CAN WE EVER BE PERFECT AND HOLY?

By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© God’s Breath Publications

 

1 Thessalonians 4:3

“It is God’s will that you should be sanctified.”

 

This is an awesome verse, for it spells out for us the will of God for each of our lives. We come to God on our knees to accept His Son as our Savior. We are then saved and made holy in God’s sight by Christ’s sacrifice. But what many of us don’t realize is that our salvation is not a past event, it is an ongoing experience. We were saved from our sins. We are being saved from the power of sin. We will be saved from the presence of sin. While we are holy in our position before God our condition is far from holy.

 

God desires for us to be sanctified through and through. Becoming sanctified is dependent on our obedience to God’s Word and letting God work in us through the power of His Holy Spirit. Becoming holy and totally sanctified is something we will never fully achieve in this life. Paul speaks of this in Philippians 3:12-14. In this passage he talks about his own experience of seeking holiness.

 

“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

 

Here we see Paul describing his own personal experience as he pursues holiness. He is telling us that in this process of sanctification he has not achieved holiness yet and is continuing to press on towards the goal to be like Christ.

 

Paul, in speaking of himself, had it right. When he speaks of forgetting what lies behind (moving on), he is speaking of both his successes and failures. Those things that can build our pride as well as those things that can depress us. Anything that can hinder our pursuit of holiness needs to be put in its place. Our achievements can feed our ego unless they are given to God for His glory. Our failures can kill our spiritual motivation unless we understand that God is forgiving and faithful in such situations. An interesting point in this verse is that Paul is speaking in the “passive imperative.” An imperative is a command. A passive imperative is a command that implies that another agent will fulfill the command other than the one to whom the command was given. To put it more simply, God gives the command to seek holiness in your life but He will fulfill the command through us as long as we are willing to obey and do our part.

 

An important point for us to understand as Christians is that becoming holy as a believer is not just expected; it is commanded by God because it is His will for our lives.

 

Sanctification, the process of becoming more and more holy and like our Heavenly Father is normative for the Christian. Sanctification is not optional.

 

Romans 12:1-2 tells us,

 

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform (imperative – command) any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed (passive) by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

 

Ephesians 4:23-24 says,

“to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

 

2 Corinthians 4:16-17 states,

“…inwardly we are being renewed day by day.”

 

Colossians 3:9-10 commands us,

“Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.”

 

If you are not being transformed you are being conformed. Each day we should do a check on how well we are working with God in this process of transformation, of becoming more holy, of becoming like our Heavenly Father. Some of us procrastinate. We say, “I’ll do it later when things slow down.” Do you know when things will really slow down; when you die. You’ll be amazed at how much time you’ll have on your hands when that takes place. But then it will be too late. It’s very possible that the degree with which you pursue holiness in this life will have impact on how much you will enjoy the next life in heaven.

 

We must also remember that seeking holiness and becoming sanctified is a process not an event. As parents we’ve all heard the phrase shouted out by our children when we’re on a trip, “Are we there yet?” We live in an instant gratification society. We have to have instant everything. We want everything now and are trained to be very impatient.  We live in the “ME and I” generation. But the sanctification process is often very slow. We have to be patient with God and ourselves as we seek to pursue holiness.

 

But how can we practically pursue holiness? There are some things we have no control over and there are other things that we do. While we can’t make ourselves holy we can put ourselves in situations where the process can be more conducive to the sanctification process in our life. It’s like going to sleep. Kids often say, “I can’t go to sleep.” But they can make themselves more comfortable. Turn on some soft music and close their eyes to help the process.

 

Are you putting yourself in situations that are conducive to spiritual growth? It’s said that a good sailor is able to tell by the surface of the body of water that way the wind will blow. Are we looking for ways the Holy Spirit is wishing to direct us? Are we placing ourselves in situations that are conducive to growing in holiness? Are we obeying God’s Word and pursuing the transforming power of God? Do we ask ourselves through the day, “How is God using this moment or experience to transform me into a more holy person?” You might ask yourself in an illustrative way, “How are the winds of the Holy Spirit blowing in your life to make you more holy? Are you dead in the water because you have compromised your walk with Christ? Have you quenched the Holy Spirit by your behavior or disobedience?”

 

 These are all good questions to ask as you evaluate how you are pursuing holiness as a Christian.  

 

Charles Haddon Spurgeon said once;

 

“If any man truly loves God, he will grow like God. The revealed character of God is to some of us a joy forever, and this is a sure mark of grace. We are not what we should be; we are not what we want to be; we are not what we hope to be; we are not what we shall be; but we do love the name of the Lord, and this is the root of the matter. We shall be like Him, for we love Him. Thus, the very fact that the Lord has filled us with love to Himself is a plea for further grace to keep His commandments.”

 

We must also be aware that God works differently in each individual’s life. How He works in others lives won’t be the same as He works in ours. We may grow spiritually slower or faster than those around us. It may seem we put more time and effort into our spiritual life than others and see fewer results. But we must remember that our focus should be on our own personal relationship with our Lord and we should not compare ourselves with others around us.

 

Finally we are to pursue spiritual growth not for ourselves but for the benefit of others.  God does not withdraw within Himself because He is holy. He is active in His creation to redeem men and women. He is constantly working to bring Himself glory by reaching out in love to bring others into His Kingdom. God’s holy character motivates Him to save individuals like you and me. His holy character requires Him to command us to be holy as He is holy. Christ’s church is a community. It’s a family. Within this community and family as we seek to be holy as God is holy we demonstrate love towards one another, we minister to one another, we provide role models for one another, we hold one another accountable, and we serve as an example to the world what Christ’s church really is.

 

Philippians 2:14-16

“Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life — in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.”

 

In this process of seeking holiness and becoming sanctified we are becoming like Christ and holy, as God is holy. We should appear to others, not sanctimonious, but loving, caring, interested in their lives and willing to serve them. Being holy is not about being self-centered saints; it’s about being people-focused servants? To be Holy is to demonstrate love. God is holy and the result is that He is love. So should we be.

 

Hebrews 12:14

“Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.”

 

1 Peter 2:9-10

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”