The purpose of this blog is to encourage and motivate Christians to reach their maximum potential. Bible Study On Holiness And Purity plan (2 Peter 3:18) as we learn & apply God’s Word (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
Do you have an interest in learning more about spiritual purity? No one feels as isolated as you do right now. How many people have wondered, “What is holy?” What does it mean to live a holy life? There is a growing interest in learning more about the value of purity in today’s morally corrupt and sexually promiscuous society.
We don’t give holiness and purity much thought most of the time. However, we often fail to fully investigate these concepts, even when we are aware of their significance. Therefore, we have settled on a Bible study focused on sanctity and cleanliness. Lots of information is available online about this. Here, we’ll do our best to help you sort through the noise and offer some concrete suggestions for improving your moral character.
Bible Study On Holiness And Purity
To be pure is to lack any kind of moral taint or corruption in one’s character. Use as a synonym for chastity, which is defined as abstaining from sexual misconduct. The Christian concept of purity as a virtue that is a fruit of the Holy Spirit and thus a means to holiness is a powerful one.
God has given us many rules in the Bible about what it means to be holy. Leviticus 11:44–45 shows that God specifies the foods that are acceptable and those that are not. Deuteronomy 14:3-21 contains similar instructions, detailing which animals are fit for human consumption and which are not.
The Bible uses the word “purity” in a variety of contexts, but most of the time it is referring to either sexual purity or virginity (1 Corinthians 7:25-28), spiritual purity (Ephesians 5:27), or ceremonial purity (Leviticus 16:18). (Leviticus 11).
Holiness is a term that is frequently used in Christian scriptures. However, it is a concept that is often misunderstood and misapplied. What does it mean to be holy? How can we be holy?
Holy living is commanded of us by God in the Bible because He is holy. We will explore the definition of holiness and the steps necessary to live a holy life in this Bible study.
To grasp the concept of holiness, we must first examine God’s holiness. Holiest is qadosh in Hebrew. Over 500 times in the Old Testament, this word is used, almost always in reference to God or God’s actions. It’s derived from a root that means “to sever” (qadash). When something is isolated from its surroundings, it demands to be treated with utmost respect and awe. This is why the tabernacle’s holiest spots were set apart from the rest. God Himself had reserved them for His own purposes (see Exodus 25:8-9).
However, there is more than one way to render this term in English. The literal or intended meaning of this term varies from translation to translation. When you examine every occurrence of this word in the Bible, you will notice that it always refers to something that is uniquely God’s or Israel’s (see Deuteronomy 7:7).
In this article, we will explore the meaning of holiness and how we can walk in its path.
What Is Holiness?
The concept of holiness is multifaceted. It can mean being clean or sinless, being holy or dedicated to God, being accepted by God or others, or being pure and clean.
All four definitions of holiness can be found in the Bible. When used in this context, it means spotless purity (Luke 11:40). It means being singled out or distinguished (Romans 12:1). When we say that we are “God-pleasing,” we mean that we are acceptable in God’s eyes (Psalm 11:4). As a corollary, it means prioritizing the needs of others over your own (Philippians 2:12-13)
Holiness in Scripture
Holy people are modeled for us throughout the Bible. For instance, Moses was deemed “very humble” due to his extreme reluctance to disobey God (Numbers 12:3). Because of his piety, Joshua was also revered.
This study will look at holiness and purity in the Bible;
First, we’ll look at some Old Testament verses that touch on holiness and purity, and then we’ll move on to some New Testament verses that do the same.
The connections between these ideas will also be explored. In this article, we’ll examine the similarities and differences between these two topics.
There are many references to holiness and cleanliness in the Bible. What exactly does it mean to be a holy person? In what ways can one define purity? How can we ensure that our lives are spotless and holy before God?
Finding out what holiness and purity mean in the Bible is the first step in responding to these questions. Separate is essentially the same thing as holy. That which is holy, then, stands apart from the mundane; it is unique and serves its own end or has its own character. This is what it means when we say that God is holy: that he is distinct from and above all other things; that he has his own being and goals that are not tied to ours.
When referring to something’s purity, however, we are talking about how clean it is in a more literal or figurative sense. By this definition, purity is the absence of any kind of taint or blemish, and God is again described as such because he is wholly self-contained and therefore needs nothing from outside himself.
Holiness and cleanliness are intertwined biblical themes. The Hebrew word for holy can also be translated as “pure.” Although these two words sound similar, they actually mean different things.
We usually think of something as holy if it is set apart from the rest of the world. We might say that a church or a religious relic is holy because of the significance we attach to their connections with God.
Purity, however, typically means abstaining from things that are considered unclean or impure, such as those that can lead to feelings of filth or shame. If someone doesn’t eat pork because they consider it unclean, that person has a purity system based on their beliefs.
When we combine the ideas of holiness and purity, we get more nuance than either one would provide on its own. The connection between our deeds and our spiritual growth (holiness) becomes clear to us (uncleanliness).
- -Purity is a state of being free from sin.
- -Holiness is to be set apart, or made pure.
- -You can’t reach holiness without being pure.
Scriptures On Holiness And Purity
Matthew 5:8 ESV / 905 helpful votes
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Psalm 119:9 ESV / 715 helpful votes
How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.
1 Timothy 4:12 ESV / 561 helpful votes
Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.
Hebrews 13:4 ESV / 552 helpful votes
Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.
1 Corinthians 6:18 ESV / 522 helpful votes
Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.
Psalm 51:10 ESV / 498 helpful votes
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 ESV / 463 helpful votes
For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God;
1 John 1:9 ESV / 442 helpful votes
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Galatians 5:19-21 ESV / 360 helpful votes
Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Colossians 3:5 ESV / 350 helpful votes
Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
Romans 13:14 ESV / 337 helpful votes
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
Philippians 4:8 ESV / 309 helpful votes
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Psalm 24:3-4 ESV / 266 helpful votes
Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.
Ephesians 5:5 ESV / 234 helpful votes
For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
1 Thessalonians 4:3-8 ESV / 230 helpful votes
For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. …
James 4:8 ESV / 215 helpful votes
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Titus 1:15 ESV / 186 helpful votes
To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled.
Titus 2:12 ESV / 185 helpful votes
Training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,
1 Timothy 5:22 ESV / 178 helpful votes
Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure.
2 Corinthians 6:17-7:1 ESV / 177 helpful votes
Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.” Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.
1 Corinthians 6:13 ESV / 166 helpful votes
“Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
Hebrews 13:18 ESV / 162 helpful votes
Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things.
Psalm 119:37 ESV / 162 helpful votes
Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways.
Ephesians 5:3 ESV / 156 helpful votes
But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.
Titus 2:5 ESV / 139 helpful votes
To be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.
1 Corinthians 7:2 ESV / 135 helpful votes
But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.
John 8:34 ESV / 131 helpful votes
Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.
Habakkuk 1:13 ESV / 131 helpful votes
You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he?
Luke 11:34-35 ESV / 130 helpful votes
Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 ESV / 128 helpful votes
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
James 1:27 ESV / 126 helpful votes
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
Colossians 3:1-25 ESV / 124 helpful votes
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. …
Galatians 2:20 ESV / 118 helpful votes
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Job 31:1 ESV / 115 helpful votes
“I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?
2 Corinthians 11:2 ESV / 112 helpful votes
For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.
Psalm 73:1 ESV / 110 helpful votes
A Psalm of Asaph. Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 ESV / 106 helpful votes
For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,
2 Corinthians 6:6 ESV / 106 helpful votes
By purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love;
Proverbs 6:32 ESV / 106 helpful votes
He who commits adultery lacks sense; he who does it destroys himself.
Job 4:17 ESV / 105 helpful votes
‘Can mortal man be in the right before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker?
Hebrews 9:14 ESV / 104 helpful votes
How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
Romans 8:7 ESV / 104 helpful votes
For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.
Genesis 2:24 ESV / 103 helpful votes
Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
Exodus 20:14 ESV / 101 helpful votes
“You shall not commit adultery.
Proverbs 1:7 ESV / 93 helpful votes
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 7:1-27 ESV / 91 helpful votes
My son, keep my words and treasure up my commandments with you; keep my commandments and live; keep my teaching as the apple of your eye; bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart. Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” and call insight your intimate friend, to keep you from the forbidden woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words. …
Psalm 24:3-5 ESV / 91 helpful votes
Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
1 Timothy 6:11 ESV / 77 helpful votes
But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.
Romans 6:11-14 ESV / 77 helpful votes
So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
Matthew 5:23-32 ESV / 77 helpful votes
So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ …
Proverbs 27:19-24 ESV / 77 helpful votes
As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man. Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied, and never satisfied are the eyes of man. The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and a man is tested by his praise. Crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, yet his folly will not depart from him. Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds, …
1 Peter 1:16-22 ESV / 73 helpful votes
Since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you …
Hebrews 12:14 ESV / 73 helpful votes
Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.
Titus 1:1-3:15 ESV / 73 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful
Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior; To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you.
Walking In Holiness Verses
James 3:2 ESV / 71 helpful votes
For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.
Galatians 6:7-8 ESV / 71 helpful votes
Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
1 Chronicles 16:11 ESV / 71 helpful votes
Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!
Psalm 18:26 ESV / 70 helpful votes
With the purified you show yourself pure; and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
Leviticus 18:30 ESV / 69 helpful votes
So keep my charge never to practice any of these abominable customs that were practiced before you, and never to make yourselves unclean by them: I am the Lord your God.”
Proverbs 22:1-23:35 ESV / 68 helpful votes
A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold. The rich and the poor meet together; the Lord is the Maker of them all. The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it. The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life. Thorns and snares are in the way of the crooked; whoever guards his soul will keep far from them. …
Leviticus 11:45 ESV / 65 helpful votes
For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.”
Isaiah 59:2 ESV / 62 helpful votes
But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
Isaiah 52:1-15 ESV / 61 helpful votes
Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion; put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; for there shall no more come into you the uncircumcised and the unclean. Shake yourself from the dust and arise; be seated, O Jerusalem; loose the bonds from your neck, O captive daughter of Zion. For thus says the Lord: “You were sold for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money.” For thus says the Lord God: “My people went down at the first into Egypt to sojourn there, and the Assyrian oppressed them for nothing. Now therefore what have I here,” declares the Lord, “seeing that my people are taken away for nothing? Their rulers wail,” declares the Lord, “and continually all the day my name is despised. …
Titus 3:5 ESV / 59 helpful votes
He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,
1 Thessalonians 4:3-5:24 ESV / 59 helpful votes
For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. …
Hebrews 12:1-13:25 ESV / 58 helpful votes
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. …
Colossians 1:5-2:12 ESV / 58 helpful votes
Because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf and has made known to us your love in the Spirit. And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, …
Philippians 1:6-11 ESV / 58 helpful votes
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, …
1 Corinthians 3:16-6:20 ESV / 58 helpful votes
Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,” and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” …
Ezekiel 36:25-27 ESV / 58 helpful votes
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
Jeremiah 4:14 ESV / 58 helpful votes
O Jerusalem, wash your heart from evil, that you may be saved. How long shall your wicked thoughts lodge within you?
Proverbs 15:29-16:7 ESV / 58 helpful votes
The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous. The light of the eyes rejoices the heart, and good news refreshes the bones. The ear that listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise. Whoever ignores instruction despises himself, but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence. The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor. …
Psalm 119:1-176 ESV / 58 helpful votes
Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord! Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways! You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently. Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes! …
Galatians 4:16-5:24 ESV / 57 helpful votes
Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth? They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them. It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you, my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you! I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you. …
Romans 12:1-14:19 ESV / 57 helpful votes
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. …
Isaiah 1:16-17 ESV / 57 helpful votes
Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.
Psalm 86:11 ESV / 57 helpful votes
Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.
2 Timothy 2:4-26 ESV / 56 helpful votes
No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, …
Colossians 4:1-18 ESV / 56 helpful votes
Masters, treat your bondservants justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven. Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. …
Romans 10:1-11:36 ESV / 56 helpful votes
Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. …
Acts 15:1-16:40 ESV / 56 helpful votes
But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brothers. When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them. But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.” …
Acts 2:19-47 ESV / 56 helpful votes
And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. …
Matthew 22:14-23:26 ESV / 56 helpful votes
For many are called, but few are chosen.” Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? …
Ezekiel 44:1-31 ESV / 56 helpful votes
Then he brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces east. And it was shut. And the Lord said to me, “This gate shall remain shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered by it. Therefore it shall remain shut. Only the prince may sit in it to eat bread before the Lord. He shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gate, and shall go out by the same way.” Then he brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple, and I looked, and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple of the Lord. And I fell on my face. And the Lord said to me, “Son of man, mark well, see with your eyes, and hear with your ears all that I shall tell you concerning all the statutes of the temple of the Lord and all its laws. And mark well the entrance to the temple and all the exits from the sanctuary. …
Ezekiel 39:24 ESV / 56 helpful votes
I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and their transgressions, and hid my face from them.
Ecclesiastes 7:15-26 ESV / 56 helpful votes
In my vain life I have seen everything. There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing. Be not overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself? Be not overly wicked, neither be a fool. Why should you die before your time? It is good that you should take hold of this, and from that withhold not your hand, for the one who fears God shall come out from both of them. Wisdom gives strength to the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city. …
Proverbs 11:17-23 ESV / 56 helpful votes
A man who is kind benefits himself, but a cruel man hurts himself. The wicked earns deceptive wages, but one who sows righteousness gets a sure reward. Whoever is steadfast in righteousness will live, but he who pursues evil will die. Those of crooked heart are an abomination to the Lord, but those of blameless ways are his delight. Be assured, an evil person will not go unpunished, but the offspring of the righteous will be delivered. …
Proverbs 4:1-27 ESV / 56 helpful votes
Hear, O sons, a father’s instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight, for I give you good precepts; do not forsake my teaching. When I was a son with my father, tender, the only one in the sight of my mother, he taught me and said to me, “Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments, and live. Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth. …
Psalm 84:5-11 ESV / 56 helpful votes
Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. As they go through the Valley of Baca they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion. O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah Behold our shield, O God; look on the face of your anointed! …
Psalm 50:17-52:9 ESV / 56 helpful votes
For you hate discipline, and you cast my words behind you. If you see a thief, you are pleased with him, and you keep company with adulterers. “You give your mouth free rein for evil, and your tongue frames deceit. You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother’s son. These things you have done, and I have been silent; you thought that I was one like yourself. But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you. …
Psalm 33:12-34:22 ESV / 56 helpful votes
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage! The Lord looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man; from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds. The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. …
Psalm 5:1-12 ESV / 56 helpful votes
To the choirmaster: for the flutes. A Psalm of David. Give ear to my words, O Lord; consider my groaning. Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray. O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch. For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you. The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers. …
Judges 6:37-7:25 ESV / 56 helpful votes
Behold, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.” And it was so. When he rose early next morning and squeezed the fleece, he wrung enough dew from the fleece to fill a bowl with water. Then Gideon said to God, “Let not your anger burn against me; let me speak just once more. Please let me test just once more with the fleece. Please let it be dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground let there be dew.” And God did so that night; and it was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew. Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the spring of Harod. And the camp of Midian was north of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley. …
Exodus 24:1-25:40 ESV / 56 helpful votes
Then he said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar. Moses alone shall come near to the Lord, but the others shall not come near, and the people shall not come up with him.” Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the rules. And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do.” And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. He rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. And he sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord.
Lessons On Holiness
You can learn just how seriously you should take the business of holiness by reading the works of any major Puritan author. These Christians of the 17th century understood that the path to true and lasting happiness lies in submitting to God’s will. The spiritual guidance that Thomas Watson provided me was priceless. My decision to read The Godly Man’s Picture was influenced by Tim Challies’s recommendation of it in his ‘Reading Classics Together’ series. As Challies rightly notes, this is true for Christians of any and every gender. Here are a few of the lessons I took away from Watson’s encouragement in the area of holiness.
1. Happiness is a byproduct of holiness
Those who put their faith in bogus notions of holiness will likewise be led to believe in bogus levels of happiness. (p. 17)
Watson slams the pretentious charlatans whose corrupt motives lie beneath their pious facades. Such a way of life provides neither hope nor happiness, and it will serve us poorly in the day of God’s judgment. True holiness, planted deep within our souls by the Holy Spirit, is the key to a life filled with unending happiness. He makes us more like Jesus, the one who died for us, and gives us confidence that our salvation is genuine.
2. Purposefulness is essential for holiness.
Examine the attributes of the saints and don’t stop until you’ve imprinted them on your own heart. This is the major undertaking that needs all of your attention. (p. 8)
You won’t become holy by accident. Our sanctification, like anything worthwhile, requires forethought, organization, and effort. Do you have to constantly fight off the urge to spread rumors? How do you intend to instead communicate acts of love and truth? The following verse from Ephesians 4:29 may help you: “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” Alternately, you could pray daily with the intention of resisting temptation. The pursuit of holiness ought to take precedence over all other goals, including those related to work, family, and finances.
3. No one can achieve perfection in this world
The sin that lurks within a God-believer can be a source of great guilt. Those inward swerves are a corrupt underbelly of which he is unaware. (p. 56)
The reality of our sinfulness may be hazy and difficult to grasp when we first become Christians, but as we mature in Christ, it becomes crystal clear. This is very disappointing if reaching perfection on Earth is our ultimate goal. On the plus side, though, there is some encouraging news. Of course not; rather, it is the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts that reveals our utter dependence on Jesus Christ. When we’re at our lowest, we have no choice but to look to the Cross, where Jesus died to pay for every sin, even the ones we don’t know we’ve committed. We are strengthened in our commitment because “he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil 1:6).
4. The Word of God is God’s instrument in bringing about holiness.
A godly man keeps God’s Word in his heart as a spiritual antidote to protect him from the contamination of sin, just as a man would bring an antidote with him in case he came into contact with an infected area. (p. 62)
On many weekday mornings, I can get through my morning Bible reading and call it a day. Time spent in God’s Word has never seemed like a blessing from God but rather a burden that must be endured. As a result of his foreknowledge of the day’s difficulties, we can rest assured that God’s Word is sufficient to help us face and overcome them. We can’t expect to live a holy life on the outside if we don’t allow God to transform us first. And this is not just done by reading; rather, I have found it extremely helpful to memorize Scripture so that the Spirit can bring it to my mind in times of trial or temptation. Let us never be without the Bible, the only weapon we need to fight off the pull of sin.
5. To be holy, one must have a correct understanding of sin.
Men would be profoundly impacted if they took just half an hour each day to escape the bustle of modern life and focus on their inner lives and the afterlife. (p. 207)
How recently have you given serious consideration to the sin you committed? It is important for the church as a community to have a time of confession and repentance during services, but I am not very motivated to do this on my own. When we fail to recognize the enormity of our sin, we suffer greatly. When we believe that things are going well, any hardship will seem unfair. When we fail to recognize the gravity of our sin, our focus shifts away from the cross, and we lose our motivation to grow spiritually.
6. Our sanctification won’t save us; only Christ will.
God is the one who keeps us from falling away from salvation. Being anchored to the “rock of ages” makes us as steady as a small boat at rest. (p. 215)
It’s beneficial to be morally upstanding, but it won’t save us. Since God is the one who accomplishes salvation, it is up to you to “work it out” (i.e., to put in the effort) with “fear and trembling” (Phil 2:12-13). God’s grace transforms us into more like Jesus Christ, but we can never measure up to his holiness. Our hope can only be in what lies ahead because of what Christ has done to pay for our sins.