You Are Holy

You Are Holy

By Apostle Felix

13 So then, prepare your hearts and minds for action! Stay alert and fix your hope firmly on the marvelous grace that is coming to you. For when Jesus Christ is unveiled, a greater measure of grace will be released to you. 14  As God’s obedient children, never again shape your lives by the desires that you followed when you didn’t know better. 15  Instead, shape your lives to become like the Holy One who called you. 16  For Scripture says: “You are to be holy, because I am holy.”

1 Peter 1:13-15

You and I, have been called to be holy. It is expected of us to be holy and not vice versa. That expectation of us to be holy, some times can be regarded as a far fetched dream. And this is because, we associate holiness with deeds that we do. The understanding of holiness is that, we can only qualify to be holy by what we do. But that is not true. It is not the doing that makes us holy. God cannot demand from us what He has not given us in the first place. Under the new covenant, we receive from God in order to become. We do not do in order to become. The struggle of trying to become holy can be very frustrating. This is because it is impossible to be holy all by what you and I do. The children of Israel tried to be holy but could not.

10 For at one time you were not God’s people, but now you are. At one time you knew nothing of God’s mercy, because you hadn’t received it yet, but now you are drenched with it! 11 My divinely loved friends, since you are resident aliens and foreigners in this world, I appeal to you to divorce yourselves from the evil desires that wage war within you. 12 Live honorable lives as you mix with unbelievers, even though they accuse you of being evildoers. For they will see your beautiful works and have a reason to glorify God in the day he visits us. 1 Peter 2:11-12

We have made holy by grace, it’s not our own doing. It is the grace of God. We have received from God His holiness. Our spirit man has been made holy, that is set apart for God. You longer belong to the world, but you belong to God. You are now God’s own possession. The state of our spirits in Christ is righteous, holy and whole, nothing missing and nothing broken. Your spirit is in right standing with God. Now, you may wondering why we do struggle with sinful acts in our lives. The struggle has got nothing to do with the state of our spirit, but the state of our souls. Our souls are like a media house that broadcasts information across the country.

A country can only receive that which has been broadcast from the media house. And the news will be influencing the behaviour of the masses. Our souls function in a similar manner. The soul disseminates information that affects our decisions, actions and eventually our destiny. Apostle Paul admonished the believers to have their minds renewed by the word of God, in order to experience transformation in life. The renewing of the mind on the word of God is aligning the soul with the state of the spirit man. The spirit man is holy, but the soul can be carnal, and that may be the problem to the struggle we face. You are already holy, but allow your soul to be aligned with the spirit.

1 Beloved friends, what should be our proper response to God’s marvelous mercies? I encourage you to surrender yourselves to God to be his sacred, living sacrifices. And live in holiness, experiencing all that delights his heart. For this becomes your genuine expression of worship. 2 Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes. Romans 12:1-2