Leviticus 18-20: What is Holy

“Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.  - Lev. 19:2 NIV

Be holy because I am holy.  This is the command to the Children of Israel and to us today.  What follows is a list of things we are not to do if we want to be holy.  We could say, 'Oh well, I don't have to worry, because all of my sins are covered by the blood.'  But when we commit these acts forbidden to the Israelites, it puts an unholy taint on our lives.  It may not cause us to 'lose' our salvation, but we certainly lose our holiness.

Most of us would say we are not guilty of the egregious sins, such as sacrificing to idols,, but what about some of those forbidden to the Children of Israel?  Below are just a few of the requirements for holiness found in Leviticus 19:,

3 “‘Each of you must respect his mother and father, and you must observe my Sabbaths. I am the LORD your God.  
15 “‘Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.  
16 “‘Do not go about spreading slander among your people. “‘Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life. I am the LORD.  
17 “‘Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt.  
18 “‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
28 “‘Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD.  
31 “‘Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.  
32 “‘Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the LORD. 
34 The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native–born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.  

Note that most of these are not what we consider sins today.  They are not the sins I was brought up to avoid like:  smoking, dancing, drinking, or going to movies.  I'm not saying that those sins don't make us unholy, but they are relatively easy sins to avoid.  Avoiding the sins listed in Leviticus is somewhat more difficult.  God sets a pretty high standard for holiness, but then he is a holy God.