Let's begin our study this week by looking back at the last verse we studied last week, Hebrews 10:14. Read that entire verse again.

Remember that we learned that the phrase "made perfect forever" means that the action of making us pure took place at one point in time, yet that purifying action has results that lasts forever. The last part of that verse speaks of those on whom that action was performed and refers to us as "those who are being made perfect." The tense of this phrase is a little different from the tense of the first phrase that we studied yesterday. This time the tense indicates that the action is currently taking place; a continuing process. The tense still indicates that the object of the action is not the one doing the work. God Himself is continuing this purifying process in our lives. You see, we are completely pure, cleansed from sin, and lacking nothing of holiness, because God made us to be so. We are holy. However, sometimes our attitudes and our actions are not holy. God continues His purification process so that the disposition and character of our earthly lives are also holy.

Let me give you an example to help you understand this concept. When I gave birth to my daughter, I became a mother. That one act of childbirth made me a mother. If I had thought it best for her, I could have given up my daughter to be raised by someone else, but biologically I would still be her mother. Even if she had died at birth, I would still have been her mother. Once I became a mother, I could never go back to a position in life of not being a mother.

But I could choose to not live the life of a mother. I could abandon my child in pursuit of other interests. In so doing, I would have missed all of the blessings that have been mine as a result of mothering my daughter.

It's the same way with holiness. When we accepted Christ's salvation, God's grace made us holy forever. Nothing can ever change that. But we can choose to not live a life of holiness and miss all of the blessings that could be ours as a result of living a holy life.

Look at I Peter 1:15-16. These verses have a very specific commandment. What is it?

Peter teaches us in these verses that God commands us to "be" holy. Peter even specifies that we are to be holy in all that we "do." That indicates that we are somehow responsible for the action required in being holy in what we do. Holiness is a heavenly gift, but it's also an earthly pursuit.

Look at the following verses and write what God teaches you about what is to be your action in regard to personal holiness, righteousness, and purity.

Matthew 5:6 

Matthew 6:33 

I Timothy 4:7b 

I Timothy 6:11 

Titus 2:11-12 

In these verses we are given beautiful pictures in words to show us how important holiness is to be in our lives. In Matthew 5:6, Jesus taught us that we are to hunger and thirst for righteousness. The picture painted in this verse is one of a person who desires a holy life as much as a starving man craves food and water. There is a promise in this verse as well. If we hunger and thirst for righteousness, God will be faithful to fill us with it.

In Matthew 6:33, we are taught that we are to seek God?s righteousness. In fact, we are to seek it first which means that a holy life should be our highest priority. We are to seek it even more than we seek the basic necessities of life. There's a promise in this verse as well. If we seek God's kingdom and His righteousness, He will be faithful to meet all the needs of our lives.

In I Timothy 4:7b, we are told to train ourselves to be Godly, or in your version of the Bible, it may have said to exercise Godliness. This verse is a picture of someone training for an athletic event. It's similar to getting yourself into shape in order to run a marathon. Like an athlete constantly watches the most excellent athlete in his or her field, we are to keep our eyes on Jesus who taught us by His own life how to live a life of holiness. Like a player who listens to the coach and reads all the instructional material available, we are to listen to God's instructions through prayer and Bible study.

I Timothy 6:11 tells us that we are to pursue or follow after holiness. It is a picture of someone who is chasing after holiness; running after it as if it was their prey.

Titus 2:11-12 shows us that we are to always choose actions that are Godly. This verse paints a picture of someone who has a choice to make about whether to do right or wrong. The selection of actions from which they can choose and the potential results of those actions are clear. And the same grace of God that saved us from the penalty of our sin will also direct us in making the right choice about our actions.

Now, it would be very easy for us to get the idea from these verses that we "do" the work of purification ourselves through "doing" the actions presented above. Nothing could be further from the truth. You see, the Bible teaches us that we can do nothing on our own, including these very actions that God commands. He knew when He gave us the commandments that we wouldn't be able to keep them. However, God never required anything of us that He did not provide for us. He will enable us to pursue holy lives. He will do all of the purifying work.

Read Galatians 2:20. According to that verse, if you are a believer in Jesus Christ then YOU (the old unregenerate you) have been crucified with Christ and you no longer live. Jesus Christ now lives His life in and through you. The person you once were is now gone forever and God has made you into a new creature. You are no longer bound to the old attitudes and actions that once held you captive. You have been set free to allow Christ to live His abundant life through you. You are not supposed to live a holy life. He is.

It's like something that happened frequently when my son was a little boy. We had to take him to the barber shop for a haircut and he hated it. He would grab at the scissors and try to do it himself. But it wasn't his job to cut his hair. His only responsibility was to sit still and let the barber cut it. If we gave him some toys to occupy his hands, he would be still and then the barber could accomplish his work. It's the same with us and God.

Like my little boy grabbed at the scissors, we sometimes try to live a holy life on our own by trying hard to follow the rules in the Bible. Our intentions may be good, but we make ourselves and everyone around us miserable. We try to make ourselves "holy" by doing the "right" things. But, our role is not to "do" the actions required so that our lives will be holy. Holy lives and "right" actions are a result of simply allowing Jesus to live His life through us. The holy actions required of us will become as natural to us as breathing when we acknowledge the "death" of our "selves." God will do His purifying work in us when we focus on Him and submit to the work of His hands. Our actions will be pure as a result of His purifying work. It can never work the other way around. We can never become pure as a result of pure actions.

You see, just as it was impossible for us to earn our salvation and perfection through our good works, it is just as impossible to maintain our salvation and perfection through our good works. There is no reason for us to even try to do so. The same unmerited grace that saved us is the unmerited grace that will sustain us and enable us to live the holy lives that God desires for us.

Your salvation through Jesus Christ destroyed the power that sin once had to separate you from a relationship with God and to send you to hell when you die. The only power that sin has in your life now is confined to your earthly body. Before you accepted the salvation of Jesus, you lived according to attitudes and actions that were part of a sinful nature. You may be prone to continue living according to those patterns of your old nature. Purification processes continue the destruction of the power of sin in your everyday life and eliminate the tendencies to live according to those old patterns. As we continue with this study, you will learn the details of how that takes place, but basically it is accomplished because purifying eliminates any dependence you have on your own abilities. Purifying brings you to a total dependence on the life of Christ in you.

So, what is your role in the purification processes of your life? Live as if you have already died!! Simply realize that God desires for your earthly life to reflect the purity that is already yours, but also realize that you are hopeless to achieve that pure life on your own. Tell God that you desire a holy life, but ask Him to live His life through you. That will require acknowledging the death of your old "self." Remember that if you are a believer in Christ, you have been crucified with Him, therefore you no longer live. Jesus Christ will live His life through your earthly body. You cannot possibly live a holy life, but He can.