Holy in all conduct

Peter calls us, as obedient children, not to conform to the passions that once governed us. Holiness begins when we recognize that the old man was crucified with Christ and that former desires have lost the right to rule. But this recognition is not merely a doctrine to be affirmed by the mind; it is a reality to be received by the spirit and lived from it.

The calling is clear: as the One who called us is holy, we also must be holy in all our conduct. Not only in public appearance or religious moments — all of life must be brought before God. Holiness is not the outer man striving to appear better; it is Christ living from the spirit and reorganizing, from within, what we love, refuse, and tolerate. The outer man can imitate holiness; only the divine life in the spirit produces it.

Conformity to old passions happens when the outer man has not been delivered to the cross. Passions do not disappear through the effort of the soul; they lose their governance when the spirit, nourished by the life of Christ, becomes the source of our responses. The grace that welcomes us also sets us apart — not through the isolation of the outer man, but through the transformation that arises from the spirit outward.