It is as certain as anything in the Bible that without holiness, no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). It is equally certain that holiness is the consistent fruit of saving faith, the real test of regeneration, the only sound evidence of indwelling grace, and the certain consequence of living union with Christ.
Holiness is not absolute perfection and freedom from all faults. Nothing of the kind! The wild words of some who talk about enjoying unbroken communion with God for many months are greatly to be brushed aside because they raise unscriptural expectations in the minds of young believers, and as such, do harm. Absolute perfection is for heaven, and not for earth, where we have a weak body, a wicked world, and a busy devil continually near our souls. Nor is real Christian holiness ever attained or maintained without a constant fight and struggle. The great apostle Paul, who said, I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave (1 Corinthians 9:26-27), would have been amazed to hear of sanctification without personal exertion and to be told that believers only need to sit still and everything will be done for them!
Yet as weak and imperfect as the holiness of the best saints may be, it is a real, true thing and has a character about it as unmistakable as light and salt. It is not something that begins and ends with noisy profession, for it will be seen much more than heard. Genuine scriptural holiness will make a person do his duty at home and by the fireside and will adorn his doctrine in the little trials of daily life. It will exhibit itself in passive graces as well as in active. It will make a person humble, kind, gentle, unselfish, good-tempered, considerate of others, loving, meek, and forgiving. It will not constrain him to go out of the world and shut himself up in a cave like a hermit, but it will make him do his duty in that state to which God has called him – on Christian principles and after the pattern of Christ.
Such holiness, I know well, is not common. It is a style of practical Christianity that is painfully rare in these days, but I can find no other standard of holiness in the Word of God – no other that comes up to the pictures drawn by our Lord and His apostles. In an age like this, no reader can wonder if I press this subject also on people’s attention. Once more let us ask, in the matter of holiness, how is it with our souls? “How are we doing?”
J.C. Ryle, Practical Religion: What True, Biblical Christianity Should Look Like
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