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Faith is complete trust and belief, a gift from God. We must have faith to be saved. In Christian theology, holiness means being free from sin, pure, and dedicated to God.
The teachings of Jesus Christ and the writings of the Bible make it clear that Christians are saved by faith and grace alone. However, holy living remains paramount in the lives of believers.
The apostle Peter teaches much about holiness, writing, “You yourselves, like living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood” (1 Peter 2:5).
And again, in chapter 2, verse 9, Peter wrote, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”
Even more impactful, Peter quoted Leviticus 19:2, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” Undoubtedly, God’s holiness vastly surpasses that of humans. Nevertheless, holiness is still not only expected but required for Christians. Jesus taught Christians “are not of this world.” J.C. Ryle shared:
They [the Reformers] knew nothing of the modern notion that Christ is in every man, and that all possess something good within, which they have only to stir up and use in order to be saved. They never flattered men and women in this fashion. They told them plainly that they were dead, and must be made alive again; that they were guilty, lost, helpless, and hopeless, and in imminent danger of eternal ruin.[i]
While salvation is based on God’s grace, repentance, and allegiance to Jesus Christ as both Lord and Savior have always been expected of His sheep, holiness, by mere definition, makes the Christian separate from the rest of the world, the very thing Jesus promised to those who followed Him. Paul, likewise, taught us to live a quiet, holy life seeking peace. Ryle explained further, “Church membership or religious profession was the least proof of a man being a true Christian if he lived an ungodly life. A true Christian… must always be known by his fruits.”[ii]
Such a teaching is firmly taught in the book of James, “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works is dead” (James 2:17).
Christian holiness is never to be achieved in perfection in a fallen world. Admittedly, it is a challenging concept; on the one hand, we are called to be holy, but we are sinners, having been impacted by the fall of mankind. More in-depth theological knowledge and reliance are necessary to submit that there can never be holiness without the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, as well as the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Christians are a separate, chosen people group, often referred to as the salt and light of the world. This alone shows that holiness is commanded to live separately from sin and the world, yet to grasp hold of faith and the power of Christ.
When God commanded the Israelites to “be holy, for I am holy,” it was not just a recommendation but a command that Jesus and Peter reiterated. Holiness brings forth a life committed to Christ and one that can impact others if following the greatest commandment, “And he said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40).
[i] J.C. Ryle, The Agency That Transformed a Nation, (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2013), 13.
[ii] Ibid., 15.