Attempting to become holy through lists of do's and don'ts, dress codes, dietary rules, or behavioral programs does not change a person’s heart or life — these outward rules cannot produce genuine transformation.
Such approach is legalism, (the term used by the Apostle
Paul), and He calls modern rule-based “holiness preaching”, a false gospel that perverts Grace.
Galatians 1:6–9 — Paul condemns any gospel that adds
legalistic requirements and preaches a different gospel; he declares such a
person is laboring under a curse. This shows the seriousness of legalism .
Why rule-keeping fails (mechanism and evidence)
Paul’s indictment: rules like “do not handle, do not taste,
do not touch” are based on human commands and teach an appearance of wisdom but
lack true power to curb sinful desires — they are destined to perish and are
ineffective at restraining sensual indulgence. Rule keeping has never changed
anybody's life.
Keeping any of these rules can never make you holy. Your
efforts to avoid sin is not also what makes you holy. Praise God! You have to
understand this, that as a child of God, you are already holy. Your holiness
has nothing to do with what you keep up with. The rules you keep up with.
It has nothing to do with what you avoid or not. Do you
understand? Your holiness is inherited. Inherited in the new birth. So it's not
something that you must try to attain to. It's not something that you must try
to be or try to become. Stop trying to be holy. There's no way you can regulate
yourself enough that will make you holy. You have to understand this truth.
Stop relying on checklists, dress codes, dietary mandates,
or performance measurement as the path to holiness — these practices will not
produce true holiness and often foster condemnation and guilt.
What actually changes the believer — revelation, not
rules
Transformation begins inside. Genuine change is a
mind-and-revelation process — “the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2) and not
an outward overhaul of conduct.
What truly changes the believer's way of life Is simply
this; when the revelation of our true identity and our oneness with Christ and
his nature In us begins to get a hold on the believer and begins to become the driving force of his/ her way of
reasoning and thinking according to the transformation that Paul describes in
Romans chapter 12 verse 2. This changes the direction of their attention to be
set on the things of Christ above that are beyond the realms of the earth as
Paul describes in Colossians chapter 3 verse 2.
Until this revelation dawns on you and begins to govern your
thinking and reasoning, every attempt or effort in self-righteousness is
nothing other than a show in the flesh or what is also known as sense
knowledge.
So, when the revelation of a believer’s identity and oneness
with Christ dawns, that revelation becomes the governing motive for thinking
and behavior; this new inner reality produces changed outward actions
naturally.
Once revelation grips a believer, they desire to live differently without needing someone policing their conduct — transformation flows from inside out rather than being manufactured outside in.
Some people think holiness means transformation, but that's
not it. You have to understand, as a child of God, you are already holy through the new birth. You are holy as a
result of your union with Jesus Christ. You are not holy because of anything
you do. Those things you do are not the things that make you holy. So stop
trying to be holy! Revelation is what
changes the believers way of life, not telling them the things they should do
or not do.
All of these things are just superficial things. This is all
outward appearances. They have a show of wisdom. They have a show of discipline. But following those things,
following those rules and regulations cannot change the way a believer lives.
Believers are already holy by virtue of the new birth (their
holiness is inherited through union with Christ), so striving to attain
holiness by external means misunderstands the Christian position.
We are in the dispensation of the new covenant of grace, not
the new covenant of works. The New Covenant (the covenant of grace) does not
teach holiness by self-effort; Scripture consistently shows holiness is not
self-generated or a ladder to climb by works
.
The New Covenant doesn't teach that we have to try and be
holy or live holy enough. We are not called to live by rule keeping as a means
of pleasing God or as a means of obtaining His favor or blessings. As a matter
of truth, we can't even make ourselves holy.
No matter how much you try, you can’t make yourself holy.
Biblical groundings used (key passages and their role)
Colossians 2:20–23 — Paul’s warning that human regulations
appear wise but lack value in restraining the flesh is central proving that
rules can’t make anyone holy.
Romans 12:2 — transformation is by renewing the mind. Internal
revelation, not external obedience, effects change.
Philippians 3:8 — Paul counts self-effort and religious
gains as rubbish (Greek skubala) , underscoring that religious performance is
worthless compared to knowing Christ.
Isaiah/Hebrews imagery cited: “all our righteous deeds are
like a polluted garment” (referenced from the ESV) to show even our best
efforts are polluted before God .
Believers should stop confusing conviction with guilt; and
transformation with mere performance. We should be able to discern whether an
emphasis is producing inward renewal or just outward compliance.
Instead, we ought to pursue revelation; meditate on and
receive the truth of our union with Christ, let the revelation of His life in
you renew your mind, and let that inner reality shape conduct naturally.
Rest in Christ’s finished work and the faithfulness of Jesus
(not your own faithfulness); receive that faith credited to you so the pressure
to earn God’s favor is removed.
When revelation governs you, external observance is no
longer the motive; love, care, and righteousness flow from the nature of Christ
now living in you, not from legal obligations
.
Warnings about the fruit of legalistic ministries
Legalism’s unavoidable fruit is self-righteousness, pride,
and spiritual abuse — leaders who profit from rule-keeping will resist messages
that free people from that system because their model depends on control and
guilt.
Outward discipline appears spiritual but is actually
“self-imposed worship” and “dead works” (self-righteousness), which Scripture
describes as worthless or polluted before God.
Rule-based ministries produce external compliance,
hypocrisy, fear-driven behavior, and self-righteousness rather than inward,
Spirit-led transformation.
Those trapped in legalism can be sincere yet sincerely
wrong; sincerity does not sanctify a wrong foundation.
To summarize;
Holiness is positional and relational (inherited in the new
birth through union with Christ), not achieved by human effort or external
conformity.
Genuine transformation is the result of revelation and the
renewing of the mind, not a behavior-modification program of do’s and don’ts.
Grace and works are mutually exclusive as grounds for
acceptance before God — trying to mix performance with grace produces deception
and nullifies true reliance on Christ.
So God is not looking at your own faithfulness, checking how
faithful you are in the new covenant. No! Do you understand? It's the faithfulness
of Jesus Christ that God is looking at. So it's not by your own faith or
faithfulness that you are living this Christian life or this faith life.
Understanding this truth is the real deal because it takes
the heavy load away from your shoulders.
Praise God! And this is the life we are called to live not a
life of checking boxes or ticking boxes. Not a life of earning approval. Not a
life of walking on eggshells; wondering if today's performance was enough to
keep God from being disappointed in you. No! It's a life of Christ living in
you. Working out His good pleasure in you without your help. He doesn't need
your help. Hallelujah!!
A life where his nature is your nature. Where his
righteousness is your righteousness. Where his identity has become yours, and
where his faithfulness has been accredited to you. Take note of that. His
faithfulness has been accredited to you.
Praise the Lord Jesus!!
You are already declared holy in Christ through the new
birth; attempting to manufacture holiness by yourself is unbelief and amounts
to “filthy rags” in Scripture’s terms.
This is what you are to rest on, not on your performance
and allow revelation to reshape your mind and actions.
Study/application steps (concise, action-oriented)
Read the cited texts slowly (Galatians 1:6–9; Colossians
2:20–23; Romans 12:2; Galatians 2:20) and ask whether emphasis is on internal
revelation or external rules.
Replace checklist-thinking with daily meditation on identity
in Christ: affirm that your new identity is by Christ’s life in you and not
your performance.
When confronted with guilt from rule-keeping leaders, test
the fruit — does the teaching produce love, humility, and inner transformation,
or fear, pride, and performance? If the latter, question the authority of that
teaching.
Seek a community and teachers who emphasize renewing the
mind and revelation of union with Christ instead of legalistic oversight.
(A Prize
Chukwuka Teaching)
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