In our last blog, we found the Hebrews writer exhorting us to pursue peace.  He also tells us to pursue holiness:

Hebrews 12:14 (NKJV)
¹⁴  Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: 

Holiness is one of the primary characteristics of a Christian.  The Greek word is “hagiasmos” and is often translated as “sanctification.”  In fact, in the KJV, the word is translated holiness and sanctification five times each.  The word entails both the action involved (being set apart) and the result of the action (purification).

Holiness is viewed from two standpoints in the New Testament—positional and progressive.  From a positional standpoint, we are sanctified, or made holy, by God.

1 Peter 1:2 (ESV)
²  according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

A person is sanctified by the Spirit when he obeys the gospel of Christ.  This is the moment when God delivers one from the power of darkness and translates him into the kingdom (Colossians 1:13).  If you are a Christian, you were moved positionally from outside of Christ to inside of Christ by the grace of God.  This was not your doing, it was God’s gift (Ephesians 2:8).

While positional holiness is something that God does for us, progressive holiness is something that God demands from us.  It has to do with how we live our lives after we have been set apart.

2 Corinthians 7:1 (ESV)
¹  Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

Who cleanses us from defilement?  Paul said we cleanse ourselves.  This is not to say that God does not have a part in our progressive holiness.  He does.  We can only progress in holiness by the power of the gospel, but we have to choose to apply it to our daily lives. This is how we bring holiness to completion.  It is like having keys to a door.  The keys will get you inside the house, but only if you choose to use them.  You have to unlock the door to gain access to the inside of the house.  Likewise, while God has given us the key to heaven, that is, the gospel of Christ (Romans 1:16), we have to use it to gain access.

We must pursue holiness just like we do peace.  This is not a part-time pursuit, it is a daily endeavor.  We must be habitually holy.  That is our responsibility before God.  It is God’s expressed desire that we are holy just like Him.

1 Peter 1:14-16 (ESV)
¹⁴  As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, ¹⁵  but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, ¹⁶  since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.