Be Holy – The First Commandment

Be Holy

The First Commandment

No other gods

Leviticus 19:2

“Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.”

Matthew 5:44, 45

Obedience to the Law of God is the way to holiness, for the Law is holy, and God Who gave it is holy. His Son is holy, Who fulfilled all the righteousness of the Law on our behalf. His Spirit is Holy, Who teaches us the Law of God. We are to be holy as His redeemed children, and that holiness is only through the Law of God.

If we love God supremely, we will keep His Word. If we keep His Word, beginning with His Law, we will be holy as He is holy–not all at once, but increasingly, as the Spirit transforms us from glory to glory into the image of Jesus Christ. (2 Cor. 3:12-18).

In this series of In the Gates we present a detailed explanation of the Law of God, beginning with the Ten Commandments, and working through the statutes and rules that accompany each commandment. For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the practice of ethics, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.MyParuchia.com and click on our Book Store.

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore, editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.