Moreover, believers are called to holiness, commanded to be holy (2 Cor. 7:1; Eph. 1:3-4; 5:27; 1 Thes. 4:7; 1 Pet 1:15-16). Holiness is not to be taken lightly. As God's people, He calls us, "be holy, for I am holy." This immediately begs the questions: "what is holiness? and, what does it mean to be holy? and, how do we become holy like God"
In a very real sense, because He is holy and we are His, we are to be holy. We are the representation of God's character on the earth, therefore, we are required to be holy. This is daunting. To simplify, we should remember that apart from Him we cannot be holy. The awesomeness of this reality is that if we are in Him, we will be holy. But what is holiness?
Holiness is a trait of God, a divine characteristic. Only God is holy. Above all other descriptions of God, none carries with it as much theological import as holiness. God is wholly and outright different from us. He is transcendant and sovereign. To say that God is Holy is to speak of His supremacy, His sovereignty, and His righteousness.
When Christians strive for and pursue holiness, we are tapping into the character of the divine. Because holiness is God's alone, any pursuit of holiness must first seek after Him. Therefore, when God commands that we be holy as He is holy, He is asking us to draw close to Him as He is the sole source of any and all holiness.
Jesus is the source of our holiness. Once we convert through confession and belief (Rom. 10:9), we are made holy due to the work of Christ. The story of holiness doesn't end there, though. Our holiness is a steady and constant process of (re)fixing our gaze on He that is holy and who is the origin of all holiness. Only in and through Jesus are we able to be holy in any regard. Ergo, we should live in a constant pursuit, not of holiness, but of the One who makes us holy: Jesus.
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