In the Bible, to be holy is to be pure and set apart for God. Holiness is first a quality of God himself, then a virtue expected of every believer. It is both a gift, received through the cross of Christ, and a call to change that lasts a lifetime. “You shall be holy, for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16, quoting Leviticus).
Pure and set apart
In Hebrew, the word qadosh means pure, first in a ritual sense, then above all in a moral and spiritual sense. It also means set apart, consecrated to God. The two ideas go together: to be holy is to be separated from what defiles. In the New Testament, the Greek word hagios has the same double meaning.
In the Bible, holiness describes a quality of God, a virtue expected of every believer, and the character of certain consecrated places, objects or days. When Isaiah hears the seraphim proclaim “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD”, he becomes aware of his own uncleanness, and God purifies him (Isaiah 6:1-7). As revelation unfolds, holiness becomes more and more moral and spiritual.
Holy, but not yet perfect
Is holiness the same as perfection? Not quite. The New Testament calls all believers “saints”, holy ones, even though they still do wrong. So the word has two senses:
- Holy as righteous. Through the cross, God regards us as righteous. He has reconciled us “in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him” (Colossians 1:22).
- Holy as perfect. Only Jesus is fully so. We aim for this perfection, which will only be complete in the world to come (1 Corinthians 13:10).
In both cases, becoming holy comes from God’s grace, not from our works.
Steps towards holiness
Romans 12:1-2 and Ephesians 4:17-32 describe a change of conduct between the old life and life with Christ. Even someone who commits no serious wrongs always has room to grow. The course suggests three steps:
- Become aware of what needs to change, especially by reading the Bible.
- Decide to change.
- Change gradually, with the help of God and the Holy Spirit, but also of brothers and sisters, because it is a daily struggle in which we help one another.
One image sums it all up. If to sin is to “miss the mark”, to be holy is to hit the mark God has set. It begins with metanoia, the about-turn of repentance, and continues throughout life. For this course, pursuing holiness is not optional: it is a command from God. It is also one of the dimensions of the life of the local church, which is called to seek likeness to Christ despite its imperfections.