Be Ye Holy

Have your children ever embarrassed you by something that they either said or did? Probably most parents have experienced this, although with growth and maturity, we hope that our children will come to understand what is acceptable behavior. This is a part of growing up and becoming more adult like. As parents we try to model good behavior, and our children respond by emulating what we do.

This process of growth through emulation takes place in the believers' lives as well. Yeshua is our master, our savior, and our God. If we want to grow to be like Him, we must emulate Him. Although we can look to the Gospels for His examples, we also find behavioral advice throughout God's Word.

1 Peter 1:15-16 (KJV)
¹⁵ But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
¹⁶ Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

When Peter penned these two verses, he was talking about our emulating God. Because God is holy, his people, the believers, are to be holy also. Specifically, verse 15 talks about our being holy in our manner of conversation. This is King James' talk for being holy in our conduct. Although our thoughts do matter, it is our behavior that shows what is going on in our minds. His readers had come out of paganism and self-centered ignorant behavior that didn't please God. Instead Peter advised them to be holy as God is holy. But Peter was not the originator of this concept. He was quoting from three separate places in the Old Testament.

Leviticus 11:44 (KJV)
⁴⁴ For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

Leviticus 19:2 (KJV)
² Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.

Leviticus 20:7 (KJV)
⁷ Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God.

Although Peter was able to write about behaviors that were considered holy, he used the quotes from the Old Testament to remind his readers about the contexts of the three verses from which he quoted. God had already stated what constituted holy behavior. Let's examine what God said in Leviticus about holy behaviors.

Obviously, from Leviticus 11:44 we can see that holy actions included not defiling oneself by eating creeping things. However, the whole chapter 11 of Leviticus is about what constitutes food and what doesn't. For example, according to God, eating pork is not how believers behave in an holy manner.

Leviticus 19 is about revering one's father and mother, keeping of Sabbaths, and other laws. Apparently, holy behavior consists of reverence for parents and the observance of the seventh day Sabbath.

Leviticus 20 is about maintaining sexual purity. Again, God had already declared what behaviors were holy and what were not. Peter was simply reminding his readers.

Too often as we read the Bible, we see all the wonderful quotes that the New Testament writers have used, but we don't look back to see what God had already said regarding a matter. This has led to misunderstandings and incorrect theologies. Until we begin to follow the threads written through both New and Old Testaments we will continue to call holy behavior unholy, and unholy behavior holy. It is only through correcting this, that we will know how to emulate our master Yeshua, and not be an embarrassment to Him.