A friend of mine said: “Holiness is a difficult concept to get my mind around.”

I agree with him completely.

Here are four truths to help you get your mind about God’s call for holiness.

First, holiness matters to God. Throughout Scripture we read the call to be holy.

In Leviticus, God repeatedly called on the people to be holy as He is holy. Jesus ended the Sermon on the Mount with these words: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect”(Matthew 5:48) or, according to which translation you read, “Be holy as I am holy.”

Second, holiness is descriptive of God Himself. When Isaiah had his vision of the throne room of God he heard the seraphim crying out to one another: “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory” (Isaiah 6:3). In the Book of Revelation, in another vision of the heavenly throne, we hear the heavenly beings praising God and saying “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come” (Revelation 4:8).

Obviously, holiness cannot be ascribed to human beings unless we are in close proximity to the holy God. Any holiness we have comes through that relationship of being conformed to the image of Christ.Third, holiness refers to being set apart for God’s service. We are called to be saints, having been set apart for service to Him.Fourth, we are called to personal holiness. As we live our lives like God and in obedience to Him we show ourselves to be His children and His followers. The writer of Hebrews reminded us to live at peace with all men and to be holy, “without holiness no one will see the Lord”(Hebrews 12:14).

Holiness must become the object of our lives and the desire of our hearts.