Be Holy, Because I Am Holy

Leviticus 11:44 – For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground.

Isaiah 43:3 – For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you.

Joshua 24:19 – But Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins.

1 Samuel 2:2 – “There is none holy like the Lord: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.

Psalm 99:3 – Let them praise your great and awesome name! Holy is he!

Ephesians 1:3-6 – Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

1 Thessalonians 4:7 – For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.

1 Peter 1:14-16 – As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

Leviticus 22:9 – They shall therefore keep my charge, lest they bear sin for it and die thereby when they profane it: I am the Lord who sanctifies them.

Matthew 5:48 – You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Application:

• ·         Holiness is the key theme of Leviticus, ringing like a refrain in various forms throughout the book. The word holy appears more often in Leviticus than in any other book of the Bible. Her holiness was to be expressed in every aspect of her life, to the extent that all of life had a certain ceremonial quality.
• ·         Israel was to be totally consecrated to God. Because of who God is and what He has done, His people must dedicate themselves fully to Him.
• ·         “You are not able” were strong words to emphasize the danger of overconfidence.
• ·         Rock is a metaphor to depict the strength and stability of the God of Israel as the unfailing source of security for His people.
• ·         As the Great King, He ought to be shown the fear and honor that are His due.
• ·         Holiness is the result—not the basis—of God’s choosing. It refers both to the holiness imparted me because of Christ and to my personal sanctification.
• ·         One reason for chastity is God’s call to holiness.
• ·         To be holy is to be set apart—set apart from sin and impurity, and set apart to God.
• ·         The laws of cleanness were the same for priests and people, but the penalties were far more severe for the priests, who had greater responsibility.
• ·         Christ sets up the high ideal of perfect love—not that we can fully attain it in this life. That, however, is God’s high standard for us.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV