You Must Be Holy.

     Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.
                            Hebrews 12:14 NASB

     We read in the Psalms that it is those who have clean hands and pure hearts who are allowed entrance into the presence of God (Psalm 24:3-4).
     Likewise, Jesus said that the pure in heart are the ones who will see God (Matthew 5:8).
     To be sanctified, or holy, is to be set apart. It is to be devoted to God. A holy person is a person who has renounced all, sin, self, this world, and has given themselves to God to be used by Him and for Him.
     Many people think of holiness in the sense of a positional thing. They look at it as God has judicially declared them holy, therefore even if they are not truly holy in a practical sense, He considers them to be so.
    However, look at what Peter says about holiness.
        
     As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, "You shall be holy for I am holy."
                          1Peter 1:14-16 NASB

     Peter is talking about our actions, the things we do, the way we live. Holiness is a practical thing to be lived out in our daily lives. This is what Paul means when he says to work out your salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12-13).
     When we are born again, we are now new creations in Christ Jesus (2 Cor 5:17). As it says in Philippians 2:13, God is at work in us, to cause us to walk in His will and ways.
     Having a pure heart devoted to God will result in clean hands, in other words, right living. A good tree will produce good fruit, while a bad tree cannot (Matthew 7:17-18, 12:33-35). Holy conduct flows from a holy heart.
     This is how we come to Christ. We come in repentance and faith, forsaking all, dedicating ourselves to Him. The Bible tells us that God cleanses our hearts by faith (Acts 15:9). As we have received Christ Jesus as Lord, let us also walk in Him, by faith (Col 2:6-7) not led away from the purity of devotion to Christ (2 Cor 11:3). 
     There is that word devotion. That is the same thing as being holy, or set apart to God, sanctified. This is why without holiness no one will see God. If we are led away from our devotion to Christ, something else is now our master, ruler, lord. We have replaced Jesus Christ with something, or somebody else. We are now dedicated to sin, self, the world, following after our former lusts.
     This is why the writer of Hebrews exhorts us to seek after holiness. This is why Paul says to work out your own salvation, and Peter declares that we are to be holy in all of our conduct, just as God is holy.
     Joshua told the children of Israel to choose whom they would serve. He told them to choose one way or another between God, or their idols. As for himself, Joshua declared that he and his family would serve the Lord (Joshua 24:14-15). Now that is devotion!