Astronaut Victor Glover orbited the moon—250,000 miles from Earth—and looked back at our planet. He called it a spaceship. But then he said something that mattered most: "We need Jesus—whether here on Earth or orbiting the moon."
Floating above the moon, viewing Earth as a blue marble suspended in darkness, Victor Glover grasped something simple yet profound: God is holy. Not merely powerful or distant. God is holy. Holiness defines His essence. IF we where to sum up God in one word, Holy it would be!
I want to ensure you understand today that one thing that God can never do is to be unholy. The term holy used in scripture is commonly defined as something set apart. God is holy in that he is set apart from everything that is not God, and God’s people must be holy by being set apart from sin. This is one major reason why Christ came to us!
Peter writes in 1 Peter 1:16: "You shall be holy, for I am holy." Not "Try to be holy." Not "Holiness is for the spiritually elite." The command is absolute: You shall be holy. An imperative and a non-negotiable. Because sin has been dealt with in Christ, you and me can be holy when we surrender to Him as He is a Holy and living God period. And here's what I want you to understand: the word holy calls us to remember. Remember God's faithfulness. How He's guided us. Protected us. Provided for us. You and I are spiritually connected to a holy God who has literally worked miralces in our lives, even when we don’t know it. When we know that God is Holy, so to are his creation, you and me, not to mention objects that are ‘set apart’ for God’s use becomes Holy!
MAIN POINT 1: GOD'S HOLINESS IS HIS NATURE & it isn't something He achieves but is already there. It's who He is. Its not a mood or a phase and not even a choice, its who God is that can never be in contradiction. In Gods holiness, He represents the true definition of goodness. Scripture reinforces this across time—from Abraham's walk with God to the prophets calling Israel back to faithfulness, to John's vision of elders casting their crowns before the throne, crying, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty".
MAIN POINT 2: GOD CALLS US TO SHARE HIS CHARACTER as He desires to relate to His people which is deeply personal. Peter isn't saying, "Try harder to impress God." He's saying: "Since you belong to a holy God, live like His people."
Do not children naturally adopt their guardians or parents mannerisms, values or their way of seeing the world. Maybe the daughter laughs like her mother or the son acquired the fathers pickiness. It happens because they belong to their parents; like you and me, we are God’s people. In the Christian life, that is what holiness looks like, as Paul told the people of Philipi, the attidue you have let it be like Christ’s. Holiness is the invitation to become what you already are.
MAIN POINT 3: HOLINESS MUST SHAPE EVERYDAY LIFE which means we are not to be idle, but live the life God gave us with Him in it! Going to work, raising families, handling money, dealing with difficult neighbors.
Peter tells them: your holiness must be visible in all that you do, which includes your speech; words that lift up instead of crushing. Our relationships that we love sacrificially, or only when it's convenient? 1 Cor. 13 tells us what love is; patient, kind, not jealous, not bragging or arrogant. Holiness shapes how you love.
How about our money and wealth which we are to give generously but do we hoard it? Matthew 6 tells us Seek first Gods kingdom and all things will be added to you; that is Holiness shapes how you steward your wealth.
Consider your mind of things you dwell on. What takes hold of you that gains more attention that of God? 2 Cor. tells us, "Take every thought captive in Christ"; that is Holiness shapes what goes on inside your mind, because what's inside eventually comes out.
Holiness isn't confined it liberates into every relationship, every transaction, every thought, every word and it should be visible—not ostentatious, not self-righteous, but noticeably different. When people see you, they should see someone shaped by a holy God. The bible calls this being transformed, which happens by our obedience with Prayer and even Scripture reading.
MAIN POINT 4: GOD'S HOLINESS EXPOSES OUR NEED FOR GRACE knowing we do not deserve it. When we stand before God, our hidden secrets before mankind all become visible; and this is where we experience the same holy God who calls us to holiness also forgives and transforms us by grace (unmerited favor).
God’s message to all people is simple. "I love you. I forgive you. Now I will make you holy." Not "Become holy first, then I'll love you." Love comes first along with God’s forgiveness. Then transformation.
Now, don’t confuse the idea that we are saved by becoming Holy, we are saved so that we can become Holy. Justification restores our relationship with God. Sanctification—the Spirit's ongoing work—makes us like Christ.
When you truly experience God's forgiveness, your heart softens. Your desires reshape. You want to be holy because you remember His faithfulness. That remembrance—that spiritual discipline of recalling God's goodness—connects you to the Spirit's transforming power, day by day.
You're not earning God's approval. You're responding to a love that has already claimed you.
CONCLUSION
The command to be holy isn't a burden. It's an invitation into life with the holy God today, at this very moment.
But here's what I want you to take home: Remember.
I knew a man who spent years angry at God. Years of bitterness, resentment, distance. But one morning, sitting alone, he remembered something from his childhood. He remembered his father's voice calling him home after he'd gotten lost in the woods. He remembered the relief, the safety, the love in that voice. And suddenly, he understood: God has been calling him home all along. That remembrance broke something open in him. His heart softened. His resistance crumbled. He wept. And from that moment, his life began to change.
That's what remembrance does. It connects you to grace. It reshapes your desires. It makes holiness stop being a burden and start being a desire.
Remember God's faithfulness in your life. How He's guided you. Protected you. Provided for you. That remembrance connects you to His transforming power.
So here's your invitation: Remember God's faithfulness. Repent where you need to. Surrender fully. Trust the Holy One to make you holy.
The God who calls you to holiness will supply everything you need. Will you answer?
Unresolved bitterness, doubt and fear will stray you away. You can indeed take care of that today! Don’t leave here today with anything less than to choose life with our Holy God.