Holiness or Legalism?

"But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I go away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgement."

John 16:7&8

I have written previously about the need for the church to become holy. Since you and I make up the church, it is obvious that we are the ones who must be moving toward holiness. So the question arises: How do we become holy without being legalistic? Since God gave the ten commandments, religious people have tried to obey all the laws that were implemented. From the days of Moses until the ministry of Christ, no one had been able to fully obey the law. It is not possible to fulfill the requirements of God's law apart from Christ. In short, legalism does not work. We cannot move toward holiness by attempting to obey laws. The Bible is clear that we are to be holy: "Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness, no one will see the Lord." (Hebrews 12:14).
    The process of becoming holy happens as we commune with the Holy Spirit. We don't often talk about the ministry of the Holy Spirit to convict men of sin. But this is exactly what he does within you and me. This is more than our conscience speaking, it is God himself. He uncovers things in our lives that separate us from him. Our responsibility is to partner with him by confessing the sin, being sorry for our indiscretions, and turning away from them. But even then, we are not left on our own. The Holy Spirit is our Counselor. He will guide us through the process with a love that is deeper than we can imagine.
    We express our love for God through this process. The love that God desires from us, is simply to obey him. The truth is: We cannot obey him or his laws without the blood of Jesus and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. We desire to be like Christ because we love him. This is the motivation. Any other way will fall short. Some labor under the need for perfection. But God does not expect this, in fact he knows that we will never be perfect. This is why Jesus came, died, and rose again. He desires our love, and he has made it clear that we can love him by allowing the Holy Spirit to help us become holy.
    If you have not considered this important part of the Christian life, do so today. Give up trying on your own, and allow the Holy Spirit to touch you with conviction and counsel. This is one of the greatest joys of following Jesus.