When I was a student, there was an old worship song by Scott Underwood that went, “Holiness, holiness is what I long for. Holiness is what I need.” I remember hearing the word “holy” all over the place and not truly knowing what it meant. I thought that it was just something God was. God is good, faithful, loving, and holy. If this song is about wanting to be holy, then how does that happen? First, we have to know what holiness is.

1. Have you ever heard the term “holiness” before? If so, what do you think it means?

When I was younger, I was asked this same question. I heard the term so many times and knew God was holy. Yet, I did not know how He was holy and how I was supposed to be holy. I knew of the Holy Spirit, but most of my understanding and use of the word was related to cows more than it was related to God.

Read Isaiah 6:3.

2. How many times is the word “holy” used in this passage?

3. Based on that, what does that tell you about God?

Read Ephesians 1:4.

4. What does this tell us about God? What does this tell us about holiness?

Holiness means to be sanctified and separated. God is separate and perfect. He is without sin and blemish of the world.

5. If God is asking us to be holy, what does that mean we must also be?

You may be asking, “If we are meant to be perfect and without blemish, is that even obtainable?” The short answer is no. At least, we cannot do it on our own.

Read Leviticus 19:2.

6. The Lord is speaking to Moses. What is He asking him to do?

7. According to this passage, why must we be holy?

God is holy. All things He does are done in holiness. So, if He is holy, I ask again, how do we become holy? Do we try to be perfect? Do we try to become morally sound? Such things are impossible for us as sinful people to do. During Old Testament times, in order to be with God there had to be a mediator between us and God. Only specific people could be in His presence and a sacrifice was required to pay for the sins of the people. At that time, God’s holiness was so intense there were special instructions before entering His presence. Now, with Jesus’s ultimate sacrifice, the holiness of God is no longer an obstacle and is personified through His Holy Spirit. We obtain holiness only through God and His Spirit with all gratitude given to Christ who died for our sins.

8. What are ways that we can be more like God?

9. How does God make us holy?

To understand God’s holiness further, you must understand that only through Christ do we obtain His holiness by asking Him to cleanse us of our blemishes and sins. Relying on the Holy Spirit leads us to a holy life.