In the previous chapter, we saw that God is our Father and that He loves us regardless of our actions. We understood that God loves us and has our best interests at heart. However, this truth must not overshadow another equally important one: God is Holy, He is perfect, and He detests sin. Because God is holy, He also expects me to be holy like Him, for the Bible says in Amos 3:3:

“Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?”

This verse shows us that two people cannot walk together unless they agree, unless there is an understanding between them. A well-known saying that conveys the same idea is: “Tell me who you walk with, and I’ll tell you who you are.”

These two quotes reveal that we cannot walk with God if we do not agree with Him, if we do not share His nature, if we do not act and think like Him. In other words, we cannot desire a relationship with God unless we are holy like He is. God’s love for us does not cancel out His requirement for holiness.

God may love us with “all His might”, yet He will never tolerate or accept sin in our lives. This is what the Bible reveals when it says:

“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” – Matthew 5:48

“You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own.” – Leviticus 20:26

When we are born again, we must become aware that our Father God is holy and that we must also be holy like Him. But you might ask: Can we really be holy? And more importantly, What is holiness?

To answer the first question: Yes! We can be holy, because God would never ask us to do something impossible. If God says I must be holiness, that means I can be holy. First, I must accept this truth and agree with it.

Now, to be on the same page, we need to understand what holiness is. Indeed, most of us think a holy person is someone who never sins, always does good, never lies, is always in a good mood… But the Bible does not define holiness primarily by actions, but rather by nature. In the verse we read earlier, Leviticus 20:26 – “You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy…” – God says “I am” holy, not “I do” holy things.

The word “holiness” in the Bible means to be set apart, separated from, consecrated to… So when God says He is holy, it means He is unlike men, separated from evil and sin. It is His nature, it’s who He is. It’s not just something He does occasionally, it’s His very essence.

In the same way, the holiness that God requires of me is not primarily about actions (even though those should follow), but about nature.

This means I can be holy because I now share God’s nature. When I received Jesus as my Lord and Savior, the Bible says I became a new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17). I became a new person, someone who has never sinned. (We will return to this point in Chapter 6.)

To go back to our topic: God is holy, and I must be holy like Him when I am born again. This is already part of my nature. All God asks is that I manifest the nature He has given me. He is not asking me to make all kinds of efforts to stop smoking, having sexual relations outside marriage, or drinking alcohol. No! On the contrary, He gives me the strength and the will to stop.

“For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” – Philippians 2:13

“For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.” – Titus 2:11-12

God our Father asks us to be holy in our actions because He knows He has already given us the ability to live a holy life. He doesn’t come to us with a long list of “Do’s” and “Don’ts”. On the contrary, He comes to place within us a new heart, a heart that has no desire for sin. This new heart longs to no longer smoke, no longer lie, no longer be jealous of others. So when God asks us to stop doing something, He is actually echoing our own deepest aspiration.

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” – Ezekiel 36:26

“I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me.” – Jeremiah 32:40

This text is an excerpt from the book “MY FIRST STEPS IN CHRIST” written by Elza NGALESSAMI.

We invite you to read the next article: “KNOWING WHO I TRULY AM.”