7 Major Characteristics Of A Holy Life [+ Nice Sermon]

What are the characteristics of a holy life? And how do you know if you are living one? This is what this post will address today.

Many character traits will show if one is living a life of holiness that pleases and Glorifies God as seen in the in the bible both in the old testament and the new testament.

And this post today will address 7 major characteristics of a holy life that will indicate whether someone is living a life of holiness which is in line with God’s purpose. Let’s dive in.

What Is A Holy Life? Biblical Definition.

The biblical definition of a holy life is simply a life that has the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ in it. It also means to be morally blameless and to live a sin-free life.

In short, if you live a life of holiness, you will be separated from sin or your past sinful lifestyle which is made possible when you become a partaker of the divine nature of God which 2 Peter 1:3,4 talks about.

Rather than living in sin, you will be separated from sin and set apart for God which happens when Jesus Christ grants you salvation and eternal life when you get saved which is the first step to holy living.

7 Major Characteristics Of Holy Living.

Below are the 7 major characteristics of holy living that characterize a life of holiness that is separated from sin and consecrated to God instead.

Shuns Sin.
Spirit-Filled.
Eschews Evil.
Walks In Godly Love.
Has Christ’s Imputed Righteousness.
Glorifies God.
Live Godly.

1. Shuns Sin.

Shunning sin is one of the most important characteristics of a holy life as living a holy life is all about living a life that’s above and free from sin.

You may be wondering if it’s possible to do that considering that we are all natural-born sinners with an inherent sinful nature that makes us do bad things in the first place.

But the bible says in Leviticus 20:26 in the old testament that we must be holy as He who’s called us is holy. Remember, God cannot ask us to do what He knows we cannot do. The fact that He asks us to be holy, He knows that it’s doable.

And remember as Jesus Christ said in Matthews 5:8 says that only those with a holy and pure heart undefiled by sin will be able to finally enter heaven and see God at last. Won’t that be beautiful?

To make living a holy life a possibility in your life, you first need to be truly born again with a definite salvation experience in your life. Otherwise, without that, you won’t be able to live a life of holiness and righteousness.

This is because when you become born again, you inherit a new nature of Christ Paul talks about in Ephesians 4:24 that will enable you to desire a life of holiness and righteousness.

The old nature of sin that made you sin in the first place is also gotten rid of when you become truly born again which will make living a life of holiness possible.

Must Read: 7 Major Root Causes Of Sin (That Causes People To Sin In The First Place.)

2. Spirit Filled.

A holy man or holy woman of God will be filled with the Holy Spirit that will inspire such people to live a life of holiness and since the Holy Spirit is holy, it, therefore, follows that those who are filled by it shall live a life of holiness.

It’s impossible to maintain a holy living lifestyle without the Holy Spirit indwelling in you as He’s the one responsible for helping you to know what is sinful or not to God and convicts you of your sins if you sin or stray from God’s path of holiness.

In Titus 3:5-7, we are told that an inner renewal of the Holy Spirit happens when one receives genuine salvation and it’s this inner renewal of God’s Holy Spirit that enable all born again Christians to have a new nature of Christ Jesus that enables them to live righteously.

Since we are all born with a sinful nature, it, therefore, follows no natural man is capable of living a holy life that God expects us to do without His grace unless that sinner is transformed and renewed from the inside.

No wonder Jesus Christ promises the Spirit of truth in John 16:13 that will guide us into all truths and help us abstain from sin and all appearances of evil.

If you are not Spirit-filled, you won’t know what’s sinful or not as you lack that inner conviction of the Holy Spirit to help you know if you have sinned or not.

This is why you must be Spirit-filled when you become saved which the Lord Jesus Christ will impart to you when you accept Him into your life as your personal Lord and saviour.

3. Eschews Evil.

Like Job, the holy man of God who feared God and eschewed evil as told in the old testament in the book of Job 1:1, you will keep away from evil if you pursue a life of holiness.

A holy person living a godly life who has God’s holiness in their lives will endeavour to live a holy life and abstain from all evil appearance that is everywhere.

Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:22 that we must abstain from all appearances of evil that might defile us and make us unholy which is the true essence of holy living that ever professing believer in the Lord Jesus Christ must do.

If you are not abstaining from evil and yet profess to be a Christian, then your Christian faith is fake and in vain. Remember, as Hebrews 12:14 wonderfully puts it, you won’t see the Lord nor will you be able to enter heaven without holiness.

Many people who claim to be Christians nowadays don’t abstain from all appearances of evil. Instead, they do the opposite and wonder why they are struggling with sin in their lives.

But one thing you need to know dear is that you can’t live a life that’s free from sin if you are not actively and abstaining from all appearances of evil which come in different forms.

And these evil appearances you must abstain from if you want to maintain a holy living are evil T.V shows that promote sinful lustful thoughts, evil associations, internet perversions and many others.

Must Read: How To Have Power Over Sin In 7 Easy Steps (Video Sermon)

4. Walks In Godly Love.

Walking in the holy love of God is also one of the major characteristics of a holy life that a person will manifest if that person is following after holiness and righteousness.

Now, you need to know dear that there are two forms of love, the one which comes from above and the one from on earth which comes from Satan which is fake, sensual, selfish, lustful and devilish.

The love that a holy person has who is living a holy life is the kind of love found in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 which is filled with brotherly kindness and doesn’t delight in evil but rejoices in the truth and righteousness.

Many people nowadays have confused real, pure love that comes from God through Jesus Christ from lustful love that is impure and selfish which is responsible for many broken relationships and unwanted pregnancies.

Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 5:2 that we must love with all purity especially if we are dealing with the opposite gender. Implying that you must not have impure lustful thoughts that lead to sexual sin against your fellow brother or sister in Christ.

Unfortunately, even in the Christian circles, many have mistaken true love for lust which is why sexual immorality is rampant even among sons and daughters of Zion in the church today. This ought not to be so.

If you truly love your brother or sister in the Lord, you won’t defile them with sexual sin but if you lack this holy pure agape love especially as a brother, you will be like Amnon in 2 Samuel 13:1-19 who sexually defiled Tamar because of his impure lustful desires he mistook for love.

Must Read: 54 Agape Love Quotes (To Help You Understand What True Love Is All About)

5. Has Christ’s Imputed Righteousness.

For a person to live a holy life with God’s holiness in them that is in obedience to God, one needs Christ’s imputed righteousness in their lives to make that possible.

Remember, our holy God who is infinitely holy in His character and all that He does can only accept His holiness and righteousness in His kingdom.

This is why the self-righteousness that comes from thinking you are a good person because the superficial good deeds you do to others can’t be enough for you to enter heaven.

No wonder Isaiah says in Isaiah 64:6 in the old testament that we are all as an unclean thing and that all our righteousnesses are just as filthy rag before the Lord as they are tainted with sin.

This means that we can’t be holy and righteous by our efforts other than imputed by our Lord Jesus Christ, the only perfect sacrifice God can accept.

And this imputed holiness of Christ comes by God’s grace we obtain when we get saved and accept Christ into our lives. Only with that imputed holiness of Christ Jesus in a truly saved person is holy living in this present evil world possible.

Sadly, most people think that they are good enough to enter heaven and couldn’t be more wrong. Such people think like that because they don’t understand how deep-rooted their sinful nature is.

6. Glorifies God.

A person who is living a holy Christian life will live a life that brings glory to God and God’s glory can’t dwell in the presence of sin or in the life of a person who’s defiled by sin.

As we see in 1 Thessalonians 4:7,8 that our Lord Jesus Christ hasn’t called us unto uncleanness but unto holiness and righteousness, you must therefore also aspire to live a godly life that glorifies the Lord.

And by the way, you glorify God, as a holy man or woman is by living in holiness and having nothing to do with sinful lifestyles because light and darkness can’t co-exist.

If you are not living a godly life of righteousness, you will instead walk after the flesh and obey its sinful desires which don’t bring glory to the Lord.

Sadly, most people who claim to be Christians are more interested in glorifying themselves rather than God which is seen by the prideful and worldly lifestyles they live. Self-pleasing is what most modern Christianity is all about.

You must remember that as a believer, you are bought with a price and that you are not of your own as Paul wonderfully puts it in 1 Corinthians 6:20.

So, if you claim to be a true Christian, you won’t seek to glorify your sinful self that loves sin and worldly pleasures but you will seek to glorify the One who has called you unto holiness who is no other than the Lord Jesus Christ.

7. Live Godly.

Living a godly life in this present evil world is what holiness is all about and if you claim to be a holy person, you will saintly walk in this corrupt evil world.

And this life of godliness is made possible by God’s grace which brings salvation to all men found in Titus 2:11. It’s this grace that will enable you to deny all forms of ungodliness and worldly lusts so that you can live godly and soberly in this present evil world.

Without this grace the above verse mentioned, living a godly life in this corrupt world won’t be possible by any stretch, no matter how hard you try in your strength and ability.

The world we currently live in is currently full of wickedness and moral perversions which are increasing day by day and it’s up to you to choose not to be defiled by the wickedness and perversions of this current evil generation.

Just as Daniel purposed in his heart in Daniel 1:8 that he won’t be defiled by the perversions that existed in his time, you are well must purpose in your heart not to be defiled by the evils and moral pollutions of this current generation and by God’s grace, you will do it, dear.

If you are a person who claims to be born again, you will aspire to live godly and righteously because if you don’t do so, it clearly shows that you are not saved yet.

Remember, as a born again believer, your main aim is to live a life that reflects Christ holy character in you which is why you are called a Christian, anyway.

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Conclusion.

I hope the above characteristics of a holy life will now help you fully understand what holy living is all about so that you can live a life that attracts God’s glory.

If you are struggling to live a life of holiness but truly want to, kindly read this post on how to be born again, the first step to living a lifestyle of holiness that’s free from sin you need to do.

In closing, kindly let me know in the comments below how this post has benefitted you along with any questions you may have and don’t forget to share.

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