O my soul,

Do you desire to be holy?

Let me ask something else. Do you desire to see the Lord? Because in fact this is the very same question.

Strive … for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

― Hebrews 12:14

Make no mistake. Without holiness you will not see the Lord.

There are several words for holiness in the New Testament. The holiness without which no-one will see the Lord is hagiasmos, which means purity, or consecration, or sanctification.

Do you desire this then? You had better, for the Lord desires it of you!

For this is the will of God, your sanctification.

For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

― 1 Thessalonians 4:3, 7-8

The words translated here as sanctification and holiness are the very same.

What is this then to which we are called? It is about putting on a whole new self.

Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!⸺assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

― Ephesians 4:17-24

The old self is corrupt through deceitful desires. They are deceitful because they claim to lead to satisfaction and contentment but in fact they lead to death and destruction. Beware these deceitful desires! But the new self is created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. O my soul, you must put on this new self, and find satisfaction and contentment and joy in it.

Putting on the new self is so important that Paul lists with exceeding clarity in several places exactly what are its consequences, highlighting the stark contrast between the new self and the old self. For example:

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

― Galatians 5:16-21

But we must be so careful in approaching these lists of Paul’s, because we are absolutely not called to box-ticking, as if we could somehow measure up. So let’s see if we can understand the main point here.

Firstly, recognize the battle that is being waged in the inner being. The desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other. Paul expands upon this in his letter to the Romans.

For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.

So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.

― Romans 7:14-15, 21-23

The situation appears to be desperate, and for the one who would honour the Lord through living a life of personal holiness it seems to be hopeless. This must be both acknowledged and then repudiated.

Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

― Romans 7:24-25

There is victory through Jesus and only through him. There is simply no other way to achieve this holiness. And so what must fuel this desire for holiness is humility and a grateful heart.

God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

― 1 Corinthians 1:28-31

There is no badge of honour in living a holy life. That idea is straight out of the Pharisaical heart. The holy life is evidence of the Lord’s victory over the sin in our lives, and the glory is his alone. Praise him!

O my soul, weep in gratitude to your Saviour and Redeemer, who alone has the power to transform you in this way. And know that the transformation is a matter of life and death. For how does Paul conclude his shocking list?

I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

― Galatians 5:21b

Conversely, know that you will never earn your own way in this regard. And rejoice in this blessed truth:

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

― Galatians 5:18

Do you understand what it means to be led by the Spirit? Recall what I wrote previously about this, based on the insight of J.I. Packer. Being led by the Spirit is about putting to death the deeds of the body and not gratifying the desires of the flesh. It is all about the power of the sanctified will. This has nothing to do with understanding or insight! It is about doing rather than discerning.

We absolutely must learn to live in this power, to surrender our unholy wills to the holy and righteous will of God. This is the very crux of the spiritual battle! The life of personal holiness must be an outworking of gratitude and love and worship to our rescuer, the one whose name is Faithful and True.

None of us could possibly live up to the law and attain any of this. But rejoice because that is not what we are called to do. Those who are led by the Spirit, who have surrendered their will to the Lord to live in submission and humility are not under the law. Praise the Lord!

O my soul, put aside any thought that you could possibly live a holy life in your own strength, surrender your will to the sanctifying work of the Spirit, and weep in gratitude as this great love and transforming grace are poured out in your life! 🙏