I asked my brother, "Isn't it true that the Bible, taken as it is written, has the promise that we who walk in the Spirit could walk right into total holiness?"  My brother was silent for a moment, then thoughtfully said, "Yes; but don't we walk one step at a time?"

Many have lost the hope of holiness.  Many have, as a result, re-defined holiness.  The Bible is very bold in stating that holiness is the kind of holiness that the Father has and that it is available to us through Christ.

How?

By walking in the Spirit.

Some have said that the Holy Spirit is given to help us to walk in holiness.  This is only partly correct, and it misses the most important things.

• We, in our nature, have no ability to walk in holiness. 
• We can emulate holiness in order to impress ourselves or others that we are holy. 
  • in order to impress ourselves or others that we are holy. 
  • by trying to obey a set of rules or laws or principles
    • lines drawn in the sand.
    • these cannot bring true holiness.
    • these can lead to false hope, hypocrisy, and spiritual deadness (read the bood of Galatians, which was a letter to believers, not unbelievers).
• We cannot deny the reality that
  • there are thoughts that enter our minds that are not pure,
  • we get angry,
  • we become discouraged,
  • there are times when we are not flowing in the ultimate anointing of God,
  • there are times when God is not the most prominent focus of our minds,
  • we have not come the manifestation of Jesus Christ in our lives,
  • our bodies have not been redeemed fully.
• God's Spirit is given so that we can learn to yield our minds to Him.
  • As we yield, our minds are renewed by the Spirit.  (He does the work.)
  • As we yield, He thinks His thoughts through us. (He is the source of all wisdom, knowledge, and understanding.)
  • As we yield, He says His words through us.  (We begin to speak as the oracles of God.)
  • As we yield, He does His works through us.  (We never do our own will, but only the will of our Father.)
• The Scriptural pattern for the church is an integral part of this transformation, which is why God is in process of restoring it.
• From time to time, we see a flash of His glory in our lives.
  • It is not continuous.
  • It is not complete.
  • Mostly, we are in process of coming into His glory.
  • His forgiveness is continual and perpetual, covering our missteps.
  • God's desire is to continue to flow through us until we are conformed into His very image in every facet of our being.  When that happens, we will be transfigured by the renewing of our minds.