15.1 Key themes⤒🔗

• The fifteenth mark of a mature Christian is that he is holy.
• To be “holy” is to be pure and devoted to God.
• God has given us the gift of holiness, by purifying us from sin and giving us his Holy Spirit.
• Now our responsibility is to become holy in all of our conduct.
• Holiness makes us humble, loving, and joyful like Jesus.
• Holiness is an everyday thing.
• Holiness is a process.

15.2 Titus 1:7-8 (ESV)←⤒🔗

^7. For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain,

^8. but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined.

© NET Bible

15.3 – 1 Peter 1:13-16, 22←⤒🔗

^13. Therefore, get your minds ready for action by being fully sober, and set your hope completely on the grace that will be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed.

^14. Like obedient children, do not comply with the evil urges you used to follow in your ignorance,

^15. but, like the Holy One who called you, become holy yourselves in all of your conduct,

^16. for it is written, 'You shall be holy, because I am holy.'

…

^22. You have purified your souls by obeying the truth in order to show sincere mutual love. So love one another earnestly from a pure heart.

© NET Bible

15.4 Holiness: A gift of grace←⤒🔗

Christ will come again. That is our “hope” (Titus 2:13). That is what we must prepare ourselves for. As we have just read in 1 Peter 1:13, “therefore, get your minds ready for action by being fully sober, and set your hope completely on the grace that will be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

In Lesson 14 we saw that we can prepare ourselves for Christ’s coming by living self-controlled, upright, godly, holy, disciplined lives. In this lesson we will think about the word “holy.” This is another mark of maturity from Titus 1:5-9.

Being “holy” is a lot like being “upright.” In Lesson 14 you saw that being “upright” means living in a way that is right in God’s eyes. You also saw that we can only be upright by God’s grace. God forgives our sins, gives Christ’s upright life to us, and then trains us to live in an upright way.

Being “holy” means being pure and devoted to God. Like uprightness, holiness is also a gift of grace. God gives holiness to his people! How? Firstly, the blood of his Son purifies us from our sin. Secondly, he gives us his Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit enables us to devote our lives to God.

15.5 A gift and responsibility←⤒🔗

Let us take a moment to think about this wonderful gift: the gift of holiness. Where would we be without this gift? We would be an unholy people, filthy with sin, and far away from God’s presence. God is holy and he hates sin. He punishes sin with the greatest punishment: eternal death.

But instead of letting us die for our sins, God let his own Son die. In the cross of Jesus Christ, we see how much God hates sin. But we also see how much God loves us: so much that he gave the blood of his own Son to wash us clean from our sin.

Instead of death, we have received life, the life of the Spirit. God, the Holy One, welcomes us into his presence! He clothes us with the holiness of his Son Jesus Christ.

With this great gift comes a great responsibility. In 1 Peter 1:14-16 we read,

Like obedient children, do not comply with the evil urges you used to follow in your ignorance, but, like the Holy One who called you, become holy yourselves in all of your conduct, for it is written, ‘You shall be holy, because I am holy.’

God has given us holiness as a gift. Our responsibility is to become holy in all of our conduct. Our whole life¾everything we think, say, and do¾must become pure and be devoted to God.

15.6 What holiness looks like←⤒🔗

In Lesson 14 we looked at the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:10-14). The Pharisee thought that he was a holy man. So he did not want to come close to “unholy” people. He stood “by himself,” far away from the tax collector (Luke 18:10).

But that is not true holiness. In 1 Peter 1:22, Peter explains what true holiness looks like: “You have purified your souls by obeying the truth in order to show sincere mutual love. So love one another earnestly from a pure heart.”

If you want to know if a person is holy, then see if he loves the people around him (especially his fellow believers). Does he love them “earnestly” (with all his power)? Holiness does not make us proud and private like the Pharisee. Holiness makes us humble, loving, and joyful like Jesus!

15.7 Holiness is an everyday thing←⤒🔗

The Bible tells us a lot about Jesus’ last three years on earth. This was the time during which he preached, performed miracles, died, and was resurrected.

But we should not forget about Jesus’ first thirty years on earth. During these thirty years, he lived an ordinary life. He lived in the small town of Nazareth. He made friends and he learned to read. He worked as a carpenter, and he worked with money. He did all these things in a holy, humble, loving, joyful way.

That is the kind of life that most of us are called to live. Most of us are not called to travel around and preach God’s Word. And even if you are called to be a preacher or Bible teacher, you will still do many ordinary things. You will still eat, drink, spend time with family, fix your house, and do all kinds of ordinary things.

Living a holy life does not mean that you stop doing these things. No, living a holy life means that you do all these things to the glory of God. You should “become holy…in all of your conduct” (1 Peter 1:15). This includes:

• Your work. Whatever your daily job is, remember that God has given you that job and that you are working for him. Do your best and know that he will reward you (Colossians 3:22-24).
• Your rest. God made you to work, but also to sleep and to take times of rest. Enjoy those times and thank him for it.
• Your relationships. Getting the children dressed. Helping a friend. Enjoying time with your family. You may think that these things are not very “holy.” But that is not true. If you do these things with faith and love, they are holy! God delights in them.

15.8 Holiness is a process←⤒🔗

If you have a garden (or any piece of land), you will know that the work in a garden never stops. The more you work in your garden, the more work you discover! There are always more weeds and stones to remove.

It is the same with holiness. As we become more and more holy, we will discover more and more sins in our life. A new Christian sees the “big” sins in his life. But a mature Christian knows of the “hidden” sins in his life: sins such as selfishness, pride, and lustful thoughts. That is why the prayer of a mature Christian is always, “God, be merciful to me, sinner that I am!” (Luke 18:13).

As you strive for holiness, remember that holiness is a process. Also, remember that you are not saved by your holiness. Christ has saved you by his holy life and his death on the cross.

If you remember these things, you will not give up. You will have the strength to keep fighting against sin and growing in holiness, trusting in God’s grace all the way. He is the one who began the good work in you. He will carry it on to completion (Philippians 1:6, NIV)!