How in the world can we be holy? (finish)

Today we'll focus on what might be the most important way that we can pursue a holy lifestyle in the midst of an unholy world..... we need to be growing in our personal knowledge of God's holiness.

Let that sink in.
We need to grow.
We need to increase in our personal knowledge of God.
And we need to be more and more aware of His holiness.
(And that makes us more and more aware of our own shortcomings.)

But don't think I'm a Debbie-downer here. Quite the contrary! The more we realize how holy He is, and how sinful we are, the more we understand His tremendous love and grace for us!! And that is a joyful thing!
Now that we've cleared that up, let's move forward. (Grin)
Both the phrase in I Peter, and the one in Leviticus imply that we know our Father, and that we know His holiness:

But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” (I Peter 1:15-16)

“Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy." (Leviticus 19:2)

The life of a believer is one of growing to know our Father better and better, on a personal level. How do we get to know Him better?
I'm glad you asked. (Grin) Because there are many ways to learn more about our Father God, His Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The most definitive way, of course, is through a personal relationship with Christ. Acknowledging His sacrifice and our unworthiness due to sin, and then accepting His salvation and indwelling is the A number 1 way to begin to know God. But as we mature in our relationship, we will see and know God in other ways, too.....

The Word of God....the Bible is His book, and reveals Him to us. It's oh, so important to study and learn from the Word.
Nature.....Romans 1 says that we can see God, know Him spontaneously in the world He created.
Art and music that is crafted for His glory can draw us closer to Him, as well.
Conscience is the voice of the Spirit. It speaks to us and reveals His guidance in many situations.
Experience....God's hand moving in our lives as we pray and obey His Word, will reveal Him to us as He shows His compassion and takes care of us.
Other believers can reveal God to us. They are like mirrors as they strive to live and love in this unholy world; they can keep us accountable.
And prayer.... on our knees literally or figuratively, we can meet with God and learn more about Him and His will for our lives.
When it's our desire to live holy lives in an unholy world, we need to seek His face, and learn more about His holiness:

Show me your ways, Lord,    teach me your paths.5 Guide me in your truth and teach me,    for you are God my Savior,
    and my hope is in you all day long. (Psalm 25:4-5)

I rejoice in following your statutes    as one rejoices in great riches. I meditate on your precepts    and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees;    I will not neglect your word.Your statutes are my delight;    they are my counselors.Teach me, Lord, the way of your decrees,    that I may follow it to the end. Give me understanding, so that I may keep your law    and obey it with all my heart. Direct me in the path of your commands,    for there I find delight. (Psalm 119:14-16, 24, 33-35)

Praying over our Bible studies will reveal Him to us as never before. If we truly seek Him, we will learn more about Him and we will find Him. That is a promise.
Many of us find the promise in Jeremiah familiar -- He has plans for us....but check out the next verses after that with me:

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, (Jeremiah 29:11-14a)

Are we seeking Him with all our heart?
I'm concerned that in this day, many believers are shallow in their knowledge of God. They talk about Him without any reverence for the awesomeness of His power and His holiness. Come on, people, many times when someone got a glimpse of Christ after His resurrection, they fell on their face in awe and reverence! Do we have that kind of feeling when we consider Him? Think about an Old Testament example -- Isaiah had a vision of God on His throne; the angels were crying out, "Holy, holy, holy." It was an incredible experience, and brought home to the prophet the immensity of his sin, and the sins of his people.

I'll repeat what I began with......when we learn more about the holiness of God, we'll learn more about our sins, too. And then we will revel in the amazing grace of a holy God Who saved us through the cross of Jesus Christ.
Surely that knowledge will transform us; we can never be as holy as God is holy, but we can grow in personal holiness as we grow in our relationship with Him.

Thanks for sticking with me as we spent two weeks on this passage! I learned a lot....hope you found something useful here, too!