Daily EncouragementSample

The call to be holy sounds throughout Scripture. Written large on the Old Testament page, it is reiterated in the New: “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written, ‘Be holy, because I am holy’” (1 Pet. 1:15-16). The basic idea of holiness is separateness. It is all that makes God different, and to be holy is to be like him.

God himself takes the initiative in making his people holy, and his Church consists of “those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy” (1 Cor. 1:2). His motive in conforming his people to his likeness is his love: “I have set you apart from the nations to be my own,” Andrew Murray has said, “The great separating word in human language is the word ‘Mine’ . . . It is the great word that love uses . . . God Himself knows no mightier argument, can put forth no more powerful attraction than this, ‘That you should be mine.’”

The holy life is the separate life, and its separateness is clearly seen in relation to sexual immorality and the occult, matters prominent in the context of this passage. How relevant this is in a day when many are turning “to mediums and spiritists” and are abandoning divine moral standards.