Being holy is a challenge in our world. And yet God’s Word is clear; that is our charge. (Matt 5:48) In fact, the writer of Hebrews goes on to say, “without holiness, no one will see the Lord.” (Heb 12:14) So, are believers holy? What constitutes holiness for a believer?
John Wesley believed that a believer could reach a state of sinless perfection on earth. He believed that Paul’s “perfect” in 2 Tim 3:17 was talking about sin being erased in a person’s life. Yet Paul struggles with the concept of being holy himself in Romans 6-7. Matthew 5:48 is best understood in light of the “slave example” Paul uses here. This was a picture that people in Paul’s day could readily relate to. (Rom 6:19) What are believers slaves to? The problem in being holy is that all too often believers don’t see themselves as Paul describes here, a slave to righteousness. Believers give up the choice to sin when they become followers of Christ. But then, why do believers still sin? Believers fail to remember that God chose them to be holy (Eph 1:4) and that through Christ’s death, Christians have been reconciled to God. (Col 1:21-22). When the sacrifice Christ gave of Himself is clearly understood, my heart will turn away from sin. The more believers love Christ, the less believers will sin. Yes, there is grace when sin occurs, but as Paul asks in Romans 6, “is that so we can sin more?” Absolutely not! And yet, if Christians are honest, the struggle to daily defeat our fleshly nature when it comes to sin continues.
John Wesley believed that a believer could reach a state of sinless perfection on earth. He believed that Paul’s “perfect” in 2 Tim 3:17 was talking about sin being erased in a person’s life. Yet Paul struggles with the concept of being holy himself in Romans 6-7. Matthew 5:48 is best understood in light of the “slave example” Paul uses here. This was a picture that people in Paul’s day could readily relate to. (Rom 6:19) What are believers slaves to? The problem in being holy is that all too often believers don’t see themselves as Paul describes here, a slave to righteousness. Believers give up the choice to sin when they become followers of Christ. But then, why do believers still sin? Believers fail to remember that God chose them to be holy (Eph 1:4) and that through Christ’s death, Christians have been reconciled to God. (Col 1:21-22). When the sacrifice Christ gave of Himself is clearly understood, my heart will turn away from sin. The more believers love Christ, the less believers will sin. Yes, there is grace when sin occurs, but as Paul asks in Romans 6, “is that so we can sin more?” Absolutely not! And yet, if Christians are honest, the struggle to daily defeat our fleshly nature when it comes to sin continues.
Like Paul, how often believers long to do good, but evil seems present. And like Paul we may say, “For what I want to do I do not do, and what I hate I do.” (Rom 7:14) How do believers get set free from the battle within that binds this “wretched man?” It has to do with seeing AND believing that I am who God says I am. Before the creation of the world, I was chosen to be “holy and blameless.” (Eph 1:4) Believers must yield to God’s power to LIVE out who they already are as far as God is concerned. I must submit to God (James 4:7), then I can flee from evil. I must decide every day to offer my day to the Lord, and like Job, say “I want to be holy, and I will be holy today.”(Job 31:1) The tension between believing I am holy and living like I am holy is a real one, but it doesn’t make the promise of God’s word and less true. God’s Word reminds us that we are holy not because of what we can do, but because of what Christ has already done.
Hebrews 10:10 states “we have been made holy through the body of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ once for all.” We aren’t living holy in order to please God by our performance. We live holy because we are already acceptable to God. We aren’t striving to live holy to gain God’s love; we are living holy because we ARE loved. It’s a matter of proper perspective. It’s like self-fulfilling prophecy the way we talk to our own children. God is telling us we are holy and He knows that if we believe it and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us, we will not go on sinning because God’s Spirit is in us. (I John 3:9) What Wesley failed to teach was our DAILY responsibility to take up our cross. The call to holiness starts with what God has done, but continues with our responsibility to be usable in His hands. (2 Tim 2:21) It is a battle for holiness. 2 Cor 10:5 Paul writes things like “Casting down” and “bringing into captivity” every thought to the obedience of Christ. These are battle-like terms. In Ephesians 6, Paul describes even more of the battle we are in. As believer, we must remind ourselves, when it comes to living holy lives, that we are in a battle. All too often, we let our guard down and that is when sin begins to creep in and take over. We must remain and alert and vigilant, so that we don’t fall into sin and do our best to do as Paul said in Ephesians 6, “Stand.” When we do this daily, we will live out who Christ says we are: “holy and dearly loved.”
Hebrews 10:10 states “we have been made holy through the body of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ once for all.” We aren’t living holy in order to please God by our performance. We live holy because we are already acceptable to God. We aren’t striving to live holy to gain God’s love; we are living holy because we ARE loved. It’s a matter of proper perspective. It’s like self-fulfilling prophecy the way we talk to our own children. God is telling us we are holy and He knows that if we believe it and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us, we will not go on sinning because God’s Spirit is in us. (I John 3:9) What Wesley failed to teach was our DAILY responsibility to take up our cross. The call to holiness starts with what God has done, but continues with our responsibility to be usable in His hands. (2 Tim 2:21) It is a battle for holiness. 2 Cor 10:5 Paul writes things like “Casting down” and “bringing into captivity” every thought to the obedience of Christ. These are battle-like terms. In Ephesians 6, Paul describes even more of the battle we are in. As believer, we must remind ourselves, when it comes to living holy lives, that we are in a battle. All too often, we let our guard down and that is when sin begins to creep in and take over. We must remain and alert and vigilant, so that we don’t fall into sin and do our best to do as Paul said in Ephesians 6, “Stand.” When we do this daily, we will live out who Christ says we are: “holy and dearly loved.”
