You are Holy, so Act like it
A Christian is given a holiness in position and in practice. The positional holiness is what forms the foundation for the practical holiness. Who you are in Christ will determine how you live for Him.
― Dr. John Snyder, Behold Your God: Rethinking God Biblically
Clyde Cranford was a music minister and worship leader from West Memphis, Arkansas. Cranford was also the founder of Life to Life ministries, a mentoring and discipleship program for young men.
Cranford was the author of Because We Love Him, a book on personal holiness.
In chapter 1 of Because We Love Him, Clyde Cranford writes,
“Be holy; for I am holy”
It is fundamentally God’s work to make us holy in the practical sense, just as it was in the positional sense.
It is fundamentally God’s work to make us holy in the practical sense, just as it was in the positional sense, and He uses whatever means He sees fit to discipline us into holy living. God includes us in the process of enlivening our wills and our energies after personal holiness. But even this practical holiness is possible only by an impartation of His divine holiness. “He disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness” (Hebrews 12:10). Thus Christ’s holiness is not only imputed to us in a positional sense, but also imparted to us in a practical sense.
Hence we do not have a holiness like God’s; we have God’s own holiness, both positionally and practically. Positionally, we wear on our hearts an identifying mark; the mark of God’s image, of God’s likeness. This mark is holiness. In an outward, behavioral sense, if we are not merely moral but truly holy, it is because the very life of the Holy One is being manifested through us. Thus both positionally and practically, holiness is our likeness to God.
You are holy so act like it.
Now this does not mean that we are to sit back passively and wait for God to “animate” us with His holiness. Instead, we are to pursue holiness; we are to strive after holiness of character and holiness of conduct. This is our part in the process, for the holiness that as extended to us at conversion is not immediately evident in our daily lives. Yet as Paul told the Philippians, “He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6). As we struggle and grow in the pursuit of practical holiness, it becomes evident to those around us that we have a likeness to God. “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy [a state of being] and beloved, put on [an action] a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience” (Colossians 3:12). In other words, you are holy so act like it.
Holiness is the very essence of our identity as believers.
Holiness is the very essence of our identity as believers. Holy is what we are, who we are, and what we become progressively as we pursue holiness on a daily basis. This effort on our part is what Paul called “perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1).