1 Peter 1:15-16 (NKJV), “but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.’”

Holiness is not unattainable. As a man, Jesus demonstrated how living without sin is possible. When Jesus came to this earth, He was fully God, but He was also fully man. The Bible says He lay down the privileges of His deity so that He would be faced with the same temptations we all face every day. Jesus became the perfect example of how the new man in Christ can and should live! Luke 4:1 tells us that He lived full of and controlled by the Holy Spirit. Jesus made a personal choice to live in continual fellowship and obedience to His Father, through yielding to the Holy Spirit, and not the nature of His humanity. As a result, the devil had nothing in common with Him - there simply was no part of Him that was receptive to sin or its consequences, up until He went to the cross. On that cross, Jesus took upon Himself the sin of the world. He became an object of horror as He became sin itself (2 Corinthians 5:21). Then He took the punishment of that sin by dying and being separated from His Heavenly Father (Hebrews 5:7-9), so that in exchange for our sin, we would receive His righteousness. We can learn to yield to our perfect, re-created nature, and allow it to dominate our flesh nature that was crucified with Christ. Look at what Peter teaches us from verse 14-15, in the NLV Translation: “So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy.” Philippians 2:12-13 tells us that we are to show the results of our salvation by obeying God with deep reverence and fear. This is not achieved by our own strength, but by the power of God that comes from His indwelling Spirit! He gives us the desire and power to live pleasing to God! Through Him we have access to a higher life that enjoys all that heaven offers, while we are here on earth. A life yielded to the Holy Spirit is a life that walks holy before Him and enriched by Him - something we are well able to do!