Is holiness something we are in Christ or something we need to become? Though a foundation of holiness has been laid in us by virtue of the fact that we now are God’s possession, Scripture makes it clear that something is still missing. Time and again we are exhorted to live a holy life. And that means that the sins of the flesh must be forsaken.

There’s no question that living a holy life is expected. And if expected, it must be attainable (not the impossibility of being sin-free, but definitely that of being self-controlled). It’s the whole point of living a godly life. Attempting to please God by walking out our faith in a manner worthy of Him is not easy. It’s takes effort. But we need to remember that God has accepted us. Pleasing God is a whole lot different from trying to become acceptable to Him.

God knows our limitations and has dealt with the nagging sin that plagues our selfish nature. But He will not tolerate slavery to sin. We’ve been freed from sin and enslaved to God Himself (Romans 6:22). The fruit of this relationship is holiness. God only asks that we commit ourselves to be led by His Spirit. He has promised that we no longer need to suffer under a spirit of slavery. Quite the opposite, we have received a spirit of adoption as sons and now are fellow heirs with Christ.

Our natural course of behavior once we’re saved is to move forward in our relationship with Christ instead of against Him. This penchant to pursue Him is a spiritual law—“the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus,” by which we have been “set free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2). This is what it means to be “in Christ.”

What does my sin say about my faith? It can be pretty ugly! But let’s be realistic; no matter how good we ultimately become we’ll always have shortcomings. Still, we must not be naïve about the influence sin has on our life—that is, how it affects both faith and obedience. Sin weakens our ability to make right choices. It hardens us. Like a snowball—growing in size and gaining momentum—sin and unbelief feed on each other, sometimes even leading to total alienation from God.

To prevent this from happening, we must guard our heart—even from sins that may seem insignificant. At the very least, disobedience stalls our growth. At worst, it hardens our heart to the point where we simply cease to believe. Sure, we’ll never be perfect in this life. But walking in Christ’s provision is what’s really important. God loves watching us work out our faith this way.

God has created each of us with purpose—a personal calling. We all share this inward tug. So moving forward without any real sense of direction in life can’t help but be frustrating. “What am I doing for God? I just don’t know what my purpose is.” Take heart! It’s not an uncommon problem. Christians often find themselves stuck in the disappointing position of not understanding God’s intent for their life. I often sense it myself.

At times even those who have been used by God in some powerful way share this frustration. We apparently can’t just sit back and rest on our laurels. Why God doesn’t just paint us a clear picture, I can’t say. It must have something to do with that old faith thing. But though it’s clearly not easy, finding God’s purpose for our life actually isn’t out of reach. Intimacy with God holds the key.

Jesus expects us to grow spiritually. Our job is to prepare the soil of our heart to receive that growth. But it doesn’t happen overnight. It comes from pressing forward—trying to live in a manner pleasing to Him. It’s all about “presenting our bodies as a holy and living sacrifice, acceptable to God” (Romans 12:1). Making godly choices sets us on that road. Early in the process there are lots of opportunities to slip back under the spell of the old self. That’s why we must always be vigilant.

Over time, as we experience degrees of transformation, the likelihood of backsliding keeps diminishing. Be encouraged! Somewhere along the line it’s virtually impossible to get mired once again in the pit of that old self. Why? Because our character has been forever altered—who we are has changed. Once our character is transformed, we truly are no longer our former selves.

Intimacy with God needs to start somewhere—we know that! So our pursuit of God is often rooted in a sense of obligation. And that’s an okay beginning. Yet there’s something wrong if seeking Him doesn’t become a pursuit of the heart rather than merely a sense of duty. God has given us the key to intimacy: it’s His Son, Jesus! Through Him we’ve been given both the honor and the privilege of sharing His glory. What an awesome gift!

Jesus has provided the means for our relationship to bear much fruit. And the good news is that we don’t have to worry about trying to force the issue. All we need to do is cooperate and abide in Christ. He has taken our humanity into account and is in this thing with us for the long-haul. Rest assured, He will accomplish in and through us what He has purposed.

We often think our conflict with sin stems from two natures struggling within: the sin nature of our flesh set against our redeemed inner man. “My higher nature should be victorious over my lower nature,” we’re taught. So when we sin, it’s hard to understand how we could be so weak. “Shouldn’t I be something more than what I so obviously am? What’s wrong here?”

Actually, this is not a battle between two natures; we are merely witnessing human nature in action.  What we’re really seeing is two kingdoms, each tugging at us. Our basic nature doesn’t change once we’re saved. I’m still the same old human me. What’s happened is our spirit, no longer dead because of sin, is now capable of functioning for the purpose which God intended. Our spirit has become united with the Holy Spirit residing within. In spite of the weakness of our flesh, we are now alive to God!

Like it or not, we’re all slaves. Those who live according to the flesh are hostile toward God from the very core of their being. No wonder they refuse to subject themselves to Him. Their slavery to sin renders them incapable of doing otherwise (Romans 8:7). But in the mysterious riches of God’s love Christ died for us, even while we were steeped in our slavery to sin.

In so doing, He gives us the opportunity to choose His gift of eternal life—redeeming us from sin to become His own children. Once we’ve made the decision to receive Christ, God goes into action; He immediately rescues us from the domain of darkness and transfers us to the kingdom of His Son (Colossians 1:13). We become “slaves of righteousness.” We’re no longer in the flesh, but in the Spirit. Even though our body is dead because of sin, our spirit is forever alive to God (Romans 7:4. – 6).

For Christians, the Bible talks about two kinds of sinful behavior: periodically falling into sin—a pitfall—and the practice of sin as a lifestyle. The Bible cautions us against stepping into the pitfall of sin, certainly, but more importantly it warns against choosing sin as a way of life.

Now we’d all be in big trouble if alienation from God resulted from occasionally falling into sin through the weakness of our flesh. Still, we must not discount sin of any kind as being insignificant in God’s eyes. The very nature of sin is that it has potential to spread, just like a cancer does in the body. All sin runs along a path that leads somewhere. The big question is this: when does sin as a pitfall develop into sin as practice? Where’s the line between sin that merely displeases God and sin that drives His Spirit from us?

Christians often overlook something really important: God isn’t into guilt trips; He’s on a gift trip. Everything we need has already been provided in Christ. Picture God’s outstretched hand, all His abundance there for the taking by anyone who will simply seek Him. We can have all we want of God, but He will never force anything on us.

God doesn’t brow-beat or coerce His children. The gift itself should provide more than sufficient motivation to seek greater intimacy with Jesus. So, resorting to the use of guilt to compel us to take advantage of such abundance seems a bit ridiculous. It’s true that we are obligated to build relationship with the Lord. But a sincere pursuit of God should stem from the fact that we are assured of His promises, not through the incentive of guilt, pressure or greed. Again, God isn’t into guilt trips; He’s on a gift trip.