BIBLICAL HOLINESS (LESSON ONE)

1 PETER 1:13-19

13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be
brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

14 As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:

15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;

16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

17 And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work,
pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:

18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from
your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;

19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.

HEBREWS 12:14

Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.

INTRODUCTION
Holiness is regarded as an old-fashioned, irrelevant concept by many people today, even in Christendom.
It is not thought of as a virtue but as a vice. Some professing Christians are insulted and/or embarrassed to
be considered as “holy” by their peers. Yet, God has always commanded His people to be holy. Holiness
is essential to biblical Christianity.
The chief aim and pursuit of most persons, including many professed Christians is happiness and not
holiness. They want Jesus to solve their problems, carry their burdens, and “bless” them abundantly. They
do not want Jesus Christ to control their lives and transform their character. This, however, is not the
message of the true Gospel. The Gospel of Jesus Christ demands a radical transformation in the lives of
those who obey it. The Gospel demands that we change not only our actions but more importantly, our
thinking, since it is our thinking that will ultimately determine our actions. When we are saved, we are
saved from our selfish, sinful desires and practices and called to live a life of holiness. According to
Matthew 1:21, our Lord was given the name “Jesus” because He would “save his people from their
sins,” not with their sins!

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Jonathan Edwards the Puritan preacher and theologian, made the following observation: “He that sees the
beauty of holiness, or true moral good, sees the greatest and most important thing in the world.” How
many of us have thought of personal holiness as the most important thing in the world?

In the kingdom of God, holiness is not a luxury; it is a necessity. Hebrews 12:4 says, “Follow peace with
all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.” God does want His children to be
happy, but true happiness begins with holiness. Charles Spurgeon, the late, renowned British Baptist
preacher said, “If I had my choice of all the blessings I can conceive of, I would choose perfect conformity
to the Lord Jesus, or, in one word, holiness.” How many of us would make the same choice today?”

THE CALL TO HOLINESS

The Bible calls the followers of Jesus Christ to a life of holiness, and it stresses the importance of holiness.
The new birth is the initial experience of salvation, but the work of salvation does not end there. There is
also the continuing work of sanctification, a process of becoming progressively more Christ-like. The
process of sanctification begins when we receive initial salvation and leads to sinless perfection in the life
to come. This work takes place as we submit daily to the leadership and control of the Holy Spirit. In 2
Corinthians 3:18, Paul wrote the following: “So 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” (New Living Translation).
In 2 Thessalonians 2:13, the apostle Paul wrote the following:“But we are bound to give thanks alway to
God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation
through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth”.
It is critical for us to understand that our initial salvation, inclusive of repentance, baptism in the name of
Jesus Christ and the in-filling of the Holy Spirit, will have no eternal value unless we continue to walk by
faith and live after the new nature of the Spirit, allowing God to complete the process that began when we
were born-again. Holiness is not an option: it is a command. “But now you must be holy in everything
you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy”’ 1
Peter 1:15-16 (New Living Translation).

DEFINITION OF HOLINESS
Holiness is a general term used to indicate sanctity or separation from all that is sinful, impure, or morally
imperfect; i.e., it is moral wholeness. The term is used with reference to persons, places, and things.
God is holy; holiness is an essential aspect of His nature. With respect to God, holiness means absolute
purity and moral perfection. The scriptures lay great stress upon this attribute of God as the verses
outlined hereunder indicate:
“For I am the Lord your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy:
neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth”
(Leviticus 11:44).
“There is none holy as the Lord: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God” (1
Samuel 2:2).

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“In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his
train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his
face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said,
Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory” (Isaiah 6:1-3).
“Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come
and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest” (Revelation 15:4).
With respect to humans, holiness means conformity to the character and will of God. It means
thinking as God thinks, loving what He loves, hating what He hates, and acting as Christ would act.
The Old Testament concept of holiness was “separation from and dedication to.” For example, the
Sabbath was holy because it was separated from work, travel, and other routine activities, and dedicated to
rest. The Tabernacle vessels were holy because they were separated from all ordinary use and dedicated
solely to sacred use. God commanded His people to be holy, separated from all other peoples and
dedicated to the worship of the one true God. The laws outlined in the book of Leviticus separated the
Israelites from all other nations in diet, clothing, appearance, farming practices, Sabbath observance,
sanitation, and morality. These laws taught a clear distinction between the clean and unclean, the holy and
profane.
The doctrine of holiness made Old Testament Judaism unique among ancient religious, particularly in its
concept of separation and in its linkage of morality with religion. The ceremonial law foreshadowed
greater spiritual truths, teaching spiritual principles by physical types. The new covenant abolished
ceremonial types, while retaining moral law and spiritual holiness.
Building on the Old Testament concept of holiness, the New Testament teaches a corresponding twofold
definition of moral holiness for God’s people.
1. Separation from sin and the world system; and
2. Dedication to God and His will.
Just as a person should forsake all other romantic relationships to enjoy the total commitment of a
marriage relationship, so we should renounce sinful, worldly living as part of our new life in Christ. The
following passages of scripture reinforce this point:
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice,
holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world, but be
ye transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:1-2).
“Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean
thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith
the Lord Almighty. Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all
filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 6:17; 7:1).
“That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the
deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after
God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:22-24).
Holiness means to imitate Christ; it means to be Christ-like. In Romans 8:29, Paul indicates that this
is the primary reason why we were saved: “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be
conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren”.

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The individual who desires to please God, will seek not to gratify the desires of the sinful nature, but will
seek to allow Christ to be formed in him, so that the beauty of Jesus may be seen in him. In Romans
13:12-14, Paul wrote the following: “The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So
remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living. Because we belong
to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see.
Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral
living, or in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires” (New Living Translation).
In Galatians 4:19, he exclaimed passionately,“Oh, my dear children! I feel as if I’m going through labor
pains for you again, and they will continue until Christ is fully developed in your lives” (New Living
Translation).
In Ephesians 3:16-19 he said, “I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you
with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him.
Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to
understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you
experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete
with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God” (New Living Translation).
The saint who earnestly desires to please the Lord will judge every decision and every action by the
question, “What would Jesus do?” All his words and deeds will be compatible with the following
scriptures:
“Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians
10:31).
“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and
the Father by him” (Colossians 3:17).

PRINCIPLES OF HOLINESS
“Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their
affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world” (James 1:27).
“Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?
whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4).
“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the
Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride
of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he
that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (1 John 2:15-17).
These passages of scripture make it abundantly clear that the Christian who is endeavouring to be holy,
cannot love the ungodly world system and therefore, should not identify with it, become attached to the
things in it, or participate in its sinful pleasures and activities. We specifically need to avoid the three
major areas of temptation and sin: lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride. The purpose of Biblically
based holiness standards is to protect us in one or more of these areas.

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Worldliness is not so much a matter of activity as of attitude. It is possible for a Christian to stay away
from questionable amusements and doubtful places and still love the world, for worldliness is a matter of
the heart. To the extent that a Christian loves the world system and the things in it, he does not love the
Lord. The more he loves the Lord the less he will love the world system.
Worldliness not only affects our response to the love of God; it also affects our response to the will of God.
John said, “The world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth
forever” (1 John 2:17). Doing the will of God is a joy for us when we are in love with the Lord Jesus.
But when our love for the Lord begins to wax cold, it is difficult for us to obey God’s will.
When you put these factors together, you have a practical definition of worldliness: anything in the life of
a Christian that causes him to lose his enjoyment of the love of God or his desire to do the will of
God is worldly and must be avoided. Two daily tests of the level of worldliness in our lives is our
response to the love of God and our willingness to do the will of God. We may assess our response to the
love of God by our personal devotional life and we may assess our willingness to do the will of God by
our daily conduct. We should constantly examine the vibrancy of our personal devotional life as well as
our mastery over self and sin.
Many things in this world are definitely wrong and the Bible, God’s Word, identifies them as sins.
“Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves.
Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or
practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—
none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11 New Living Translation).
“When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity,
lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition,
dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I
have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:19-21
New Living Translation).
“Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God's
people. Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes—these are not for you. Instead, let there be
thankfulness to God. You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom
of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. Don’t be
fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the anger of God will fall on all who disobey him. Don’t
participate in the things these people do” (Ephesians 5:3-7 New Living Translation).
About these and many other actions, Christians can have little or no debate. But there are areas of
Christian conduct that are not so clear and about which even the best Christians disagree. In such cases,
each believer must apply the test to his own life and be scrupulously honest in his self-examination. We
must remember that even a good thing may rob us of our enjoyment of God’s love and our desire to do
God’s will.
As we noted earlier, the world system uses three devices to trap Christians: the lust of the flesh, the lust of
the eyes, and the pride of life. The lust of the flesh includes anything that appeals to the fallen, Adamic
nature of man. “The flesh” does not mean “the body.” Rather, it refers to the basic nature of unregenerate
man that makes him blind to spiritual truth. The flesh is the nature we partook of when we were born
physically. When we were born-again, we became “partakers of the divine nature” according to 2 Peter

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1:4. The born-again Christian has both the old nature (the flesh) and the new nature (the Holy Spirit) in
his life.
God has given human beings certain desires, and these desires, in and of themselves, are good. Hunger,
thirst, weariness, and sex are not at all evil in themselves. There is nothing wrong with eating, drinking,
sleeping, or begetting children. But when the flesh controls them, they become “fleshly lusts, which war
against the soul.” Hunger is not evil, but gluttony is sinful. Thirst is not evil, but drunkenness is a sin.
Sleep is a gift of God, but laziness is shameful. Sex is God’s precious gift when used rightly; but when
used wrongly, it becomes immorality.
The world system appeals to the normal appetites and tempts us to satisfy them in forbidden ways. It is
important for us to remember what God says about the old, Adamic nature, the flesh. Everything God says
about it is negative. In the flesh, there is no good thing (Romans 7:18). The flesh profits nothing (John
6:63). A Christian is to put no confidence in the flesh (Philippians 3:3). He is to make no provision for
the flesh (Romans 13:14). A person who lives for the flesh is living a negative life, which will ultimately
lead to ruin.
The second device that the world uses to trap the Christian is called “the lust of the eyes”. The eyes can
have an appetite! We sometimes use this expression, “Feast your eyes on this”.
The lust of the flesh appeals to the lower appetites of the old nature, tempting us to indulge them in sinful
ways. The lust of the eyes, however, operates in a more refined way. It appeals to pleasures that gratify
the sight and the mind. It appeals to sophisticated and intellectual pleasures. The eyes are a gateway into
the mind. The lust of the eyes, therefore, can include academic and intellectual pursuits that are contrary
to the Word of God.
In the days of the apostles, the Greeks and Romans lived for entertainments and activities that excited the
eyes. Times have not changed very much! As we read books and magazines and interact with the
television and the internet, the prayer of every apostolic saint should be, “Turn away mine eyes from
beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way” (Psalm 119:37).
The third device is “the pride of life”. The glory of God is rich and full; the glory of man is vain and
empty. The word “pride” is a translation of the Greek word alazoneia (al-ad-zon-i'-a, which means
“braggadocio, i.e. (by implication) self-confidence.” The word was used to describe a braggart who was
trying to impress people with his importance. People have always tried to outdo others in their spending
and their getting.
Why is it that so many of us buy houses, cars, appliances, or items of clothing that we really cannot afford?
Why do we succumb to the “buy now, pay later” advertising and get ourselves into hopeless debt? Could
it be because we want to impress other people? Is the boastful pride of life motivating much of what we
do?

The world appeals to the Christian through the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.
Once the world takes over in one of these areas, we will eventually realize it. The Bible will become
boring and prayer will become a difficult chore. Even Christian fellowship may seem empty and
disappointing.

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It is important to note that no Christian becomes worldly all of a sudden. Worldliness creeps up on us; it is
a gradual process. The first step in the process is the friendship of the world (James 4:4). By nature, the
world and the Christian are enemies. A Christian who is a friend of the world is an enemy of God.
The second step is the Christian becoming “spotted by the world” (James 1:27). The world leaves its
dirty marks on one or two areas of his life. This means that gradually, the saint accepts and adopts the
ways of the world. When this happens, the world ceases to hate the Christian and starts to love him! The
bitter enemies become friends! As a result, the believer becomes conformed to the world (Romans 12:2)
and you can hardly tell the two apart.
Worldliness rears its ugly head in many subtle and unrecognized forms. Sometimes we tend to idolize
great athletes, actors, or political leaders who profess to be Christians, as if these individuals were able to
be of special help to Almighty God. Sometimes we cater to wealthy and influential persons in our
assembly, as if the work of God would fold up without their influence or financial backing. Sometimes we
unreservedly import the ideas and strategies of the corporate world into the church, as if the church was a
large corporate entity and not the “Body of Christ.” Many forms of worldliness do not involve reading the
wrong books, attending wild parties and indulging in other “worldly” amusements.
Ultimately, being conformed to the world can lead a Christian into being “condemned with the world” (1
Corinthians 11:32). This raises a practical and important question about the nature of a Christian and
how he keeps from getting worldly. To begin with, all Christians have been born into God’s family
through faith in Jesus Christ, and their sins have been forgiven. The very fact that one is in God’s family,
sharing His nature, ought to discourage him from becoming friendly with the world.
It is the growing, maturing Christian, however, to whom the world does not appeal. He is too interested in
loving the Lord Jesus and in doing His will. The world system has no attraction for him. He realizes that
the things of the world are only toys, and he can say with Paul, “When I became a man, I put away
childish things” (1 Corinthians 13:11).
John informs us that “this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who
does what pleases God will live forever” (1 John 2:17 New Living Translation). The Christian who loves
the world will never have peace or security because he has linked his life with that which is fading away.
Philip James “Jim” Elliot was an evangelical Christian who was one of five missionaries who were killed
while attempting to evangelize the Waodani people of Ecuador. Before his death, he made the following
observation: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
Every child of God must ask the following question of himself or must decide, “Will I live for the present
only, or will I live for the will of God and abide forever?” Love for the world is the love God hates. It is
the love a Christian must shun at all costs!

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