Holy Like Jesus

“It is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy’” (1 Peter 1:16, ESV). There are two elements of Jesus’ life that are meant to be part of our lives too. That is, we are to be holy and anointed. Some Christians might be intimidated when they hear this. “Sure, I live a moral life and I do my best to be godly — but holy? And anointed? How could that happen with all my failures?”

But there it is, straight from Peter’s pen. The only way this could happen is if Jesus gave us his own holiness and anointing, and that’s exactly what he did, through his perfect sacrifice for us. Christ lived a spotless life on earth, and through his perfect life on earth, his payment for our sins is thorough and endless.

Christ’s work for us — his crucifixion, death, and resurrection — did more than cleanse us of sin. Through it, he also imparted to us his righteousness. Think about what an amazing thing this is: While all our sin is on him, all his righteousness is on us. 

One of the sins God cleanses us of is our deep belief that our behavior makes us righteous. We can never earn our way to a higher level of righteousness; we’re made righteous by him alone. That’s where our victory lies. As Paul testifies, “I can no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith” (Philippians 3:9, NLT).

You may feel holy only on days when you’re doing well, worshipful and conscious of God in every way. But don’t mistake that for a state of holiness. You can never be holier than Jesus’ blood makes you. So, by his power, we are his worthy witnesses not just in good times but in bad times as well.

Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12, ESV).

The key to our belief is that he is at work already. Accept his holiness, no matter what you think of yourself, and receive his anointing to fulfill the works he has prepared for you. He’ll open every door and you’ll see him perform unexpected wonders!