On Holiness of Heart (Rewritten)

 In our previous post, we talked about the Hidden Life — that deep, interior life of communion with God. A natural question follows: How do we enter into this kind of life? What path leads us there?

The gospel clearly presents the Christian life as a journey. It begins with forgiveness and acceptance — foundational and essential realities — but it does not end there. God intends for every believer to grow beyond those first steps into a deeper work of renewal and sanctification.

The apostle points to this progression in Hebrews 6, urging believers to move beyond the basics and “go on to perfection.” The question, then, is straightforward but searching: What direction should we take if we want to move past spiritual beginnings and walk in close, uninterrupted fellowship with God?The answer is equally clear: the first and absolutely essential requirement is holiness of heart.

Many people assume that God will pardon us even while significant inner corrupt selfishness remains — and that is true, up to a point. Forgiveness does not require complete sanctification. But intimate fellowship with God does. Those who desire to walk closely with Him, to hear His inward voice, and to experience the hidden depths of His love must first be pure in heart. They must not only hope for future salvation, but live in present holiness.

Is Holiness Really Possible?

Some Christians dismiss this idea almost immediately. They believe holiness in this life is unattainable — or, practically speaking, never actually attained. Holiness becomes, in their minds, a distant ideal meant for angels or for the saints in heaven, but far beyond ordinary human reach.

The result is tragic. Burdened by constant inner condemnation, such believers live more like servants than children of God. They remain spiritually cautious, weighed down, and easily discouraged. Instead of rising into the freedom and confidence God offers, they wander in the lowlands of faith — confused, vulnerable, and often defeated.

Because of this, we must pause and ask an important question: Is holiness truly attainable in this life? This matters deeply, because if we believe holiness is impossible, we will never pursue it — and what we do not pursue, we will not experience.

Without holiness of heart — without being cleansed from all known, voluntary sin — the Hidden Life remains closed to us. The richest spiritual privileges, more valuable than anything this world offers, will stay outside our experience.

What Do We Mean by Holiness?

Before answering whether holiness is attainable, we must be clear about what holiness actually is. Much confusion comes from misunderstanding its nature.

1. Holiness Does Not Mean Physical Perfection
Gospel holiness does not require a flawless body. Adam, before the fall, was physically perfect. We are not. Because of humanity’s fallen condition, our bodies are subject to weakness, illness, pain, and limitation — often through no fault of our own.

If holiness required physical perfection, no one could be holy. Thankfully, it does not.

2. Holiness Does Not Mean Intellectual Perfection
Neither does holiness require perfect understanding or flawless judgment. Our intellectual abilities are closely tied to our physical condition, and both are impaired by the fall. As a result, errors in perception and judgment are unavoidable in this life.

God does not demand perfect knowledge as a condition of holiness. Adam may have been free from error within the limits of what God allowed him to know, but we are not held to that standard. Holiness does not mean never being mistaken.

3. Holiness Is the Same in Nature — But Different in Circumstances
The holiness required in this life is the same in nature as the holiness of heaven, but not in its conditions. In heaven, holiness is uninterrupted — no weakness, no weariness, no temptation. Here, we live in fragile bodies and face constant spiritual opposition.

This means two important things:

Temptation is unavoidable in this life
Sin is not unavoidable

We may experience spiritual warfare continually, but we are not morally required to surrender to sin.

What About Involuntary Imperfections?

There are real limitations and imperfections that arise from humanity’s fallen condition — physical weaknesses, mental limitations, and unavoidable mistakes. These are not deliberate sins, but they still require atonement.

Scripture teaches that humanity is deeply interconnected. Because of this, we often suffer consequences rooted in the sins of others — beginning with Adam himself. These imperfections rightly humble us and lead us to rely fully on Christ’s atoning blood.

God rightly requires from us what we could have offered had humanity never fallen — but in mercy, God forgives these involuntary failings when we receive Christ’s atonement. This is likely what some believers mean when they say we “sin continually” — not willfully, but through unavoidable imperfection. If that is all they mean, there is little reason to argue.

So What Is Christian Perfection?

Scripture gives us a clear and beautifully simple answer.

When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, He replied: 

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 22:37–39 NRSV.)

The apostle Paul echoes this truth plainly:

“Love is the fulfilling of the law.” (Romans 13:10 NRSV.)

This is the heart of holiness.

A person who loves God fully and loves others genuinely — even while living with physical weakness and mental limitation — is, in the gospel sense, holy. They reflect the moral image of Christ, even if they do not share His physical or intellectual perfection.

Jesus Himself describes the result of such love:

"Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them." (John 14:13 NRSV.)

 

 

 

 

 

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[This is Part 1, Chapter 2 of Thomas C. Upham's book The Interior or Hidden Life (2nd edition, 1844) re-written with the assistance of Microslop CoPilot. I have made a few further changes and updated the Bible quotations to the New Revised Standard Version translation. The original chapter may be found here.]