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

by J.C. Ryle

We live in a day when many people profess to be Christians. Professing Christians in every part of the land are expressing a desire for more holiness and a higher degree of spiritual life, yet it is very common to see these people receiving the Word with joy, and then after two or three years falling away and going back to their sins. They had not considered what it costs to be a really consistent believer and holy Christian. Certainly these are times when we should sit down and count the cost and consider the condition of our souls. We must pay attention to how we are. If we desire to truly be holy, it is a good sign. We may thank God for putting the desire into our hearts, but still, the cost should be counted. No doubt Christ’s way to eternal life is a way of pleasantness, but it is foolish to shut our eyes to the fact that His way is narrow and the cross comes before the crown.