holy-bible  In my experience the American Christian church has left an important biblical word out of its vocabulary. That word (or a form of it) is used at least 1,354 times in the Bible, and yet is almost never mentioned today. Are you ready for it? That word is “holy” (or holiness).

   Understanding holiness makes a huge difference in how we live our lives, as well as in what our eternity will look like. I’ll start by sharing two scary aspects of holiness, and then I want you to see how being holy is a gift you can actually have today.

   Here is the first scary truth: God’s design for us is way beyond our reach. I think you will agree that the Apostle Peter lays out an impossible–sounding goal in 1 Peter 1:15–16: “like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’ ”

   What? God expects us to be as holy as He is? That is impossible.

   The point is that God is the ultimate standard of what is right and wrong. If we don’t see God as the standard, then we will decide how good we are based on what we see around us. The problem is that we can always find people who are worse than we are. That can make us feel good about ourselves, although we are still not pleasing to a holy God. In other words, God doesn’t grade holiness on a curve. Paul put it this way, “For we are not bold to class or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves; but when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding” (2 Corinthians 10:12).

   As if that wasn’t scary enough, the Bible says that perfectly holy people are the ONLY ones who will go to heaven. “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). You could waste your whole life trying to be as holy as God is, and you can be sure you would never make it. The Bible says, “God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt;

[compared to God] there is none who does good, not even one” (Psalm 53:2–3).

   So what does all of this mean? God requires that we be as holy as He is, and we are all miserable failures at it. Wow! That would be extremely discouraging except for one thing.

God has offered to give us His perfect holiness! What we cannot do for ourselves, God has volunteered to do for us.

   This is how it works. Jesus, “bore our sins in His body on the cross…” (1 Peter 2:24) and those who turn from sin and follow Him become “…… holy and blameless before Him….” (Ephesians 1:4). This is mind–boggling. In spite of our many sins, we can possess “the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe…” (Romans 3:22).

   Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon explains it this way, “Holiness is not the way to Christ; Christ is the way to holiness.”

   I experience joy every time I think about what Jesus did for me on the Cross. Embracing God’s undeserved gift of holiness floods me with great joy. That joy can be yours as well. Admit that you are a failure at being holy, and trust what Jesus did to give His holiness to you.