His Holiness Is Ours

When I speak of total trust in Christ, I mean not only his saving power but also his keeping power. We have to trust his Spirit to keep us and enable us to conform to the likeness of Jesus.

Think about your own testimony. At one time, you were cut off from God by wicked works. What good work did you do to make things right with him? None! No one has ever been able to save himself.

Likewise, nobody has ever been able to make or keep himself holy. We are brought into Christ’s holiness daily by faith alone, as we trust in what God’s Word says: “As he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct” (1 Peter 1:15, NKJV).

“And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now he has reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in his sight if indeed you continue in the faith” (Colossians 1:21-23).

Note the phrase, “If indeed you continue in the faith.” Jesus is saying, “Continue trusting in me, living by faith. I will present you as clean, faultless, and holy before the Father.”

There are no degrees of holiness, only degrees of maturity in Christ. It is foolish to measure yourself against someone you picture as being “holy.” We are all measured by one standard: the holiness of Christ. If we are in him, his holiness is ours in equal measure.

You must never again look at another Christian and say, “Oh, I wish I were as holy as he is.” You may not have that person’s discipline or his prayer life; you may struggle more often and make more mistakes than he does. But he is no more accepted by the Father than you are. You are to compare yourself to no one, because no one is loved more in the eyes of the Father than you!

Beloved, put off all reliance on the flesh and make this declaration: “I claim my holiness, which is in Christ Jesus. I am part of his body, and my Father sees me as holy because I abide in him.”