Holiness is an attribute of God that he desires that we emulate.  In Leviticus 11:44 “I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy.”   We can only do this through His power.  In the Old Testament, Moses was instructed by God on Mt. Sinai to have the Israelites observe the Sabbaths and worship Him regularly.  In Exodus 31:13 God tells Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy.”   God alone has the power to make us holy.  During Old Testament times they performed sacrifices and brought offerings that all pointed to the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus.  Jesus was the great High Priest and brought the need for sacrifices to an end.  Hebrew 7:27 ^“Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.”   Our pathway to righteous and holy living is through Jesus alone.

So how does one ‘be holy’?  When we believe in Jesus we need to continually seek His forgiveness for the sins we commit daily.  1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”   Coming to God often to seek His cleansing is very important.  Then we need to fill ourselves and our thoughts with good things.  Philippians 4:8 “ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”   We need to stay in God’s Word, Psalm 119:9 and 11  “How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word.”   “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”   Fellowship with believers, worship and serving others are all ways to immerse oneself in activities that point towards personal holiness in Jesus.  Lastly, 1 Thessalonians 5:22 admonishes us “ Abstain from every form of evil.”   

Being holy is a life-time growing process that can only be achieved through faith in Jesus.  It is not an option as God commands us “be holy because I am holy.”  We can take heart in Jesus’ words, “But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26

Striving to be more and more like Jesus,

Linda