Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; for it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
“Be holy”, is this the impossible command? It appears to be a call to perfection in everything that we do. And that simply is not going to happen, not in this lifetime. In the first twelve verses, where Peter lays the plan, power, and presence of Jesus (yes, deliberate alliteration), there is a lot of mention of heaven and the life to come. That is when perfection will be achieved, not here.
I would suggest that holiness is something other than perfection. Otherwise, I would like to think that Peter would give us a more honest approach. “Try to be holy”, “strive after holiness”, “quest for the holy ways of the Father”, something along those lines would be more honest. It speaks of a beginning and a growing edge to the achievement of the goal of being holy in all our conduct, while still recognizing that sin is dominant in the world.
In Jesus, both being holy and being perfect live together in harmony. But in us, it would appear that we can be holy without being perfect. Which leads us to the ten million dollar question, what is it to be holy?
God decides what is holy, not us. God sanctifies things, like the tabernacle and the temple in Jerusalem. He sanctifies individuals, like the high priest, like the kings and prophets whom he anointed to their roles (“to sanctify”=to make holy). The very call that we spoke of last is the imparting of God’s holiness to us who are called.
That does not mean there is not a proper response to being made holy. It does not mean that we should not strive after the things of God. But it does mean that failure is not a consideration. By Jesus’ death and resurrection, the judgment due to us was taken upon Him. Mercy is what remained. In all our conduct, we are called to be holy, and the pressure of failure is removed. That is a total life commitment to the God who has chosen us. Are you willing?
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