifted up,” he thought he was done for. He declared,
“Woe is me, for I am undone!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King,
The LORD of hosts”
(Isaiah 6:5).
(See also Luke 5:8 and Revelation 1:13, 17.)
Worship
We see proper worship of the holy God in Revelation 4:8:
“The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: ‘Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!’"
We see no blasé or neutral ground on which to react to God’s holiness. When confronted by God’s holiness, humankind has no position but of fear, awe, and worship. The Bible tells us, “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11). Jesus said, “He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters” (Matthew 12:30).
Holy as it refers to people
True Christians are the only humans who are able to partake in God’s holiness, one of His communicable (shared) attributes. God created us in His image, yet He is distinct. Our holiness is not like God’s in the sense of us being separate from creation. Instead, He fills us with His Holy Spirit and He sanctifies us toward holiness over the course of our lives (1 John 3:3).
Five times in Scripture, people are told to be holy, for God is holy (Leviticus 11:44-45; 19:2; 20:26; 21:8 and 1 Peter 1:16). In the Old Testament, we find God’s command to be holy in the book of Leviticus. Each of the passages includes the command, “You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.”
In the New Testament, 1 Peter 1:14-16 says, “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, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’” Thus, Peter reaffirms our call to be holy.
Holy as referring to those entities other than humanity
The Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary states, “Those things that God separates to Himself become holy, too. These objects of the Lord’s choosing are set apart from the world. For instance, the holy place in the tabernacle and the temple is hidden from the eyes of the people, and the most holy place (‘holy of holies’) is only entered yearly by the high priest with the blood of atonement and a cloud of incense lest he die (Leviticus 16).”
How Is It Possible For a Sinful Person Be Holy?
With all we are reading about holiness, we wonder how we sinful people can be holy. We have to realize when God commands us to be holy, He gives us the means that will make our holiness possible. We aren’t deemed holy by any act of human will; we become holy because of Christ and His atoning work on the cross and because of the Holy Spirit’s work in us (Romans 15:16).
Nothing common can stand before the Lord. However, since we are justified by Christ’s grace, when God looks at us, He is looking at a blood-soaked saint — a sinner, yes, but a holy one set apart by and for God. We are seen as holy only because of the covering of and justification by the blood of Christ.
In Mark 15:38 (cf. Matthew 27:51), we read about how Jesus secured Christians unfettered, continual prayer and praise access to God. When He died, He defeated death, “And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.” No longer are we kept from the Holy of holies, which is the highest heaven, where God’s throne is (Hebrews 8:2). When we commune with God in prayer, it’s as if we are standing before the throne in the highest heaven.
How Can We Live Holy Lives?
When someone becomes a Christian, they aren’t immediately fully sanctified (made holy). Sanctification is the process of becoming holy; it starts at the moment of conversion and continues until glory (Romans 8:29-30; Hebrews 10:14; 2 Corinthians 3:18). We step into the kingdom of God and are built up more and more into the image of Christ (1 Peter 2:5; 1 Corinthians 6:11).
Psalm 111:10 says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!” In his exposition of this verse, C.H. Spurgeon said, “Practical godliness is the test of wisdom. Men may know and be very orthodox, they may talk and be very eloquent, they may speculate and be very profound; but the best proof of their intelligence must be found in their actually doing the will of the Lord.” Practical godliness is another great way to say, “holy living.”
To live a holy life, we must:
1. Be a Christian
2. Maintain a steady practice of Scripture intake, meditation, memorization, and application
3. Surrender daily to God’s will
4. Ask the Lord in prayer to help us live a holy life
5. Regularly attend a local Bible-believing and teaching church
6. Enjoy fellowship and accountability with spiritually mature Christians
7. Employ excellent stewardship of the resources the Lord provides
8. Be hospitable to our Christian brothers and sisters
9. Model Christlike behaviors and interaction with others
10. Witness to others about Jesus
11. Make disciples
The privilege of being people who are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession” (1 Peter 2:9) brings serious responsibility. The chart of responsibilities of living a holy life can go on for pages, and one look at this short list tells us living a holy life takes a lot of work. But is there any better work? Remember beloved ones, “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence, by which He has granted to us His precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire” (2 Peter 1:3).
Want to know more about living a holy life? Read the section of 2 Peter that follows the passage above. By now you’ve realized living a holy life means emulating Christ and His Apostles. As you read the New Testament, take note of how we have been given everything we need to flourish as holy children of God.
Prayer to Live a Holy Life
Father God,
Thank You for Who You are. Thank You for Jesus, our Savior and Lord, and for His atoning work on the cross. By Your grace, I am saved from Your wrath, for Your glory, and to enact Your will by living a holy life pleasing to You. Thank You for Your Spirit Who indwells me and is the guarantee of what’s to come — full glory.
Help me as I open Your Word to understand it, gain insight from it, be inspired by it, and get wisdom as only You can give. Help me to grow in the grace and knowledge of my Savior and Lord, Jesus, as I strive to live a holy life.
In Jesus’ name I pray,
Amen.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Yana Iskayeva
