The Watchman's Diary

There is a reason those three dots precede the verse from the first epistle of Peter quoted above. Before getting any further into that, let’s explore the significance of being holy.  If you are a devout Christian, or even a new Christian trying to navigate your relationships in light of your new life, you may have been accused of being ‘holier than thou’ by others. These are very likely friends and family members who are not living their faith the same way you are. It is used as badge of shame and ridicule because you are suddenly different—no longer part of the ecosystem where you grew up and that once accepted you as part of itself. 

The word holy is translated from the Hebrew qôdesh (Ko’-desh), which means to be separated or set apart. The Greek word translated holy in the 1 Peter 1:15 is hagios (hag’-ee-os), which means sacred (physically pure, morally blameless or religious, ceremonially consecrated). In short, we are called to be separated, but from what? Peter, in the passage preceding verse 15, admonished us not to live as we did prior to professing our faith in Jesus as Messiah. 

“As obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance, but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy”" (1 Peter 1:14-16)

We are to separate ourselves from the world and culture that opposes everything that Jesus is and has called us to. This is easier said than it is to accomplish. The secular world is like a powerful vacuum pulling us back into itself when our goal is to escape the morass within it. The world rejects the faith and new way of life we now live but it tries to pull us back in because once there, will we be overpowered and slowly made to conform to its own design. It offers us freedom, but its grand design is a life leading to death; whereas a Jesus promises life if we die to that old sinful self.

“For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it”(Matthew 16:25) 

We Believers must continually examine ourselves to determine if we are sufficiently separated from the world. Is it obvious to those outside the faith that we are difference and conduct ourselves in a manner that is more reflective of Scripture? Or are we paying lip service to being followers of Christ while holding on to our old life? Change may not happen overnight, but walk continually with your eyes on Jesus and do not allow the world’s vacuum to suck you back in. Falling short is not failure and Jesus does not abandon us for missing the mark. Keep your eyes on Him, keeping seeking His face, walk continually in His commandments, and earnestly yearn to look more like Him each day. The power that is transforming you into the image of Christ is far more powerful than that which you have escaped!

One last thing. If today the world were to accuse you of treason because you are completely separated to Christ, would you be found guilty? Or would the result be a hung jury or acquittal? How would the person who knows you best answer this question about you?