In Christ: Know It, Live It - 10 (Chosen to be Holy)

"Even as He chose us in Him [Christ] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him." Ephesians 1:4

Look at what the Apostle Paul says God has chosen us in His sovereign, eternal grace to be: HOLY and BLAMELESS.

Note:

• Holy = moral purity. God IS Holy. God is innately and infinitely and eternally Holy. His is a native holiness, not a derived holiness. He has commanded that His people will be like Him: Leviticus 19:2: "You shall be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy." He has chosen us to be pure in every way: thoughts, actions, attitudes.
• Blameless = freedom from guilt. A wonderful picture of this are the unblemished sacrifices of the OT. The animal to be offered could not be deformed in any way. Jesus was the final, blameless sacrifice. God has chosen us to stand before Him and for there to be nothing in us that would be blameworthy because we have fallen short of His glory.
• Now...has God chosen us for a PRESENT holiness and blamelessness, or for a FUTURE holiness and blamelessness? Probably BOTH, and more! We have been clothed in the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ NOW. We are holy and blameless before the Father as we are clothed in the merit of His Son. This is our STANDING (Romans 3:22). God is also working in us a PROGRESSIVE holiness and blamelessness day by day - taking us toward the goal of being conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:17-18; 1 Thessalonians 3:13). Then, we are headed towards a full and eternal HOLINESS and BLAMELESSNESS when Christ returns (1 John 3:2). This will be our actual standing, character, and walk in Heaven. God has CHOSEN us for this.

Now consider: if God has CHOSEN us to be holy and blameless before Him, He WILL make it happen. In fact, He IS making it happen! All that is happening in my life has AT LEAST this goal: to make me, shape me, into a holy person. The Father is orchestrating the entirety of our lives as a "holiness mold." And HE WILL NOT FAIL. NO ONE the Father has chosen will fail to stand before Him holy and blameless some day. The pain, the disappointments, the joys, the long seasons where perseverance is needed...all for holiness. Consider also that holiness leads to happiness. Therefore, while God is working to make you holy, He is also working to make you happy. Our Father WILL NOT be satisfied with anything less than holiness in our lives. HE WILL SUCCEED IN OUR LIVES. Therefore: let's cooperate with Him! Take the view, the TRUE view, that God is working in and through all that is happening to you to make you holy and happy. When the going is rough, bow before Him in humble worship and accept the loving work of His hand. Obey when you don't feel like it. Keep doing right when a nice piece of retribution would feel good. Turn to Him in the dry time instead of the fridge or the Internet or the mall.

The story is told of Vince Lombardi, the legendary coach of the Green Bay Packers, that one day during practice he caught one of his players cheating during drills. He yelled out his name, and rebuked him on the spot, "If you'll cheat in practice, you'll cheat during a game. And if you'll cheat during a game, you'll cheat in life. AND I WON'T HAVE IT!"

Brothers and sisters, God has chosen us to be holy. He WON'T HAVE us being anything less. He IS making us holy. Count on it. Look for it. Cooperate with it. Thank Him for it.