Nobody’s perfect, but how imperfect can you be and still make it through the door of heaven?

We have focused for several posts on the crucial subject of holiness. Anyone who wants to know God and his ways can and must learn to love the awesome, exciting, joyful, and beautiful quality of holiness. At the moment of our salvation, God removes us from a polluted, foul, sewage-fed canal, places us in a perfect garden, and commands us to learn to love our new environment.

Before we move on to another topic, I need to address one more question: How holy does a person have to be in conduct to be a true Christian, to have assurance of salvation?

I noted in a previous post that in Christ we are regarded as perfectly holy in status before God even though we are never perfect in conduct. But can a person who claims to be a follower of Jesus be so unholy in conduct that their holy status is negated, that is, proven invalid?

Taking holiness seriously

Let’s begin answering this question by looking at Hebrews 12:14, which says,

Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord (niv).

This says we are to make every effort—or strive—to be holy. Just as we make every effort necessary to earn a living and keep a job, or get the food we need each day, we are to make every effort to be holy. Why exert such effort?

We must make every effort to be holy because “without holiness no one will see the Lord.” Does that mean what it sounds like it means? Is it saying we cannot ultimately be saved and have eternal life with God unless our conduct in this life reaches a certain standard of holiness?

Necessary holiness

To answer this crucial question we first need to see that this verse cannot be referring to the status of holiness; it must be referring to conduct because we cannot achieve the status of holiness through effort, but only through faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:8–9) (If you have not yet read my previous post on “How to Avoid Extremes in the Pursuit of Holiness,” I urge you to read it before reading this). So, striving for holiness must mean striving actually to live in a holy way.

Second, we need to see that the words “see the Lord” must refer to ultimate salvation, not merely feeling close to God or walking in communion with him. In other words, some people have the view that because we are saved by God’s grace that means we can live any way we want because if we have faith in Christ we will still be saved. They would say that “without holiness no one will see the Lord” means something like, “Without holiness we will not have an accurate understanding of God,” or “Without holiness we will not enjoy the presence of God,” or “No matter how bad we have been in this life, if we believe in Christ God will transform us after we die to be truly holy so that we can come into his holy presence.”

But that understanding does not fit the context of Hebrews 12:14. In verses 15–17 the writer warns: “See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no ‘root of bitterness’ springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.” (Hebrews 12:15–17)

Notice, the writer warns about people who will fail “to obtain the grace of God” even though they want the grace of God. He warns against being like Esau, who was lost. The writer’s focus in the surrounding verses is clearly to warn Christians not to continue in sin lest they ultimately discover to their sorrow that they are lost.

This agrees with the rest of the New Testament

Does this understanding fit the larger context of the New Testament? Does the New Testament elsewhere teach that it is possible to think you are a Christian and call yourself a Christian and yet live below a minimum standard of holiness, and therefore be a false Christian? See what you think.

Jesus said:

Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?” And then will I declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.” Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. (Matthew 7:21–27)

Galatians 5:19–24 says:

Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Ephesians 5:3–6 says:

But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

1 Corinthians 6:9–10 says:

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

1 John 3:2–10 says:

Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we will be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

Revelation 21:7–8 says:

The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.

Conclusion

How holy does a true Christian have to be?

Answer: A true Christian will not practice evil. That is, a true Christian will not keep committing evil without repentance.

A true Christian will on occasion commit an evil deed but will soon repent sincerely. A true Christian may fall again to that sin (as can happen to an addict), but he or she will again repent sincerely. (Mark 1:14–15; Luke 5:32; Acts 17:30; 26:20)

A true Christian will not be complacent about doing what the Bible plainly calls evil.

True Christians will not deceive themselves by calling good what the Bible calls evil.

Our way versus God’s way

Our way: Regard holy conduct as optional.

God’s way: Without holiness no one will see the Lord. If we rely on Christ, he can give us the ability to hate and overcome our own evil, live in purity, and delight in the joy-producing gift of holiness.

God is patient with his children and works over time to purify them of evil. But his patience has limits. See Hebrews 12:1–29 and Revelation 2:20–23 (note especially verse 21); 3:1–5; 3:14–21.

If we willfully live in ongoing disobedience to God’s commands recorded in Scripture, that is, if we knowingly continue doing evil without repentance over an extended time, we are falling short of the holiness required to be saved. We must repent of deliberate, ongoing, self-deceived evil-doing.

In our confused times and culture, this post is super important. Many people are deceived on this subject. Therefore, out of concern for others, please share this, forward it, tweet it, like it, do whatever you have to to get it before the eyes of others.