Grace - Holiness in Old vs. New Covenant

The following can be found through City Church International's website:  http://www.ccihk.com/q&a/

I've highlighted a couple parts for you.  Enjoy!

What's the difference between holiness in the OC and NC?

Holiness is a gift in the New Covenant. We have received the gift of perfect holiness. We don't have to finish our holiness. We don't have to maintain our holiness. We don't have to fear being found unholy before God. To live holy is not about living sinless, but about living with faith in Christ.

There's no such thing now as one moment being holy and another moment being unholy.  You are always holy.  Jesus has made you holy once and forever more.  Of course, we can still give into temptation and sin, but that does not make us unholy.  In fact, sin has got nothing to do with you being holy or not now!  Under the Old Covenant it would, since your holiness would be based on your law keeping.  If you kept the law, you were holy; if you broke it, you were unholy.

The New Covenant is nothing like that, since Jesus fulfilled the law on our behalf and credited us with perfect holiness!  Holiness is to be in Christ.  Unholiness is to be outside of Christ.  Holiness is [to be separated] from your old life in first Adam where you [once] lived in the flesh, under sin and under a works-righteousness.  [Holiness is you now having come into Christ.]  The words holy and holiness is the Greek word hagiasmos.  It's the same word for sanctify and sanctification.  It simply means to separate!  It's got nothing to do with your performance of sinning or not sinning.  It has everything to do with faith in Christ and the work of the Spirit in bringing you out of death and into life, out of darkness and into light, out of flesh and into spirit, out of the position of sin and into the position of righteousness, out of law and into grace, out of first Adam and into Last Adam – Jesus Christ!

Living without sin is not holy living, it's the result of holy living!  Or, in other words, it's the result of living from your position in Christ by faith.  So, holiness is the once-off act of coming into Christ and the life of faith that flows from that place.

Holiness is not determined by what you do, but where you are!  Where are you?  You're seated in Heavenly places in Christ Jesus, having been born of God and made perfect forever through your faith in Christ and filled with all the fullness of God.

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy