Jesus Finished His Work. He Didn't Finish Yours.

There's a verse most of us read right over the top of.

"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)

Did you catch that? Let us “cleanse ourselves.” Us? Not Him? Yes. Us.

Somewhere along the way we got sold the idea that we've got no part in this. Jesus did it all, so let’s not do a thing! We’ll just sit here on our duffs and grow by accident. Is that how it works? That's not what Paul said. Jesus finished His work on the cross. He never said one word about finishing mine. If there was nothing left for me to do, Paul wouldn't have told me to go do it.

God Wants The Whole You, Boots And All.

Notice Paul doesn't stop at spirit. He says flesh and spirit. That's your body. What you put in it. What you watch on it. Where you take it at eleven o'clock at night when nobody's looking.

"Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship." (Romans 12:1)

Present your body. Not your feelings about your body. Not your intentions for your body come January. You can't hand God your spirit and leave your flesh out in the truck with the engine running.

"Perfecting" Doesn't Mean Flawless. It Means Finished.

That word perfect trips everybody up. We hear it and think sinless, spotless, never blows it. But the Greek word is teleios, and it means complete. Mature. Done being built.

Here's how I know. Hebrews says Jesus, who never sinned one time in His life, "learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation"(Hebrews 5:8-9).

Now chew on that. If perfect meant sinless, why did Jesus have to be perfected? Jesus showed up perfect the day He was born, and He never sinned. So perfected can't mean sinless. It means completed. Finished. And Paul said the same thing about himself: "Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on…" (Philippians 3:12). Do you press on? Are you being perfected? Or are you pretty sure you’ve already arrived?

If you're in something difficult right now - a little suffering - don’t assume God stepped back. That might be the exact hallway He's walking you down to finish something in you. Holiness isn't a light switch. It's a build. And you're allowed to still be under construction.

So What Is The Fear Of The Lord?

It's not being scared of hell. If you belong to Jesus, that's settled, and there's no wiggle room in it.

The fear of the Lord is knowing God has something stored up for your life, and knowing you can walk right past it and miss it completely. 

"How great is Your goodness, which You have stored up for those who fear You." (Psalm 31:19)

Stored up. Like a warehouse with your name on the door, packed to the ceiling. Salvation's the free gift, and it's yours the day you believe. But there's a key hanging on that warehouse door, and the key is the fear of the Lord.

Nobody in heaven misses out because God got stingy. They miss out because they wouldn't walk His way to get to the blessings he planned for them.

The Promise Comes With A Door You Have To Walk Through

Paul says, "having these promises." What promises? Back up a few verses:

"For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, 'I will dwell in them and walk among them; And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.'" (2 Corinthians 6:16)

That's the offer. God up close. Not watching from the porch — living in you, walking with you, calling Himself your Father and calling you His kid.

Now look at what He puts between you and the promise: "Come out from their midst and be separate... And do not touch what is unclean; And I will welcome you."

Come out. Be separate. Put it down. A whole lot of us want the nearness without the leaving. We want His presence without surrendering a single thing we're holding. That combination isn't on the menu. Never has been.

Holiness Takes Effort. Say It Out Loud.

"Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14 NIV)

Make every effort. The NASB uses the word pursue. That's a hunting word. You don't pursue something from the couch.  

You were forgiven the first day you believed. Every sin, wiped out, day one, done. But you didn't get everything else on day one. Sanctification is the slow work of becoming like Jesus, and it's in that work — not before it — that the breakthroughs start showing up. In your prayer life. In your marriage. In your money. In your job. 

Go Dig Up The Bitter Root

Hebrews doesn't stop there. The next verse comes with a shovel:

"See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled." (Hebrews 12:15)

Bitterness might be the most common thing in the church that nobody deals with. And here's the hard part: that root isn't hurting the guy who hurt you. He's fine. He's sitting down to supper right now and hasn't thought about you in four years.

Roots don't hold still. They spring up. They come up in your marriage, your kids, your pulpit, your prayer life. The fear of the Lord looks at that grudge and says: this isn't worth what it's costing me.

Just Do The Next Thing

Here's the good news. God's not asking you for all of it tonight. He's asking for the next one.

Maybe your next thing is forgiving somebody. Maybe it's finally telling the truth about the addiction instead of managing it. Maybe it's as plain as getting out of bed forty-five minutes earlier to sit with Him.

You're not going to pull any of it off on your own steam. Nobody has. But grace isn't a couch — it's fuel. Say yes to the next thing He's showing you, then get up tomorrow and do the next one after that.

That's the walk. 

Jesus did His part. 

Do yours.