My wife Diane and I have the joy of talking about holy love wherever we go. Often, I find that something I have said elicits remarkably deep, important questions. Below is an example from some correspondence where a gracious conversation partner allowed me the chance to better explain my meager efforts. 

Dear Raymond, 

Thank you for these probing questions on this important biblical theme. Let me try to clarify what I meant.

1. You asked if believers who have been sanctified are to pursue holiness continuously.

Absolutely! The Bible contains that beautiful language of constantly seeking, yearning, and longing for God and all He has to offer. Love always seeks more of the object of its affection. He is eternal and we are finite. As we need grace, we always will need more of Him. I feel that we must balance that with the language of experiencing the Lord’s provision to actually be holy, of having received the Lord’s sanctifying presence (Ⅰ Peter 1:22). Too often, I find that our doctrine of sanctifying grace is diminished by the human activity of pursuing, yearning, longing — which I feel feeds into an underlying actual belief that we are always deliberately sinful and thus, never truly pleasing to the One who repeatedly calls us to be like Him in holy love (Hebrews 10:26). Pursuit without fulfillment produces a deep confusion. Our Savior is easy to please. But His holy love will always offer more than we can imagine. Our heart posture must be, “Yes, Lord.”

Of course, we must and will always be growing. Love, by its very nature, is always finding ways of learning to please the One we love more. Those who use the “second blessing” language (which is not my chosen terminology) were trying their best to emphasize the radical initial blessing of transformation in regeneration, which the Word says is accompanied by not outwardly sinning (Ⅰ John 3:4-6). They knew that sins always have a deeper source. That inward self-curved nature was also included in salvation. It was at that point that a “second” profound realization of our need was made and a heart cry for something more to be done in the human heart.

2. You ALSO asked if sanctification IS a prerequisite for salvation.

If you mean that we are to pursue holiness of heart before we can be saved I would respond, absolutely not!  That is exactly what John and Charles Wesley attempted before their conversion. It crushed them both having not received justifying grace. Once a person is born again or is saved by grace there is a continued work of the Spirit to cleanse the inner motives of self-will. Hebrews 12:14 (NIV) encourages us to “make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy.”  I take that to incorporate the growth that succeeds entire sanctification. The implication is that it is necessary to be made holy before we see Jesus face to face (Revelation 22:14-15).  

I think it is best to view salvation as a “way.”  We need help to compare biblical instructions on holiness to our actual lives. The Spirit of holiness guides and offers us salvation by prevenient grace, leading to justifying grace, then to sanctifying grace (what some call a “second blessing”), and ultimately glorifying grace in eternity. I am not saying that every believer must be entirely sanctified by checking off the steps in an imposed artificial paradigm. What I do believe is that we do not enter heaven with rebellious sin in our hearts – that is why a full, rich and complete view of salvation must include all that the Holy One offers before we see Him face to face.

Let’s keep the conversation going. The Lord loves this kind of interaction among His people.

In Jesus… with you,

Bill

Questions

1. Where do you sense God inviting you to rest more fully in His sanctifying grace rather than striving to earn His pleasure?
2. How does the assurance that God delights in shaping your heart in holy love encourage you in your daily walk with Him?
3. As you continue on the way of salvation, what might a quiet, trusting response of “Yes, Lord” look like in your life today?

Photo: Todd Trapani/Unsplash | This article was originally titled “A Discussion on Holiness” in the March 2026 issue of The War Cry.