The Holy Spirit wants to thrive within us, not just lie dormant. A mounting desire to please God is what we should expect from the Spirit’s indwelling presence. And as a part of this yearning to please Him comes a sense that we are to be holy. Because God is holy, a godly life must be a holy life. But let’s be realistic: How many of us could say that we are altogether holy in our attitudes and behavior?
Still, though achieving such perfection is hard to imagine, we can’t deny that Scripture points us there. So we often sense little alternative but to work for it. Don’t feel alone! It’s actually pretty common to think of holiness as being the result of what a person has achieved. Isn’t that how all religions see it—those unapproachable Holy Men? God’s kingdom is different. He’s provided the way for all of us to be “holy and blameless before Him.” Colossians 1:22
From Free from the Power of Sin: the Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself