Last week I reached out on my FaceBook Page and asked you all if, as Christians, we are required to be holy. And, if so, how do we maintain holiness?

I received a lot of likes on the post, but it was pretty quiet for a while and I thought, well, maybe you all are more shy than I thought you were! But then I started receiving private messages with some feedback. So, here are some of those comments (many were similar, so I have highlighted the general ideas received). Remember, this is not a debate, just a means to interact and consider perspectives and ideas.

Yes for Holy

“If we aren’t holy, than others will not know we are Christians. So I think we do need to be holy. We need to pray to get guidance from God on how to be holy and we can read the bible.”

“Fruits are what people see, so if we aren’t holy than we are no different from the world.”

“We are made holy by god and we stay that way by being with other Christians and reading the bible.”

No for Holy

“I think this is a little tricky, but I would say we do not need to be holy. That sounds a little weird. I think the idea that we doing anything is kind of weird also. We are where we are because Jesus died for us and rose again. So I think he is the one that made us holy. And if so, then how do we do anything to maintain it? I have to think about this one.”

“The church has taught for many centuries that we as ignorant followers must conform to what they say we need to do in order to be accepted. Each organization within the church framework has their own set of rules to follow and often are contentious to other organizations that see things differently. Even the Bible can be confusing as the Old Testament says one thing while the New Testament says another. So, I think holiness is a by-product of our accepting Christ, not something we do. And when we interact with him in the way we decide to, He assures we maintain that holiness. I hope that people see that holiness in me, but it is not from me but from Jesus.”

“I used to think we had to fight our flesh everyday to be holy. Every morning I would “pick up my cross” and “slay the flesh” and put on my garments of praise so that I would not lose holiness. I I used to go to church all the time just so I could be holy, but I never felt like I ever truly made the cut. But then I learned about grace, and my perspective changed. Jesus is what it is about, not me. And I will leave it at that.”

Next Steps

Thanks everyone who responded and made this new effort so meaningful to me!

Watch Facebook for a scheduled live event to discuss this topic and weigh in on my thoughts and also interact with more comments from all of you! Feel free to share with friends because expanding our views and understanding others is a noble idea!

Peace