What do you think of when you hear the word "holiness"? Do you think of God? Or do you think of a list of rules and restrictions that we have in order to please God? The point of this commentary and reflection article is to show us what the word "holiness" actually means in our lives from a biblical context.
In the passage we looked at, 1 Peter 1:13-15, Paul is writing to a group of exiled believers, but as with every passage in the Bible, they relate to today's society as well.
In the midst of difficulty, we are tempted to give into culture's views and what culture says rather than what God says. Being fully transparent, I have done this in my life. In my high school days, as I mentioned previously, I strayed from God. My heart was not in pursuit of His. I followed what the world said was okay, and I got in with the wrong crowd. Again, being fully transparent, I smoked weed. I am absolutely not proud of it. I'll admit, I was going through hard times, and I absolutely ran to the world rather than God. Growing up helped me realize that God is my source of hope and help, not anything this world could ever offer me.
Peter was writing to these exiles to warn them against this, as well as to warn us today. As I mentioned in the Greater Purpose series, when we accept Christ and believe in Him, we are reconciled. We're a new creation, and the old has passed away.
In 1 Peter 1:13-15, we see that Peter tells us that we should set our hope squarely on the grace that was brought to at the revelation of Christ. We can do this by seeking what God says in His Word, the Bible, in times of distress.
Notice that Paul says in verse 14 that we should not run to our former desires. It is often easier to run to the desires of the flesh rather than to Christ when situations arise because the world often tells us that God is the reason for our suffering when He is not. That's another story for another article.
We should seek to align our lives to Christ's. So often the world tells us the things God deems wrong in His word are actually okay. Rather than succumbing to this false belief and the ways of the world, we should actively pursue what God wants for our lives. We should be seeking to live like Christ, sharing His Gospel to a lost and dying world.
As believers, we are set apart from the world to God. Again, when we accept Christ and the sacrifice He made for us, we are reconciled to Christ, seeking to do His work and share His Gospel. We are made children of God through Christ's sacrifice on the cross.
Notice that Peter talks about holiness in verse 15. Here, holiness refers to being set apart for God through Christ. Holiness cannot be obtained by anything we do on this earth.
Our holiness not only includes our actions, but it should also be motivated by a heart in pursuit of God. Going back to the Greater Purpose series, our words and actions can either lead someone to Christ or turn them away from Him forever. We should be seeking to live in a way that points others to Christ. However, we should also be making sure our heart is in pursuit of Christ.
Our heart stops pursuing Christ when pride enters. As the Proverb says, "Pride comes before the fall." Just like with our words, our heart can be led to do prideful things and seek to show holiness for show, similar to the Pharisees in Jesus's time. There's a Casting Crowns song called "Stained Glass Masquerade" that the youth did as a special when I was in high school. How often do we just put on a facade, hoping that people only see the good we do, not giving any of the credit to God? When I hear the song, it often convicts me and makes me pray and ask God to seek to give Him the glory rather than take that from Him.
Note that similar to the Infinity Stones found in Avengers: Infinity War, as well as its sequel Endgame, which are intended for good, but can be destructive in the wrong hands, the material things of life can be sinful when misused, leading to the destruction of not only our lives but also the lives of others. Basically, what this means is, when using the resources God blesses you with, make sure you are using them in a way that points others to God rather than leads them to destruction.
To sum it all up, we should seek to see holiness as a life-giving boundary which allows us to focus our God-given ambitions on Him rather than as something that restricts us. We don't have to live this boring life. Christ wants us to live joyfully and serve Him with our gifts and talents, but He also gives us boundaries on things to protect us rather than harm us.