Spiritual Theology

Holiness is the key to entering Heaven for ‘without holiness no one will see the Lord’ (Hebrews 12:14). Holiness is fundamental to living out the true authentic faith in Jesus Christ. Yet, there is much confusion about what holiness is and is not. This is owing to a lack of proper teaching and a lack of a fear of God. Many who profess Christ are committing all kinds of sins without even realising that it is sin. Many also approve of such sins, which is to be just as morally culpable as committing the sins one approves of (Romans 1:32).  

Christ Himself said that many on that Day of Judgment will say, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?”, to which He will declare, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness” (Matthew 7:22-23).

Such words are truly the most frightening words that one could ever hear, words from Jesus Christ Himself, the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, that despite professing such intimate familiarity with Christ, doing many good works in His Name, and being assured one would enter Heaven, only to be rejected by Him.

Not few among those who profess Christ will be rejected by Him on that Day of Judgment. Many will be cast away, despite thinking themselves to be faithful servants of God, who had every reason according to their own thinking that they would be sure to enter Heaven. This is truly a sobering and terrifying impending reality, and all the more shows why self-examination of the conscience is so critical to the spiritual life. It is exactly why Saint Paul implored, “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12).

Salvation is a process, and not a one-off transaction whereby one receives the grace of God unto Salvation and is therefore guaranteed to enter Heaven without doing any good works or practising holiness. This doctrine is a doctrine of demons, known as the ‘once saved, always saved doctrine’. It is a false doctrine as it teaches that one need not become holy through continual repentance to enter Heaven. As long as one has received the first grace of Salvation, one need not strive for holiness. This doctrine totally contradicts Jesus’ teaching that “unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20).

The question then is, why will so many who profess familiarity and intimacy with Christ be rejected by Him? The answer is not because they were ‘predestined’ to be rejected by Christ as the Calvinist, especially the five-point Calvinist would say. Each person has free will, including the free will to repent and strive to be holy to reach moral perfection. If people were predestined to be rejected by Christ, it would mean there is no free will, and therefore no moral culpability for sin, since a person can only be held culpable for sin he commits in full liberty and will.

Nor is it merely because of ‘sin and rebellion’ as the evangelical in the simplicity of his theology would say. If it is merely because of ‘sin and rebellion’ that such professing Christians are rejected from entering the Kingdom of Heaven, why then can some enter Heaven? Since ‘all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God’ (Romans 3:23), it would follow that no one can enter Heaven, but yet some will enter Heaven, albeit only a few. For as Jesus urged:

Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

(Matthew 7:13-14)

Holiness is the Key to Heaven

It cannot be emphasised enough that holiness is the key to Heaven. Yet so many glaze their eyes over this teaching, which is made so evidently clear in scripture, not realising how fundamentally critical it is. They think they understand what holiness is and may even see themselves as serious in living out their faith, but are nowhere near striving for holiness as much as they should.

Holiness is far more important than anything else in this life. Nothing else matters in this earthly temporal life, and most certainly the next life, the heavenly eternal life, except for holiness before God. Yet, most professing Christians do not live as if holiness is the most important thing, both in this life and the life to come. This is because they are under all kinds of false doctrines and heresies, without realising it. Such doctrines of demons and heresies have caused not only much confusion in people that leads to the inability to discern right from wrong and truth from error, but has also perverted the mindset of so many that they have faulty doctrinal foundations regarding the most basic of all doctrines. As a result, they are held captive to error and all kinds of lusts that attempt to justify such errors.

The greatest hindrance to all holiness, however, is pride. It is such pride that leads people to be unable to assent to the truths of God and that such truths come from God. Consequently, such people are unable to receive any wisdom, understanding, or knowledge from God. Any profession of faith they have in Christ may be sincere but totally based on false knowledge, which they think to be true but lacks all truth. Such people are like the fool who built his house on sand who Jesus described:

Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.

(Matthew 7:24-27)

The foolish man who built his house on sand are the religious people who profess Christ, having heard the Word, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They are those who hear the words of Christ, but do not practise His commands. They are those who attend church, read scriptures, pray daily, and even preach, but are fail to practise His commands rightly because of their lack of understanding. They cannot receive His words because of their pride.

These false converts who profess Christ are of all kinds of ideological stripes. Some are conservative in their moral outlook, while some are liberal. Some support one side of politics, while others support another. Some are more conservative in their theological leanings, while some are more liberal. Some are of traditional denominations, while others are of less traditional denominations. In the true spiritual life, however, none of these distinctions matter at all whatsoever; a false convert is a false convert.

Holiness is Absolute and Complete Perfection in Virtue

The Greek word for ‘holiness’ means ‘set apart’, hence the term literally means ‘set apart from the world’. The question then is, what does it mean to be ‘set apart from the world’? Does it mean to not commit the sins that the world commits, and because of not committing such sins, one is holy? Or does it imply an even higher standard, to the point of moral perfection?

Many Christians think that as long as they are not committing certain specific sins they designate to be grave sins, such as murder and adultery, they are holy. They think that as long as they have never committed murder or adultery, they are so holy and righteous before God and will most assuredly enter Heaven. This is nothing but a doctrine of demons! For Saint James said that whoever violates one law has violated the whole law:

For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.

(James 2:10-11)

If a person commits neither murder nor adultery, but idolatry, covetousness or giving false witness, he has violated the whole of the law, which is enough to damn him to Hell. Keeping the law requires absolute perfection, without exception or qualification.

Nor does it suffice to expand the list of grave sins to expand the list of sins, such as the sins of the flesh being ‘[all kinds of] sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality [or lasciviousness], idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these’ (Galatians 5:19-21).

To reduce holiness to being merely a matter of not committing sin, whether it be a few grave sins or a whole litany of sins, is to have a low view of holiness, and therefore a low view of God. It is simply a fundamental, basic duty of a person to not commit any sin. Not committing any sin does not make one holy; rather, it is that the committing any sin at all, regardless of the gravity of the offence or the culpability of the person, is wicked. Of course one should not commit any sin! Of course one should despise all such sins!

What then is holiness? Holiness is not merely about shunning worldliness, in refusing to commit the sins of the flesh that the world indulges in. It is far more than that. Holiness is moral perfection in all manner of virtue. It is not about avoiding sin or adhering to moral rules, but striving for perfection in virtue before God. For when one strives for absolute moral perfection in virtue, based on divine truth and revelation, one will not commit any sin or even desire to commit any sin. That is the only path of holiness, for which there is no other way.

Jesus Himself taught that holiness not only requires moral perfection, but is moral perfection which is to be complete in all manner of righteousness, without any exception or qualification:  

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

(Matthew 5:17-20)

The moral law is severe and demands adherence to be complete and absolute in perfection. Christ did not come to do away with the moral law. As long as humankind is born in sin, it needs the moral law to reveal its own sin to itself so that it will be able to receive the truth (Galatians 3:24-27). God gives the moral law to humankind in His mercy, hence why the moral law will stand until Christ comes to judge the world in righteousness and executes it by giving each person, both the living and the dead their due. He will reward the righteous with eternal life with the treasures in Heaven that they have duly earned, and punish the wicked with eternal damnation and punishment according to the gravity and culpability of their sins. As Saint Paul taught:

He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, [H]e will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honour and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality.

(Romans 2:6-11)

This is why in answering someone who asked, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?”, Jesus said, “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able” (Luke 13:23-24). The Greek word for ‘strive’ in this context means to ‘agonise’, connoting much agony, pain, or suffering. This agony that one must endure in the path of holiness is caused by opposition from the devil, the world, and one’s flesh, all three of which are the enemies of one’s soul. The life of holiness is a battle against all three. It is one of spiritual warfare – and such warfare is a ferocious, aggressive one.

Suffering Produces Holiness

The Blessed Franci Xavier Seelos once said, “It is only through suffering that we become holy. And to become holy is our only purpose in life, our only preparation for Heaven.”

Suffering is not simply one way that assists people in their sanctification, but is the only way to becoming holy, both in receiving Salvation and being continually saved until the end. Without suffering, there can be no Salvation. Suffering is therefore a sign of God’s grace upon a person, not a curse. For the cross is the ladder to Heaven.

Indeed, the early Christians were very concerned whenever suffering did not come their way because suffering was seen as a sign of God’s grace unto Salvation. A lack of suffering indicated a lack of such grace. They absolutely disavowed easy-believism, a heresy which teaches that Salvation is a matter of simply believing in Jesus’ death and resurrection. But even the demons believe in Jesus’ death and resurrection, and they are not saved, and never will be saved (James 2:19)!

Likewise, there are many professing Christians who believe in Jesus’ death and resurrection wholeheartedly and who have attended church for almost their whole life, but are not truly saved, and tragically, will be among the many who will hear those frightful words of Christ, “I never knew you! Depart from me, you workers of iniquity!”. Upon hearing those words, only then will they realise how wicked, iniquitous, rebellious, and lawless they are!

But it will be too late for them, for they, despite having been granted so much grace for Salvation, in receiving all the right doctrines and even deep spiritual knowledge granted to only a few, were puffed up in their pride of their knowledge, as well as the pride of life, and full of all kinds of lusts, leading to their false assurance of Salvation.

These false converts are the types who profess Christ, and who despite having been granted right doctrine, persist in perverting and twisting scripture to justify all manner of sins, especially their licentiousness and lack of charity towards others. They are the ones who twist scripture to oppress certain people who they despise for being needy and weaker, and justify it on the basis that the “scriptures say so” when it is really their own self-serving erroneous interpretation of scripture.

They are full of envy and jealousy, filled with unrighteous anger towards anyone who they perceive to be more blessed than they are, despite having received all kinds of blessings God has granted them. They are devoid of all righteous anger, in their coldness and hardness of heart.

These are the people who love to create all kinds of ambiguity in scripture when there is none, to justify their evil, and to impose straightforward rules on matters where there is no one right absolute rule, such as how to dress, what to eat, or what kinds of entertainment people can consume to suit their own agenda. They are full of confusion and confuse others by their error, causing many to lose their faith as a result.

They are the ones who give the unbeliever an excuse to criticise the Faith and the Church, as well as to blaspheme God.

While believing in the right doctrine is essential to Salvation, it does not suffice. One must also become holy, and in becoming holy, one must endure much suffering in this life. Believing in right doctrine is important, but dangerous to the soul if one apostatises from the Faith. Apostatising after receiving right doctrine damns a person to a greater degree of eternal condemnation than if one had not received right doctrine. For as it is written:

Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits. For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.

(Hebrews 6:1-8)

Thus, those to whom God has granted many crosses to bear are blessed, not cursed, because such sufferings provide assurance that one will be saved unto the end. The greater the suffering, the greater the assurance of Salvation.

For as Christ said, “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 11:12-15).

The original Greek word for violence ‘biastḗs’ means ‘positive assertiveness’ or ‘forceful’. Thus, what Jesus meant when He said only the ‘violent’ will take the Kingdom of Heaven is that only those who strive to enter Heaven forcefully will do so. One must do so forcefully because of the forces of opposition that hinder a person from entering Heaven, which are the lusts of the eyes, lust of the flesh, and pride of life (1 John 2:16), as well as principalities and powers (Ephesians 6:12). The influence of the world through these principalities and powers are strong and actively work against one from entering Heaven.

Suffering causes a person to see that which the flesh and pride desire, are neither to be desired nor desirable. That which the flesh and pride desire are the sins of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21). Suffering breaks down a person’s Adamic self-will, and instils humility in a person, which is requisite to having a fear of God. For ‘the fear of God is the beginning of all wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is insight [or understanding]’ (Proverbs 9:10).

Recognising that the things the flesh and pride desire are not be desired and undesirable, is the first and most important step that comes before a person can see the need for fearing God. As long as a person indulges in the sins of the flesh and pride of life, and not only has no qualms about it, but thinks it desirable and even enviable that others should envy him for indulging in such sins, such a person cannot receive Salvation. That is the natural state of human nature which is universal, and not exclusive to any ethnicity, culture, nationality, religion, or gender. Nor it is exclusive to people who commit certain sins arbitrarily designated by mere human judgment to be more serious or grave than others.

Suffering cleanses the soul through instilling humility that enables a natural person who cannot otherwise perceive the need for God, let alone, fear God, to see his need for Him. The very idea that one needs Salvation from one’s sins is repugnant to the Adamic nature which is prideful and stubborn in its self-will. Humility is the beginning of true wisdom, and only when one has acquired such wisdom can one even receive Salvation, let alone continually work out one’s Salvation which is a process that can only be completed through self-mortification and detachment from all things, except for God, who is the only thing one is to be attached to.

Spiritual Slothfulness

Many want to enter Heaven, but cannot and will not enter, because of spiritual slothfulness. Spiritual slothfulness is the lack of desire or zeal for spiritual perfection, which is the aim of the true convert. It is a disease that plagues much, if not most of the contemporary church.

The true convert desires moral perfection, even if he does not feel as if he is growing spiritually or feels aimless in the spiritual life. The false convert, though religious, does not desire spiritual perfection. He may serve actively in church, read the scriptures daily, and pray daily, but his heart is hardened towards the things of God, towards the spiritual, and does not desire moral perfection. The true convert has a genuine love for Jesus, whereas the false convert does not. The false convert has only a half-hearted love for Christ, which is no love at all. He only desires what he can receive from Jesus, and not Jesus Himself. The true convert willingly and joyfully denies himself and resists pleasure-seeking and self-indulgence. The false convert is offended at Christ’s command to deny himself and indulges in pleasure-seeking and self-indulgence, perverting scripture and church teaching to justify such vices.

Few will Find Heaven

Jesus said “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easythat leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Matthew 7:13-14).

It is a truly sobering fact that few will enter Heaven. This is not because God has not showered grace on sinners but that they will ultimately reject His grace owing to wallowing in their rebellion, out of their love for the satisfaction of the lusts of their eyes, lusts of the flesh and the pride of life. God allows them to wallow in their lusts and pride because they will ultimately choose it over repentance and holiness. Such are those who resist God’s grace, of whom there will be many.

Jesus commands us all to deny ourselves wholly, to live out a life of self-mortification and detachment from all things, except for God Himself. Only then can one truly become holy in reaching moral perfection, and thereby enter Heaven.

Lord, grant us humility and teach us to be holy, to continually strive for moral perfection until the end. For without holiness, no one shall see the Lord.