Holiness has fallen on hard times these days. It’s not hip to be “holy” today. But how do you as a Christian live in this world that is increasingly unholy and out of control? You are a sojourner and exile, you are a stranger in a strange land, you are a citizen of heaven and this world is not your home. It is increasingly hostile. Should you withdraw? “Let us be monks on a remote island, off the grid.” Should you accommodate and be more and more like the world around us? “Let’s just give in.” No! You are to be distinct and different. You are to be holy.
First, Peter told you to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul (1 Peter 2:11). What are these passions or desires? Paul defined them in Galatians 5:19-21 – sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. That’s quite a “not holy” list. It’s these works that wage war against your soul. The battle is being fought in your mind, your heart, your spirit. It’s these works that will keep you out of the kingdom. It’s these works that get you off track with Jesus and make a train wreck of your life. And you must abstain from them. Say, “NO!” Fight the good fight and kill these passions and works. Put off the old and put on the new in Christ and live as He would have you to live and as He is working in you. Don’t bring a knife to a gunfight. Put on the whole armor of God and use your weapons of prayer, the Word, and church. You can win the battle.
Second, keep your conduct among unbelievers honorable, so that when they speak against you as an evildoer, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation (1 Peter 2:12). Here’s where “holy” kicks in. “Honorable conduct” means doing the right and godly thing, to be above board and abstain from the passions of the flesh, to be holy. It means to live as Jesus said in Matthew 5:16, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” It means you don’t “cook the books” on your finances. Don’t lie or steal or murder. Don’t cheat on your wife or husband. Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. This will go a long way to be a witness to the unbelievers of the world. The Day is coming when Christ will return and judge the living and the dead. Will God get the glory?
Temptation and worldliness will pull you away from God and His kingdom, if you let them. But you, in Christ, through Christ, are part of a holy priesthood, a holy nation. “So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.” Be holy, as your Father in heaven is holy.