Holiness: For the Will of God Is Your Sanctification – 1 Thessalonians 4:3 [Annotated, Updated]

by J.C. Ryle

Holiness is the habit of being of one mind with God, according as we find His mind described in Scripture. It is the habit of agreeing with God’s judgment – hating what He hates, loving what He loves, and measuring everything in this world by the standard of His Word. He who most entirely agrees with God is the one who is the most holy. A holy man or woman will strive to avoid every known sin and to keep every known commandment. He will have a decided inclination of mind toward God and a strong desire to do His will. He will have a greater fear of displeasing God than of displeasing the world, and he will have a love for all of God’s ways. He will feel what Paul felt when he said, For I delight with the law of God with the inward man