No, I don’t mean that! I’m not going to preach against binging on Netflix or wearing yoga paints everywhere, or Internet addiction. That’s the opposite of what I want to do in this longish post.

In 1 Peter 1:15, Peter calls his audience to be holy in all their way of life, or behavior. Peter then quotes from Leviticus (I know, your favorite book for devotions LOL), “Because it is written, ‘Be holy because I am holy” (Lev 19:2). In fact, Lev 19:2 is the beginning of what is called the “Holiness Code.” It has several chapters of instructions to help the Israelites live in a way that pleases God.

Not Defining Holiness

Holiness has gotten a bad name, so to speak, these days. It has become associated with long lists of rules for what you must not do. I’ve heard some pretty serious rules given in the name of holiness. A few years after my conversion, I enrolled at a nearby Christian college. I wanted to study Scripture at a deep level and learn the biblical languages. 

New students had to attend a meeting with the Dean of Students. He outlined what rules students needed to obey. It wasn’t as draconian as women can’t wear pants, but still, it sounded like “To be a good Christian, you need to avoid these actions.” Up until then, I had never heard of such rules.

We were not allowed to smoke, drink alcohol, take illegal drugs, gamble, or dance. Most of that didn’t bother me, but it was a surprise. The dean was probably being serious but messed up when he said the rule against dancing was to prevent students  from “rubbing fronts.” We all burst out in laughter.

I later learned that these rules and more come from the Holiness Movement. That was a major force among Christians in the U.S and U.K. beginning in the 19^th century. There are lots of ways a Christ-follower can be led astray. In our current culture, the divorce rate among Christians is about the same as the culture generally. Pornography addiction is similar. Satan has done an excellent job at creating all sorts of ways to prevent faithfulness to Jesus.

Here Come the Rules

The Pharisees in Jesus day, who were not all villains, created rules in order to put a “fence” around the Torah. If you kept these extra rules, you’d avoid breaking a command from God. For example, it was wrong to spit on the Sabbath because your spit would make mud, and that was doing work on the Sabbath.

In his books, such as Where the Light Fell, Philip Yancey has written about the Christian boarding school he was sent to. There were all sorts of rules, many not grounded in Scripture at all. A married couple couldn’t kiss in public. Girls’ skirt lengths were regularly measured. Funny, I can’t find anything about those topics in the Bible. Presumably, these were meant to keep the students from committing serious sins. Sometimes, however, such rules take on a life of their own.

Whatever else might be said about such rules, they have at least two problems. First, I can’t find a verse in the Bible that forbids drinking alcohol or dancing. In fact, people in Jesus’ day knew that drinking alcohol was safer than drinking water. They didn’t know about germs but they all knew about stomach flu.

More important, however, is that the rules make it seem like, “If you do these, God is pleased with you, and keeping the rules will get you into heaven.” That is totally wrong. It also misunderstands what holiness is. In Scripture, holiness is more about what one is set apart to than what one is set apart from. Some of these rules do make sense. Some types of movies I shouldn’t watch, for example. However, you cannot become holy by not doing a list of things.

What Holiness Really Means

When God declares that he is holy, it’s not because he keeps some set of rules. God is separate from anything that is evil. God’s holiness also means that “he is wholly other.” God is transcendent, which we are not. God is God, and we are not. Adam and Eve were confused about that, or perhaps even envious, which led to all the sorrow and evil in the world.

How are we to be holy? If you read Paul’s letters, they are often addressed to the holy ones, “saints,” in some locale, such as Rome or Ephesus. Even the Christians in Corinth were called holy ones, usually translated as “saints” by Paul. They were

anything but holy as we would normally understand it. What does Paul mean?

If you go back to Leviticus and also Exodus 28-40, you’ll see that there are a lot of things that are holy. How do a shovel, a table, tongs, and pans become holy? It’s obviously not because they didn’t dance. Holiness for these items comes from being set apart to God. A shovel used in the tabernacle was not to be used for more common tasks for shoveling, like making latrines.

You are Holy–Live like it

You have probably heard or read the word “sanctification” or the verb, “sanctify.” Followers of Jesus have already been sanctified because we are set apart as living sacrifices to God (Rom 12:1-2). If my life is fully devoted to God, I won’t want to do anything that is against God’s will.

The Bible has much to say about what it looks like to live a holy life. It does include avoiding immorality as Scripture defines it. However, if we are set apart to God, we will also love our neighbors by doing things for their good. This is a command in Leviticus 19, repeated by Jesus and by Paul. We will be generous. We will show compassion. I could list a bunch of things that will keep us from being “hopelessly devoted” to God. You could look at Rom 1:18-32, especially vv. 29-31 to find some.

You probably know believers who look pious, but they are gossips or envious of other Christians. If I keep the rules, but hate other believers, I’m not being holy.

So, how do we do this? Paul puts it simply in Galatians. This letter is all about not seeking to keep a list of rules but living according to God’s will. Paul describes the battle that goes on in our lives.

“For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law” (Gal 5:17-18).”

Paul then lists several behaviors that would keep one from inheriting the Kingdom of God. Instead of doing those, Paul says that, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” To be holy, Paul asserts that “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” To be holy doesn’t mean “keep the rules” but “walk by the Spirit.

If we focus on living by the Spirit, we will live holy lives. Let us seek to walk by the Spirit. This is a struggle, but the Spirit of God will help us, if we ask. That’s what we need to live a holy life.