I am the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.

Leviticus 11:44-45

44 I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves along the ground. 45 I am the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.


Today’s title is “ Be Holy As I Am Holy”

“Be holy, because I am holy” is one of the great themes of the Bible. God wants us to be more like Him. It is the earnest desire of all godly people to be like God. We want to be loving as God is loving. We want to be righteous as God is righteous. After we have seen Christ the Son of God incarnate, Christlikeness has become the earnest desire of all the Christians. Believers began to be called “Christians” in the church of Antioch where apostles Paul and Barnabas served among others. What do you think did make people call believers in Antioch with such a title? It is obvious. All the believers in Antioch were like Christ to the eyes of the people. In fact, they all must have been little Jesus. That’s indeed what all Christians must strive to be called. If we ever are considered as little Jesus, It will be an honor like none other. Then what is makes us be like Christ or God? The book of Leviticus shows us that it is holiness. Today’s passage shows it clearly. In this passage, God keeps identifying Himself as the Lord who brought the Israelites out of Egypt. Then He goes on to say, “Therefore, be holy because I am holy.” It shows clearly here that the grand purpose of God’s deliverance of Israelites is to make them holy like Him. The grand plan of God to make His people as holy as He is still holding true for us. But how can we be holy? The holiness of God seems so transcendent and beyond us. God knows us. He would never want to make us another holy God if that’s what you are worried about. He just wants us to make people of God who carry distinctive characteristics of God unlike worldly people such as Egyptians. The book of Leviticus lists a series of little things that can make the people of God distinctive and separated from ungodly people. Such holiness principle still holds true although we were now over with many ritualistic activities. God wants us to be holy as He is holy. But our holiness never meant religious pretense. It is rather a humble admission of our iniquities and frailties. It is a sincere confession that without the blood of the Lord Jesus, we will never be clean before God. From then on, we can make small changes in our daily life. What do you think? Are you holy as God is holy? It is not so the scary task for you, is it?