Bible Verses About Holiness

“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted; and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above Him stood seraphim, each having six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling out to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Hosts; all the earth is full of His glory.” At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook, and the temple was filled with smoke.”

Isaiah sees the Lord enthroned while angels call out his holiness again and again, and the whole place shakes. Holiness here is the overwhelming otherness of God.

“Who among the gods is like You, O LORD? Who is like You—majestic in holiness, revered with praises, performing wonders?”

After the sea crossing, Israel asks who among the gods compares with the Lord. His holiness is what makes him unlike anything else people worship.

“Exalt the LORD our God and worship at His holy mountain, for the LORD our God is holy.”

The psalm closes by calling everyone to worship at God's holy mountain. Holiness is the reason for awe, not a reason to stay away.

“And each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around and within. Day and night they never stop saying: “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!””

John hears the living creatures around the throne never stop declaring God's holiness. The theme that opens in Isaiah is still unfinished praise in the last book of the Bible.

““Speak to the whole congregation of Israel and tell them: Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.”

God tells Israel to be holy because he is holy, and the chapter that follows is full of everyday matters like honesty, fair pay and care for the poor. Holiness is meant to be seen in ordinary life.

“As obedient children, do not conform to the passions of your former ignorance. But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do, for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.””

Peter echoes Leviticus for Christians, urging them to leave old cravings behind and live as obedient children. The family likeness is the point.

“For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence. In love”

Paul says God chose us before creation to be holy and blameless in love. Holiness was part of the plan from the start, not an afterthought.

“For God has not called us to impurity, but to holiness.”

Paul reminds the church that God called them to a holy life rather than an impure one. It is a calling, not merely a rule.

“Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.”

Paul asks believers to offer their whole selves to God and to let their minds be renewed instead of shaped by the surrounding culture. Holiness reaches body, thinking and daily choices.

“Therefore, beloved, since we have these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that defiles body and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”

Because of God's promises, Paul urges the church to cleanse themselves from whatever defiles and to carry holiness through in reverence for God. The promises come first and the effort follows.

“Pursue peace with everyone, as well as holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.”

The writer calls readers to pursue peace with everyone along with holiness, without which no one will see the Lord. Interpreters differ on exactly how this fits with salvation by grace, but all agree the two belong together in a Christian's life.

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to everyone. It instructs us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live sensible, upright, and godly lives in the present age,”

God's grace is described as a teacher that trains us to say no to ungodliness and live wisely in this age. Grace does not excuse a careless life; it forms a different one.

“Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth.”

In his prayer before the cross, Jesus asks the Father to set his followers apart through the truth. God's word is one of the main ways holiness takes root.

“Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good purpose.”

Paul tells the church to work out their salvation with reverence, and in the same breath says God is the one working in them. Our effort and God's power are not rivals.

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your entire spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do it.”

Paul prays that God himself would make them holy through and through and promises that the one who calls them is faithful. The finish line rests on God's faithfulness.

“And by that will, we have been sanctified through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

We have been made holy through the offering of Christ's body once for all. Holiness begins with something already done for us before it becomes something we live.