Holiness is...

[Apologetic_Warrior]

Holiness is set apart--from sin, and to God.

But then we read verses such as: 1 John 1:8 "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."

Which is why I believe the only righteousness we can appeal to is the work of God the Holy Spirit, the imputed righteousness of Christ to a believer, which is imputed by faith alone.

Confession of sin is our part, the outworking of the imputed righteousness of Christ is God's part.

 

[JM]

Which is why I believe the only righteousness we can appeal to is the work of God the Holy Spirit

That's progressive sanctification right there, the work of God the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer...

"In Christ, and in Him alone, does the believer possess a perfect purity. Christ has consecrated us to God by the offering of Himself unto Him for us. His sacrifice has delivered us from defilement and the ensuing estrangement, and restored us to the favour and fellowship of God. The Father Himself views the Christian as identified with and united to His "Holy One." There are no degrees and can be no "progress" in this sanctification: an unconverted person is absolutely unholy, and a converted person is absolutely holy. God’s standard of holiness is not what the Christian becomes by virtue of the Spirit’s work in us here, but what Christ is as seated at His own right hand. Every passage in the New Testament which addresses believers as "saints"—holy ones—refutes the idea that the believer is not yet sanctified and will not be so until the moment of death.

Nor does the idea of a progressive sanctification, by which the Christian "more and more dies unto sin," agree with the recorded experience of the most mature saints. The godly John Newton (author of "How sweet the name of Jesus sounds," etc.) when speaking of the expectations which he cherished at the outset of his Christian life, wrote, "But alas! these my golden expectations have been like South Sea dreams. I have lived hitherto a poor sinner, and I believe I shall die one. Have I, then, gained nothing? Yes, I have gained that which I once would rather have been without—such accumulated proof of the deceitfulness and desperate wickedness of my heart as I hope by the Lord’s blessing has, in some measure, taught me to know what I mean when I say, ‘Behold I am vile!’ I was ashamed of myself when I began to serve Him, I am more ashamed of myself now, and I expect to be most ashamed of myself when He comes to receive me to Himself. But oh! I rejoice in Him, that He is not ashamed of me!" Ah, as the Christian grows in grace, he grows more and more out of love with himself." - Pink

I'm looking forward to reading Walter Marshall's work: http://boston.server101.com/gospel_mystery_of_sanctification.htm

 

[JustAsIam77]

Nice, I thought for a nano second you had gone to the dark side.. believing we have any worthiness whatsoever apart from the rightiousness of Christ.

 

[bricklayer]

So far as I've noticed, anywhere in the bible one sees the word "holy" it can be substituted with the word "inviolate" and not change the meanng at all. It is now, for me, a habit and one that helps me understand the context better. "Holy" is, to me, nebulous; "inviolate" is, to me, solid.

 

[Orange_County_Chopper]

No I don't. But you already knew that didn't you. I have no personal holiness but Christ. Holiness is perfection and the best you can do is sin. What he is saying is natural religion at it most subtle. It points you to what you can or must do and glosses ove the only hope we have of true holiness which is Christ in you the hope of glory. His perfect holiness is all the holiness I need. I don't want anything to do with what men, religious men especially, call holiness because it is not worth spit. Does anyone here really think that God looks on their personal consecration and blesses them because of it?

Remember that there simply are no degrees to holiness. You can't be almost holy. You are either perfectly holy or you are unholy. There is no in between. Christ's perfect holiness is enough for me.

Bull's eye.