November 21

deliverance from hostile hands, that we may serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our lives. — Luke 1:74-75 BSB

Holiness primarily consists of two key aspects:

1. Being made a partaker of the spirit of holiness, by which, as those born of God, we are made fit to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. Our affections are set on things above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God. We put on the new self, which is renewed in knowledge according to the image of its Creator. We live a life of faith in the Son of God, and, as we gaze upon the glory of the Lord, we are transformed into the same image, from glory to glory, through the work of the Spirit.

To be spiritually-minded in this way, to be brought near to God through His Son, to walk in the light of His countenance, and to experience spiritual communion with the Lord as He reigns on His mercy seat in His risen power and the vastness of His love, is to partake of true holiness. It is to be sanctified by the Holy Spirit as an indwelling Teacher, Guide, Advocate, and Comforter. If we know nothing of these things, even in some small measure, or if we are not seeking them to be brought into our hearts by divine power, there is little evidence that God’s grace has reached us or renewed us.

2. The second aspect of holiness is a life and conduct that is in harmony with the precepts of the gospel. The one naturally flows from the other. As Jesus said, “Make the tree good, and its fruit will be good, for the tree is known by its fruit” (Matthew 12:33). The fruit of a holy and godly life must come from the divine work of the Holy Spirit within the heart. This is what it means to be “holy in all manner of conversation,” or in our daily lives, fulfilling the precept God gave to His people, which is now fulfilled spiritually in those He calls by His grace under the gospel.