Mission Venture Ministries

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 2 Peter 3:10-12 

Being holy means being dedicated to God, that is, obeying Him with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength (Luke 10:27). When Peter tells Christians that we should live in a holy manner it means living in such a way that our entire way of life is oriented to honor and obey God and to influence other people to do the same. 

There are two exhortations that Peter gives us why we should live this way. The first incentive is simply the holiness of God Himself: “Be ye holy; for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16). We have become children of God through faith in Christ, and we should therefore behave as obedient children, and not be conformed to the evil desires we had when we lived in ignorance (1 Peter 1:14). 

The second incentive given is the imminent return of Christ, following which, “the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat” (2 Peter 3:10). Here we see Peter giving us incentives, both past and future, thus urging us to live a holy life in the present. 

To live a holy life we must have the Holy Spirit indwelling us and filling us with His holiness. We can only live a holy life through the power of the Spirit; thus, the first step to living a holy life is to accept Jesus as Savior (Ephesians 1:13). 

Once we have taken that step of salvation, we are declared righteous (Romans 5:1). But how do we actually accomplish being righteous and living a holy life? In 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8, Paul emphasizes sexual purity as part of holy living. 

Another area we need to focus on is keeping God’s Word in our hearts which will keep us from sin (Psalm 119:11). When we live in obedience to God, we are being kept from evil and are offering our bodies as “living sacrifices” to God (Romans 12:1-2). 

The purpose of living a holy life is to glorify God and display His nature to those around us (Matthew 5:16). Living a holy life of obedience to God is living in true freedom from the bondage of sin (Romans 6:6). 

It’s not always easy to choose obedience to God, especially if we’re trying to do it all on our own. Satan would love nothing more than to bring us back into bondage through disobedience. But we have the promise, “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). The Holy Spirit will produce Christ likeness in us, and, as we yield to Him, we can live a holy life (Galatians 5:16). 

Here is the mindset that we should have, “count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:11). Any time we face temptation, we should say, “I’m dead to that! That was part of my old life! I am a new creation in Christ!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). To live a holy life, to separate ourselves from sin, we must see ourselves as God sees us – as born again children of the Most High, clothed with the righteousness of Christ. 

Having fellowship with other Christians and making ourselves accountable to them is a great source of strength in living a holy life. As Christians, we are called to encourage one another in this respect (Hebrews 10:24-25). 

Remember, we are not trying to live a holy life in order to earn salvation; living a holy life is a natural consequence of being saved by God’s grace and having the Holy Spirit living in us. It is also important to not give up when we mess up. When we fail, our response should be to confess the sin and keep moving forward in our Christian walk (1 John 1:9), remembering what Romans 8:1 says: “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” 

God’s grace does not disappear when we make mistakes, but we need to repent and confess. When we do this, we amend things with our Savior, who so tenderly paid the price for us so that we can be assured that we will be with Him for all eternity. 

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