68 Bible Verses on Holiness

A lot of Christians don’t like to think about holiness. Why? Because the biblical call to holiness can be a convicting reminder of our sin. We are called to be like Christ, to be set apart from the rest of the world in our conduct and living—this is at the core of what it means to pursue holiness. A common image for holiness is that of a refiner’s fire. Holiness is to become rid of impurities and to become more pure. What does the Bible say about holiness? Here are some Bible verses on holiness to give you an idea.

---

What Does the Bible Say About Holiness?

Old Testament

Exodus 3:5
Then he said, ‘Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.’

Exodus 15:11
Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods?
Who is like you, majestic in holiness,
awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?

Exodus 19:5–6
Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.

Leviticus 11:44
For I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground.

Leviticus 19:2
Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.

Leviticus 20:7
Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the LORD your God.

Leviticus 20:26
You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.

Deuteronomy 32:4
The Rock, his work is perfect,
for all his ways are justice.
A God of faithfulness and without iniquity,
just and upright is he.

1 Samuel 2:2
There is none holy like the Lord:
for there is none besides you;
there is no rock like our God.

Psalm 68:4–5
Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts;
his name is the Lord;
exult before him!
Father of the fatherless and protector of widows
is God in his holy habitation.

Psalm 96:9
Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth!

Psalm 103:1
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!

Psalm 119:9
How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.

Psalm 139:23–24
Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!

Proverbs 9:10
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

Proverbs 20:25
It is a snare to say rashly, ‘It is holy,’
and to reflect only after making vows.

Isaiah 6:1
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.

Isaiah 6:3
And one called to another and said:
‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!’

Isaiah 6:5
And I said: ‘Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!’

Isaiah 35:8
And a highway shall be there,
and it shall be called the Way of Holiness;
the unclean shall not pass over it.
It shall belong to those who walk on the way;
even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.

Isaiah 57:15
For thus says the One who is high and lifted up,
who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
‘I dwell in the high and holy place,
and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly,
and to revive the heart of the contrite.’

Ezekiel 36:23
And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.

Ezekiel 38:23
So I will show my greatness and my holiness and make myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

Amos 5:14
Seek good, and not evil,
that you may live;
and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you,
as you have said.

Zechariah 14:20–21
And on that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to the LORD.” And the pots in the house of the LORD shall be as the bowls before the altar. And every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy to the LORD of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and take of them and boil the meat of the sacrifice in them. And there shall no longer be a trader in the house of the LORD of hosts on that day.

New Testament

Matthew 5:48
You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Luke 8:16
No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light.

John 17:17
Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

Romans 6:19
I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

Romans 6:22
But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.

Romans 12:1
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Romans 16:17
I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.

1 Corinthians 1:2
To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:

1 Corinthians 1:30
And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,

1 Corinthians 3:16–17
Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

2 Corinthians 7:1
Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

Ephesians 1:3–4
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love

Ephesians 4:20–24
But that is not the way you learned Christ!—assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Ephesians 5:3
But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.

Philippians 2:5
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 2:14–16a
Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life.

Colossians 3:12
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,

1 Thessalonians 4:7
For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.

1 Timothy 1:8–11
Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.

1 Timothy 2:15
Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.

2 Timothy 1:9
Who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began.

Hebrews 7:26
For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.

Hebrews 12:10
For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.

Hebrews 12:14
Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

1 Peter 1:15­–16
But as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’

1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

1 Peter 3:11
let him turn away from evil and do good;
let him seek peace and pursue it.