The Holiness Framework: It's More Than "Sin Management"

Based on 1 Peter 1:13-16

"Therefore, preparing your minds for action and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy.'" (1 Peter 1:13-16, ESV)

In Pentecostal circles today, there's a renewed emphasis on holiness. Young preachers are boldly declaring, "Holiness is still right. Holiness still works. Holiness is for today." These are sentiments that deserve complete agreement. The problem is not with the declaration itself, but with our understanding of what holiness actually means.

For most people in our churches, "holiness" has become a code word for "living right." While this isn't completely wrong, it's an incomplete explanation that often reduces the profound work of Christ to little more than sin management. This shallow understanding creates a dangerous narrative: "Yes, Jesus Christ died for your sins and forgave you until you got saved. Then you better live right, don't ever sin again, or you're going to hell like a bullet."

But what Jesus accomplished at Calvary is far better than that. The Lord didn't save us out of obscurity only to leave us on the side of the road with instructions to "get to heaven on your own." As Scripture promises, "I will never leave you nor forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5, ESV).

Defining the Framework

You cannot defeat what you do not define. Holiness cannot take root in your life until you understand what holiness actually is. The holiness framework consists of three essential components: righteousness, sanctification, and consecration. These three elements work together to create the most vibrant relationship with Jesus Christ possible.

Component One: Righteousness – The Foundation

Righteousness serves as the foundation upon which the entire holiness framework is built. To understand this, we must examine Romans 3:21-26:

"But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." (Romans 3:21-26, ESV)

This passage reveals something crucial: God is both just and justifier. God is just in that He judges all of humanity on the same scale—a scale that reflects His perfect holiness, perfect righteousness, and extreme perfection. The problem is that nobody can meet this standard. Even if you're better than everyone you know, you still fall short of God's perfect, holy, righteous standard.

But God doesn't stop at being just; He is also the justifier. How? Through propitiation—a theological term meaning that Jesus Christ satisfied the perfect demand God had toward humanity. Because Jesus was perfect and deity dwelt in Him bodily, He could meet the demand for perfection, extreme holiness, and absolute righteousness. When we place our faith in Jesus Christ, His righteousness is vicariously transferred to us.

As 2 Corinthians 5:21 declares: "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (ESV).

Jesus fulfilled the righteous requirement of the law on our behalf. Romans 8:3-4 confirms this: "For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit" (ESV).

Righteousness is the sole work of Jesus Christ, received by faith alone. It's about status and standing—being made right not through our own effort or earning, but through Jesus extending His line of credit to us.

Component Two: Sanctification – The Horizontal Journey

If righteousness is the foundation, sanctification is the horizontal progression of the holiness framework. While righteousness deals with status, sanctification involves actual behavioral transformation. It's the journey from sinful living toward godly living.

Hebrews 10:14 beautifully captures both righteousness and sanctification: "For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified" (ESV).

Notice the dual nature of this verse. "He has perfected for all time"—that's righteousness, Jesus extending His status before God to us. But then it says "those who are being sanctified." The key word is "being"—it's active and present tense. You're not sanctified, haven't been sanctified, or won't be sanctified. You are being sanctified.

The moment you give your life to Jesus Christ, you start being sanctified. It's progressive, ongoing, and continues throughout your life. Sometimes you might take a step back, but you can keep moving down the road toward godly living.

The Misconception About Sanctification

Here's where many get it wrong: they believe that while Jesus died for their sins and forgave them, it's now their job to get their behavior in order. The problem with this thinking is that you don't have the power to change your behavior on your own.

Consider this scenario: You know you're going to see someone you don't like at an event. As you head there, you tell yourself repeatedly, "Just be nice to that person. Be nice." But when you finally shake their hand and say, "It's so good to see you," you know you're struggling to mean it. Despite your best efforts, you can't manufacture genuine change in yourself.

This isn't permission to sin—you're going to deal with something in your life regardless. You're going to have some area that doesn't completely line up with God's righteous standard. That's the reality. Ignoring this and pretending everyone's perfect helps nobody.

The goal isn't to get you to look right but to be right. Not to act righteous but to be righteous.

You don't have the power within you to fundamentally change how you behave. You might manage some surface-level adjustments—waking up ten minutes earlier—but can you eradicate anger from your life? Can you eliminate whatever has a grip on you? No, you need something more than what you possess.

Not only is righteousness the sole work of Jesus Christ; sanctification is also the sole work of Jesus Christ. If you have something in your life you can't seem to shake, chances are you're trying to shake it in your own strength. But if you turn it over to Jesus—looking to Him, the author and perfecter of our faith—you will find freedom, often almost instantly.

Component Three: Consecration – The Vertical Dimension

Where righteousness is the foundation and sanctification is the horizontal progression, consecration is the vertical dimension of holiness. Consecration determines your altitude in the spirit realm.

While righteousness and sanctification deal with sin, consecration has little to do with sin. Consecration is about separation—being set apart.

The Tale of Two Carts

Consider the story from 2 Samuel 6, where David attempts to bring the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem. With good intentions, David decides to transport the ark on a new cart. The journey encounters obstacle after obstacle, resistance at every turn, and ultimately results in a man's death.

Why did they face such resistance? Because God had established a specific protocol for transporting the ark, and a new cart wasn't part of that equation.

Here's what's fascinating: if you read 1 Samuel 6, you'll discover that the Philistines—the very people who had stolen the ark—successfully transported it back to Beth Shemesh using a new cart. Nobody died, nobody got hurt, and they had no problems whatsoever.

Why could the Philistines, who treated the ark as common and unholy, successfully use a cart while David, with pure intentions, could not? The answer reveals a profound principle: There are some things they can do that you can't do. Not because it's sin, but because of separation.

They can party at the bar—it's not suitable for us. They can live together before marriage—it's not suitable for us. They can watch certain TV shows—it's not suitable for us. Why? Not necessarily because these things are sin, but because we're separate, set apart, consecrated unto the Most High God.

We're like them, but we're not like them. We're with them, but we're not with them. We're strangers in this land; our home is in heaven. We're residents of a different geopolitical system called the kingdom.

Living Separation in the Real World

This principle of separation plays out in practical ways. As business owners who attend functions throughout the year—business meetings across the country lasting two to four days—there are inevitable banquets and dinners where alcohol flows freely. There's always a champagne toast and an open bar, and invariably, people get uncomfortably drunk at these events.

But when they do the champagne toast, the response is to raise a fist in the air—a Holy Ghost fist. When the bar opens, it's a Coca-Cola. There's no participation in these activities. Why? Not because it's sin, but because of separation. Because of being different, set apart.

The world doesn't benefit from believers looking just like them. People need to see a church that looks different from the world. There's power in being set apart, freedom in being set apart, and transformation in being set apart.

Outward and Inward Consecration

While outward consecration—the cultural separations like not smoking, drinking, or cursing—is appreciated and important, sometimes these outward portions are much easier than the inward portions. Jesus warned about this in Matthew 23:25-26: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean" (ESV).

The real question becomes: What happens when you shut the front door of your house? Have you separated yourself from your own desires and interests? Have you truly set yourself apart?

There is something transformative about separating yourself unto prayer and time in Scripture. Getting into the secret place with God and seeking His face will separate and set you apart in ways that determine the level at which you operate in life.

When you enter the secret place with the Lord, it determines:

• The level of breakthrough you walk in

• The level of power you operate in

• The level of anointing you carry

• The level of revelation you receive

This vertical dimension of consecration is something you control. While Jesus must sanctify you and save you, with consecration, you determine the input that gives you the output.

The Ecosystem of Love

Righteousness is not just the foundation of the holiness framework—it's also the ecosystem in which the entire framework operates. Both sanctification and consecration function within the ecosystem of righteousness.

First John 4:9-10, 15-19 provides crucial insight:

"In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins... Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us." (1 John 4:9-10, 15-19, ESV)

This passage contains three major points:

1. The Source of Love

"In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." As Pentecostals who operate in power and anointing and are mission-focused, we sometimes become so consumed with our love for God that we forget the foundation: our love for God is not love itself, but rather a response to the fact that God loved us.

God loved you so extremely, so passionately, that He gave His Son who gave His life so that you might be the righteousness of God in Christ.

2. Knowing and Believing God's Love

"So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us." There's something transformative about turning your attention away from yourself—away from what politicians can do for you, what your job can do for you, what your spouse can do for you, how your kids treat you, how much money you give, how many ministries you serve in, how many days a week you attend church.

When you take your attention off all these things and focus instead on "this is love: that He loved us and gave His Son as the propitiation for our sins"—when you turn your attention to the finished work of Jesus Christ at the cross of Calvary—something powerful happens.

3. Love Perfected

"By this is love perfected with us." When you turn your attention to the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ—the perfect sacrifice, the once-and-for-all sacrifice, the one who gives us the same status as Him—transformation begins to occur in ways you cannot even explain.

The Key to Transformation

Many people struggle because they focus on their sin, their inability to break free, their difficulty waking up earlier to pray, their failure to read the Bible consistently, their inability to stop engaging in arguments online, or their struggle with various habits and behaviors.

The solution isn't found in trying harder or focusing on the problems. If you will turn your attention from all these struggles and look to the finished work of Jesus Christ, placing your attention and affection on Him, you will begin to live for God and experience God and see power move in your life more on accident than you ever have on purpose.

His finished work is sufficient. Jesus is enough.

Beyond Sin Management

Most people will accept salvation and even experience some degree of sanctification because the side benefit is lifestyle improvement. The godlier you become, the better your life goes. When you stop walking into your house yelling at everyone, peace in the home increases.

But most people are unwilling to cross the line of consecration. They'll take salvation and sanctification—enjoying the life transformation and preferring Christian radio over secular stations—but when it comes to prayer, time with the Lord, and cultural separation, they want to be saved while doing what everyone else does.

There is a great gift in separating yourself unto the Lord. It's the only component of holiness you have direct control over, and you determine the input that creates the output.

Conclusion: The Ecosystem of Grace

The holiness framework—righteousness, sanctification, and consecration—operates within the ecosystem of God's love and grace. Righteousness is the sole work of Jesus Christ received by faith. Sanctification is the work of Jesus Christ transforming us progressively. Consecration is our response of separation unto Him.

There is no holiness like the holiness that flows from the shed blood of Jesus Christ at the cross of Calvary. Holiness is still right. Holiness still works. But this holiness is far more than sin management—it's a complete framework for living in the reality of what Christ has accomplished.

Jesus is enough. His finished work is sufficient. When we understand and live within this framework, we discover that transformation, power, healing, and breakthrough become not myths to chase but realities to experience as we rest in the completed work of our Savior.

Jesus is enough.