"Therefore, with minds alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace that is to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is to be revealed at His coming. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. He who called you is holy so be holy in all you do." 1 Pet 1:13-15 NIV

Ignorant of God and His truth, we once lived consistently in sync with the desires of the flesh, having no reason or power to do otherwise. The Bible teaches that there is pleasure in sin, but with this caveat, "Be sure your sin will find you out" (Num. 32:23). Awaiting the coming of our Lord, we are instructed to "Deny ungodliness and worldly lust and live soberly and godly in this present age" (Titus 2:12). We should be repulsed by the very thought of putting on the filthy grave clothes of our pre-salvation life. He who is infinitely holy demands that we live holy lives. "Without holiness (practical, personal, vital holiness) no man shall see the Lord" (Heb. 12:14). This demand separates the possessors from the professors.