Why Must Christians Pursue Holiness?
Because we have been redeemed by Christ and set apart as God’s people, holiness is not optional—it is what God saved us to pursue.
In 1 Peter 1:13–19, Peter calls believers to set their hope fully on the grace Christ will bring when He returns and to pursue holiness as obedient children of God. Christians have been redeemed from an empty life of sin by the precious blood of Christ and set apart as God’s own people. This post is based on Pastor Ken’s sermon, “Why Christians Must Pursue Holiness.” Watch the full sermon below.
The gospel does more than promise forgiveness. Through faith in Christ, sinners are justified—declared righteous before God and credited with the perfect righteousness of Jesus. We who deserve condemnation are brought near to God and given peace with Him. But our salvation does not end there. God has also promised His people a glorious inheritance that can never perish, fade, or be taken away. When Christ returns, our bodies will be redeemed, our salvation will be completed, we will be fully sanctified in forever communion with God (Romans 8:23, 1 Corinthians 15, Ephesians 5:25-27, Philippians 3:20-21, 1 John 3:2, Jude 23-24). We will be forever in communion with God (Psalm 23:6, 1 Thessalonians 4:17). We will be holy, without sin, and with the Lord. That future hope should change how we live now.
Set Your Hope Fully on the Grace to Come
After describing the greatness of our salvation in 1 Peter 1:1–12, Peter gives believers a decisive command: “Set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:13). We received grace when God forgave our sins and made us right with Himself. We did not deserve forgiveness, righteousness, or reconciliation with God; all of it came to us through God’s grace alone. But Peter also points us toward the grace still to come. When Jesus returns, our bodies will be transformed, our salvation will be completed, and we will live forever in communion with God. We who continue to struggle with sin now will finally be made holy and blameless.
Peter tells us to set our hope on that coming grace fully—not halfheartedly, with one foot in and one foot out, but completely. Christian hope is not an uncertain wish that something might happen. God has promised that Christ will return and complete the salvation He began in us. Hebrews 9:28 says that Christ “will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” Are you eagerly waiting for that day? Do you long for Christ to return, make all things right, and finally free you from every trace of sin?
Prepare Your Mind for Action
Peter tells us to set our hope on Christ by preparing our minds for action and remaining sober-minded. The phrase translated “preparing your minds for action” carries the picture of gathering up a long robe and tucking it into a belt so that nothing prevents a person from moving. In the same way, believers must not allow anything to hinder our minds from focusing on the grace that will be ours when Christ returns. We must discipline our minds to think actively about our future salvation and live in light of that reality. Fear, worry, sin, trials, earthly pleasures, and countless distractions can pull our attention away from what God has promised.
We live in a world filled with voices competing for our attention. As we scroll, click, watch, and listen, our minds are constantly saturated with things that can dull our spiritual senses. Worldly pursuits and trivial concerns can anesthetize us until we no longer think clearly about eternity. We must ask whether anything is clouding our minds or keeping us from eagerly anticipating Christ’s return. Are we actively setting our hope on what will be ours when He comes? Jesus says, “Surely I am coming soon,” and the proper response of God’s people is, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20).
Be Holy Because Your Father Is Holy
Our future hope does not make us passive about sin. We do not simply wait for the day when God will complete our sanctification. Instead, we begin pursuing now what we will perfectly become then. Peter writes, “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct” (1 Peter 1:14–15). Through Christ, we have been born again into God’s family. God is now our Father, and His children should increasingly reflect His character.
Before Christ, we lived in spiritual ignorance and followed the desires of our sinful nature. We were children of disobedience (Ephesians 2:2), living in darkness and separated from God. But believers are no longer who we once were. God has given us new life, and His life within us begins to produce a growing desire for righteousness. This does not mean Christians stop struggling with sin. We will struggle, stumble, repent, trust Christ, and continue moving forward until the day we die. But someone who has truly been born of God cannot remain comfortable in a habitual, unrepentant life of sin because God’s seed (His Spirit, His life) abides in us and as such, His work within us produces real change and a growing pursuit of holiness (1 John 3:9).
Set Apart from the World
God’s holiness means that He is set apart. He is distinct from His creation and belongs in a category all His own. He is absolutely righteous, morally pure, and completely separated from everything sinful or profane. Believers belong to this holy God. We are “a holy nation, a people for his own possession,” called out of darkness and into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9). We have been set apart by the Holy One to become His holy people, and therefore our lives should look different from the world. We should be set apart from that which sinful and profane because He is.
We often try to soften that truth. We want to remain close enough to the world to enjoy what it offers while also identifying ourselves with Christ. But Christians are not called to live with one foot in the world and one foot in the church. Our scrolling habits, viewing habits, listening habits, relationships, priorities, and private choices must all come under the authority of Christ. If we seriously believe that we belong to God, then every part of life must reflect that we have been set apart for Him. Where have you become so conformed to the world that it no longer feels like conformity? Where does God’s Word challenge you to repent and live differently?
Holy Living Is Worship
Romans 12:1 calls believers to present their bodies to God “as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God,” which is our spiritual worship. Gathering with the church to pray, sing, and hear God’s Word is worship, but worship is not limited to what happens on Sunday morning. We worship God by living holy lives at all times, everywhere. Under the old covenant, worshipers brought animals to be placed upon the altar. Christians offer themselves as living sacrifices and say, “God, my life belongs to You. I will live as one of Your holy people.”
We do not pursue holiness to earn God’s acceptance. God accepts us through Christ when we repent and believe the gospel, and our standing before Him is based entirely upon the work of Jesus rather than our works or merit (Ephesians 2:8-9). But because God has shown us such mercy, we offer ourselves to Him. We refuse to be conformed to the world and seek to be transformed through the renewal of our minds (Romans 12:1–2). As God’s Word changes how we think, it also changes how we live. We need to value what Christ values, hate what He hates, and give weight to the things He considers important.
Sanctification Is Evidence of Salvation
The pursuit of holiness does not save us, but it gives evidence that God has saved us (Ephesians 2:10, Titus 2:11-14). If there is no growth, no change, no repentance, and no developing desire for holiness, we must ask a serious question: Was there ever true justification and salvation to begin with? This does not mean Christian growth always follows a straight line. Some days may feel as though we are moving backward, and believers will continue to struggle with sin. We fall, get back up, trust in Christ, and keep moving. But over time, there should be a recognizable progression toward Christlikeness.
God did not save us merely as “fire insurance” from hell. He saved us to make us righteous in Christ and increasingly holy in our conduct. First John 3 says that when Christ appears, “we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is,” and “everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure” (1 John 3:2–3). When we long for the day when Jesus will make us fully holy, we begin wanting to be now as we will be then. We do not continue comfortably in the sin from which Christ saved us. Our future hope produces a present desire for purity.
Remember That God Is Father and Judge
Peter reminds believers that the God we call Father also “judges impartially according to each one’s deeds” (1 Peter 1:17). God is most certainly the Father of everyone who has trusted in Christ. Out of love and reverence for Him, we should desire to please the One who graciously made us His children through the death of His Son. We should fear dishonoring our Father. At the same time, He is also our impartial Judge, and He does not overlook our disregard for holiness.
Our conduct does not earn our salvation, but it reveals whether our faith is real. Believers will also stand before Christ to give an account for how we have lived and to receive what is due for what we have done (2 Corinthians 5:9–11). In our present lives, God may discipline His children so that we may share in His holiness (Hebrews 12:10). Our time on earth is short, and this world is not our home. We are exiles whose citizenship is in heaven, so we should live as holy citizens of that kingdom. A proper fear of God’s judgment and discipline helps us walk in a manner worthy of Him.
Remember the Price of Your Redemption
Peter gives believers another powerful reason to pursue holiness: “You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:18–19). Before Christ saved His people, we were held captive by sin. We were hostile toward God, unable to keep His law, and worthy of His righteous judgment and holy justice. The life of sin was empty and destructive, and it could lead only to death. Nothing we possessed and nothing we could accomplish had the power to set us free.
But Christ became a curse for His people upon the cross (Galatians 3:13). He bore the wrath our sins deserved and paid our debt in full. When we turned from sin and trusted in Him, God forgave us, justified us, and declared us righteous. Nothing other than the precious blood of Christ could pay the price required to set us free. Silver and gold are perishable, but the sacrificial death of Jesus possesses the eternal value necessary to pay our immeasurable debt against God. Jesus died to save us from sin, not so that we could continue living comfortably within it.
Christ redeemed us to purify for Himself a people who belong to Him and are zealous for good works (Titus 2:11–14). Why would we show contempt for the precious blood that redeemed us by continuing to embrace the sin from which Jesus died to set us free? God saved us to forgive us, justify us, give us eternal life, and make us holy—now and forever. Holiness is not an optional addition to the Christian life. It is part of the very purpose for which Christ redeemed us. May we be consumed with pursuing holiness because our God and Father is holy.
Questions for Reflection
- What is currently distracting your mind from the grace Christ will bring when He returns?
- Do you eagerly long for the day when Christ will make you completely holy and free from sin?
- Where have you become conformed to the world without recognizing it?
- What habits, relationships, priorities, or private choices need to change because you belong to God?
- Is there recognizable growth in holiness and Christlikeness in your life?
- How should remembering the price Christ paid for your redemption change the way you respond to temptation?
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