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[0:00] Amen. Hebrews 12, the Word of God talks about holiness and it tells us there, verse 14, follow peace!

[0:10] and holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. Strong words, a theological statement,! A divine call for every believer to challenge our hearts, our lives. Holiness, it's a word that stirs emotions, reverence, conviction, even fear sometimes. What is it? Does it mean we must achieve moral perfection to stand before God? Is it a burden too heavy for frail human shoulders? Or is it instead a gracious invitation to experience the transforming power of our Lord in every facet of our lives? I'm going to unpack the idea of holiness. What does it mean? What's it all about? On three points, the holiness that is required. It's not of works, but the imputed righteousness, freely granted, given to us by grace, Christ's righteousness. The courts of practical holiness. How do we reflect his character in our thoughts, words and deeds? And then some practical holiness in terms of how to live out our faith intentionally empowered by the Holy Spirit. Here's how you can live a life that shines with the beauty of Christ's holiness. So firstly, the holiness that is required. Now, I know I've been in some circles, some churches where there's a lot of talk about holiness, but it's all about attaining a standard.

[1:45] And holiness as in what you do not do. And that's not to say that's a bad thing. But certainly as a Christian, we should aspire to the very highest standard. We should aspire to live holy, to live godly. And we'll get to talk about that in the terms of the practical holiness.

[2:06] But the holiness that is required to get to heaven is not a holiness that is us attaining a standard of our own making or of some measure of man's works. Because we know, and some of these truths that we're talking about tonight, it's a little repetitive as in we've talked about some of these things in other messages that we've covered. But I think it's an important message to be clear about because there's so much confusion on these matters. And there's some people that tie themselves up in knots. Well, have I got the holiness that is required?

[2:42] Romans 3.23 tells us that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. From the moment that we're born, we're shaped in iniquity, it tells us, separated from a holy God by the sin that no human effort can be. And even the best attempts of our making our own righteousness, Isaiah 64.6 tells us, but we are all as an unclean thing and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. Even the best efforts of man is as an unclean thing, as filthy rags. And that's really quite a gross intimation with those words. It's the most filthy things you could think of. And before our God, that's our best. Our holiness just falls so far short. It falls short because God is infinite, perfectly holy, and unblemished. And our efforts at holiness of our own making, they cannot attain it to that level. If holiness were left to us, there'd be no hope. We'd be forever barred from God's presence. But thank God for the blessed truth of imputed righteousness. So that's what we want to talk to a little now, the imputed righteousness. So an imputation is something that's given to you. It's made possible for you. It's made available. And this is the glorious gospel truth that the righteousness that we can know, the holiness that is required to see the Lord, it's not something that we earn, but a gift given that we receive through Christ by faith.

[4:28] And this is the doctrine of imputed righteousness. So I'll try to elaborate a little on that. And really, that is the cornerstone of our salvation. When you think about it, brothers and sisters here tonight, salvation is a one-time event for all time. It's based on faith in Christ. And salvation is by faith alone, in Christ alone, apart from works, and that eternal life is secure, once received. This is the wonder of Calvary, that wonder of his grace that he would grant it so lovingly and freely that we can know salvation for sure.

[5:05] And it tells us of that as at Calvary, for he, God, hath made him Christ to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. The one who had no sin was made sin for us. So we can become the righteousness of God. Wow, that's up here, isn't it? That's the righteousness of God. That's as high as it can be, the holiness. It's God's holiness. And at the cross, we think of Christ our Lord. He took upon himself the weight of our sin, every lie, every lust, every moment of pride. And in exchange, he's given this transfer.

[5:50] He's made sin for us. We're made righteous in him. And exchange happens such that we're clothed with his perfect righteousness. And this imputed righteousness, it means that when we place our faith, our trust in Christ, God no longer sees our inadequacies, our shortcomings, our failures.

[6:13] Instead, he sees that. He sees Christ. He sees the flawless holiness of his Son. As we read in Romans 4, 5, but to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is countered for righteousness. So as you trust Christ, that faith is countered righteousness.

[6:35] It's an amazing exchange, a transfer. And this is justification by faith. We are declared holy, not because of our merits, but because of Christ's finished work. When we think of who we're called, we're called saints, which literally means holy ones. He says, you're here because you're in me, in Christ. And that's the bedrock of our assurance, this truth. Our assurance is based on Christ's promise rather than works. This is our sanctification. So we're talking here about our positional sanctification. Our position, our status is set apart as holy before God. You are a holy nation.

[7:21] You are a holy people. You are holy ones, saints, by virtue of Christ saving you. And you are set apart as holy before God at the moment of salvation. Our standing before God, if it depended on our performance, we would live in this constant fear, wondering, have I done enough? We know we cannot do enough.

[7:47] Truly. But our holiness is actually founded upon his righteousness, Christ's. So brother, sister here tonight, you can have that unshakable confidence. I know some Christians, it's almost like, I believe they are saved, but they've got this aspiring to a holiness of their own making, of their own doing, of their own being, rather than trusting in the faith that is counted for righteousness. It's not of works, it's to him that worketh not. Now, of course, that said doesn't mean we get lazy about it. But there is this truth, Romans 5.1, that therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Everything has been done to save you that have trusted Christ. You are justified, it says. It says you have peace, God's perfect peace, through Christ, through our Lord Jesus Christ. There's an assurance there. And this imputed righteousness is not some temporary covering, it's an eternal reality. It qualifies you to stand before

[8:55] God, to enter his presence, to live with him forever. And that's the key that unlocks the door really to heaven, to know that for sure, that you've been given freely. Those that believe this liberating truth of grace, graces. It's such a peace that comes when you think, Jesus has done everything to save me, and I've trusted him entirely to do that. We don't pursue holiness to earn God's favour. We do pursue holiness because we already have his favour in Christ. Because of the virtue of his saving, we want to serve, we want to love him, we want to aspire to a godly standard. It's an imputed righteousness that secures your salvation. You don't have to be constantly worrying, have I got it or not, based on what I do. But this is not the end of the story. God's plan is not only to declare us holy, the positional righteousness, the status of saved, of born again saints of God, a holy people. He's declared you holy, but also he wants to make us holy in practice. So you've got the positional, who you are, holy ones. You might not feel like it. Well, I don't feel like a saint. It doesn't matter whether you feel like a saint. If you're saved, you're a saint, according to the definition of the Word of God. You don't have to wait for the Pope in Rome to make you a saint. Actually, he can't make anybody a saint. But Jesus is the one who makes saints. And so you're saved, holy ones.

[10:32] By virtue of your faith in Christ. You already are a saint. He's declared you holy, but then he wants us to be made holy in practice. Positional in practice. Two different kind of sides of the coin.

[10:51] So in practice, he wants to transform you, to make you practically holy, to conform to the image of his son. So this brings us to the second point, the call to a practical holiness, that you reflect Christ, that people see Christ in you, that you'll have a standard, that you'll lovingly want to serve, to aspire to be holy. But as he which hath called you is holy. So be ye holy in all manner of conversation.

[11:23] So that's all manner of conduct, of way of living. Because it is written, be ye holy, for I am holy, says the Lord. It's aspiring to reflect Christ. Well, Christ's imputed righteousness we have, secures our standing. I'm heaven bound. I'm a holy one. I'm saved for eternity. Scripture calls us to pursue practical, practical holiness. To grow in reflecting our character in our daily lives, that it's Christ's character. And this is sanctification, the lifelong process, the practical side, the process side, by which the Holy Spirit molds us to be more like our Lord, to be more in the likeness of our Saviour. What does practical holiness look like? It's not about achieving sinless perfection or adhering to a rigid set of rules. Some mistakenly falsely teach sinless perfection, where they say a Christian will never ever sin again. And they'll have, it'll just be that they'll be perfected, as in that they'll never have any sin. Now, the Bible doesn't teach that in that aspect.

[12:40] Of course, we should aspire to be living without any sin, but we know that we're all subject to sin. We could get proud that we're not sinful. That's a sin, isn't it? Pride. So the sense where it's not about us achieving sinless perfection, because we cannot entirely this side of heaven, I don't believe. Or adhering to some rigid set of rules that, well, I've fallen short again, I've blown it again.

[13:09] But it is about living a life set apart unto your Lord, that you care about pleasing your Saviour, that it's a life marked by love, by integrity, obedience, God helping you. And you'll have that thought, how can I be holy like my Lord, in all manner of conversation, in my whole way of living?

[13:28] And we think holiness that manifests itself in the fruit of the Spirit, Galatians 5, love, joy, peace, etc. We see all of the dimensions, the nine fruit of the Spirit, Galatians 5, 22 to 23.

[13:44] And you think of, then, that is something that is to show from my life, because it's Christ in me. He overflows, he exudes, he overflows to your life, isn't he? That people see Christ in you, in how you live.

[14:02] And it's seen in our character, such that we'll choose forgiveness over bitterness. We'll choose humility over pride. We'll choose generosity over selfishness. And it talks about clothe yourselves, put on these things, Colossians 3. You know, have forgiveness, have kindness, and such things. Then we see in our conduct too, we'll live with integrity. In our work, we'll do a good job. We'll have purity in our relationships, honesty in our words. God has called us to holiness, it says. And then in our worship also, that our lives will be lived out as living sacrifices, wholeheartedly. So this practical holiness, it's not a performance though, to impress others. I've got to be holy because I want to measure up to others' standards, the church standards, whatever it be, to impress others of some transformation because of wanting to show off. But it's from that heart that is renewed by grace, that you know the Saviour.

[15:04] And it's just naturally that you want to serve and love him, to bless him, to walk in his ways. As far as this practical holiness, thank God we've got some help, because I know I sure need some.

[15:18] And we see this as the role of the Holy Spirit, that the Holy Spirit enables us. He gives us a strength beyond our own. We see it comes as we have that conviction. We cannot achieve a holiness in our own strength. But thank God he enables us. We are powerless, oftentimes to overcome the pull of sin, the weakness of our flesh. But the Lord has not left us alone. He's given us his Holy Spirit.

[15:47] The Spirit of God is the divine agent of sanctification. And he works in multiple ways. He reveals those areas of sin. He reveals those areas of sin. He helps us get it right. He helps us come to him and overcome as we yield to him, as we come and bow our heart, our will. We can come under the conviction of the Holy Spirit. You see, the guidance of the Holy Spirit. John 16 says, and he will guide you into all truth. He'll help us discern God's will. We'll have his guidance.

[16:29] Hey, those choices, that's God's choice. That's not God's choice. He'll give you that discernment. He'll give you that empowerment that you need to walk in his ways. Galatians 5, 16, walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. He'll help you have strength to overcome temptation, to live godly. There's an empowerment from above. And then there's a transformation too by his Spirit to be transformed into more of a Christ-like character, that Christ will be formed in you. It tells how we're going to be changed into, changed into the same image from glory to glory. And Philippians 2 talks how we are to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.

[17:17] So of course our salvation is worked out eternally at the cross as we trusted Christ, but there's a working out of it. There's an operating of it. There's an unfolding of it in the practical sense.

[17:29] We're working it out. It's operating as we live this life of fear of God, of trembling at his word. It's God which worketh in you, both to will and to do of his good pleasure. It's the Holy Spirit who helps us that way. He gives us the desire to do his will and the power to pursue holiness and to respond with obedience and discipline. God wants for his people to be holy. He wants us to be outwardly holy. He wants us to be practically holy, to grow in holiness, not to earn his love, but because we're already loved in Christ. It's his good pleasure. That's what we want. God helping us. Ephesians 4 verse 1 talks about how we are to walk in a manner worthy of the calling that we've been called with.

[18:16] Holiness is the natural outflow of the transformed heart. And Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 4 verse 3, For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, your holiness, in other words, that you should abstain from, fornication. Hey, God wants you to have a sanctification. It's his will for you. It's the very will of God.

[18:37] And yet some might miss that and misunderstand. Hey, there's a call to that. Our Lord saves us from sin, not to remain in sin. Yet this call to holiness is not a burden, but it's a privilege. It's a glad privilege.

[18:54] It's an invitation to share in God's nature, to reflect his glory and experience the joy of a life aligned with his will. It's his will that we be a holy people. And so in all of this, there's somewhat of a tension in that there's this truth that there's the positional holiness and then there's the practical holiness. The summit of a tension here. Our standing in Christ, our positional holiness, it is secure because of Christ's righteousness. If you've trusted Christ, you have peace with God for all time. At one time, for all time. And that's our position in Christ. We're complete in Christ. It's instant. It's unchangeable.

[19:39] We've got a new identity in Christ. We've made a new creature. And there's nothing that we can add or take away from this gift of grace. Nothing we can do can add to it. And then the practical side, while our position is secure, God wants for us to grow in our practice of holiness. And you could say it's that evidence of a transformed heart. Not a means to earn it, but an evidence of it. A sign. As much as our measure of others can be flawed, you might say, oh, she doesn't look like a Christian because she's doing this. He doesn't look like a Christian because he's doing that. We've only got a finite perspective on who's in what state before God. We can't really tell of our own estimation. God knows them that are his. It's important that we get ourselves right. That's the main thing, isn't it?

[20:41] Rather than us try to judge another. And so there's this tension here of these truths of imputed righteousness that's given to us, that's granted to us. And then this practical holiness that we're called to grow in. So Ephesians 2 tells us how by grace you are saved through faith. That's the positional holiness. You are saved. You're sanctified. You're saved. You're a saint through faith, not of works. Get that. By grace are you saved. Present tense, through faith. That not of yourselves, but not of works. Then there's the practical holiness. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them.

[21:37] That's the walk. That's the sanctification. That's the practical holiness side. And so there's this kind of tension. And some have explained it. I think this is a helpful analogy, that holiness is both a gift, positional, and a goal, practical. Right? So it's a gift.

[21:59] Christ's righteousness makes you holy. You're saved by the virtue of the blood of Christ shed for you, that you've trusted Christ as your saviour. You've got the gift of salvation. You're made holy in God's sight. And your salvation is sure and secure. It's a gift. Then the practical holiness is like a goal. It's our response to grace. It's empowered by his spirit. We want to grow in Christlikeness. It's a goal that we aspire to, that we urge ourselves, that we want to have more Christlikeness. It's a response to grace. So this pursuit of the goal is not to earn God's favour, but it reflects it. It's not about striving to be good enough, but about living in gratitude to the one who is more than enough. Amen? So some practical steps further to pursue holiness, because we ought to, want to be not just positionally holy, but practically holy too. Here's some practical steps to pursue that holiness. How do we cooperate with the Holy Spirit in this journey, this walk of sanctification?

[23:14] How can we grow? And the Word of God gives us some practical steps, some clear truths that we can apply to guide us. There's not a formula for perfection, but a roadmap for growth, you could say, that's founded in our dependence on Christ. So for example, some practical steps, abide in Christ. Abide in Christ.

[23:38] Find that relationship with our Lord. Our Lord says, abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can ye, except ye abide in me. For without me you can do nothing.

[23:55] Think of it, friends. We try to go our own way to live the Christian life by some kind of measure of some church standard, some abiding by men's requirements as to this is what a Christian has to do, or if a Christian does not do this, they're not a Christian, or if a Christian does do this sin, well they're not a Christian. And it's all about human measurement. It's not about what men would say, it's about your relationship with the Lord. Are you abiding in Christ? And you can't do anything, even the good that you do. So we might be an active Christian in outwardly doing things, but he says, without me you really can do nothing. It's really vain, isn't it? So we think of this abiding in Christ, it means to remain in him, to be connected with him. Some pointers here of prayer, communing with your Saviour, pouring your heart out to him, walking in close communion with your Lord, it's prayer. That will help you to abide, it will help you to be connected with your Lord. That relationship through prayer, communing with God day by day, through the Word of God, feeding on it.

[25:11] It will renew our minds, thy word of our head in my heart, that I might not sin against thee. The scripture will feed you and help your desires to be right ones. We see worship, that your life will be a living sacrifice, you'll glorify God in everything that you do. Worship and then fellowship too. You'll surround yourself with believers who'll encourage you and you can challenge and encourage one another, provoke unto love and to good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves, but rather getting every opportunity to gather to fellowship. And as we behold Christ's glory, we'll be transformed into that same image from glory to glory. So abide, abide. Secondly, rely on the Holy Spirit. The pursuit of holiness is impossible of our own strength. It's some striving of man, of man's fashioning, it's just going to fall short. But as we rely on the Holy Spirit, we're going to have his strength. It tells us walk in the Spirit, you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. This is continually empowering. So you that are searching for Christ, you that are maybe new in Christ, learn to abide on Christ, learn to rely on the

[26:27] Holy Spirit. Surrender daily, ask God to help, to guide, to lead. Be sensitive to his convictions as the Holy Spirit reveals sin. And sure enough, there are some things that a Christian should be wised up about and think, well, actually that's not a wise thing for a Christian to do blah blah.

[26:48] A good thing for a Christian to do is such and such. That we'll actually be led by the Spirit. To think, hey, actually I want to honour my Lord by doing the right and that which is doubtful will drop away. We'll be sensitive to his conviction and we'll trust his empowerment too. That he'll give us the strength to overcome. We'll be filled with the Spirit. It's a command. So it's not a passive state, this walking with God. It's an active growing. It's an active moment by moment, relying upon his power.

[27:25] And the Holy Spirit will convict us of sin, of righteousness, of judgment. So abide in Christ, rely on the Holy Spirit. Thirdly, flee sin. Flee sin. The Holy Spirit will convict us of sin. He'll help us walk in holiness, in nearness of life. And we're told to pursue that holiness of God, that righteousness.

[27:51] It tells us 2 Timothy 2, 22, flee also youthful lusts, but follow, and you could put it, pursue righteousness, faith, charity, peace with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. This is something we should chase after. We should follow after this. This should be our aspiration. Righteousness, faith, charity, peace. There's a call here to flee sin. And we think of fleeing from sin. We could think of the Bible example of Joseph as he was tempted. He didn't hang around. He made a quick move to run, to flee from the sin, the temptation. And we could think of temptation. Can we prayerfully have that sensitivity to the Lord? Is there patterns of sin in my life? Anger, lust, pride, envy? Is there temptations here? Hey, I'm going to be alert to that. I'm going to set some boundaries about the decisions

[28:54] I make in my life to avoid putting myself in a place of temptation, to guard what I'm watching, to limit those harmful influences. It tells us, put you on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof. And we should run to God. So flee from sin, flee sin, and run to God. So replace the sinful desires with godly ones. So if there is something that is somewhat of a temptation, is somewhat of a sin, that you'll replace that with something that's godly instead.

[29:34] So if there's something that's doubtful, we'll leave that, we'll leave off that, and we'll run to God. We'll do that which is a godly, plainly a godly thing. So in Psalm 119, 37 it reads, Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity, and quicken thou me in thy way. Turn my eyes away from it.

[29:55] Hey, we can think about some things that we might watch on screens. Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity, and guide thou me in thy way. So run to God. And pursue holiness by cultivating godly habits.

[30:11] Think of how can we practically have this holiness? It's about relationships often, isn't it? Human relationships. You know, where the rubber hits the road. When it's people mixing with people.

[30:23] You see that sometimes that's where God really calls us to exercise godliness in those relationships, in those cultivating godly habits. So practice love, practice forgiveness, and serve God. And surround yourself with godly people. In Proverbs 13, 20 it says, He that walketh with wise men shall be wise, but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.

[30:52] And the people you're hanging around with, are they saints? Are they believers? Or are they those that really don't know the Lord? Now that's not to say, of course, we shouldn't be salt and light and reach out to the lost. But hey, it's who are we going to spend our time with? Are we going to hang out with people who love the Lord, so we can bounce things off each other, provoke unto love, to good works?

[31:16] And that can help you to grow in holiness the more you mix with God's people. So take every opportunity you can to get around God's people and focus on Christ, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. So holiness, it requires intentionality. You don't drift into godliness. Make it an aspiration, a godly aspiration. And pursue it. It says, follow righteousness. Pursue it. Have a purpose. Hey, I want to grow in my faith. I don't want to just be a meandering Christian. I don't want to be just a kind of just, you know, coasting. I want to be really blessing God. I want my love for God to grow, my zeal, my desire to be his will for my life with intentionality to trust the Lord to guide our steps.

[32:09] We've had a missionary challenge here tonight. Think, hey, what can I do to serve my God? In this mission front, or beyond this mission front, how can I do something for God? How can I use this limited lifespan that I have for the glory of God? Another aspect to grow in this practical holiness is rest in grace. Rest in grace. The pursuit of holiness is grounded in grace. It's not by our tying ourself up in knots. Oh, have I done enough to earn God's approval by my own striving?

[32:44] No, it's responding to the approval that you already have in Christ, that you are his workmanship. You're created unto good works, but it's not a striving to earn God's approval. It's because you are approved that you have that aspiration. Hey, I want to honour my Lord because I'm his, and he's mine. He's my everything. And you want to confess your sins. If we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. You want to keep those short accounts with God and you'll know his forgiveness. It tells us that the blood of Jesus Christ, his son cleanseth us from all sin. And you want to press forward that believing that he has begun a good work in you, he's going to perform it. He's going to perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.

[33:33] He that has begun a good work in you. Well, it's not about you doing a good work. He has begun a good work in you. And he will perform it. Trust him to do that, to do that work. And think really, as we come together, when we can fellowship, there's a whole community of God's people. We're here for one another. That's why the church matters. It's not a solitary journey. Holiness is such that we're placed in the body of Christ. We've got brothers and sisters to work with us, to encourage us, to challenge us, to support one another. And let us consider one another, to provoke unto love and to good works, not forsaking the assembling. Take every opportunity to assemble. And as you see the day approaching, so much the more, so much the more. We've got a whole fellowship, a whole community of brothers and sisters. Hey, and we're all in this together. We're all in this journey of faith. We're all trying to build and work and serve in that practical holiness. We're all on the journey. Some might be very lacking here and there, but we're all equally needful of grace. And we've got a whole community that can hold one another accountable to pray for you and point you to Christ and such that you can be accountable.

[34:55] It tells how you can pray for one another, you know, confess your faults. We're not talking about going into some confessional, but there is a sense where you can confess our faults.

[35:06] Hey, brother, can you pray for me? I'm struggling with this. That's a good thing. And you can say, hey, yeah, I can tell you my struggles too, what I'm trying to cope with. And it's an accountability, isn't it? It's a good thing. You can share your struggles. We've all got them. Hey, we're all frail and weak. And yet we can share our victories too. And that'll be an encouragement as we've heard the missionary challenge here today. Think of, wow, someone's taken the huge step of leaving the comfort zone, going into a foreign land, learning a language, going into some danger to take the gospel. That's an encouragement to us, isn't it? We can get such that we can encourage one another, think, hey, what could I do? You may not be called to another nation, but we're all called to serve.

[35:54] We're all called to serve. So grow in your holiness. Without holiness, no one will see the Lord. That's a promise. And it's a challenge, isn't it? Wow. And I've been in, like I say, I've been in churches where the holiness is all about, hey, you've got to conform to this standard. And hey, if you do this particular action, you know, you're not saved. They would almost judge people that way.

[36:20] Actually, that's not how it works. Are they in Christ? Have they trusted Christ? Then for all their faults and failings, they're his for time and for eternity. They have his holiness, which is the highest holiness of all. And yet, whilst we're made holy in God's sight, fully accepted, qualified to dwell in his presence forever, there's that challenge to live it out.

[36:45] Hey, we shouldn't just leave it there. Don't just leave it in the positional holiness. Hey, wow, I want to grow. I want to grow. I want to go from glory to glory to glory.

[36:57] I want to be changed from one degree of glory to another, such that I'm going to see his face. And his imputed righteousness, actually, it's going to be such that that's going to translate into holiness that's lived out in my walk, that holiness that's practical, not to earn salvation, but to reflect the one who saved me.

[37:21] Let us learn to rest in the finished work of Christ, such that you know that you're standing before him is secure, not because it's by your striving or effort, but that his righteousness completely covers you. Do you know that tonight? I know we can all take it for granted.

[37:38] And, you know, there's people that go to church for years without hearing it. I know we heard some testimony earlier today of someone who went to church for decades and decades without ever hearing the gospel. And that can be a sad thing. There's some churches that don't declare the gospel.

[37:54] So to be clear about that tonight, you can know for sure that you're saved. You can know for sure that your sins are paid. As you trust Christ to make that payment, you receive that gift, simply trust him. Hey, I want Jesus to save me. I want Jesus to be my saviour. I want my sins paid for.

[38:18] I want to be forgiven. I want a home in heaven. And as you call upon the Lord, you can know that truth, that you can be saved, completely saved, forever saved, assuredly saved, not saved because of some measure of men, but because you've trusted Christ, the one who is the ultimate, the only one who can make you holy. And his righteousness will be yours by faith. And then from this place of security, let's pursue holiness with joy. Well, the one who saved me wants me to live for his glory. The one who saved me wants to live for his purpose.

[38:58] The one who saved me, I'm wanting to please him, not out of obligation, but out of love, because I love him who saved me. I want to please him out of love for the one who's made me holy.

[39:10] I want to translate that holiness that is my position into my practice, into my walk. And so in closing, let us abide in Christ, knowing that to grow in that holiness, it's about Christ in you. It's as you abide in me, I will abide in you. It's your union with Christ. It's your relationship that you'll draw strength from that, that you're in Christ, that you're found in Christ, that you rely upon the Holy Spirit, that his power will transform you. The Holy Spirit will make those changes. And those sins, surely those failings that lack that inclination to do wrong, those things are going to just drop off.

[39:57] They will drop off. It might take a while. You can know the Holy Spirit will help you to drop those things, but do not please him. And that you'll rather have the aspiration for his glory. And you'll flee sin, you'll pursue that righteousness, you'll live intentionally for God's glory, and you'll rest in grace. Wow, I'm saved. But that doesn't mean you slack off when you're saved. Just because you're saved doesn't mean you kind of just do nothing. It's not that sense where you just become really a sloppy Christian. But there is a rest that you have. I'm in Christ. I'm headed to heaven. Now there's that growing to do. That's the progressive, practical holiness, living it out. Beloved, now are we the sons of God. And it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him. For we shall see him as he is. So until that day, let's press on. Trust in Christ.

[41:04] I'm in Christ. I'm saved. I'm heaven bound. I want to grow that faith now, to grow that walk, my relationship with God, to get stronger, to go from glory to glory, as he shapes me more and more into his image. And when he shall appear, we shall be like him. Amen. Lord, we thank you for grace that saves such as we, that we have a saviour from our sin. Lord, that we can know a forgiveness of every guilt and shame that you've paid for our sin by the precious blood that you shed upon the cross. And Lord, for that assurance we can have, Lord Jesus, I don't deserve anything of heaven. I cannot work enough or deserve it in any way by what I do, but simply to trust what you have done to save my soul. And Lord, help me with my sin. I come to you. Forgive me. Cleanse me.

[42:10] Make me brand new inside. Give me a new heart, a new spirit. And help each one, Lord, as we walk in that truth to live it out, all for your glory and honour. Lord, knowing that we're all a work in progress. We're all, as it were, an unfinished work on the potter's wheel. And Lord, you're shaping us, you're moulding us, you're fashioning us. Sometimes you're having to throw us back on that wheel and starting all over again, pressing us and prodding us. Lord, making us that vessel, that holy vessel, that chosen vessel to your glory. We thank you, Lord. Bless each heart, Lord, each home. As we close now with a further song, Lord, that you will be glorified in every heart, we pray. Help us to walk in this holiness. Because without holiness, no man shall see the Lord. But that holiness that enables us to see you is the holiness that you give to us by our faith in Christ. Help us, Lord, to be assured of that. If there's any yet to trust you here tonight, I'll make it sure. I'll make it sure today.

[43:23]  In Jesus' name. Amen.