“After these things had been done, the officials approached me and said, ‘The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands with their abominations, from the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.’” – Ezra 9:1
Throughout history, God’s people have been called to set themselves apart in devotion to the Lord. This command not to join into sinful activities simply because they are popular, pleasurable, cultural, or traditional is a call to holiness. To be holy is literally to be “set apart” and devoted to God. That looks somewhat different today because followers of Jesus aren’t under the Old Testament Law. We’re made holy not by our actions but by the cleansing work of God through faith in Jesus Christ. Christ’s sacrifice on the cross is what makes all who believe in Him holy in the eyes of God.
Nonetheless, we’re still called to pursue holiness in our lives. As Christians, we’re commanded to live and pursue that holiness every day of our lives. We’re called to imitate Jesus Who was perfectly holy. We’re to be in the world but not of the world which is a call to holiness in the way we conduct every aspect of our lives: worship, work, school, play, family, friendship, and everything else. Followers of Jesus should be making friends with, working with, and caring for those who don’t know Jesus, without ever embracing the unbiblical behaviors, values, norms, and expectations of those who haven’t yet been adopted as children of a most holy God.