Some believe that none can be perfect. Some believe that only God is perfect. Some Christians believe that once they believe in Jesus Christ, they are instantaneously made perfectly holy. What do you believe?
Righteousness is the beginning of living a holy life. A righteous man is a justified man. A justified man is a man who is reconciled to God through Jesus Christ. A man is made righteous when he believes in the LORD Jesus and receives forgiveness and cleansing of his sins.
Holiness means to live a sinless life. A holy man is a man who no longer sins. Living a holy life begins with washing away of past sins. In other words, to be holy, you must begin with righteousness. Holy living is a process that begins with righteousness.
The blood of Jesus Christ made perfect in righteousness all those who believe in him. The power of the Holy Spirit makes perfect in holiness all those who walk after the Spirit.
Through justification at repentance, man is made perfectly righteous. Through sanctification, man is made perfectly holy (Hebrews 10.14).
We were reconciled to God by the blood of Christ but we are made holy by His life through the sanctification work of the Holy Spirit (Romans 5.8-9). In Romans 6.19, Apostle Paul briefed on the Christian’s journey to salvation.
1) Freed from sin (Made righteous)
2) Make yourself a slave of righteousness (unconditional obedience to the demands righteousness)
3) Bear the fruit of holiness from being a slave to righteousness
4) Reap eternal life from holiness
But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of righteousness, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life (Romans 6.22NIV).
We must seek to be perfect in holiness.
Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God (2 Corinthians 7.1).
● Be perfect as He is perfect (Mathew 5.48).
● Be fashioned according to the pattern of the first-born Son who is an example for us all (Rom 8.29, Eph. 1.5).
● Be holy as He is holy (1 peter 1.15-16, 1 Titus 4.3).
If sin abounds, grace abounds much more (Romans 5.20). If the power of sin is strong, then the power of the Holy Spirit is much greater to redeem us from the power of sin. We must not continue sinning but receive the abounding grace of God through the power of the Holy Spirit to subdue sinful human nature and its deeds. Man can attain God’s standard of holiness. The Father in Heaven is calling believers to be holy as He is holy. His abounding grace is available to help man meet up with His standard. He is a Holy God and his children must be holy. Anyone who still sins is not born of God (1 John 3.9).
Through obedience, we should put off the old fallen man and his deeds and put on the new man, Christ Jesus, and his deeds. We should make ourselves slaves of righteousness by obeying unconditionally the law of Christ Jesus. The good soil bears fruit to perfection by keeping the word of God word perseveringly.
Do all you can to have a clean break with sin. Courageously bear the sufferings of obedience. It is very difficult to obey God without suffering any lose. You may lose your property, freedom, friends, and even your life for choosing to obey God. Be ready to loss. Stand strong in faith and do not be afraid to lose. For you see, it is only when a man has lost his life, that he will win it back. But if he tries to keep his life, he will lose it (Mathew 10.39).
Only those who stand firm to end will be saved (Mathew 10.22). The crown is not for the swift, rather it for he who endures to the end (James 1.12). Not all righteous people will be saved (1 Peter 4.17-18NIV). The righteous and the holy do not receive the same reward (Rev 22.11-12). We grow up in our salvation as we grow in holiness (1 Peter 2.2).
The believer is no longer condemned to die if he no longer walks after the flesh (Romans 8.1-14). The believer who walks after the flesh will die. If by the Holy Spirit, a believer puts to death, the works of the flesh, he shall surely live (Romans 8.13).
We must keep pursuing perfection till we pass out of our earthly bodies.
I do not believe I have already reached the goal, nor do I consider myself perfect, but I press on till I conquer Christ Jesus, as I have already been conquered by him. No, brothers and sisters, I do not claim to have claimed the prize yet. I say only this: forgetting what is behind me, I race forward and run towards the goal, my eyes on the prize to which God has called us from above in Christ Jesus. Let all of us who claim to be perfect have the same way of thinking, but if there is something on which you differ, God will make it clear to you (Phil 3.12-15)
The apostolic epistles are filled with the exhortations to live holy before God:
Since we have such promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from all defilement of body and spirit, and complete the work of sanctification in the fear of God (2 Corinthians 7.1 Catholic Bible)
Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the LORD: Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled, Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright (Hebrews 12.14-16).
We must not deaden our consciences by ignoring its call to sanctification. The guilt of sin is meant to bring man to repentance. Sin must be confessed and not covered because it is the fruit of darkness. When we sin, our conscience pricks us, we feel guilty and then we confess and repent of that sin before the LORD. He then washes us in his blood and empowers us not to sin again. Without the sense of guilt, there is no true repentance. If there is no repentance, there is no fruitful change. We must not rely on self-strength but live by grace through faith in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, you are holy, just and fair in all your ways. Direct me on how to walk by your Spirit. I give up my pride, self-righteousness and self-confidence. I need your grace to transform my life to the image of your son. I want to be holy and perfect as you are. I want to be a true child to you. My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes see you, I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes. You are a Holy God and your name will forever be held holy. Glorify your name in me. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.