Date: August 12, 2024

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, power, and dominion forever and ever, and to the Holy Ghost, who continues to dwell within us, guiding our steps. This week’s message discusses “Why Should We Be Holy?”

My brothers and sisters, our motive for being holy is not to follow rules and laws but to follow God Himself. We are to strive to be blessed, “pursuing… the holiness without which no one can see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). But how can we be motivated to be holy? Why should we seek to be blessed? The answer to this question gives us profound insight into our motives.

We are to be holy because God is holy. In 1 Peter 1:14-16, it says “As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” The reason we are to be holy is because God is sacred. We are to obey (vs. 14) not just because the Bible tells us to do so but because of who God is and the nature of His character. God’s commands show us the way to live fully and joyously. To violate God’s commands means violating biblical teaching and offending God’s holy nature. It’s like running full speed into a concrete wall; we damage ourselves more than the wall.

In closing, God reveals His instruction about holiness in the Bible, but God’s character is the ultimate reason for our obedience. The more we meditate on who God is, the more we see who we are to be. We will not be infinite, eternal, omnipresent, or self-existent, but we can emulate God’s goodness, justice, holiness, and love.

Because “…with God, all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). 

In His Service,

Bishop Dr. Calvin Worthem

General Chief Overseer/Senior Bishop