We have been set apart as holy because Jesus Christ did what God wanted him to do by sacrificing his body once and for all.
Hebrews 10:10
The blood of Jesus makes you holy. At the point when you accepted him as your Savior, you were no longer a lost sinner but became a saint because he did the work of being your sacrifice. But what does that mean? Do you feel holy? Are you now sin-free? Doesn’t holiness require perfection? It seems like the Bible contradicts itself when it says “not one person has God’s approval” (Rom. 3:10) and then in the next breath that you were “set apart as holy” by the sacrifice of Jesus (Heb. 10:10). How can you be both a sinner and a saint?
The answer is this: Jesus’ death and resurrection makes you holy in the eyes of God. It gives you access to the Father and justifies you. In this sense, you are innocent before God, because Jesus took your punishment for you. But this doesn’t make your character holy. You still have sinful tendencies. You still fall and get back up. Your character will become more holy as you confront the sin in your life and choose, by the strength of your will, not to do what you desperately want to do. The more strength you show in controlling your will, the more valuable you are to the kingdom, because it’s by accepting the things of God and denying the things of this earth that your actions become holy and therefore useful in bringing God glory.
Don’t allow yourself to be comfortable with the thought that Jesus makes you holy so you don’t have to work at holiness. Holiness always requires determination of the will, and the practice of it will develop the character of Christ in you. Your battle is not just against sin—Jesus fought and won that battle for you. Your battle is also against your own will, that part of you that argues and cries to be left alone and not be controlled or denied. Take charge of your will and you will reveal the holiness of your character.