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Answer
The holiness of God is a crucial aspect of His character. God desires— even commands— that His people pursue His holiness “For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”, (Leviticus 11:44). Demonstrating a lifestyle that mirrors God’s holiness is so significant that the author of Hebrews encouraged Christians to “aim for peace with everyone, and for the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord” “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.”, (Hebrews 12:14, ESV).
In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.”, (Matthew 5:8). Those who aspire to dwell in intimate communion with the Lord and behold Him face to face must turn away from self-centered, impure desires. They must “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness” “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”, (Matthew 6:33). Believers are called to resemble God in His holiness “according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.”, (Ephesians 1:4).
The apostle Peter instructed believers to “live as God’s obedient children. Don’t sli
Do not go back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, ‘You must be holy because I am holy’” (1 Peter 1:14-16;NLT). Without a lifelong endeavor toward personal holiness, no one will see the Lord.
God must discipline willfully disobedient children who live to please themselves. Throughout Scripture, God appeals to His people to work at cultivating holiness: “For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life” (1 Thessalonians 4:7-8).
The declaration without holiness no one will see the Lord reflects a sense of the author’s anticipation of seeing Christ at His return «Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. », (see 1 John 3:2). This is the culminating point of the broader passage (Hebrews 12:22-29). If our ultimate goal is to be like Christ and see Him when He returns, our practical daily pursuit must be toward complete purity of thought and lifestyle.
We are the temple of the living God (2 Corinthians 6:14-18). In light of this revelation, the apostle Paul urged, “Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God” «Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.»
Fear of God.” , (2 Corinthians 7:1, NLT). Paul told Timothy, “Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work” “If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.” , (2 Timothy 2:21, ESV).
We find a parallel idea to “without holiness no one will see the Lord” in these words from Paul: “For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure, or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God” “For this you know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.” , (Ephesians 5:5). Of the future, glorious New Jerusalem, the apostle John said, “Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life” “And there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defiles, neither whatsoever works abomination, or makes a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” , (Revelation 21:27).
It’s vital to understand that, as the Lord’s redeemed people, we are made holy through Christ’s finished work, the offering of His body on the cross (Hebrews 10:10,14; Ephesians 1:4; 1 Corinthians 1:2). We are saved by Jesus “to a holy calling, not becauseBecause of His own purpose and grace, not because of our works, which He gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, “who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before the world began,” (2 Timothy 1:9, ESV). “He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit,” “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;” (Titus 3:5, NLT).
Sanctification is based on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the ongoing work of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Colossians 1:22; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; John 3:5-8; 1 Corinthians 6:11). Motivated by the knowledge that “without holiness no one will see the Lord,” we continue going all-out for Christ, striving to put on our “new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy,” “and that you put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness,” (Ephesians 4:24, NLT).
