Can We Be Holy?

Read 1 Peter 1:13-16

Context: 1 Peter has a lot to say about how to live a Christian life. In the introduction of the letter Paul has reminded his readers of the glorious hoped offered by the resurrection.

Text:
13Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."[a] (NIV)

Footnotes:

1 Peter 1:16 Lev. 11:44,45; 19:2; 20:7
taken from www.biblegateway.com

According to my NIV Study Bible, "to be holy is to be set apart -- set apart from sin and impurity, and set apart to God. The complete moral perfection of God, whose eyes are too pure to look on evil with favor, should move his people to strive for moral purity."

Do we even know what moral purity is any more? We are bombarded by society's 'morality' more than any other generation. Many of us remember when television of the '50s and '60s was considered too racy...wow, things have changed! Our children are so used to seeing sex, violence, materialism, and immorality that they can easily think that the 'impure' is normal behavior, not evil.

Other than living in a cave, how do we turn away from all that we see? The only direction we can turn to find purity is toward God. Examine the things you are exposed to. If Jesus were sitting next to you (and he is!) would you listen to that music, watch that show, or read that book? It would be easy to sound legalistic or fanatical about purity, but in the end it has to be an agreement between each Christian and God. He is the role model for holiness, and we can only become more holy by learning his ways.

How is God telling you to act today?