CULTIVATE GRACE THAT MAKES HOLINESS ATTRACTIVE
“For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity” (PSALM 5:4, 5).
God’s Word is unusually plain in teaching us that the operations of grace within the heart of a believer will turn that heart away from sin and toward holiness; “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:11–13).

I do not see how it could be plainer!

The same grace that saves teaches the believer inwardly, and its teaching is both negative and positive. Negatively it teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts. Positively it teaches us to live soberly, righteously and godly right here in this present world. The man of honest heart will find no difficulty here.

He has but to check his own bent to discover whether he is concerned about sin in his life more or less since the supposed work of grace was done. Anything that weakens his hatred of sin may be identified immediately as false to the Scriptures, to the Saviour and to his own soul.

Whatever makes holiness more attractive and sin more intolerable may be accepted as genuine!

A. W. Tozer