Perfecting Holiness

2 Corinthians 7:1 (NKJV)

1 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

The apostles reminds those in the Church of Corinth that God has given them promises of His unfailing love, grace and mercy that includes salvation from sin through Jesus Christ. There is an exhortation to put aside sin and live a righteous and holy life. There is a motivation to be perfect in holiness through reverential respect for God. Thought we will always fall short of sinless perfection, our desire to be like Christ aims us toward the righteousness of God.

I am dwelling in a generation to whom nothing is holy. Sacredness is an aspect people never assume toward anything. They revel in bald frankness which enervates moral consciousness. I feel it affecting me. ...

Oh, to be holy! Just to sense for a moment that I have somehow, however small, simulated some measure of Thy character, Lord Jesus. A word from Horatius Bonar spoke to me tonight. "Holiness is not austerity or gloom; it is the offspring of conscious, present Peace." 

Jim Elliot wrote the words above in one of his journals. Upon first reading “I am dwelling in a generation to whom nothing is holy” a person might assume Jim was talking about present times. However Jim Elliot lived October 8, 1927 – January 8, 1956. Jim was an evangelical Christian who was one of five missionaries killed while participating in Operation Auca, an attempt to evangelize the Waodani people of Ecuador.

When you have a relationship with Jesus Christ and the intent of your heart is focused on God you see so easily the sin that is about you. We all live in a generation to whom nothing is holy, which is why we must live in the love, grace and mercy of Jesus Christ to show others that love, grace and mercy. For as we are reminded by Christ, we must first be free from the sin that binds us before pointing out the sin of others. Listen to the words of the apostle, “let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”