Why God demands holiness

The single, unchanging demand of God from all His children in all ages is that we should be holy. He commands us to “follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.” If we are going to see Him or remain in eternal fellowship with Him on the last day, we need to maintain holiness of life and heart. Without holiness and its virtues, we will not be able to see God. True holiness leads to the following virtues or goes with the following components: Humility; Obedience; Love; Integrity; Newness; Entire consecration; Self-denial, and Separation from the world.

Possession of these virtues is the only thing that can qualify us to see God, to do His Will on earth and to live with Him in eternity. Pride, disobedience, hatred, unfaithfulness, old sinful nature, lack of consecration, self-indulgence and friendship with the world will hinder anyone from seeing and dwelling with God. While repentance and faith in the cleansing blood of Christ make us clean, restitution for our past wrong deeds removes from our hearts guilt of offences committed against fellow men.

God has always demanded holiness of heart and life. There had never been a time in history, when God tolerated or excused sin in any form. God has the same expectation and condition for all His children in all ages and in all climes, irrespective of church affiliations. His holy nature demands holiness from those who worship Him. Holiness of heart and of life remain His call and demand for anyone who wants to follow and serve Him on earth and dwell with Him in eternity. The Lord wants us to be sanctified and purified. He says: “sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 20:7).

Any marriage, job, interaction, relationship, friendship, plan, thought or attitude that can diminish or destroy the seed of holiness in our lives cannot be the will of God for us. “This is the will of God, even your sanctification.” Any activity that can decrease our thirst and hunger for holiness in the church is never the will of God. We do not become holy because we want to please man, but because God is holy and requires holiness from all His saints. Whatever people may do for or against us, the Lord’s injunction remains: “be ye holy; for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16). The reason He has called us out of sin, the world of darkness and evil is so that we might live a righteous, pure and sanctified life. He can make us holy, if we will commit and consecrate ourselves to Him.

To get sanctified, we must consecrate ourselves unto the Lord. God commands believers to be separate from unbelievers in the area of business, marriage, friendship, etc. He commands us to abstain from worldly practices. Believers should not be in league with non-believers. We must cut off everything that can decrease or destroy holiness, and lay everything on the altar of consecration unto the Lord. Therefore, “let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” The Lord wants us to be so consecrated unto Him that we will not compromise with the people of the world. He wants our devotion and consecration to Him to be thorough-going, total, unrivaled and perpetual. He wants it to be such that nothing can take away from us.

In consecrating, we offer ourselves, our lives, our ambition, etc, to God, not only for today but also forever. Consecration brings into us the consciousness of God’s presence. It makes us to live in full consciousness of God’s watchful eyes. It makes us to live in the consciousness of the fact that the Lord sees everything we think, say and do, whether in the secret or in the open, everyday of our lives. This knowledge makes us to commit ourselves to doing His Will at all times. Christ-like holiness is practical, not a theological thing.

God demands that whatever condition we find ourselves in life, whatever privileges we enjoy, we should remain consistent in holiness. Answers to our prayers will only come as we remain holy and righteous for the Lord. Men as well as women are called to live a consistent holy life in the sight of God: “the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands (1 Peter 3:5). Christian women are not supposed to be nosy, backbiting, nagging or noisy. Rather, they are supposed to be meek, quiet and submissive to their husbands, but only as long as their husbands’ demands are in conformity with holiness. To see His face, the Lord demands that we should be holy all the days of our lives.

Further Reading (King James Version): Hebrews 12:14; Isaiah 33:15-17; Psalm 101:4-8; 24:3,4; Leviticus 11:45; 20:7, 8; 1 Thessalonians 3: 4, 7, 8; 1 Peter 1:14-16; 2 Peter 3:11-14; 2 Corinthians 6:14-17; 7:1; Romans 12:1,2; Psalm 118:27; Luke 1:75; Psalm 15:1-5; Luke 1:5, 6; 1 Peter 3:5, 4, 6-12; Hebrews 12:14-17.