I once knew a young man who became a Christian because of the life of his friend. He had been a very worldly person, and a Christian befriended him. The young man told his friend, “I want what you have.” The Christian taught him the gospel and converted him.
Have you ever wondered why we can’t seem to convert more people? Why aren’t people beating a path to the doors of our church buildings? Why do our own members have to be encouraged to attend all the services of the church? What is missing?
If you want the answer to those questions, read the gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Spend some time walking with Jesus, and you will have the answer. Jesus never looked like, talked like, or acted like the world.
The problem is that most of the time we are not different enough for the world to notice us. We blend in just like everyone else. If we have nothing different to offer, why would the world be interested?
If you follow Jesus through Galilee and Judea, what will you find? I think you will find that the crowds followed Jesus because He was different. He wasn’t like everyone else.
When the world was condemning the harlots, the tax collectors, the disciples, and the lepers, Jesus was teaching forgiveness and righteous living. He was teaching obedience while He was living what he taught. He taught simple obedience to God.
One word sums up the way of life Jesus taught and lived. This word is “holy.” Everything Jesus taught and lived can be summed up in a life that is holy.
According to Merriam Webster, the word “holy” means, “exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness; divine; devoted entirely to the deity or the work of deity.”
Peter, having experienced the temptations and difficulties associated with worldly living, instructs us in living a life that is holy. Read what he says in First Peter 1:13-21. He lays out a plan for living a holy life.
He first tells us to prepare our minds. We have to decide this is going to be our way of life. Choose right. Let our minds determine what God wants, not what we want. We have to read His Word, and let the Scriptures tell us what we should do and not do.
Second, Peter says we are to be obedient children. We can’t live like the world and pretend it is acceptable to God.
The third thing he says is “be holy.” We are to be holy in “all manner of living.” That means our dress, our language, our actions, and even what we post on social media must fit the definition of holy. Isaiah said, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil…” (Isaiah 6:20). Peter then repeats God’s command, “Be ye holy, for I am holy.”
Fourth, Peter tells us that we are to conduct ourselves with fear. There won’t be any special treatment for those who claim to be Christians and then continue to live like the world. The reason is that we were bought with blood. We are called to be holy, blameless, and spotless.
In chapter 2, Peter continues to show us what it means to be holy. In verse 9, he describes Christians. He calls them: “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people.”
We are God’s product on display. We are an advertisement for Christianity. If we aren’t any different from the world, we have nothing to offer. God’s standard is holiness.
Sandra Oliver