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The word of God places holiness in a very prominent place when God reveals that his people are to strive for holiness, “without which no one will see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14). If we want to see God, to live in his presence in heaven forever, we must possess holiness. But what exactly is holiness, and how do we obtain it?
Holiness is the fruit that shows the image of Christ.
Holiness is the habit of being of one mind with God,” according to J.C. Ryle (Holiness, p. 42). It is a desire and ability to love God by keeping his commandments, namely obedience. It is a visible display of God's grace in a person’s life, the fruit that shows the image of Christ that is being renewed in his followers. Being of one mind with God means “hating what He hates, loving what He loves” (Ryle, p. 42). But, holiness is no small endeavor because it is a battle—hating the sin that remains in our flesh while loving the Lord, who draws us by his love to faithful obedience grounded in gratitude for God’s great salvation in Christ Jesus. The aim of God’s work of sanctification is holiness.
In sanctification God is changing a person.
The transformative process of sanctification means dying to sin and living to righteousness. It is transformative because in sanctification God is changing a person, and it is a process because it continues on until we die and pass into the presence of our Savior. A temptation though, is to attempt to make ourselves holy by brute effort—a work that we do ourselves, striving to shed the sin that seems to grab us at every turn and working to please our heavenly Father by perfectly keeping all of his commandments. The problem is that our experience and our conscience testify that we just can’t do it. Too often we sadly fail.
Growing in holiness is a process that takes time and dependence on God.
We are weak and unable. As much as we strive forward, we fall back. We try to be perfect right now, not realizing that in his goodness and wisdom God is patiently transforming us throughout this life—it is a process that takes time and dependence on God, with patience and the faith that unites us to Christ.
Holiness is a gift from God—it is his fruit in and through his people who are rooted and living in Christ by faith. Christ commands in John 15:4,
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me."
Trusting Christ means loving him, and loving Christ means obeying him.
If a person is to bear the fruit of holiness, they must be abiding in Christ, and that only happens by faith—by a hearty trust in him. Trusting Christ means loving him, and loving Christ means obeying him (John 14:15). Trusting Christ means we persevere with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength while striving toward the habit of being of one mind in Christ (Phil. 2:2). Trusting Christ means being immersed in his Word, constant in prayer, never neglecting the fellowship and care of other Christians, and it means battling against the sins of our flesh because "it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13).
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