Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?
Who may stand in his holy place?
The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not trust in an idol
or swear by a false god. (Psalm 24:3-4 NIV)
“As believers, our born-again spirits are complete in every way. Paul made it very clear in this verse that it is God’s will for our entire person to be sanctified. Our souls and bodies will not experience the same degree of sanctification as our spirits until we go to be with the Lord or He returns for us. They can be blameless but not sinless.” – Andrew Wommack
This year our pastor has been preaching on holiness—the ability to host God’s Presence well. If you were planning to host a party, you would probably clean your house and prepare the food ahead of time. In much the same way, if we desire more of God’s Presence in our lives, we must allow Him to remove sin, pride, unforgiveness, idols, and anything else that does not belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is like cleaning all the clutter out of a garage so there is room for the things that are meant to be there—like cars.
As God is triune—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—we, too, are created with spirit, soul (mind, will, and emotions), and body. When we say “yes” to God’s invitation and commit our lives to following Jesus, we are made new through His atoning sacrifice on the cross. Yet the work of sanctification continues. Our minds, emotions, desires, and bodies do not automatically fall into line with God’s purposes. They must continually be surrendered to the lordship of Christ.
God created our minds, emotions, wills, and bodies for beautiful Kingdom purposes. Unfortunately, the enemy of our souls seeks to corrupt those very gifts, and unless we intentionally submit every area of our lives to Jesus, they can lead us toward sin rather than righteousness. The lifelong call of every believer is to allow the Holy Spirit to guide us out of sin and into righteousness. That process is called sanctification. But sometimes it can feel overwhelming to think about “all the parts” for “all the rest of your life.”
Instead, consider this present moment. What is the one thing that God may be lovingly and gently inviting you to surrender to Him? A grudge? Unforgiveness? Pride? Long-buried bitterness? Deception? Self-hatred?
His invitation is always loving. As we bring these things to Him, He faithfully helps us put them aside and replaces them with more of Himself—with love, joy, peace, hope, and freedom.
But what do you do in the meantime? What do you do when you know you are still being sanctified and, if you’re honest, you feel like a complete mess?
Lean into Jesus and His grace.
There’s a scene in The Chosen where Mary Magdalene has regressed to her pre-Jesus life and cannot imagine that He would want to speak to her again, much less forgive her. In that moment, she cannot believe in the reality of grace. But Jesus does want her back. His grace is greater than her sin.
And His grace is greater than ours.
The truth is that none of us become holy by trying harder or by cleaning ourselves up enough to become acceptable to God. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9, NIV). Though “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” we are “justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23–24 NIV).
Sanctification is not a journey we undertake alone. The grace of God not only saves us; it transforms us. “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age” (Titus 2:11–12 NIV).
And when we stumble, when we become painfully aware of how much work God still has to do in us, we do not have to hide in shame. We can hear Jesus say, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV). Because of Christ, we are invited to “approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16 NIV).
So if the Holy Spirit is putting His finger on one area of your life today, don’t run away from Him. Run toward Him.
His conviction is not condemnation; it is an invitation.
The God who calls us to holiness is also the God who supplies the grace to make us holy. And the One who began a good work in us “will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6 NIV).
AMEN.