Like obedient children, do not comply with the evil urges you used to follow in your ignorance, but, like the Holy One who called you, become holy yourselves in all of your conduct, for it is written, “You shall be holy, because I am holy.” [1 Peter 1:14-16, NET Bible] Is it possible for us to be as holy as God? The obvious answer is no. then what is the Apostle Peter saying? What Peter is saying is that we should be holy, not in an attempt to be as holy as God, but to be holy BECAUSE God is holy. This is a very clear distinction that sometimes gets a little garbles and confusing among the various Bible translations. The idea that Peter is expressing isn’t something new. It is an Old Testament concept, taken from the pages of Leviticus. Leviticus 11:44-45 tells us, “I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves about on the ground. I am the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy,” (TNIV). Again, in Leviticus 19:2 we read, “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy,” (TNIV). This really is all about repentance. When we came to Christ, and repented of our sins, the idea is that we changed the direction of the way we were going in our old lives and started in the direction of our new lives toward God. In the process we should have left behind our sinful ways and sinful habits, adopting instead a more “holy” way of life. That is what God was talking about in Leviticus and what the Apostle Peter is talking about here. This is a very practical, everyday issue. We have been brought up out of Egypt (our old sinful lives) to live lives that are holy and pleasing to God. How could we even consider doing any less?
Posted on: Wed, 24 Dec 2014 00:00:00 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015