Bible Reading: 1 Peter 1:13-25
“But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written ‘Be you holy, because I am holy’” [1 Peter 1:15-16]
We begin a series of devotionals on holiness and purity with God’s command that we are to be holy as he is holy. The best place to begin with the subject of holiness is with the Holy One – God Himself. The heavenly creatures around His throne cry “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of His glory” [Isaiah 6:3]. The Psalmist declares, “The Lord our God is holy!” [Psalm 99:3,6]. He is our standard and not the much lower standard of comparing ourselves with other people.
God’s holiness is to be totally separated from sin. His holiness is such that He hates sin. He so hates sin that when Jesus became sin for us the Father turned His face away, and Jesus cried out from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me” [Matthew 27:46]. The Father could not look on sin. Such is His holiness, and He demands that we too be holy, deal with sin and have that same holy hatred of sin.
Wherever God Spirit has moved powerfully in revival, one of the first evidences of His presence is that people are convicted of sin. If we are going to be holy, then we need to have the same attitude to sin that God has. In the early church one of the key questions asked of the baptismal candidates was whether or not they had turned from sin, renounced the works of darkness and received Christ.
Questions:
- We are to be holy as God is holy. What do you understand to be the meaning of God being Holy?
- Would you say that in your life there is freedom from sin and a desire to constantly be pleasing to God?
These devotionals have been shared here with the permission of Esther Ross-Watson, in loving memory of our Pastor, mentor and friend, Michael Ross-Watson (1946-2017).
