“As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: but as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy” (1 Peter 1: 14-16 KJV).
What is holiness? What does it mean to be holy? How does one become holy? How does one know when they are holy? These questions are answered in God’s Holy Word the Bible.
The lost are not holy. Not positionally, or practically because they have not been saved and have no new nature, tendency, or disposition for holiness. The saved are holy positionally because they are in Christ and have His righteousness imputed to them. They are holy practically because they have a new nature, tendency, or disposition for holiness and are striving for holiness.
Holiness means to be sanctified or set apart by God. One first becomes holy when they are called out and set apart by God at salvation. All that are saved are equally set apart or holy in this manner. Then the saved becomes holy in “all manner of conversation” which is in their behavior or lifestyle through obedience to God’s Word. In this manner of holiness, everyone is not at the same level of holiness because all are not equally obedient to God’s Word. Christian maturity is measured by ones holiness, not by how long one has been saved. We are all as holy as we choose to be or by how much we choose to set ourselves apart for God’s service. We are all as holy as our level of obedience will make us. The greater our obedience to God, the greater our level of holiness. Holiness or Christ likeness is God’s goal for every believer. Obedience is the means for reaching that goal and the believer reaching their God-given potential.
Holiness is a work of the Holy Spirit in the heart of the Christian. The Holy Spirit teaches and guides and, through the obedience, participation, and cooperation of the believer, produces a Christian with holy character.
Holiness is not an accident that happened to someone that didn’t desire it but a planned incident that happened to one yielded to God’s Word. It is the desire of a true Christian to practice obedience so they may be holy and more Christ like in an unholy world that hates and attacks holiness.
