Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy, without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many (Hebrews 12:14-15).

Whereas, as unbelievers, sin used to be the rule of our lives, and we did whatever we wanted to do with little or no thought of God; as believers, sinning should be the exception to the rule, because we live to please our Lord.

Paul reminds his readers we are no longer slaves to sin, we are now slaves to righteousness, and sin is not to dominate our lives any longer. However, our tendency in the church today is to make light of our disobedience and freely excuse our sins. Many "Christians" live as if God actually expects us to disregard His commandments and standards, as if chronic disobedience was the norm for born-again believers. Jesus said in John 8:34-36:

I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

In his popular book on holiness, Breaking Free from Sin’s Grip (Beacon Hill, 2001), Frank Moore breaks down the biblical teaching on holiness by explaining what the Bible teaches about sin. He writes:

Sin creates a twofold problem. God’ forgiveness takes care of my past acts of sinning. That long list constitutes problem number one. But what about sin’s nature buried deep within me that causes me to want to do the wrong thing or "my thing" in the first place? What about that pride that boasts to the world, "I did it my way!" That’s problem number two. Preference for self-sovereignty lurks at the heart of this matter.

That self-preference remains deeply rooted in my nature even after God forgives the list of sins. I enjoy God’s for-giveness and fellowship, but part of me wants to retain at least some control of my life. After all, it is my life isn’t it?

This attitude or mind-set highlights this second problem that needs God’s touch. It’s not that I want to go out in the dark of the night and sin against Him. It’s not that I wish to rebel against Him. I’m not hoping to harbor some sinful habit or spirit. I just want to retain some autonomy about life’s direction. Why should someone else get to call the shots in my life? Why should I have to surrender control of everything? (Frank Moore, Breaking Free from Sin’s Grip, Beacon Hill, 2001, 37).

As most traditional holiness preachers have been heard to say many times, what God wants to do in our lives is a two-stage experience, not because He is unable to provide full salvation to us in a single experience, but because when we are saved, we typically don’t grasp all that God in Christ wants to do for and in us - and our understanding of what we need is very important. Moore writes:

...when we give our hearts and lives to Christ in conversion, we give Him everything of ourselves that we know to give Him at the time. We’re so anxious to be free from the guilt and bondage of sin that we’re willing to sign just about any con-tract He sets before us, much like we’re willing to sign loan papers when bills pile up and the money’s all gone.

Then, we begin to clean up all of life’s areas (actions, thoughts, attitudes, motives, reactions, possessions, habits, and all the rest). They all fall under Christ’s oversight. Unfortunately, we usually move a few personal items to one very small room in our lives. Not anything big and bad, just a prideful attitude, a sour spirit, or an unhealthy habit. The items don’t matter. The issue is that they represent our autonomy.

Wouldn’t you know it! When we start getting really serious with God and deeply involved in Christian living, He asks for the key to that little room in the house of our lives, but that’s not enough for Him. He wants all of the keys, not just 99% of them (Moore, 37-38; cf. Robert Boyd Munger’s My Heart Christ’s Home, InterVarsity, 1986).

Moore goes on to refer to Romans 12:1 and 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24.:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. - Romans 12:1

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it. - 1 Thess. 5:23-24