By Mary Carothers

In recent weeks I have been continually impressed in my spirit with how very holy God is and His command for us to also be holy.

In Isaiah 6:3 and Revelation 4:8 God is surrounded by angels crying, holy, holy, holy is the Lord.  But how is this relevant to us?  We’re here on Earth, not in Heaven.  Does what goes on in Heaven have any effect on us?  I kept praying and searching the scriptures to understand.  Here are a few things He has shown me, although I’m sure this is only a small portion of what He would like us to understand.

Seven times in the Bible the Lord commands us to be holy – because He is holy.  But we have a sinful nature, passed down to us from Adam and Eve.  So how can we ever be holy?  Common sense would tell us that it is impossible.  Still, God tells His people – seven times – to be holy.

To begin with, we know that we cannot be holy in the same way that God is.  But because of His command, He must intend for us to be holy in some way.

When we repent of our sins and ask Jesus to forgive us and be our own personal Savior, we are forgiven all our sins.  At that point, God considers us holy in His sight (see Ephesians 1:4 and Colossians 1:22).  This is our position in God’s family. Whether or not we live a holy life that does not change.  

Now the Lord calls us to strive to live a holy life, trying to please Him in our thoughts, our attitudes, our conversations, and in our actions.  For example, Romans 12:1 urges us to offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God.  Ephesians 4:2 lists some behaviors that express a holy attitude: Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  One of the verses that often convicts me is in Ephesians 4:29, where the Bible explains that we should not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up …  Colossians 3:13 tells us to forgive others just as the Lord Jesus has forgiven us.  We are to have thankful hearts as well, because this is God’s will for us, and He cares tenderly for us (see I Peter 5:7).  And Peter goes on to tell us we are encouraged to resist the sinful desires that war against our souls, and to live good lives so that God will be glorified.

If we feel that we just cannot measure up to God’s requirements, let’s remember that God only asks us to do our best.  As we do, He strengthens us with the power of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus told us to be of good cheer, confident that Christ living in us is stronger than our enemy and his temptations.  Every temptation we experience is an opportunity to believe that the Lord will help us grow just a little in holy living, a bit more pleasing to Him.  We can do whatever Jesus asks us to with His strength.  And always remember: We are more than conquerors through Jesus Who loves us (Romans 8:37).