Walking in Holiness

But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:15-16)

We examined in last month’s blog, Walking in Righteousness, that when God calls believers into the family of God through faith in Jesus Christ, we are justified, declared righteous, by God. In this month’s blog, we will see that believers are not only “declared righteous” by God, but we are also “set apart” to God and live the rest of our lives “walking in holiness.”

God’s gracious act and ongoing spiritual progress in the believer’s life is known as sanctification. The word sanctification comes from the Greek root word, hagios, which means “holy” or “set apart.” The related Greek noun, hagiosmos, is translated in English to sanctification or holiness.

Therefore, when a believer comes to faith in Christ and begins “walking with the Lord (even though the new believer’s spiritual steps may be baby steps and stumbling),” he or she also begins “walking in holiness.” Why? Because the Bible says God, who is perfectly holy, has “set apart” every believer to Himself to “be holy” (1 Pet. 1:15-16).

How are we to “be holy”? When a Christian is born again, we are set apart by God to Himself “as holy,” then for the rest of our lives we are called by God to “be holy” by obeying the truth of God’s Word guided by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. The Holy Spirit enlightens our mind and gives us the desire to obey God’s Word and live holy and pleasing to God (Rom. 12:1-2). We are not perfect, and never will be, but we are to grow in holiness.

From the moment of salvation, all believers begin “walking in holiness” as we are sanctified (set apart) to be conformed to the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29). Through saving faith in Christ, believers become a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). However, with this new life in Christ, there is still the problem of sin in our lives. God’s gracious act of sanctification helps the believer confront sin, confess sin, repent from sin, and change to be more like Christ.

When we receive Christ as Lord and Savior by believing the gospel (1 Cor. 15:1), God breaks the ruling power of sin that entangles us, and we are able to repent and fight against sin. By God’s grace, we are no longer slaves to sin and can defeat temptation and sin in our lives with the help of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Rom. 6:11-14).

As a Christian, you may not even realize the Holy Spirit is guiding you, but He is changing you from the inside out. We don’t just sit on the couch and say, “Do it to me, God!” No, God has given you “a new heart and put a new spirit within you” (Ezek. 36:26). The Holy Spirit resides in you and convicts, comforts, and guides you to do the things of God through reading, understanding, and obeying God’s Word (2 Tim. 3:16-17). God changes lives! Every day throughout the world, unbelieving sinners believe the gospel of Jesus Christ and begin a new life walking in holiness.

God does not call Christians to be perfect. God calls us to be holy – set apart from this sinful world to Him. “He who has called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:15-16)