1 Peter 1 - CALLED TO BE HOLY

- The word "holy" appears in the Bible over 600 times.

- Holiness is not moral purity but it is the idea of “apartness.” 

- The Hebrew word for "holy" literally means "separate" or "set apart".

God is separate, different from His creation.  His love is holy, His justice is holy.

Instead of building a wall, God calls us to come to Him and share His apartness. He says to us, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

3 STEPS TO HOLINESS

Step 1. Recognize that you can’t make yourself holy

Romans 3:23 

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Ecclesiastes 7:20

Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins.

1 John 1:8

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

Step 2. Obey the words of God

1 Peter 1:14 , 22-23

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 

22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, 23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;

Step 3. Let holiness possess you

Ephesians 4:24

24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Hebrews 12:10

10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness.

Hebrews 4:16

16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

- The call to be holy is a 24/7 call.
- It is a call in which a true Christian aspires to do all the days God gives us.
- It is not a one-time event.

Let us pray, 

Heavenly Father, we recognize that You are Holy and set apart from your creation. We praise you and thank you for not building a wall from us rather calling us to be part of your apartness. You have called us to be like You. Now that we know that we can be made holy as your word said, let us be humble enough to recognize our sinful nature, obey your words, and let your Holiness consume us as we come boldly to you. You are our consuming fire that when we draw closer to you, light will be shared amongst us and we will be refined as gold. Let your words in 1 Peter 1:15-16 come to pass in our lives. In Jesus' mighty name we pray, AMEN!