Apostolic Holiness

Holiness is not how we get to God. It is how we live once God has come to us.

Some hear the word “holiness” and think of a list of rules. That is not where it begins. Holiness begins with God Himself – He is holy, set apart, utterly pure – and when His Spirit comes to live inside a person, that purity begins to work its way outward through the whole of a life.

We do not pursue holiness to earn salvation – that would empty the cross of its power. We pursue it because we have been saved, and a changed heart cannot help but produce a changed life.

Holiness on the inside

It always starts in the heart. Before holiness is ever seen, it is felt – a new love for God, a new hatred of sin, a conscience made tender by the Spirit. This is the holiness Jesus pressed past outward appearances to reach.

A clean outside over a corrupt heart is the very thing the Lord rebuked. So we ask God, again and again, to make us holy where no one else can see – in our thoughts, our motives, our private hours.

Holiness on the outside

But true inward holiness does not stay hidden. It shows up – in how we speak, how we treat people, how we spend our time, how we present ourselves. Scripture calls us to be separate from the world’s patterns, not out of pride, but out of belonging to God.

The standards we hold are not arbitrary. Each one traces back to Scripture and to a desire to honor God with the whole of our lives – body, conduct, and witness. We would rather show you the verses than hand you a list, because we want you to be convinced in your own heart, not merely conformed on the outside.

Why it’s worth it

A holy life is not a smaller life. It is a freer one – free from the things that enslave, free to walk closely with God, free to be used by Him. Holiness is the road that ends in seeing the Lord.