Our Holiness Is Attainable

“You are my Lord, because You have no need of my goodness.”  - Augustine of Hippo, Confessions

Among all of His other attributes, the immense "holiness" of God stands alone. There is nothing else that is more solemnly pronounced, nor with such frequency in Heaven itself than this (Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 4:8).

Further, God applies His holiness as His assurance of His personal commitment (Psalm 89:35; Amos 4:2). It describes His glory and beauty, by which we use to honor Him, and to honor one another as He desires us to (1 Thessalonians 4:4; Ephesians 4:24). And, it reminds us that His holiness is His life (Ephesians 4:18).

I realize that this may all sound very intimidating to some of you. When we think of something being "holy" it sounds like something that is reserved only for an exclusive few (i.e., a VIP backstage pass). In my own mind I picture damp, dimly lit cathedrals with the monophonic tones of Gregorian chants reverberating off cold, stone walls!

We know that God is holy, but is it possible for us to be holy? We have a lot things going against us, I know, but what if holiness is something that is attainable for you and I. For the Christian, the hope for holiness is not only real, it is a necessity.

Hebrews 12:14 tells us outright that "without holiness no one will see the Lord." Of course, we could never be Holy as God is. He is "essentially" holy, we're not. Our holiness is obtained by our relationship with Christ. Our "practical" holiness grows as we spiritually mature.

Does this mean that our search for holiness concludes when we come to Christ? Not at all. Actually, we're just getting started! To make things easier let's put holiness into two categories. First, there's "positional" holiness. We inherit this when we are born again. The second is "practical" holiness, which we must constantly practice or work at.

God has some pretty big expectations of us when it comes to holiness. He expects that we conform to a lifestyle that exemplifies holiness (1 Peter 14:16), and to work on perfecting our holiness (2 Corinthians 7:1). Does this mean we have to live by a checklist? Of course not (2 Corinthians 3:6; Galatians 5:16-18).

Our achieving holiness is a joint effort between God and ourselves. He will support and assist us every step of the way. That is, if we cooperate and hand control over to Him. There are many qualities of holiness that He wants to promote within our lives. All He asks is that we allow Him to do so.

Can we just kick back and let God do what He needs to do? Not so much. Like anything of value, holiness will not be gained without a little sweat on our part. We must be active participants with God. Everyone must pull their own weight.

God didn't have to redeem us from sin and death, but He did by sending His only Son, Jesus Christ to take care of this for us, right? At the very minimum, in return, for this unselfish act, we should reciprocate in total surrender and holiness with our own lives (1 Peter 2:24 ).

Our ultimate goal, as a result of His mercies, is to become "holy and pleasing" to Him (Romans 12:1). The only way to get there is to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, and never stop pursuing holiness (Hebrews 12:2).

Scripture: Hebrews 12:10; Leviticus 11:45; 1 Corinthians 6:17; Philippians 1:10; 1 Timothy 6:11  

Prayer: Holy Father, renew me so I may help renew those around me. Amen

God bless you!

Alexa