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

1 Corinthians 1:2I am writing 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.

1 Corinthians 6:11But you were cleansed; you were made holy.

All who believe in Jesus Christ are made holy.

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.

1 Corinthians 1:30Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy.

We are brought into a state of holiness not by what we do but by what Jesus did for us, cleansing us from sin through his forgiveness.

Ephesians 5:25-27He gave up his life for [the church] to make her holy and clean. . . . 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 had 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 living by them.

2 Corinthians 7:1Let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit.

We grow in holiness by working hard to keep sin out of our lives.

Romans 12:1I plead with you to give your bodies to God. . . . Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable.

How can we hope to live holy lives? On our own, it is not possible, for we are sinful people. But we can give our bodies to God as an offering, a living sacrifice to him. He will help us to become more and more holy.

Hebrews 10:12-14Our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins. . . . 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. However, God promises that those who are believers will one day, in heaven, be perfect.