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Mar 264 min read

What Holiness Accomplishes



The Goal


As we approach the final week of March, I wanted to address some vital aspects of holiness that we can’t forget about. We’ve talked a lot about what holiness is, the different levels of holiness, and even what we often mistake holiness to be. For this post, however, I wanted to address what holiness actually accomplishes for us. We know that being holy means to be set apart, but why does that matter? What does being set apart from the rest of the world actually do for us? This is a fair question to ask when we see that our Lord has commanded us to be holy all throughout scripture. As Chris Russel says, “On this planet, we certainly will never attain complete holiness, for we are ever warring with our old, sinful nature. But holiness is the target for which we are to direct our actions.” If we know we can’t be as holy as God is, why even bother to attempt to be set apart on this earth? Thankfully, God tells us why in His Word and we get a bigger picture of what holiness actually accomplishes in our lives. Let's see what further info the Bible can give us about this topic. 


Personal Growth


To start, God’s Word is clear that a huge accomplishment of holiness is that it makes us more like Christ. There are multiple passages that we could look to in order to verify this, but one of the most forthright ones is found in Romans. Paul tells us in Romans 12:1-2 “Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” Right in this passage, Paul shows us some of the greatest accomplishments that holiness can have in a believer's life. Yes, holiness makes our worship of the Lord more appropriate, but we also see that holiness makes us more like Christ. Who wouldn’t want to sign up for that? I know that living like Christ is the furthest thing from being easy, but if we know that we are saved, one of the most satisfying things is to notice your life growing in holiness as you die to your old self and become more and more like Christ. Seeing your old, sinful desires pass away and a new desire for purity and godly character emerge in you is one of the greatest accomplishments that holiness can have in our lives today.

In fact, when listing out reasons for how a person can know whether or not they are saved, John tells us in 1 John 3:9 “No one who has been born of God practices sin, because His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin continually, because he has been born of God.” When we have been born again, it should be evident in our lives that holiness is having its way with us by dying to the old and coming alive in the new. This is what is so beautiful about holiness and why we can’t ignore its effects on us. Holiness doesn’t just prove that we read our Bibles every day and gives us the authority to wear our ‘Christian’ badge for the week, it actually has an everlasting effect on us that changes our lives to be more like Christ and less like ourselves. When we take a step back and consider what Paul and John are really saying here, we can’t help but feel sanctified as we realize we are growing increasingly into who God has called us to be. 


The Glory Of God


Furthermore, we see one of the biggest accomplishments of holiness being for the Lord rather than for us. We don’t always save the best for last, but in this case, I would argue that this point is the most vital. The most important accomplishment that holiness has in our lives is that it glorifies the Lord. Now I know that our former point glorifies the Lord as well, I just want to make sure that we understand how momentous this accomplishment is. Look at what Paul says to the Colossians when he’s reminding them of their new identity in Christ. Colossians 3:17 says, “Whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” No matter what we do as believers, we are to offer thanks to God for all He has done. This is no small matter. This passage doesn’t just tell us to thank God when things have gone right in our lives. We also aren’t told to thank and glorify God only when we can see the blessing that He has given us. Scripture is clear that no matter what we do as believers, we are to thank God and give Him all the glory at all times! This is a huge accomplishment that holiness should have in you. Are you able to thank God on good days? What about bad? How about when it seems like you’ve only had days filled with loss after loss, are you still giving thanks and glory to Him then? This is a surefire way to know that holiness is growing in your life, when you really can thank God in every situation, despite what we may be going through. Holiness doesn’t just make us more like Christ, but it glorifies our Lord by showing this lost world what Christ is like through us. Being holy in our lives and glorifying God go hand in hand because when we are made more like Christ, only He and He alone can receive the credit. The lost of this world will start to take notice of you as you put off your old self, and put on the new that Christ has died to give you. And whether holiness is defeating sin in your life or whether it is an evangelical tool for the lost, may all of it come back to honor and glorify the one who has called us to be holy in the first place. 

 






Sources

[1] Blue Letter Bible. (n.d.). Blue Letter Bible. https://www.blueletterbible.org/


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