The Incarnation of Christ did not only affect our salvation through his death on the Cross but it brought every child of God directly to a relatable and accessible God who manifested himself in flesh. Jesus promised: “No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you.” John 14:18 NLT
He will come to us as our heavenly Father as he fills us with the Spirit of adoption. What an amazing revelation and experience that we are not walking in religiosity but in a relationship of faith with our invisible Father! However, for the Christian this understanding is merely the launching pad for us into our journey of sanctification. This is what the great Apostle Paul was admonishing;
2 Corinthians 7:1 “Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God.;” NLT
After we have been converted and are born again, we don’t remain in a state of spiritual inertia where there is no change or growth but quite the contrary, when we are saved, we then go on onto perfection, toward complete holiness.
That means change and maturity has to be implemented and incorporated into our lives, to where we put away sinful habits, actions, words and lifestyle that is displeasing to the Lord. It is a process of removal and addition; we remove the behaviours and attitudes of iniquity, like lying, cursing, lusting, etc and we take on the godly habits of prayer, worship, serving and generosity.
This of course does not happen in one fell swoop of a singular event but it is the ongoing process of a day to day experience that is borne firstly; out of a relationship with God. We pursue holiness because we love Jesus and want to do what he commands us. It is an outflow of his Spirit and his Word working in us that leads us to a pure life. Walking with other Believers is also of immense importance because we see in others who have been walking a little longer, the possibility of living right.
I don’t want to discourage anyone with this message because you may feel such a huge disparity between where your life is at today and the idea of holiness. On the contrary, I simply want to remind you that you have journey and destiny to pursue which is Christ. And the closer you get to him, the more we must become like him; righteous, pure and holy. In fact, let me conclude these thoughts by saying that if we are not on the road to holiness and becoming more like him, we are likely on the road that leads further away from God.
Hebrews 12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
