How, Then, Comes Holiness?

Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, "YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY." I Peter 1:13-16 NASB

Obviously as Christians we are commanded to be holy. The verses above are but one example of a call to be prepared to give a defense of the Faith. The KJV translates verse 16 "Be Ye Holy as I am Holy" as though it is a command for righteous living. This is not the case. The better translation is found above by the words, "YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY" indicating that the holiness comes from God Himself. The statement presumes that a change has already been made in our very nature by the power of God. (see 2 Corinthians 5:17) The question is, do our actions make us holy? Or are our actions meant to reflect the holiness that is already present as God gives us holiness? I would suggest that the Bible teaches the latter. As we read on in I Peter 1, in verses 17-25 we see that, indeed we were "born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God." You see the Christian life is not up for the asking. God imparts His Spirit to us. God, through His grace saves us. It is God who "begins the work" and God who effects the work in us. We are unable to come to God on our own. Why then, even after we're born again do we think that our actions can/will make us more holy? If we have been saved, "born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable....through the living and enduring word of God" then we know that holiness, too, comes from God. Then one says, "What about our actions? You "show me your faith without works, and I'll show you my faith by my works" as stated in James 2:18. Even in context, here in James, we see that the works are a natural outpouring of the faith that was God-given. The works are not "worked" to prove faith or to attain faith or salvation, but the faith is evident through the works that are performed. (without faith it is impossible to please God) We are incapable of doing good works apart from faith, and that faith is a gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast! I will post more on Christian liberty later as it pertains to holiness and being mature in our walk with Christ, but for now, let's thank God that as a born-again believer, God has empowered us through his gracious gifts of eternal life, salvation and holiness to live a life that reflects His glory and brings him honor and we don't have to work to retain our salvation any more than we could have worked to attain it in the first place!