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

by J.C. Ryle

A holy person will follow after the fear of God. I do not mean the fear of a slave, who only works because he is afraid of punishment and would be lazy if he did not fear being discovered. I mean rather the fear of a child, who wishes to live and move as if he was always before his father’s face, because he loves him. What a noble example Nehemiah gives us of this!

A holy person will seek humility. He will desire, in lowliness of mind, to esteem all others better than himself (Philippians 2:3). He will see more evil in his own heart than in any other in the world.

Holy Bradford, that faithful martyr of Christ, would sometimes finish his letters with these words, “A most miserable sinner, John Bradford.”[1] Good old Mr. Grimshaw’s last words, when he lay on his deathbed, were these, “Here goes an unprofitable servant.”[2]

A holy person will seek to be faithful in all the duties and relations in life. He will not merely try to do as well as others who take no thought for their souls, but he will try to do even better, because he has higher motives and more help than they. Those words of Paul should never be forgotten, Whatever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord (Colossians 3:23), and not slothful in earnest care, but fervent in the Spirit, serving the Lord (Romans 12:11). Holy people should aim at doing everything well. They should be ashamed of allowing themselves to do anything poorly if they can help it.

They should strive to be good husbands and good wives, good parents and good children, good employers and good employees, good neighbors, good friends, good citizens, good in private and good in public, good in the place of business and good at home. Holiness is worth little indeed if it does not bear this kind of fruit. The Lord Jesus put a searching question to His people when He asked, What do ye more than others?

Last, but not least, a holy person will desire to be spiritually minded. He will endeavor to set his affections entirely on things above (Colossians 3:2), and to hold things on earth with a very loose hand. He will not neglect the business of the life that now is, but his mind and thoughts will give priority to the life to come. He will aim to live like one whose treasure is in heaven, and he will want to pass through this world like a stranger and pilgrim traveling to his home. To commune with God in prayer, in the Bible, and in the assembly of His people will be the holy person’s main enjoyments. He will value every place and thing and company in proportion to how they draw him nearer to God. He will enter into something of David’s feeling when he says, My soul has followed hard after thee (Psalm 63:8) and My portion, O Lord, . . . will be to keep thy words (Psalm 119:57).

The sun itself has spots upon its face. The holiest people have many blemishes and defects when weighed in the balance of the sanctuary. Their life is a continual warfare with sin, the world, and the devil. Sometimes you will see them being overcome rather than overcoming. The flesh is always fighting against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh (Galatians 5:17), and in many things they offend all (James 3:2).

But still, despite all this, I am sure that to have such a character as I have vaguely drawn is the heart’s desire and prayer of all true Christians. They press toward it, even if they do not reach it. They may not attain to it, but they always aim at it. It is what they strive and labor to be, even if it is not yet what they are.

I boldly and confidently say that true holiness is a great reality. It is something in a person that can be seen, known, described, and felt by all around him. It is light: if it exists, it will show itself. It is salt: if it exists, its savor will be perceived...

I cannot see how anyone deserves to be called holy who willfully allows himself to sin and is not humbled and ashamed because of sin. I dare not call anyone holy who makes a habit of willfully neglecting known duties or willfully doing what he knows God has commanded him not to do. The Puritan John Owen well said, “I do not understand how a man can be a true believer unto whom sin is not the greatest burden, sorrow, and trouble.”

For one thing, we must be holy because the voice of God in Scripture plainly commands it. The Lord Jesus says to His people, Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of the heavens (Matthew 5:20), and Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father who is in the heavens is perfect (Matthew 5:48).

We must be holy because this is one main objective and purpose for which Christ came into the world. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, He died for all that those who live should not live from now on unto themselves, but unto him who died and rose again for them

Paul wrote to Titus that Jesus gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto himself a people of his own, zealous of good works

Basically, to speak of people being saved from the guilt of sin without being at the same time saved from its dominion in their hearts is to contradict the witness of all Scripture.

Are believers said to be elect? It is through sanctification of the Spirit (1 Peter 1:2). Are they predestined? It is to be conformed to the image of his son (Romans 8:29). Are they chosen? It is that they should be holy (Ephesians 1:4). Are they called? It is with a holy calling (2 Timothy 1:9). Are t...

Jesus is a complete Savior. He does not merely take away the guilt of a believer’s sin. He does...

James warns us there is such a thing as a dead faith – a faith that goes no further than the profession of the lips and has no influence on a person’s character (James 2:17). True saving faith is a very different kind of thing. True faith will always show itself by its fruits – it will sanctify, it will work by love, it will overcome the world, and it will purify the heart.

We must be holy because this is the only proof that we love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. This is a point on which He has spoken most plainly. In the fourteenth and fifteenth chapters of John, He says, If ye love me, keep my commandments

It would be difficult to find plainer words than these, and woe to those who neglect them! Certainly that person must be in an unhealthy state of soul who can think of all that Jesus suffered, and yet cling to those sins for which that suffering occurred.

We must be holy because this is the only solid evidence that we are true children of God.

We must be holy because this is the most likely way to do good to others. We cannot live only for ourselves in this world. Our lives will always be doing either good or harm to those who see them. They are a silent sermon that everyone can read. It is sad indeed when they are a sermon for the devil’s cause and not for God’s.

I believe there is far more harm done by unholy and inconsistent Christians than we are aware of. Such people are among Satan’s best allies. They pull down by their lives what pastors build with their sermons. They cause the chariot wheels of the gospel to drive heavily. They supply the children of this world with a never-ending excuse for remaining as they are. “I cannot see the use of trying to be holy,” said an irreligious businessman not long ago. “I notice that some of my customers are always talking about the gospel, faith, election, the promises of God, and so forth, and yet these same people think nothing of being unfair or cheating me out of money when they have an opportunity. If Christians can do such things, I don’t see what good there is in Christianity.”

We must be holy because our present comfort depends much upon it. We cannot be reminded of this too often. We are sadly apt to forget that there is a close connection between sin and sorrow, holiness and happiness, sanctification and consolation. God has wisely arranged that our well-being and our well-doing are linked together. He has mercifully provided that even in this world it is in our interest to be holy.

When the disciples forsook the Lord and fled, they escaped danger, but they were miserable and sad. When, shortly after, they confessed Him boldly before men, they were cast into prison and beaten; but we are told that they rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name (Acts 5:41). Oh, for our own sakes, if there were no other reason, let us strive to be holy! He who follows Jesus most fully will always follow Him most comfortably.

I do not ask whether you approve of holiness in others, whether you like to read the lives of holy people and talk of holy things and have religious books on your bookshelves, or whether you want to be holy and hope you will be holy some day. I ask something more than this: Are you yourself holy this very day, or are you not? Why do I ask so directly and so strongly? I do it because the Bible says that without holiness, no one will see the Lord. It is written. It is not my imagination. It is the Bible. It is not my personal opinion. It is the word of God, not of man, that without holiness, no one shall see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). What searching, examining words these are! What thoughts come across my mind as I write them down! I look at the world and see the greater part of it lying in wickedness. I look at professing Christians and see the vast majority having nothing of Christianity but the name. I turn to the Bible and I hear the Spirit saying, “Without holiness, no one will see the Lord.”

You might say that it is impossible to be so holy and to handle our responsibilities in this life at the same time – that it cannot be done. I answer, “You are mistaken. It can be done. With Christ on your side, nothing is impossible. It has been done by many. David, Obadiah, Daniel, and the servants of Caesar’s household are all examples that go to prove it.” All the saints greet you, chiefly those that are of the Caesar’s household (Philippians 4:22). You might say that if you were so holy, you would be unlike other people. I answer, “You are right. You ought to be different from other people. Christ’s true servants always were unlike the world around them – a separate nation, a peculiar people – and you must be, too, if you would be saved!”

You might say that at this rate, very few will be saved. I answer, “I know it. It is precisely what we are told in the Sermon on the Mount.” The Lord Jesus said so two thousand years ago. Narrow is the gate, and confined is the way which leads unto life, and there are few that find it (Matthew 7:14). Few will be saved because few will take the trouble to seek salvation. Most people will not deny themselves the pleasures of sin and their own way for a little season. They turn their backs on the incorruptible inheritance that cannot be defiled and that does not fade away (1 Peter 1:4). Ye will not come to me, says Jesus, that ye might have life (John 5:40). You might say that what I am saying is difficult to follow and that the way is very narrow. I answer, “I know it. Jesus said the same in the Sermon on the Mount.” The Lord Jesus said so two thousand years ago. He always said that we must take up the cross daily and that we must be ready to cut off hand or foot if we would be His disciples. It is the same with Christianity as it is in other things, that there are no gains without pains. That which costs nothing is worth nothing.

Few will be saved

Surely it is clear as noonday that many professing Christians need a complete change – new hearts, new natures – if they are ever to be saved.

“Do you think you feel the importance of holiness as much as you should?”

We do not sufficiently consider how very far a person may go in professing to be a Christian, and yet have no grace, being dead in God’s sight, despite his claim to be a Christian. I believe that Judas Iscariot seemed very much like the other apostles. When the Lord warned them that one would betray Him, no one asked, “Is it Judas?” We had better spend more time thinking about the churches of Sardis and Laodicea than we do.

I sometimes fear that if Jesus were on earth now, many people would think His preaching to be legalistic. If Paul were writing his letters now, there are some who would think that he should not write the latter part of most of them as he did. But let us remember that the Lord Jesus did speak the Sermon on the Mount, and the epistle to the Ephesians does contain six chapters and not four.

John Owen, the Dean of Christ Church, used to say, more than three hundred years ago, that there were people whose whole religion seemed to consist in going about complaining of their own corruptions and telling everyone that they could do nothing of themselves. I am afraid that after three centuries the same thing might be said with truth of some of Christ’s professing people today.

Sounds like me

I say, though, that I cannot read the Bible without desiring to see many believers more spiritual, more holy, more single-eyed, more heavenly-minded, and more wholehearted than they are in this current generation. I want to see among believers more of a pilgrim spirit, a more distinct separation from the world, a lifestyle more evidently in heaven, and a closer walk with God

Is it not true that we need a higher standard of personal holiness in our day? Where is our patience? Where is our zeal? Where is our love? Where are our works? Where is the power of Christianity to be seen as it was in previous days? Where is that unmistakable tone that used to distinguish the saints of old and shake the world?

“Did Christ die,” John Owen said, “and shall sin live? Was He crucified in the world, and shall our affections to the world be fast and lively? Oh, where is the spirit of him, who by the cross of Christ was crucified to the world, and the world to him?”

Do you want to be holy? Do you have a strong desire for holiness? Do you want to partake of the divine nature? Then go to Christ. Wait for nothing. Wait for nobody. Do not linger. Do not try to make yourself ready. Go and say to Him, in the words of that beautiful hymn: Nothing in my hand I bring, Simply to Thy cross I cling; Naked, flee to Thee for dress; Helpless, look to Thee for grace.[7]

As many as received him, to them gave he power to become sons of God, even to them that believe on his name

Go then to Christ and say, “Lord, not only save me from the guilt of sin, but send the Spirit, whom You promised, and save me from the power of sin. Make me holy. Teach me to do Your will.” Do you desire to continue in holiness? Then abide in Christ. He Himself says, Abide in me, and I in you. . . . He that abides in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit (John 15:4-5).

The warfare I speak of is spiritual warfare. It is the fight that everyone who would be saved must fight about his soul. I am aware that this warfare is something about which many know nothing. Talk to them about it, and they are ready to regard you as a madman, an enthusiast, or a fool;

Christian is a man of war.

True Christianity! Let us keep in mind that word “true.” There is a whole lot of that which is called Christianity today that is not true, genuine Christianity. It is adequate to most people. It satisfies sleepy consciences, but it is not the true thing. It is not the real thing that was called Christianity two thousand years ago. There are hundreds of thousands of men and women who go to church every Sunday and call themselves Christians. Their names are in the baptismal register. They are considered to be Christians while they live. They are married with a Christian marriage service. They intend to be buried as Christians when they die; but you never see any “fight” about their religion! Of spiritual strife, exertion, conflict, self-denial, keeping watch, and battle, they know literally nothing at all. Such Christianity may satisfy people, and those who say anything against it may be considered to be very harsh and uncharitable, but it certainly is not the Christianity of the Bible. It is not the religion that the Lord Jesus founded and His apostles preached. It is not the religion that produces real holiness. True Christianity is a “fight.” The true Christian is called to be a soldier, and must behave as such from the day of his conversion to the day of his death. He is not meant to live a life of religious ease, inactivity, and comfort. He must never imagine for a moment that he can sleep and rest along the way to heaven, like one travelling in luxury. If he takes his ...

No doubt it may be absolutely needful sometimes to engage in controversy or dispute, but as a general rule, the cause of sin is never helped as much as when Christians waste their strength in quarrelling with one another and spend their time in meaningless arguments. No, indeed! The main fight of the Christian is with the world, the flesh, and the devil.

If he had a nature like an angel and were not a fallen creature, the warfare would not be so essential; but with a corrupt heart, a busy devil, and an ensnaring world, he must either fight or be lost.

"What about leisure?"

Even after conversion, he carries within him a nature inclined to evil and a heart as weak and unstable as water.

To keep that heart from going astray, the Lord Jesus tells us to watch and pray. He says that the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak

The love of the world’s good things, the fear of the world’s laughter or condemnation, the secret desire to remain in the world, the secret desire to do as others in the world do, and not wanting to be extreme in following God are all spiritual foes that assail the Christian continually on his way to heaven, and they must be conquered.

"Not wanting to be extreme in following God"!

That old enemy of mankind is not dead. Ever since the fall of Adam and Eve, he has been going to and fro in the earth and from walking up and down in it (Job 1:7), striving to reach one main goal – the ruin of man‘s soul. Never slumbering and never sleeping, he is always going about as a lion seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8).

Sometimes by deceiving us, sometimes by suggesting unbelief or unfaithfulness to God, sometimes by one kind of tactic and sometimes by another, he is always carrying on a campaign against our souls. Satan has desired to have you that he may sift you as wheat (Luke 22:31). This mighty adversary must be resisted daily if we want to be saved. But this lineage of demons does not go out (Matthew 17:21) except by watching, praying, fighting, and putting on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:11). The strong man armed will never be kept out of our hearts without a daily battle.

Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life. (1 Timothy 6:12) Work hard as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. (2 Timothy 2:3)

He that has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one. (Luke 22:36)

Wow that makes total sense considering the context of Luke 22:31 "Behold, Satan demanded to have you all, that he might sift you all like wheat,"