Holiness

1 John 3:3
“Everyman that has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”

“The real test of our profession of Faith as Christians is not so much what we are as what we do. If we really see ourselves as depicted in the New Testament, the problem of conduct would immediately be solved. The real trouble with most Christian people is not so much in the realm of their conduct and practice as in the realm of their belief.

Holiness is an inevitable deduction from doctrine. You can’t make holiness a thing of itself. Then you produce rules and regulations. You begin to pay too much attention to little details. You become legalistic without realizing it. Holiness is not something we are called upon to do in order that we may become something. It is something we are to do because of what we already are. I am not to live this holy life in order that I may enter Heaven. It is because I know I am going to enter Heaven that I must live this holy life. It is because I know I am going to meet God that I must prepare to meet Him.

People who are concerned about purifying themselves are those who want to be like the Lord Jesus Christ. Purification is an active process. “Everyman that has this hope in Him purifies himself.” He does not submit to purification, he purifies himself. Do not love the world, mortify your members, crucify the flesh. As we do these things, we shall be purifying ourselves as He is pure.