THE PURSUIT OF HOLINESS | Northstar Church

“So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.” – 1 Peter 1:14-16.

The Message paraphrases 1 Peter 1:14-16 like this: “…let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God’s life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, “I am holy; you be holy.” From Genesis to Revelation, scripture is filled with verses on the holiness of God. Exodus 15:11 asks, “Who is like you among the gods, O Lord— glorious in holiness, awesome in splendor, performing great wonders?” And 1 Samuel 2:2 declares, “No one is holy like the Lord! There is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.”

At its essence, holiness is nothing less than conformity to the character of God. Many believe that holiness is a bridge too far, is out of our reach, and is unrealistic. Thinking of ourselves as holy people is a little intimidating. Holiness is a pretty tall order. When The Bible tells us in 1 Peter 1:15 to “be holy,” it is a goal rather than a destination. It is something to strive for. God knows we can’t be perfect, but His desire for us is to grow to become more like His Son, Jesus, as time passes and as we mature in our faith.

Fortunately, holiness is not just based on our efforts at being good. Holiness is who we are based on our relationship with Jesus Christ. We have been made holy… not because we follow a bunch of rules of things to do and not to do. This amazing work of God does not stop when I accept Jesus as my personal Savior. I’m not left alone to be holy from this point forward. Jesus is working through the Holy Spirit to make me holy. And what God starts, He will finish.“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” (Philippians 1:6). God is not leading us to an unattainable level of perfection. Our lack of perfection should merely lead us to strive to meet God’s goal for us continually

Of all the goals we have for our life, the most important is to pursue holiness because it is God’s goal for our life. As Oswald Chambers said, “God has only one intended destiny for mankind—holiness. His only goal is to produce saints. God is not some eternal blessing-machine for people to use, and He did not come to save us out of pity—He came to save us because He created us to be holy.”

Discussion Questions:

Does living a holy and pure life seem impossible?
What is the most challenging part of living a holy life?
What can we do this week to live a more holy life?