The Logic of Holiness Text: 2 Corinthians 7:1
Introduction: The Great Therefore
We live in an age that is allergic to logic, particularly when that logic leads to moral obligation. Our culture wants the promises of God without the premises of God. They want the comfort of Heaven without the cleansing of holiness. They want a God who is a benevolent grandfather in the sky, doling out blessings, but never a holy Father who requires something of His children. But the Christian faith is not a sentimental slush fund of good feelings. It is a robust, logical, and covenantal reality. And our text today begins with one of the great logical connectors in all of Scripture: "Therefore."
Whenever you see a "therefore" in the Bible, you must ask what it is there for. It connects what God has promised to what we must do. It links the indicative of God's grace to the imperative of our obedience. Paul has just spent the end of chapter 6 laying out a breathtaking array of covenant promises. God says, "I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people... I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me." These are not small things. This is the Creator of the cosmos promising to tabernacle with us, to adopt us, to make us His own family.
Now, the world hears these promises and thinks, "Fantastic. I'm in. No strings attached." But that is the logic of a spiritual freeloader. The logic of the gospel, the logic of the new covenant, is entirely different. Paul's logic, inspired by the Holy Spirit, is this: Because God has made these glorious, blood-bought promises to us, therefore we have a joyful and solemn obligation. The promises are not the end of the conversation; they are the foundation for it. They are not a hammock for us to lounge in; they are a springboard for us to leap from into a life of grateful holiness.
This single verse is a compact manifesto on the nature of sanctification. It is not about earning God's favor. It is about responding to the favor we have already received in Christ. It is about living in a way that makes sense in light of the staggering reality that we are the temple of the living God. To receive such promises and then continue to live like a spiritual slob is not just illogical; it is a form of practical atheism. It is to say with our lives that we don't really believe the promises are true.
The Text
Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
(2 Corinthians 7:1 LSB)
The Motivation for Holiness (v. 1a)
We begin with the premise, the engine that drives the entire enterprise:
"Therefore, having these promises, beloved..." (2 Corinthians 7:1a)
The first thing to notice is the word "therefore." Christian holiness is a logical consequence. It is the Q.E.D. of a divine argument. The argument runs like this: God, in His infinite mercy, has promised to be our God and Father. He has promised to adopt rebels and make them sons. This is the indicative. This is the fact of the matter, secured by Christ. Therefore, the imperative follows. Because He is our Father, we ought to live like His children. Because this is His house, we ought to take our muddy boots off at the door.
This demolishes two opposite errors. The first is legalism. The legalist says, "I must cleanse myself in order to get God's promises." He treats holiness as a currency with which he can purchase God's favor. But Paul says we cleanse ourselves because we already have the promises. Grace is the cause; holiness is the effect. The second error is antinomianism, or lawlessness. The antinomian says, "I have God's promises, so it doesn't matter how I live." He treats God's grace as a license for sin. But Paul says the promises are the very reason we must pursue holiness. To do otherwise is to show contempt for the gift.
He calls them "beloved." This is not sentimental fluff. It is a covenantal term of endearment. They are beloved of God, and they are beloved of Paul. This is a family matter. The pursuit of holiness is not a grim, solitary duty performed by isolated individuals trying to please a distant tyrant. It is a family project, undertaken by those who are secure in their Father's love. The motivation is not fear of damnation, but the love of a Father who has brought us into His own household.
The Method of Holiness (v. 1b)
Next, Paul outlines the practical action required. What does this response look like?
"...let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit..." (2 Corinthians 7:1b LSB)
Here we see the beautiful paradox of sanctification. Who does the cleansing? We do. "Let us cleanse ourselves." But are we able to do this on our own? Of course not. We are entirely dependent on the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit (Phil. 2:12-13). This is the principle of dependent responsibility. God does not sanctify us without our participation, and we cannot sanctify ourselves without His power. He provides the soap and water, but we have to do the scrubbing. We are commanded to put sin to death (Col. 3:5), but we do so "by the Spirit" (Rom. 8:13).
This cleansing is comprehensive. It is from "all defilement." There are no pet sins, no small vices that we get to keep in a corner. The call is to a radical purity. And it touches every part of our being: "flesh and spirit." This is crucial. The Corinthians lived in a culture that was dualistic, much like our own. They believed what you did with your body ("flesh") was disconnected from your spiritual life ("spirit"). So you could go to the temple prostitutes on Saturday night and still feel spiritual on Sunday morning.
Paul says no. That is a damnable lie. Defilement of the flesh includes sexual immorality, drunkenness, gluttony, laziness, and any sin committed through the body. Defilement of the spirit is just as serious, and often more subtle. This includes things like pride, envy, bitterness, idolatry, greed, and malice. You can be a teetotaling, chaste churchman and still be utterly defiled in your spirit by a root of bitterness or a haughty attitude. God is after total cleansing, inside and out. He is not interested in whitewashed tombs; He wants clean hearts that produce clean lives.
The Goal of Holiness (v. 1c)
What is the ultimate aim of this cleansing? It is not merely the absence of sin, but the presence of something positive and glorious.
"...perfecting holiness..." (2 Corinthians 7:1c LSB)
The Christian life is not just about stopping bad things. It is about starting good things. It is not just about weeding the garden; it is about planting and cultivating fruit. The word "perfecting" here means to bring to completion, to carry through to its goal. Holiness is not a static state we achieve; it is a dynamic, lifelong process. We are declared holy in Christ at our justification (positional sanctification), but we are then called to grow into that holiness throughout our lives (progressive sanctification), until the day we see Him and are made perfectly like Him (ultimate sanctification).
This is an active, ongoing pursuit. It is a verb. We are constantly "bringing holiness to completion." This means we are never finished in this life. The moment a Christian thinks he has "arrived" and is holy enough, he has just tripped over his own pride, which is a defilement of the spirit. The goal is nothing less than the moral character of Jesus Christ being formed in us. It is an all-encompassing, positive, beautiful project of becoming what we are in Christ.
The Atmosphere of Holiness (v. 1d)
Finally, Paul tells us the environment, the atmosphere, in which this entire process must take place.
"...in the fear of God." (2 Corinthians 7:1d LSB)
This is perhaps the most counter-cultural phrase in the whole verse. Our modern therapeutic age despises the idea of fearing God. They want a God who is a cosmic teddy bear, not the sovereign Lord of heaven and earth. But the Bible is clear: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Prov. 9:10). This is not the cowering, servile fear of a slave before a tyrant. It is the reverential, awe-filled, trembling respect of a son before a holy and loving Father. It is the fear of displeasing the one who loved you enough to die for you.
This fear of God is the essential ingredient. Without it, our attempts at holiness will curdle into one of two things. They will either become self-righteous pride, where we are perfecting holiness in the fear of what other people think. Or they will become despair, where we give up because we are constantly aware of our failures. But the fear of God keeps us balanced. It keeps us humble, because we know we stand before a holy God who sees our hearts. And it keeps us hopeful, because this same God is our Father who has given us His promises and His Spirit.
The fear of God is the atmosphere that makes holiness grow. It is the recognition that we are living our lives coram Deo, before the face of God. He is our audience, our judge, and our Father. What He thinks is the only thing that ultimately matters. This is what liberates us from the fear of man, which is a snare, and enables us to pursue true holiness with joy and trembling.
Conclusion: The Joyful Duty
So what is the takeaway? The Christian life is a glorious, logical progression. God gives us His astounding promises, adopting us as His own children. That is the unshakeable foundation. Because of that, we, His beloved children, are called to a joyful duty. We are called to actively, personally, and comprehensively cleanse ourselves from all that defiles us, both in our outward actions and our inward attitudes.
This is not a burden, but a privilege. It is the privilege of becoming more like our Father. The goal is not a sterile, negative purity, but the positive, robust, and complete character of Christ being formed in us. And the whole project is to be conducted in an atmosphere of loving, reverential fear of the God who saved us.
The promises of God are not a permission slip to sin. They are the fuel for our sanctification. God did not save you to leave you in your filth. He saved you to make you holy, as He is holy. Therefore, beloved, because you have these promises, let us roll up our sleeves and get to work, by His grace and for His glory.