Be Holy: A Command With Eternal Significance

Have we become indifferent to our sin and apathetic to the notion of personal holiness? Scripture never tells us to make peace with our sin, nor does it encourage us to embrace the inevitability of sin in our lives. God’s word doesn’t persuade us to give up and simply accept our sinfulness as an intrinsic part of who we are. Instead, the scriptures say that “by the Spirit” we are to "put to death the deeds of the body” (Romans 8:13). Sin should never be treated as a neutral foe, and certainly not as a friend. Sin is our enemy! Therefore, we are encouraged, throughout scripture, to wage war against the sin that remains in our lives. Holiness is not a recommendation, it's a command; a command with eternal significance (1 Pet. 1:15).

Some Thoughts on Holiness & Integrity

Question: "O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill?" (Psalm 15:1)

Answer: "He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart..." (Psalm 15:2)

To many people, even some inside the church, talk like David's from Psalm 15 sounds legalistic and oppressive. However, for those who love God and therefore hate sin, it shouldn't. Christians are called, throughout scripture, to be holy as He is holy. Holiness is our pursuit. Holiness is our aim. It's what we're being saved for. God is setting us apart, for his glory, to be used for his holy purposes.

Pastor and author Sam Storms makes the following statement, 

"Obedience to the righteous commands of God is easy for those whose hearts have been gripped by grace and whose lives are empowered by grace (Dt. 30:11; Mt. 11:29-30; 1 Jn. 5:3)...David [in Psalm 15] is not talking about how to get saved. Rather, he is describing what it is to be saved. These moral declarations are not conditions for acceptance with God. They are the consequence of it. Thus, David is not talking about requirements for entrance into the kingdom on the part of those outside, but about enjoyment of the King on the part of those on the inside.

In His article, The Essence of Integrity, Storm continues:

Of what, then, does integrity consist? I've listed below what I regard as the ten foundational characteristics of a person with integrity. There may well be more than ten, but I cannot conceive of any less than ten.

1. A person of integrity fulfills his/her promises. Being true to one's word, especially when doing so is costly (in terms of money, convenience, physical welfare, etc.) is a core characteristic of integrity.

2. A person of integrity speaks the truth, is honest, and does not lie.

3. A person of integrity is a person of sincerity. That is to say, a person of integrity hates hypocrisy.

4. A person of integrity manifests a wholeness of character, including kindness, compassion, mercy, and gentleness.

5. A person of integrity is committed to the pursuit and maintenance of justice and fairness.

6. A person of integrity loves as, when, and what God loves.

7. A person of integrity is humble. He/she shuns pride and haughtiness.

8. A person of integrity is law-abiding. He/she plays by the rules, both in the Bible and the law of the land.

9. A person of integrity is fundamentally altruistic. That is to say, they are committed not simply to laws and rules but to people.

10. A person of integrity manifests a high degree of consistency. That is to say, he/she is not always changing the principles on the basis of which they live, unless compelled to do so by the Bible or rational persuasion.

What God Requires

The demand in Romans 8:13 is not sinlessness but mortal combat with sin. This is utterly essential in the Christian life. Otherwise we give no evidence that the flesh has been crucified. And if the flesh has not been crucified we do not belong to Christ (Galatians 5:24). The stakes in this battle are very high. We are not playing war games. The outcome is heaven or hell.

How then do dead people "put to death the (sinful) deeds of the body"? We have answered, "By faith!" But just what does this mean? How do you fight sin with faith?

Suppose I am tempted to lust. Some sexual image pops into my brain and beckons me to pursue it. The way this temptation gets its power is by persuading me to believe that I will be happier if I follow it. The power of all temptation is the prospect that it will make me happier. No one sins out of a sense of duty, when what they really want is to do right.

So what should I do? Some people would say, "Remember God's command to be holy (1 Peter 1:16) and exercise your will to obey because he is God!" But something crucial is missing from this advice, namely, FAITH. A lot of people strive for moral improvement who cannot say, "The life I live I live BY FAITH" (Galatians 2:20). A lot of people try to love who don't realize that, "What counts is FAITH working through love" (Galatians 5:6).

The fight against lust (or greed or fear or any other temptation) is a fight of faith. Otherwise the result is legalism.

John Piper - How Dead People Do Battle with Sin

Sanctification

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. 

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 (ESV)

Sanctification, literally means "to set apart" for special use or purpose, that is, to make it holy or sacred. Therefore, sanctification refers to the state or process of being set apart, i.e. made holy. This is a work of the Holy Spirit in the life of a Christian. Paul, in the passage above, is reminding the church of Thessalonica that God is purifying for himself a people. That Jesus is making for himself a holy and purified bride.