Question 1

What does it mean to be holy and live a holy life?

Accepted Answer

1 Corinthians 1:2I am writing to God’s church in Corinth, to you who have been called by God to be his own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus, just as he did for all people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.1 Corinthians 6:11Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.All who believe in Jesus Christ and have their sins forgiven are made holy in God’s sight.1 Corinthians 1:30God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin.1 Corinthians 6:11Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.Ephesians 1:4Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.We become holy not by good deeds, but by what Jesus did for us, cleansing us from sin through his forgiveness. But through our relationship with Jesus and the help of the Holy Spirit within us, we can become more and more like Jesus, more and more holy.Ephesians 5:25-27He [Christ] gave up his life for her [his church] to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish.To be holy means that God looks at us as though we have never sinned.John 17:17“Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth.”We grow in holiness by constantly learning the truths of the Bible and seeking to live by them.2 Corinthians 6:17-18“Come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord. Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you. And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”2 Corinthians 7:1Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God.We grow in holiness by working hard to keep sin out of our lives.Romans 12:1-2And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.Philippians 1:6I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.1 John 1:8-9If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.On our own, we cannot be holy. Sin still corrupts our human hearts. Christ’s salvation makes us free from sin’s punishment, but that is not the end of God’s work in us. He also desires to free us from sin’s control over our lives by changing our thoughts, actions, and desires through his Holy Spirit. When we ask God’s Holy Spirit to change our hearts, we have taken the first important step toward becoming more holy.Hebrews 10:12-14Our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. There he waits until his enemies are humbled and made a footstool under his feet. For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy.Holiness here on earth is not perfection—it is striving for purity. God promises, however, that believers will be made perfectly holy in heaven.1 Corinthians 6:18-20Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.1 Thessalonians 4:3, 7God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. . . . God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives.Sexual purity is a necessary prerequisite for holiness.

Question 2

In what ways is God holy?

Accepted Answer

Joshua 24:19Then Joshua warned the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is a holy and jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins.”1 Samuel 6:20“Who is able to stand in the presence of the Lord, this holy God?” they cried out. “Where can we send the Ark from here?”1 John 1:5This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all.God is completely separate from sin and evil. He is perfect and has no sin in him.Hebrews 7:26He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honor in heaven.1 John 3:5You know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him.Jesus Christ is completely holy because he is completely free of sin.Isaiah 6:3They were calling out to each other, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory!”God is dazzling and glorious in his absolute purity.Amos 4:2The Sovereign Lord has sworn this by his holiness.When God makes a promise, his holiness ensures that he will always do what he says.Matthew 13:41“The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.”God’s holiness will not tolerate evil in his eternal Kingdom.Isaiah 6:3They were calling out to each other, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory!”Isaiah 63:15-16Lord, look down from heaven; look from your holy, glorious home, and see us.God’s holiness is so glorious that it overflows from heaven.

Question 3

How can I possibly be holy?

Accepted Answer

Job 14:4“Who can bring purity out of an impure person? No one!”Romans 8:3-4The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.We cannot create holiness in ourselves, because we were born with a sinful nature. Our efforts can never reach God’s perfect standards.Leviticus 21:8“You must consider them holy because I, the Lord, am holy, and I make you holy.”1 Thessalonians 5:23-24Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful.Hebrews 13:12So also Jesus suffered and died outside the city gates to make his people holy by means of his own blood.God is the only one who can make us holy. Being holy means to reflect God’s nature in every way. The word “holy” comes from the root word that means “to be separate,” “to be set apart.” As such, holiness includes not only moral integrity but also our entire outlook on life. We are called to be in the world, but not of it (Matthew 5:15–16; John 15:19; 1 Corinthians 1:30). God promises to help us break free from the attractions of this world so that we can live for him.John 1:29The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”Romans 8:1–4So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.Hebrews 10:1-4, 10The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared. But instead, those sacrifices actually reminded them of their sins year after year. For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. . . . For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.In the Old Testament, God provided the Law and the sacrificial system as a way to holiness. The law taught God’s people how to do good and avoid sin, and the sacrificial system offered a way for something else—an animal—to bear the punishment human sin deserved. But this system was incomplete. God’s people were still sinful. They couldn’t follow the Law perfectly. And while sacrificing animals helped show the severity of sin, it didn’t truly remove it. We needed a perfect sacrifice to make us holy—Jesus, the Lamb of God. Through Jesus’ sacrifice, we are made holy in God’s sight, and through the Holy Spirit’s work, we are changed to become more like him: holy (2 Corinthians 3:7–8, 18).1 Corinthians 1:30God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin.Ephesians 1:4Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.Ephesians 5:25-27He [Christ] gave up his life for her [the church] to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.We become holy not by what we do, but by what Jesus did for us. He has cleansed us and forgiven us of our sins.Deuteronomy 14:2“You have been set apart as holy to the Lord your God, and he has chosen you from all the nations of the earth to be his own special treasure.”God makes us holy by setting us apart as special for him.Colossians 1:22Yet now he [God] has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.Through Christ’s sacrificial death, we can stand blameless in God’s presence.

Question 4

How can I become more holy?

Accepted Answer

Romans 12:1-2And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.Philippians 2:13God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.The Lord changes our lives from the inside out. He renews our minds, giving us the spiritual insight to see what he wants us to do and how he wants us to live. God also gives us the desire and power to do so through his Holy Spirit.John 17:17“Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth.”Our holiness grows as we learn truth from God’s Word.Acts 20:32“And now I entrust you to God and the message of his grace that is able to build you up and give you an inheritance with all those he has set apart for himself.”God’s Word both instructs and inspires us to become holy and mature in our faith.2 Corinthians 3:18So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.Galatians 5:22-23The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!1 Thessalonians 4:7-8God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives. Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.God’s Holy Spirit works in us, changing us to reflect his holiness.

Question 5

Why should I strive to be holy?

Accepted Answer

Leviticus 19:2“You must be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.”Romans 6:1-2Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?1 Peter 1:15Now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy.Sin and holiness cannot co-exist. If we want an intimate relationship with God, we must strive to be holy as he is holy.

Question 6

How does God reward those who seek holiness?

Accepted Answer

Psalm 112:1-4, 6-8Praise the Lord! How joyful are those who fear the Lord and delight in obeying his commands. Their children will be successful everywhere; an entire generation of godly people will be blessed. They themselves will be wealthy, and their good deeds will last forever. Light shines in the darkness for the godly. They are generous, compassionate, and righteous. . . . Such people will not be overcome by evil. Those who are righteous will be long remembered. They do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the Lord to care for them. They are confident and fearless and can face their foes triumphantly.Acts 20:32“And now I entrust you to God and the message of his grace that is able to build you up and give you an inheritance with all those he has set apart for himself.”Holy living has countless practical benefits. It brings inner peace and confidence to our lives. It guarantees an eternal inheritance for us in heaven. Most importantly of all, it gives us close fellowship with God.2 Timothy 2:20-21In a wealthy home some utensils are made of gold and silver, and some are made of wood and clay. The expensive utensils are used for special occasions, and the cheap ones are for everyday use. If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work.When we live holy lives, God is able to use us more effectively for his Kingdom.