Shayla:

What does Leviticus 19:2 mean by “be holy”? How does one “be holy”? Isn’t holiness imputed to us?

Midrash:

Let me begin by making sure you understand that this is not merely an Old Covenant principle. It is confirmed in the Brit Hadashah (New Covenant) in 1 Peter 1:15-16 and supported in Ephesians 1:4 and 2 Peter 3:11.

There are two ways to be holy. The first and most critical way is to have holiness imputed to us, for there is certainly no righteous man on the earth who does good and never sins (Ecclesiastes 7:20, cp Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10). We will never certainly exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees (Matthew 5:20) and earn our way into heaven on our own merit. We must have the sinlessness of God’s perfect Paschal Lamb credited to our account (Isaiah 53:4-5; John 3:16-17; 1 Peter 2:24). This type of holiness is referred to as “justification” and is applied immediately and irrevocably to the believer’s spirit.

The believer’s soul (mind and emotions) is, unfortunately, another matter. That must be made holy by a joint effort between the Holy Spirit and the believer (1 Corinthians 10:13; Philippians 2:12) for without the Lord we can do nothing (John 15:5). We are to discipline our minds (2 Corinthians 10:5) and our bodies (1 Corinthians 9:27). We do these things in an ongoing effort to imitate Jesus’ example in all things (Philippians 2:5; Hebrews 4:14-15; 1 Peter 2:21-23).