Characteristics of Holiness: What Scripture Actually Describes
Holiness has been caricatured in both directions — either as stiff piety or as something we can safely ignore. A reflection on Leviticus 19 and 1 Peter 1 to recover the real picture. Day 58 of the Bible in One Year plan.
The verse
"But as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy.'" 1 Peter 1:15-16 (ESV)
Peter is quoting Leviticus 11:44 and 19:2. Two Testaments, one command. The characteristics of holiness are not human inventions we impose on God; they are God's own character, described in Scripture and offered to His people as the shape of a redeemed life.
Context
Leviticus 19 is often called the "Holiness Code." It is where God spells out what holiness looks like at street level. Honor your parents. Keep the Sabbath. Do not steal. Do not lie. Pay the day-laborer before sundown. Do not curse the deaf. Do not put a stumbling block before the blind. Leave the edges of your field for the poor. Love your neighbor as yourself (v. 18). It is astonishing how earthy the chapter is. God's holiness does not float in a cloud; it walks through a marketplace.
Peter writes to scattered Christians under pressure and tells them the same thing. Your conduct is the advertisement for your God. Not perfection — conduct. Not feelings — conduct.
Five characteristics of holiness
Set apart. The Hebrew qadosh carries the idea of separation. A holy object in the tabernacle was not better than other objects in the raw; it was devoted to God for His purposes. A holy life is devoted life. Romans 12:1 — "Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God."
Morally pure. "Abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul" (1 Peter 2:11). Holiness says no to specific things — greed, sexual sin, deception, cruelty. Not because purity is a hobby, but because those things wage war against the soul.
Loving. Leviticus 19 places "love your neighbor as yourself" in the middle of the holiness code. Jesus names it the second-greatest commandment (Matt. 22:39). A holiness that is unkind has stopped being holiness.
Truthful. "You shall not lie to one another" (Lev. 19:11). Holy people do not spin, flatter, gossip or slander. Ephesians 4:25 — "Having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor."
Reverent. "You shall rise up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God" (Lev. 19:32). Holiness has a vertical axis: the fear of the Lord. Proverbs 9:10 — "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom."
Read as a package, holiness is not an atmosphere. It is a life. And the biblical pattern is that we do not grow holy in order to be loved; we grow holy because we have already been loved. 1 John 4:19 — "We love because he first loved us."
How to apply it
- Begin with the character of God, not the mirror. Read one Psalm about God's holiness before you read your own life. Isaiah 6 is a fine place to start.
- Identify one specific area. Holiness grows in details, not in vague resolutions. Money. Speech. Screens. Anger. Pick one, and ask the Spirit for grace there this week.
- Practice the positive, not only the negative. Leviticus 19 is full of "do" — love the neighbor, leave the edge of the field, honor the old. Holiness is an overflow, not only a restraint.
- Confess quickly. 1 John 1:9 — "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive." Holiness is not the absence of failure; it is the absence of a habit of hiding.
- Stay in good company. Proverbs 13:20 — "Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise." Holiness is contagious; so is carelessness. Choose the company that makes you want to love God more.
Related verses
- Leviticus 19:2 — "You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy."
- Hebrews 12:14 — "Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord."
- 2 Corinthians 7:1 — "Let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion."
- Romans 6:22 — "You have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification."
- 1 Thessalonians 5:23 — "Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely."
Reflection
Holiness is not a cage. It is a garden — the shape of a life that has been loved and is learning to love well. Pick one characteristic today and let God grow it in you. The same Lord who said "Be holy" is the one who is making you holy.
Frequently asked questions
What does the Bible say about holiness?
Leviticus 11:44 and 1 Peter 1:15-16 quote the same line: "Be holy, for I am holy." Holiness is God's own character, and His people are called to share it.
What are the main characteristics of holiness?
Scripture shows several: being set apart for God, moral purity, love of neighbor, truthfulness, reverence, and wholeness of life. Leviticus 19 draws them together in vivid detail.
Is holiness the same as being religious?
No. Religious performance without a changed heart is what Jesus condemns in the Pharisees (Matt. 23). Biblical holiness is a transformed life, not external polish.
Can I actually be holy in everyday life?
Yes, by grace. Hebrews 12:14 calls us to "strive for holiness," and 1 Thessalonians 5:23 says God Himself sanctifies us completely. Holiness is both gift and pursuit.
What is the relationship between holiness and love?
They are inseparable. Leviticus 19 weaves holiness together with loving your neighbor as yourself. A holiness that does not love is a counterfeit; a love that excuses sin is not biblical love.