Beloved, do not be deceived—God has not called you to mere outward change, but to inward transformation. Many leave behind the obvious sins of the world, yet unknowingly exchange them for subtler, but just as deadly, sins. They forsake drunkenness but indulge in spiritual pride. They abandon lawlessness but embrace legalism. They turn from impurity but become judgmental toward those who still struggle.
Holiness Is Not Just a Life Change
This is not holiness—it is deception.
Holiness is not about appearing righteous before men but about being truly set apart for God. “Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship” (Romans 12:1). Not a sacrifice of words alone, not a shift in outward behavior, but a full surrender of your very being. Anything less is religion without power—an illusion of godliness without the fire of God’s presence.
Have You Truly Changed? Or Just Relocated?
The danger is this: we think we have been delivered, when in truth we have only moved from one prison to another. Imagine a man who has lived in filth his whole life, dwelling in a pit of mud. One day, he hears of a beautiful palace where people live clean and respectable lives. Longing for something better, he climbs out of the pit and moves into the palace. But instead of washing, he merely changes his clothes.
He looks clean. He walks among noblemen. But inwardly, he is the same man—still carrying the stench of his past.
So it is with many believers. They leave behind the filth of the world and enter into religious circles, surrounding themselves with others who look holy. But their hearts remain unchanged. They have moved locations, but they have not been transformed.
The Pharisees did this. Yeshua rebuked them, saying, “You clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of self-indulgence” (Matthew 23:25 NASB). Outwardly, they appeared righteous. Inwardly, they were filled with pride, hypocrisy, and spiritual death.
Have you done the same? Have you left behind the sins of your past, only to embrace the sins of the religious? Have you exchanged rebellion for self-righteousness? Lust for spiritual arrogance? Worldly ambition for the love of man’s approval?
Holiness is not about where you stand—it is about who you are before God.
True Holiness: Surrendering All Sin
Do not bring only some of your sins to the altar. Bring them all. It is easy to surrender the sins we despise, but true holiness requires that we lay down even the sins we secretly love.
- You may have repented of lying, but do you still gossip?
- You may have abandoned immorality, but do you still hold bitterness in your heart?
- You may no longer steal, but do you rob God of your full surrender?
God does not desire partial holiness—He desires your entire life to be set apart for Him. The fire of God does not come to warm you; it comes to consume you. Either you are fully His, or you are deceiving yourself.
Stop Managing Sin—Be Transformed
Too many believers try to manage sin instead of being delivered from it. They discipline themselves into better habits, suppressing certain desires, but they never allow the Holy Spirit to fully transform them. They white-knuckle their way through self-control, never experiencing true freedom.
But Yeshua did not die to modify your behavior—He died to make you new.
“If anyone is in Messiah, he is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Do you believe this? Or are you still trying to improve what should be crucified?
Holiness is not about doing better—it is about dying to self and allowing the Spirit of God to make you new. Stop striving in your own strength. Lay yourself on the altar and let the fire of God consume what is not of Him.
A Prayer for True Holiness
Let this be the cry of your heart:
Abba, I do not want an illusion of holiness—I want to be truly holy. Search me and know me. Show me the sins I have excused, the idols I have clung to, the self-righteousness I have hidden behind. I lay them down now. Holy Spirit, consume everything in me that is not of You. Let me not be satisfied with mere religious change—make me new. Transform me into the image of Yeshua, that I may walk in true holiness before You. In His name, amen.
Beloved, now go. Be holy, for He who called you is holy.
