I’ve been thinking a lot about holiness over the past few weeks. I’ve had a bit of a mental block about holiness because of the way I’ve always heard it taught.

Usually, a pastor or teacher would use the verse, Be holy as I am holy, then follow it with a list of behavior modifications. I knew I couldn’t do enough good and avoid enough bad to be holy. So I decided to start studying holiness {it’s a hugely broad topic that I probably shouldn’t try to condense into one blog post}, and the following is what I found:

In the Old Testament, Moses told the Israelites {the descendants of Abraham} that God had chosen them as a holy people. They were holy, separate or set apart, simply because God chose them and loved them, which motivated His continual mercy upon them. Obviously, the Israelites’ behavior didn’t make them holy. They were a holy people no matter how many times they let their focus wander from God.

Their sin was not having faith and believing in the goodness of God the way their forefathers had. Remember that even though Abraham repeatedly lied, and slept with someone who wasn’t his wife, God still counted him as righteous {which in the Hebrew usage means blameless conduct} because of his faith. Because the Israelites didn’t believe God the way Abraham had {by faith}, God gave them all kinds of laws, rituals and sacrifices by which to live, by which to enter into His holiness. He included instructions for how the people, through their priest, were to approach His holy presence, which was set apart behind a veil, in the tabernacle.

While they were still a holy and chosen people, the veil brought total separation from God’s glory and His holiness. And because of the laws put in place, any act of disobedience from the people then required blood sacrifice. It was the only way they could be purified and blameless {made holy}. The sacrifice had to be performed by the priest, the man set apart among the holy people.

In Leviticus 11, amidst a lengthy and tedious list of laws about food, God said:

For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy…For I am The Lord, who brought you up from the land of Egypt, to be your God; thus you shall be holy for I am holy. (44-45)

The Hebrew definition for consecrate is to withdraw from profane or ordinary use; to treat as holy; to dedicate.

These are the same verses Peter referenced as found in I Peter 1:

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, ‘You shall be holy for I am holy.’

Just before those verses, Peter reminded the readers to fix their hope completely on the grace that they would receive at the coming or appearance of Jesus. That grace is the same grace in which we put our hope: Jesus’ sacrifice, His own blood…our covering. His was the final sacrifice that tore the veil, revealing the presence and glory of God to all. His was the sacrifice that allows all mankind to enter the Holy of Holies, without a priest, to receive the presence of Holy Spirit, to be made holy as He is holy.

I’ve wondered how to be holy. As much I wanted to be holy, I knew there was nothing I could do to achieve holiness. I found out the key to holiness is in one little verb: be. Be is defined this way: to exist or live; to take place; to occupy a place or position; to continue or remain as before; to belong.

I am made holy simply because I believe by faith and take my place in His presence, occupying and remaining in my position of grace. In essence, I choose to be loved, to be chosen, to be given the gift of grace.

The veil being torn was a game changer. It removed any need for keeping the law or sacrifice in order to be purified, to be holy. It revealed that the covenant of grace {the same gift of righteousness Abraham had been given} was God’s plan all along.

Sadly, many Christians act as the veil, guarding the entrance to the presence of the Holy of Holies. We become barriers with our behavior plans, with our sin management programs, with our insistence on good deeds. Meanwhile, others sit on the outside, as if the veil is in place and the presence of God is unapproachable, believing there’s something they must do to enter into His holiness. In reality, entrance to the Holy of Holies is a free for all. We should be running to His presence, living in the grace of God…that which makes us holy.

When we are living by faith in grace, we are conformed and transformed into obedient, pure and blameless people. We are sacred…no longer ordinary…no longer ignorant…no longer living conformed to our lusts.

So when we read where Peter said Be holy in all your behavior, we know this is not something we can do for ourselves, not something which we have to try to achieve. We simply must believe, remaining in His presence in a position of faith, and our behavior {which in the Greek means conversation} will be holy.

Holiness {the state of being pure and blameless} is simply a result of faith in the grace of God.