There’s been an ongoing feud among Christians for a long time. A battle between the holiness camp and the grace camp. The holiness side is preoccupied with your works, the things that you do, your behavior, and a checklist of things that you must accomplish to please a perfectly holy God. And they often sound something like this:
“God is coming back one day! He’s not coming back to give you a big hug! He’s coming back to execute his wrath! You need to fear and tremble before him! The scripture says Be holy for I am holy! Tremble, fear, condemnation! Bwahahahahah!”
So, the holiness camp is completely focused on the wrath of God, and uses fear to promote human works.
Now, the grace side is on the opposite end of the spectrum. The grace camp often completely disregards the judgment and even sometimes the respect worthy of God. On the extreme, the grace side sounds like this:
“Oh, don’t worry! God loves you! The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and everything’s just fine and dandy all the time!”
So which is it? Is God suffering from multiple personality disorder?
As you might expect, neither of these positions tell the whole story, and the truth of God’s character, His nature, and the Gospel message, is far greater! Let’s talk about it!
What Is Holiness?
The word “holiness” is often misunderstood. When we think of holiness, our minds usually picture a pious figure who can never have any kind of fun. Someone who is so fixated on their moral purity that you probably don’t want to be around them. That’s the image that was implanted in my mind when I was in Sunday school.
However, the word holiness in the Scripture, means to be set apart for an intended purpose. This is also called sanctification. For example, if I pour water into this tumbler and drink from it, then I have sanctified the tumbler, because that is its intended purpose. That’s all sanctification is— nothing more, nothing less.
Now, obviously when speaking spiritually within the context of scripture, sanctification (a.k.a. holiness) has a very specific purpose directly from God. But understanding this basic fact about the meaning of sanctification is crucial to understanding how it fits into God’s plan and His sacrificial accomplishment.
What is Grace?
Sadly, grace is greatly misunderstood today. Most people assume that grace is simply a synonym for mercy, though the words have different meanings:
Mercy in Hebrew: רחמים, means to relent
Grace in Hebrew: חנה, means favor, unmerited
In short, mercy is God not giving us the punishment that we rightfully deserve, while grace is God giving us the blessings that we don’t deserve. And both of these things tie into holiness.
Our Holiness
As we look at these definitions, we can see the goodness and character of God on full display, and this can inform us on the holiness versus grace topic also.
Since we know that holiness means to be set part for an intended purpose, we need to ask, in what way are we holy? How are we set apart, and for what purpose? Take a look at 1st Peter 1:1-5:
“ 1Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
2Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, to obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you, and peace, be multiplied.
3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again to a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fades not away, reserved in heaven for you,
5Who are kept by the power of God through faith to salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
What these scriptures show us is that contrary to the typical thoughts of those in the holiness camp, our holiness , our sanctification, doesn’t come by our actions, or efforts, or works of our strength, but it comes as a direct result of the Spirit of God! And as verse two points out, by the Foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctification of the Spirit, to the obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus. So the entire trinity is intimately involved in our sanctification. We can’t take any credit for this, it is God who has accomplished the work.
Verse five makes it clear that we are kept by the power of God through faith. God’s the one who keeps you, through faith, and even that faith is not of yourself; remember that faith too, is a fruit of the Spirit.
Jesus Is Your Sanctification
The scriptures make it clear in places such as Hebrews 10:10, and 1st Corinthians 1:30 the contrary to popular belief, holiness is not a process, it is something that was done once for all. Jesus was so satisfied in His work, that not only did He declare that the work was finished, He did what no other priest had ever done— He sat down, because the work was completed.
Today, Jesus is your sanctification. His righteousness, wisdom, and sanctification is yours… and He gives it to you freely— not because it is worthless, or cheap, but because it is priceless. It cost more than any of us could ever pay. And for those in the grace camp, there’s a lesson for you too; holiness is not something to be disregarded, but received and embraced… just remember, it doesn’t come from you. It is a free gift of God’s grace, because of His mercy.
So Holiness and Grace are not two competing forces, they both operate together perfect harmony in Christ.
Be blessed.