Already Perfect - Being Made Holy

Hebrews 10:14
By one sacrifice he [Christ] has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

I love this verse because it seems to present us with such a dichotomy of ideas.
First, it tells us that Christ has made those of us who fall under His Lordship - Christians - perfect forever. We are complete. The moment we accepted Christ’s sacrifice and began walking with Him, we were made complete. We have all that we need. When God looks at us, He does not see our sin, but rather Christ’s righteousness! Isn’t that amazing? We have already been made perfect forever - WOW!

But then the second part of the verse reminds us that we are still in process. Until we leave these fleshly bodies behind, we are being made holy, or set apart, for all that Christ has in store for us both here on earth, and beyond, in heaven. So, while we are already perfect and complete in Christ, the Holy Spirit works tirelessly in us to mold us and draw us closer to the image of Christ. The Spirit has at His disposal all that the heavenly realm has to offer to use on our behalf, that we would draw on His power in the process of "growing up."

We are already perfect in Christ - saved from the penalty of sin, which is death. And we are being made holy, each and every day, being saved from the power of sin - it’s hold on us and our lives. We are completely free from sin - it is no longer our boss - we finally have the power (through the Spirit) to say no to all those things that so easily pulled us in before. Yet, living in these old, fleshly bodies, we can still be tempted, and so many times it is much easier to just do what we’re so used to doing than to break out of that cycle to walk in the freedom already given to us. Boy, have I learned that lesson all too many times - I think I lived the first 20 years of my Christian life ignoring the freedom that God so desperately wanted me to walk in. Now that I have tasted it, I hold on desperately - there is nothing more I desire in life than to walk hand-in-hand with Christ from now until eternity. How about you?

So, let’s choose to walk today (not worrying about tomorrow until tomorrow comes) in the glorious freedom that God has already given us. Let’s use the Holy Spirit - the Holy power source that can enable us to do all that God has asked us to do - living lives that are so radically changed that even our friends don’t recognize us, whether we’ve been Christians for a day or 20 years. That freedom will shine on our faces, and radiate from our countenance in such a way that people will be drawn to us and ultimately to the God who so graciously gives us all. Won’t you join me?