Holiness Is Not Just Being Set Apart From Sin

What is holiness? It's not simply being set apart from sin. It's being set apart to the glory and love and work of God. Paul puts our lives in light of the story of God's promise when he writes,

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17-18, NIV84).

What is this freedom we've been given? It's not a freedom to live as we please, but a freedom to glorify God through lives that display his glory. We've been given work to do (Matt. 9:38). We've been given our marching orders (Matt. 28:18-20). We've been entrusted with a message (2 Cor. 5:14-21).

Michael Lawrence, Biblical Theology in the Life of the Church