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The Bible calls us to be holy and blameless people. I recognize how frightening it is to think that God expects such a high standard of us.
I know me, and I know how far there is to go before I reach holy and blameless. And when I think of it, I get scared. How, God, can I ever be what you’ve called me to be, to live a holy and blameless life?
But let me tell you something; that fear is a good thing because that’s where holiness begins. Have you ever gotten even a small glimpse of the holiness of God? None of us will ever be motivated to be holy until we see how unholy we are.
When Job saw the holiness of God, he said, “I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:6). When Isaiah saw God’s holiness he said, “Woe to me. I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips…” (Isaiah 6:5).
This kind of message is out of step with today’s philosophy of feeling good about yourself. But, dear friends, holiness begins with repentance and acknowledgement before God of our hopeless and helpless state. If the idea of living a holy and blameless life has left you feeling desperate and discouraged, I want to tell you that’s a good sign.
Our God never mocks us. He has called us to holy and blameless living, knowing all along we will never get there on our own. So, he’s given us his power through the Holy Spirit within us to be able to achieve his standards. Our job is to submit to that power; to constantly learn and grow and allow his power to change us.
If you recognize how far short you fall from this holy and blameless standard, you’re in a good position, for that’s the starting line. Then your responsibility is to train yourself for holiness; do the things that are essential. Are you in a training program for becoming more and more like Jesus? That would include time in God’s Word and prayer and fellowship. And it would include cleaning out from your life anything that is not pleasing to God, getting rid of the habits and attitudes that keep you from being holy.
Remember, zero defects is the standard, and if we take it seriously, we can see that God is perfecting holiness in our lives. So, no more of this “Nobody’s perfect” mentality. Let’s ask God for a zero defects way of thinking.
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