If there ever was a time in which God calls His people to holiness, then the present time is that time. There is no evidence in the Bible that we can be saved while knowingly playing with sin. God and sin cannot coexist together. We were created in the image of God—holy—and it was His desire that we should never experience sin, and as a result of sin—death. Adam and Eve’s sin damaged their relationship with God and stood in the way of that relationship. Now God, in His infinite mercy, found a way out in order to solve the sin problem. Jesus Christ offered Himself as a sacrifice in behalf of each repentant sinner who accepts Jesus as his or her personal Saviour. In this article we will talk about Jesus and His relationship with us; why He cannot save us because we hold onto sin.

Why does Jesus’ sacrifice atone only for those who, by God’s grace, and through the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives, attain holiness? All heaven beholds these people who are preparing for heaven. The question is, can we live a perfect life? Jesus said in Matthew 5:48, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” You see, my brother, my sister, dear reader, God calls us to attain the complete perfection in Christ, who is our perfect example. From Genesis to Revelation there is only one way that a sinful man can be saved and that is through faith in Christ. You see, faith in Christ makes things possible, which are impossible for man. Jesus said in Luke 18:27, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.” Your Christian life is to be a continuous proof that God works impossibilities. Your Christian life is to be a series of impossibilities made possible and actual by God’s almighty power. That is what we need. Believe me, our lovely Father works the same miracle in your life just as He worked through the centuries down to our time, transforming men and women, boys and girls, remaking and preparing them for the heavenly kingdom. Don’t you long for that day when Jesus comes to take us home? Don’t you want to invite Jesus right now to change you completely? Oh, I long for that day, and by God’s help I believe you have the same desire, don’t you?

When we look around us, we see so many denominations which pretend that they have the truth. Each one tries to attract as many people as they can, telling people that they have the truth, saying, “don’t you see how many people are in our Church”? From the pulpit people are told that they don’t need to keep God’s commandments; Jesus has done away with them. Is this so? Jesus said in John 14:15 “If ye love Me, keep My commandments.” People look at the expression “holiness” as something impossible to attain and not necessary for their salvation.

We should ask ourselves the following question—“Can I reach holiness?” Because the Scripture is crystal clear on this point; God wants us to be holy. He calls us to holiness. I bring to you the evidence from the Scripture. Let us read some of them. We first find this call in Exodus, where God states that Israel is to be a “Holy Nation” Exodus 19:6: “And ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.” Do you find such a call in the New Testament? Because people might say, well, but this was in the Old Testament, therefore this is no longer necessary. Well, the Bible gives us the answer in 1 Peter 2:9, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people.”

According to the Scriptures we are called by God, we are set apart, we are His holy nation, a royal priesthood, called to reveal His holy character and proclaim the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.  On the priestly garments, there was a plate of pure gold and engraved on it, as the Lord commanded, “Holiness to the Lord”. Once again we see the importance of Israel’s remembrance of a Holy God and the only way to approach Him.

The primary focus in the book of Leviticus is holiness. There we find the call to consecrate ourselves and to be holy, based on God’s holiness.  Leviticus 20:7–8 “Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God. And ye shall keep My statutes, and do them: I am the Lord which sanctify you.” God connects the call to holiness with obedience, as we see in these texts. Furthermore, in verse 26, God declares that He sets us apart from the nations around us. “And ye shall be holy unto Me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be Mine.” The call to holiness becomes even more powerful in the book of Hebrews 12:14—make every effort to be holy, without which no one will see the Lord. Now, my friend, there is no question, no doubt, that holiness is necessary, but there still remains some questions that you and I must have an answer to. What does it mean? How do we attain holiness? How do we avoid the extremes of legalism or the tolerant acceptance of our sinfulness?

The very word “Holy” challenges us. Sometimes we infer that it means to be sinless, and we conclude that the task is to become sinless. That is not the case; no human being is holy by himself and the Bible makes it very clear when we read Romans 3. Only God is holy. Revelation 15:4: “Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? for Thou only art holy.” We clearly see that we do not possess holiness in ourselves; holiness, according to the Bible, is imparted by Jesus to us when He lives in us through the power of the Holy Spirit. It can be attained when we collaborate with God in this process. I do my part and God is doing His part.

The greatest challenge to holiness today is our failure to accept the reality of who we are in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. Holiness is the result of God’s act in setting us apart. We read in 1 Corinthians 6:11, “But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” When are we washed? When we acknowledge our sin and confess it to the Lord and forsake it. Then after a sincere confession God justifies us through the merits of Jesus on the cross; in the Bible this is called justification by faith. Now, when are we sanctified or set apart, consecrated or dedicated to God? The very moment I accepted Jesus as my personal Saviour and was justified, that very moment sanctification starts for me. It is true because if you are not justified, then the Lord cannot sanctify you, and here is why. Let me illustrate this point to you. You have a girlfriend and you say you love her very much, but you do not want to marry her because of the responsibilities or the commitment which derive from such a relationship. You may say to her, “Honey, I love you but please do not ask about marriage.” Is that right? Can a person really love without commitment? No, that is not love. If you truly love, then you are very happy to say these words, “yes, honey, I want to live with you all my life, I want to marry you.” The same is with Jesus. If you love Jesus indeed, nothing will be too difficult for you to give up for Jesus’ sake. I tell you from my personal experience, and if I experienced it then you can also. Let it be clear in our minds—no sanctification without justification. It is the only way your life, my life, can be changed.

How long is the process of sanctification? We have seen that it starts when you receive Jesus as your personal Saviour, but is it a process of a few years only, or what? No, my brother, sister or friend, this is a long, long process—it is for our entire life. The Bible says that in order to forgive us Jesus needs only a second, but to make us holy, or prepared for the heavenly mansions He needs all your life, all my life, from the moment that we receive Him as our Saviour until we die. In the Bible this is called sanctification—without it no one will see God and live, because God is a combustible fire where sin persists, therefore many people will be destroyed at Jesus’ second coming just because they cling to sin.

Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” Do you ever wish you could have a fresh and new start with Jesus? People who are weighed down by problems—guilt, sickness, debt, addictions and so many other problems they face—there is a new beginning for you, my friend. Jesus offers you the gift of salvation. He offers you His Holy Spirit, to live a holy life, holy in the context of what we have learned in this article, namely, that we do not possess any holiness without Jesus. Holiness not of being, but of doing, because when we accept Christ as our Lord and Saviour, He sanctifies us—He makes us holy. We are holy because of what Christ has done by setting us apart for His divine purpose.

The sacred commission given to the disciples in Matthew 28:18–20 is the same one given to us, and the promise given to them is also given to us. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever, says the Bible, in Hebrews 13:8. He never changes.

How do we attain holiness? Jesus is the heart of holiness and in order to understand what He meant I must go to His example while He was on earth because He demonstrated to us how to follow Him. There are some important factors in the life of Jesus that we must follow. First of all, Jesus said, “I have come down from heaven not to do My own will, but the will of My Father who sent Me.” You see, the submission, the complete submission of Christ to the will of His Father. Obedience and humility. Come with me to that place in the Scriptures where you and I can learn from the One who was obedient to the point of death. Philippians 2:8: “And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” From this we see how Jesus had a heart for God; Jesus had a heart for holiness because He lived dedicated to the principles of godliness. During all His life on this earth He sought to maintain an intimate union with His Father. Jesus also had a heart for others. He gave His life for sinners and He served them throughout His life. We must understand that there is no holiness for us today without Christ, and only through a daily walk and intimate connection with Christ do we find holiness.

We should ask the question—what would Jesus do in this or that situation that I face? Then do it; step out in faith and just do it. Holiness is not imitation but rather is participation in the very life and character of Jesus. Jesus gave us something that will make us able to live the life He wants us to live. Here it is: Ezekiel 36:26–27 states, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes.”  We find the same promise in the book of Hebrews 8:10, “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put My laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to Me a people.”

What does it mean when Jesus said, “I will put My laws into their mind?” It simply means that God’s people have a perfect understanding of the present truth. There is no confusion about the doctrine; they know what they believe and in whom they believe. They step out in faith and do the work God entrusted them with. They are happy when they do missionary work, going from place to place, accompanied by the holy angels, carrying with them the good news of salvation everywhere they go. They are not ashamed when God opens opportunities for them to share their testimony with others. They live a perfect and holy life here on earth and have the faith of Jesus—keeping all God’s commandments.

But, what about the expression, “I will write them (the statutes) in their hearts?” Well, this simply means that God’s remnant people will walk according to the principles of the truth. They are guided by God’s principles and not by their feelings. The controlling power of sin has been broken. Evil may harass us. The devil may deceive us, but he no longer has control. There is a new Master, a new Lord in our lives. We may not feel it, but as long as we are in Christ this is our new reality.

So, how do I live holiness? We have to focus on Jesus first, and each day, as we begin that day let our thoughts be on Him and say, “Here I am Lord, take me completely. I want to do Your will, show me Your plans with me today and help me to fulfil that plan.” Claim the reality of your salvation and eternal life in Christ. Do not allow Satan to steal from you the hope of salvation. He comes when we sin, leaving us empty and disappointed; this is his work. But there is Jesus still reaching His hands to you, to help you, to embrace you with an amazing love. Jesus says in Matthew 11:28–30 “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” What a beautiful promise made by Jesus Himself to you and to me today.

Do you have some burdens to give to Jesus, my friend? Did you come to Jesus? Maybe you have come many times to Him but you still fall apart because of some bad habits in your life, some sins still keep you away from God’s blessings; and you decide to come again to Jesus, but this time with all your heart, with all your life, with a contrite spirit, like David when he sinned against God. And you wish to be washed and cleansed by Jesus blood—claiming the power from on high to live a righteous life. Do you want to know the answer to this sincere petition? 1 John 2:1, “My little children, these things I write unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” Isn’t that amazing, “my little children?” If you have sinned you have an Advocate, a High Priest, a Saviour. Do you need a Saviour? Do you trust Jesus enough that He can give you power to overcome in this life, just as He overcame? Confess your sin and forsake it because the word of God stands forever and it is powerful enough to set us free from the bondage of sin.

The Bible says in Psalm 12:6, “The words of the LORD are pure words,” and Isaiah 40:8, “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.” Do you believe in the word of God? The Bible is not a simple book; the gospel or the good news is power for the one who believes, power unto salvation. Paul said in the book of Romans that he was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. What about us? Surrender your life to God as Master and Lord. Romans 6:13–14 “Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” Furthermore in the book of Titus 2:11–13, “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.”

My dear brothers and sisters, God requires from us an intimate walk with Him and perfect union with Christ. “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it.” 1 Thessalonians 5:23–24

Nicholas Anca