We are going to dive in deep today! There seems to be a contradiction in the Bible, and I intend to sift through much Scripture to help us all have some clarity. Wouldn’t you love to see for yourself how God wants us to live instead of relying on opinions or arguments of others? I have heard various interpretations about what it means to be holy and to live a life that pleases God. However, all of the answers we need are right here in His Word! Let’s find out for ourselves!

Love God
Love people

It really is that simple.

When Jesus had been asked by one of the religious leaders which commandments were the most important, He said:

“The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:29-31 ESV

What is important to understand is that being a Christian is not about following a bunch of rules, crossing all your t’s, and dotting all your i’s. If we relied on our own righteousness to make ourselves right with God, we would surely be up a creek without a paddle! It would never happen! Scripture is clear that we are all in the same boat. There is not one of us who is perfect, and we all need a Savior.

For everyone has sinned;
we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
Romans 3:23

The Lord looks down from heaven
on the entire human race;
he looks to see if anyone is truly wise,
if anyone seeks God.
But no, all have turned away;
all have become corrupt.
No one does good,
not a single one! Psalm 14:2-3

Scripture further explains that the law was given to show us our sins, not to be a way to make us perfect. Jesus came to pay for our sins and make us right before God apart from obeying the law, because we couldn’t do it. This is explained so beautifully in Romans 3:20-24…

For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.
Christ Took Our Punishment
But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.
For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. Romans 3:20-24

I was brought up with the teaching that we all have to “live right” in order to “right” with God. However, Scripture clearly teaches us that not one of us can live right enough in order to be holy before God. Our only hope is to have faith in Jesus who paid the price for us and has imputed His holiness onto us. We are only holy because of Him and not anything we have done.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

OK, now that we have established that it is not our works, or our lack of sin, that will get us into heaven, then how do we reconcile the Scriptures that say we are to be holy as God is holy? How about the verses that say that certain behaviors will keep us out of heaven? Does the Bible contradict itself? This used to drive me nuts! Paul said it in Galatians:

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21

So, is this saying that obedience is not enough to earn salvation, but disobedience is enough to keep us out? If that is so, we are all doomed! But, if we are saved by grace, that is unearned favor, then why do we have to work to keep it? Does grace give us a license to live any way we want to? These are questions that cause much confusion and arguing in the Christian community.

Let us bring this all together and find some clarity. First of all, yes, we are all saved by grace through faith because Jesus alone paid the price for our sins and made us holy in Him. That part is true.

It is also true that our works will never be enough to make us right with God. We could never do enough. Therefore, living a holy life is not about the things we do. It is only about Christ in us.

So, let’s get this straight. We are holy because Christ made us holy. But, what does it mean to live a holy life? If it is not about the things we do, then does that mean we can live any way we want? If that is so, then how does it fit with the Scripture in Galatians that says that certain lifestyles can keep us out of the Kingdom of God?

There are some who believe everything is now permissible. Some see grace as a license to indulge our flesh because God understands our weaknesses. He has it covered!

So, we see two extremes here: the rigidness of legalism and the leniency of everything being covered under grace. Which one is right? Is there any balance?

Paul explains this in much more detail in the books of Romans and Galatians, and I recommend a deep, intense study of both books to have a much clearer understanding of these questions.

In Galatians, Paul explains that Christ came to make us free. We are free from the law. But, that is not the end of the story! That is where some stop and use it as an excuse to give in to every whim, even blatant sin. Paul explains in Galatians 5 that while we have been called to live in freedom, that is not so that we can satisfy our sinful nature. It is to make us free to truly love one another.

For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Galatians 5:13-14

Wait a minute! I see something that is starting to make sense! So, because of God’s grace, we are free, but it is so we can love each other, not so we can indulge our flesh. Then, he goes on to say that the whole law is fulfilled by the one command to love each other.

So, we do have law to fulfill! Aha! I knew it!

The difference is that it is not about keeping every jot and tittle of every unbending rule, or we are doomed if we don’t. But, when our hearts are truly made clean by Jesus, and we have given ourselves over to His Lordship, He does a transforming work in our lives. He cleans us and transforms us from the inside out. That is where the holiness comes in to our daily lives! He has made us holy on the inside, and because of our new character, and our new hearts, then we WILL have genuine love. And, if our love is genuine, we WILL be obedient. So, love does not get us off the hook! John explains this so well:

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. 1 John 5:3

Jesus said:

If you love me, you will keep my commandments. John 14:15 ESV

Woah! It really IS that simple! If we obey the two most important commands Jesus gave, that is to love God and to love people, then we will really will be living a righteous lifestyle, because it is all about love!

Keep in mind, however, that this is only possible if we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Love is a fruit of the Spirit, and it is produced in us only as we yield our lives to Him. When we accept Christ as our Savior, we receive the Spirit as a seal, a guarantee of our inheritance in Him.

And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. Ephesians 1:13

Now, instead of trying to obey the letter of the law in our own feeble strength, we have a new heart, and His laws have been written in our hearts. Therefore, we have the capacity to love by the Holy Spirit, and when we love, we will obey His commands. Then, as we allow Him to live through us, and we walk in the Spirit, He will lead our lives. He guides us into lives that please the Father.

For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. Philippians 2:13

“This is the new covenant I will make
with my people on that day, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds. Hebrews 10:16

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV

Our part is to walk in the Spirit by submitting our lives to Him. When we yield to the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives, we will not gratify the desires of our flesh. Rather, we will produce wonderful fruit in our lives.

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh… But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
Galatians 5:16, 22-25 ESV

OK, let’s get this straight:

Jesus died for me and was raised from the dead to cleanse me of my sins and to conquer death once and for all.
When I accept Him as my Lord and Savior, He imputes His righteousness onto me. I am now holy in His sight because He who knew no sin took my place. The work of salvation is done!
I receive the Holy Spirit who gives me a new heart, and I am a new creation. He does a continuous cleansing work in my life. I am not perfect, but I am being transformed into the image of God’s Son more and more as He guides me. My sanctification comes as a process as He works in me from the inside out.

So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image. 2 Corinthians 3:18

The Holy Spirit writes God’s laws in my heart and gives me the desire and the power to please Him.
When I walk in the Spirit, I will not gratify the desires of my flesh. That does not mean that I will be perfect or lose the propensity to commit a sin. As long as I live in this body, I will have temptations and will give in from time to time. However, if I am truly a new creature in Christ, I will not continue to practice a sinful lifestyle. I will truly be different!

We know that God’s children do not make a practice of sinning, for God’s Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them. 1 John 5:18

I bear the Fruit of the Holy Spirit in my life as I yield to Him, and that produces love in my heart and life.
When I love God and love others, that fulfills all the law of God. If my love is genuine, I will live in obedience to Him because those who love Him keep His commandments.

Therefore, with all of that understood, it really does all boil down to this: