‘Ultimately, a life of holiness is a matter of faith. The Bible says that it is by faith that our heart is purified (1 Jn. 3:3), by faith we overcome the world (1 Jn. 5:4), and by faith our life is sanctified (Acts 26:18), etc. Sanctification is by faith, not works. When we face temptation, we overcome it by faith. When our trust and confidence is in the character of God, knowing that He has our best interest in mind, it becomes easy to obey Him in everything. The Bible says that it was by faith that Abraham obeyed God (Heb. 11:8, 17).
It is only when we doubt God and trust the devil that we sin, as Adam and Eve did (Gen. 3:4-6). The devil had to bring doubt to the word and character of God to get Adam and Eve to sin. But we should never trust the devil, knowing that he does not have our best interest in mind but rather our hurt (1 Pet. 5:8). Sin is harmful to ourselves and to others and therefore God forbids it from us. God is not trying to withhold something from us that is good. God is trying to promote the highest well-being of all by His moral government. We must keep our faith in God and not be deceived by the devil who tries to convince men that sin is really beneficial and worthy to be chosen. If we keep our faith in God at all times, we will obey God at all times.
The Bible says that we were servants of sin by choice, as we yielded ourselves to sin, but now we must choose to be servants of righteousness by yielding ourselves to God (Rom. 6:13, 16). The choice to be a servant of sin or a servant of righteousness is ultimately a choice between choosing to have faith in God’s word and character or choosing not to have faith in God’s word and character. In times of temptation, if we are choosing to have faith in God, we will choose to overcome sin and live as servants of righteousness.
Faith itself is not something that we passively have or don’t have, independent of our choice or will. Rather, faith is an active and personal choice. Jesus said, “Have faith in God.” The word translated “have” is “Ἕχετε” and it present active imperative, meaning that faith is a choice that we make. To “believe” is always in the active voice in the Greek. Faith is the choice to trust and rely on what we know about God.’
Source: Jesse Morrell, “How to be Holy – Christian Living” (biblicaltruthresources)
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