The concept of holiness has been terribly manipulated in the body of Christ. People have used holiness to mostly condemn people. The phrase “holiness or hell” is the front runner for that condemnation. People have also taken things in the bible out of context and created a man-made version of holiness.

It’s extremely important to be holy. 1 Peter 1:16 says, just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do. This means obeying God’s voice, doing the things in God’s Word (in context), and not yielding to sin. This is all important but missing the mark in one or more of these areas is not the reason for our eternal damnation.

What a lot of those holiness condemners don’t factor in is the grace of God. It’s our responsibility to strive for holiness, however if we miss the mark, we receive and praise God for His grace. We shouldn’t beat ourselves up about it and we shouldn’t make others feel guilty either.

Let’s live a holy, guilt-free life, relying on the grace of God to fill in the gaps of our shortcomings.

1 Peter 1:15 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.”