Holiness and Christlikeness

We believe that sanctification is the work of God which transforms

believers into the likeness of Christ.   – Manual, Church of the Nazarene

Written only seven years before our denomination’s birth, a hymn with the opening words Called unto Holinesshas been “our watchword and song” from the beginning of our movement.  

The call to holiness is, at its essence, a call to Christlikeness. The Church of the Nazarene clearly recognized this when our mission statement was formulated. “To Make Christlike Disciples in the Nations” distills the essence of holiness into one word: Christlike. 

We were created to live in close communion with God and with each other, perfectly reflecting the Image of God.  But that image was terribly marred in the Fall, becoming very difficult to recognize.  In Jesus Christ we clearly see everything we were created to be. In him the Image of God is made both evident and possible.

While we often miss the mark, God’s aim is certain. His aim is that we become like Jesus. He desires to transform us into the Image of his Son – genuinely human and authentically holy. The call to holiness is a call to be Christlike. This is an invitation to live like Christ, love like Christ, think like Christ, die like Christ, be like Christ.  

So, how does this happen?  How does one become “Christlike?”

When we give ourselves completely to God, the Holy Spirit is free to work within us, producing the character of Christ in our lives. Paul’s description of the Fruit of the Spirit is a description of the character of Christ: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. The world is starving for this sweet fruit.

The very desire for this fruit is a gift of grace and evidence of one’s hunger for holiness.  

The songs of the Church express well this longing for holiness:

More Like Jesus

I Want to Be Like Jesus

Let the Beauty of Jesus Be Seen in Me

O to Be Like Thee

To Be Like You

May the hunger, and the fruit, be evident in our lives.