Union with Christ: The Way to Know and Enjoy God

by Rankin Wilbourne

Far from being optional, holiness is expected, even necessary for our salvation. “Without holiness no one will see the Lord,” the book of Hebrews warns (12:14 NIV). This is not a reference to the holiness of Christ being credited to us from outside of us by faith (which Hebrews does talk about elsewhere). This verse is talking about our personal holiness and what the biblical writers with one voice assume: if God’s life has indeed come into our lives, then our lives will necessarily reflect the light of God’s life. Martin Luther and John Calvin, who both emphasized the necessity of “faith alone” for salvation, also both made it clear that faith never exists “alone” in the life of a believer. “We are saved by faith alone, but saving faith is never alone.”