A Whole Street of Houses, Stirred With A Spoon

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“ And by this time they were come up to the great iron gates in front of the house; and Tom stared through them at the rhododendrons and azaleas, which were all in flower; and then at the house itself, and wondered how many chimneys there were in it, and how long ago it was built, and what was the man’s name that built it, and whether he got much money for his job? These last were very difficult questions to answer. For Harthover had been built at ninety different times, and in nineteen different styles, and looked as if somebody had built a whole street of houses of every imaginable shape, and then stirred them together with a spoon.” —The Water-Babies, by Charles Kingsley. Ch.1 (1863)

Holiness is not an option

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More observations as I read my book:

One cannot in himself merit salvation through personal holiness.

Scripture repeatedly refers to the obedience and righteousness of Christ on our behalf (Ro 5:19; 1 Peter 3:18) Two aspects of Christ's work on our behalf:

1. Active obedience--Christ's sinless life on earth, perfect obedience, absolute holiness;
2. Passive obedience--His death on the cross through which He fully paid the penalty for our sins and placated the wrath of God toward us.


Conclusion: Our holiness before God depends entirely on the work of Jesus Christ for us, by God's will.

Scripture speaks of both a holiness which we have in Christ before God, and a holiness which we are to strive after.

The purpose of our salvation is that we be "holy and blameless in His sight" (Eph 1:4).

To continue to live in sin as a Christian is to go contrary to God's very own purpose for our salvation. [see "A Strange Kind of Salvation" post, 11/17/08]

No one can trust in Christ for true salvation unless he trusts Him for holiness.


Holiness is required for:


1. Fellowship with God;
2. Our own well-being;
3. Effective Service to God;
4. Assurance of Salvation

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