God’s Grace in Holiness

“[Live] as obedient children [of God]; do not be conformed to the evil desires which governed you in your ignorance [before you knew the requirements and transforming power of the good news regarding salvation]. But like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves in all your conduct [be set apart from the world by your godly character and moral courage]; because it is written, “You shall be holy (set apart), for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1: 14-16, AMP)

Christians get a bad wrap. Why? Because most of the time, we preach a message that comes off “holier than thou” to a world that is comfortable in their sin. I can’t count how many times unsaved people have said something along the lines of, “It’s okay, I’m gonna live it up with my friends at the big party going on in hell when I get there.”

And I know it’s meant to be a joke, albeit not a very funny one, but it just goes to show how tightly people will cling to their sin and their comfortable pleasures, despite the fact that those things will never add up to eternal salvation. 

But if the Church and Christians approach sinful people through judgment, how will we ever expect to point people to Christ, the giver of grace? The fact is, the grace that God extends to us at the moment of salvation is just the first time we encounter grace. God’s grace to us is constant and we receive them continuously. He is full of grace, and our lives are testimonies of grace upon grace (John 1:16.) As Christians, we become unrelatable to the world we are meant to evangelize to if we become out of touch with the fact that every day we are in need of God’s grace and mercy. 

Our church membership doesn’t make us better. Our rituals or the fact that we’ve been baptized, through a first communion, or confirmation process, doesn’t make us more deserving. Does that mean we condone sinful lifestyles? No. But it does mean that we live in humble conviction, pointing out sin in the love of God, urging people to turn from it towards Jesus. We need to pray for them, and ask the Holy Spirit to change their hearts and convict them.

Otherwise, why would someone who is unregenerate in their sin want to know God? It’s much easier and more exciting for them to live unrepentantly in their sin, whether it’s sexual impurity, drunkenness, lewdness, anger, unforgiveness… the list could literally go on. And truly, without the Holy Spirit, we have no hope of showing them the gift that grace really is. Because without Him moving and working, there is no attractional element to grace for someone living in their sin. It’s like giving a deaf guy a CD as a gift, or a blind guy a picture in a frame. They wouldn’t see a point to it.

But for those who walk with Christ, we are commanded to live obediently according to God’s word. We are called to be set apart from the rest of the world, living differently and in a holy lifestyle. That gift of grace and salvation requires us to turn away from our sin, whether we were living in it for pleasure or out of ignorance. Once grace is extended, we know better, both by those fellow Christians that hold us accountable and by the words of the Bible that it is our duty to know. 

God tells us to be holy because he is holy. And when he calls Himself holy, he doesn’t mean holy as in moral purity. He doesn’t mean we should feel superior to those living outside of God’s holiness and grace. He means holy as in being set apart in the way that God is set apart from all else. He is separate from the world both in nature and attributes.

And here is another layer to the grace upon grace He has given us: He is a God that doesn’t just sit still, holding us at a distance because He must be apart. He calls us to Himself, inviting us to follow Him into His “apartness” from the rest of the world. He asks us to be holy because He is holy. But we are not isolated in that holiness. We are invited to come to Him and be apart from the world, together. 

In this way, we must be wholly set apart and different from the world. We must be holy. But that holiness doesn’t just happen because we work towards it or earn it. It is part of the grace we are given, cleansing us of our sins and the things that grieved God in our pasts. It is a part of the grace He continues to give us, by continuously calling us to Himself and transforming us; removing us from the world that will despise us because they are so married to their sins. The closer we are to God, the better we can let Him work on our hearts, giving us godly character and the moral courage to stand against the darkness of this world.

Soon, our sin is no longer comfortable or ignorant to us, and is easier to locate and put aside in the name of following Jesus. And none of that makes us more superior than the person who has yet to put their faith in Jesus. Our judgment is not what God has called us to. Instead, He has called us to be a light and to show people who need Jesus the way to His grace. 

We approach this call to share Jesus with humility, remembering that there was once a day that we were not holy as He is holy… remembering that we also needed that same grace to purify and sanctify us. 

So when we see others struggling in their sin, let’s take care not to look down our noses at them, but instead, to pray for them and be Jesus’ heart extended to people who are deadlocked in their own sin and condemnation. May the Holy Spirit be with you, guiding you, and turning those that are called to know Him from the beginning of time to draw near to Him.