Reading: 1 Peter 1:15

While Christians live in an unholy world, they are called to live holy lives! Our salvation is a salvation from sin and not a salvation to sin. It is a salvation that invariably includes sanctification. The issue of holiness is not optional for the Christian; it is an obligation and that truth is obvious when we consider:

The call to holiness comes from God Himself. Peter wrote these words, “So be ye holy,” but the words did not originate with Peter. They originated with God. That gets to the very hub of this issue. Holiness is often reduced to an issue of personal preference, something imposed upon man by man or even something that churches try to establish just to be different. That misses the point. It is God Himself who calls for holiness among His people. Therefore the call to holiness comes with all the authority of a Holy God.

The call to holiness is comprehensive. Some Christians have chosen to be selective when it comes to sanctification. It depends on who they are with and where they are. They select their sphere of sanctification. True holiness is not something for one place and not another, and it is not something for one type of company and not another. The call to holiness is an all-inclusive one; Peter states, “in all manner of conversation” in other words, “Be holy in all the business of life.”

The call to holiness is the same for every believer. These words are for all who are chosen, called, and converted. They are for every Christian. If you belong to Christ, then these words are for you! Take this to heart: holiness is important and especially so in the twenty-first century.

Holiness … the soul’s highest beauty, so it is the soul’s best evidence for heaven…. No gifts, no duties, no natural endowments will evidence a right to heaven, but the least measure of true holiness will secure heaven to the soul. (John Flavel, Works, 1:479)