It is essential to remember that holiness is not a denomination. Over the course of the last few centuries, the standard of God has been reduced to suit the lifestyles of those who have rejected God’s requirements. Our generation has been raised in an environment where God serves man, and where the highest good runs contrary to the Westminster Catechism, which believes that man was made “to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever”, but rather to deify the flesh and enjoy the pleasures of life to the fullest. Holiness has the connotation of being drab and dry, and those who ascribe to the standard of holiness appear not to have a life. That is why so many avoid God’s standard like a plague because it appears to counter and be an affront to their very nature.

The initial work of the Holy Spirit is to create a holy passion within the individual. By nature, because of our fallen state inherited from Adam, we despised God. This is hard for good natured individuals to accept because most are so busy trying to develop their positive self-image and build up their self-esteem that they fail to recognize the effect of original sin. “We were by nature children of wrath.” The spirit that worked within us was one of disobedience, and even our best efforts led to rebellion because we lived in a state of rebellion. The initial objective of the Holy Spirit is to produce within the individual a new nature. This is what it means to be “born again.” He convicts the person of sin which was unknown as sin beforehand. None of us were fully aware of the sinfulness of our nature until the Holy Spirit brought us to the awareness of sin. Without the work of the Holy Spirit, all would seek to find justification for acts of rebellion against God.

“And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, ² in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, ³ among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. Eph 2:1-3 NKJV

God alone is Holy. It is His Spirit alone that can produce holiness within us. Without holiness, wholeness is impossible. Fragmentation and fragmented lives are lived by those who religiously pursue goals that only lead to a partial pacification of the longing within their souls. Holiness must be our objective because without it no person can see God in His reality, but rather is left to create a god that agrees with his present state of being.

 The Holy Spirit produces within the heart a new passion that is after God. Only then can this message and others like it have an appeal to you as an individual. Otherwise, you would naturally gravitate towards a more passive language that is easily agreeable. The Word of God, when preached by way of the Holy Spirit, will challenge the very foundation of our being. A disturbance occurs, and restlessness will follow. The question will be “what must I do”, rather than “how can I be relieved.” When the message is received, the individual is “born of the Spirit.” This is often called, “The New Birth.” There is the will to do His will, but the power to do it is still left to be desired. Only when our will and His will converge will the power be released. He empowers us to participate in what He is doing. The joy of participation with God in His greater works is a fulfilling experience, so therefore, “be filled with the Spirit speaking to one another with Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord.”