Scripture: 1 Peter 1:15-16 ESV – “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.””
Free will lives in the tension between wisdom and personal gratification. The stewardship of it shouldn’t be left to the inner sanctum of your flesh. Whether you are nursing wounds from battle or celebrating trophies from success, neither makes for a good guide to free will. In other words, how you feel should not govern your fruit. It’s surrender to a Holy God that must have stewardship of your heart.
Holy living isn’t transactional. It doesn’t simply consist of dos and don’ts, followed by approval or disapproval depending on the decisions you make.
It’s human nature to think that holiness would be easier if we had a clear-cut checklist of what is right and what is wrong. Some are obvious: don’t kill, don’t lie, don’t be unfaithful to your spouse, and don’t worship anything or anyone besides the Lord your God. Then there are questions like: Is it okay to drink alcohol or gamble? What is the proper view of sexuality?
Don’t misunderstand— the Bible gives clear guidance on all of that. But there is always tension between what we think we can get away with and when something has gone too far. Can that really be what the Christian life boils down to? Not at all.
A common misconception is that holiness is about “not doing” and “staying away.” Holiness is about pursuing God. Think about where holiness comes from. It comes from God, and we receive it through His Son, Jesus.
Is God holy because He doesn’t do evil things? No. God doesn’t practice disciplines to achieve levels of holiness. That would be like saying water gets wet to avoid staying dry or fire gets hot so it doesn’t catch cold. God can’t strive for what He already is, and He isn’t holy because of what He avoids. God is holy because of who He is.
Holiness isn’t the absence of evil; it’s the presence of God. Evil can’t stand in His presence, and when His presence is in you, the enemy can’t have you. The things you do that hurt yourself and others are not the pathway to unholiness; they are the fruit of it.
It says in 1 Corinthians 10:23, “‘All things are lawful,’ but not all things are helpful. ‘All things are lawful,’ but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.” Another way of putting it is: just because something is permissible doesn’t mean it’s beneficial. And just because it doesn’t hurt you doesn’t mean it edifies your neighbor. This is a great description of how holiness cannot be whittled down to a legalistic policy manual. It requires the counsel of the Holy Spirit. It’s worked out in real time from circumstance to circumstance in a relational way. Not a transactional way
We like to see life, in a spiritual sense, through the lens of what we are allowed to do. But holiness is about pursuing God in all you do, not pursuing righteousness by what you do. Jeremiah 29:13 says, “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”
Anytime you see anything in Scripture about living a holy life, it is always centered around God as the source of it. It’s understandable to think the best path to holiness is by doing holy things. That’s what we do—we try to complicate what is not complicated. But you can’t seek holiness by emulating holiness. Holiness is the sweet and fulfilling result of knowing the One who is holy.
Imagine thinking of what you could do today to bless the heart of someone close to you—maybe your spouse, a parent, or a close friend. Would it bless them if you simply avoided doing all the things that annoy them? That’s nice, and they would probably appreciate your effort. But is the way to their heart really found in avoiding the things that rub them the wrong way?
Men, try searching for the twinkle in your wife’s eye after pointing out that a whole day has gone by and you haven’t left a dirty dish in the sink or a wet towel on the floor. You probably will get a sarcastic response like, “I don’t know what I did to deserve such a thoughtful husband.”
In all seriousness, that is not the way to a person’s heart. When you love someone and want a relationship built on authentic and passionate connectedness, you pursue them. You desire to spend more and more time with them. You make decisions to say no to other people and things so you can say yes to the one you love. A love like that naturally produces a continued desire to nurture your relationship with them and to avoid the things that hurt them.
Similarly, you won’t find God’s heart by avoiding what grieves Him. You will avoid what grieves God by seeking and finding Him. You cannot be righteous by trying to emulate what only comes from Him. True holiness is produced from the heart of God, not outside of it, and it’s only His will that can set you free from your will.
Read today’s passage again: “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” That sums it up perfectly!
Reflection Questions:
Have you been striving for holiness as a way of knowing the Holy One? Or, have you been seeking the Holy One as the pathway to holiness? Ask God to abide in you today and transform your thinking about holy living. What are you hearing from God about the steps you need to take to abide in Him?
What things are getting in the way of your pursuit of God?
Ask God to show you if there is anything in your life that may be permissible but not necessarily beneficial. Are there things you are doing or ways you speak that could be a detriment to the work of God in those around you? Ask God to help you make the right shifts.