14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, 15 but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; 16 because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
Holiness is perhaps the most important attribute of God. In Be Holy, a commentary on the book of Leviticus, Warren W. Wiersbe wrote, “Contrary to what you may hear today in some sermons and popular religious songs, the emphasis in the Bible is on the holiness of God and not on the love of God.” So if holiness is so important, what does it mean to be holy?
In his commentary on Proverbs, Wiersbe went on to write that “God is ‘the Holy One’; the word translated ‘holy’ means ‘utterly different, wholly other.’ … But we must not think of God’s holiness simply as the absence of defilement, like a sterilized surgical instrument. Nor is God’s holiness an inert, negative attribute. It’s something positive and active, His perfect nature accomplishing His perfect will. It’s like the “sea of glass mingled with fire” that John saw before the throne of God in heaven (Rev. 15:2).”
With that in mind, I think there are two natural questions that arise:
1) Why should we strive for holiness?
I think there are at least three reasons, two of which are directly mentioned in these verses. Firstly, Peter refers to as “obedient children”. The fact that we are to be obedient means that one reason we should seek to be holy is that we are commanded to be holy. This is the spiritual equivalent to “Because I’m the parent and I said so!” God commanded us to be holy, and it is in our best interest to be holy, so we should just obey and seek to be holy. Another aspect of our standing as children is that we should naturally grow into being more like our Father. Whether it be physical features, temperaments, or character strengths and weaknesses, children gradually begin to look like their parents. Since we are children of a holy Father, we should look more and more like him every day, and he looks “holy”.
Another reason we should strive for holiness is found in the passage where God originally said, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” In Leviticus 11:45, God told the people of Israel, “‘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.’” The Israelites were to be holy because God had delivered them from bondage in Egypt. Likewise, God has delivered us from the bondage of sin. We should long for holiness, therefore, out of love, gratefulness, and devotion to the one who has saved us.
2) What does being holy look like for me?
Again, Peter gives a partial answer to this question: “do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance.” Like God is separate form sin, we should be as well. Part of being “obedient children” of God is to stop being obedient to the sin and lust and idols that we once worshipped. But just as God’s holiness is not just defined by the absence of sin, our holiness isn’t either. There is a positive aspect to it, along with the negative aspect. I think this is what Paul was talking about in Romans 12:1-2: “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” Holiness is not just trying to avoid sin. It is actively offering ourselves as a sacrifice to God. In fact, our word “sacrifice” is related to the Latin word sacer, which means “holy”.
Another aspect to holiness is proclaiming God’s holiness, grace, and mercy to the world. Peter goes on in this epistle to write, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” We, who were once not part of God’s chosen, have now been chosen and set apart in order to proclaim God’s excellencies.
Just as holiness is perhaps the most important attributes of God, it is also to be one of the defining characteristics of those who are called by him. As Wiersbe wrote in Be Determined, “Separation without devotion to the Lord becomes isolation, but devotion without separation is hypocrisy.”
Lord, may we be a people worthy of the calling to which we’ve been called. May you bring us to a better knowledge and realization of your holiness, and may that knowledge stir up a sense of awe, devotion, and obedience to strive for holiness ourselves. Help us to rely on you to keep us separate from sin and the temptations of the world. Give us also the courage to proclaim your excellencies, your holiness, grace, and mercy, to a world that does not know you. Amen.