Many Christians struggle with this: after years of being believers, they still feel they always fail to please God. For years, they have longed for a blameless, spotless life—a perfect life—yet they continue to feel like failures. They eventually reach a point of discouragement and begin to ask, “Is it really possible for me to attain a blameless and spotless life (to reach perfection)?” After decades of falling and rising again, some begin to discover a life principle that slowly transforms them—though of course, the process must continue. Starting from the understanding of Christian life in the first century, we see how God separated believers from Judaism.
If we read the book of Acts, we find that John and Peter still went to the Temple, continuing Jewish worship. But God separated His people through the chief priests and Jewish religious leaders who arrested Christians and stoned them to death (as happened to Stephen). One of the figures who led this persecution was Saul, who ruthlessly arrested and killed Christians. Then Saul repented, and his name was changed to Paul.
On the other hand, believers were also separated from the world drastically through persecution inflicted by the Roman Empire. The church was separated from the world; the church had no access whatsoever to enjoy life. Christians were beheaded, burned alive, boiled to death, or thrown into cages with wild beasts to be devoured. In Rome, the Colosseum still stands as a witness to these events.
Yet through these persecutions, believers were separated from the world. We believe, understand, and begin to experience that this pattern became an important format—one that can serve as a model and foundation for Christian living throughout the ages. God has never changed this pattern. Essentially, believers must be separated from the world. This truth is not only supported historically but also biblically: it teaches us how to build an authentic Christian life so that we may reach a life increasingly blameless and spotless, increasingly perfect, and pleasing to God.
In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, it is written that God has bought us at a paid-in-full price. God did not pay gradually or in installments, but in one lump sum, which means that, legally / de jure, with one payment, the Lord Jesus has owned us; we already belong to God. That is why we understand when Colossians 3:3 says, “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” We have died to ourselves, died to the world, and live for God. Based on this concept, we must dare to take a stand that we belong to God—we are no longer owned by the world or by ourselves. In the past, we often thought that God tolerated our attitude, as though we could gradually come to belong to God. We usually call it a “process.”
Maturity, transformation, and perfection must indeed go through a process—this is absolute and cannot happen instantly. However, the commitment to belong to God does not go through a process. It is a once-and-for-all commitment. We may not intend to betray God, but we often think that as we mature spiritually over time, we will gradually surrender our lives to the point where someday we will finally be 100% God’s possession. In reality, that will never happen. That is the root of the error.
We must accept the fact that we have been bought with a price paid in full. Therefore, we must boldly say, “I surrender my life to be Yours. The world is not my home; I want to return to heaven. I want to live holy, blameless, and spotless. I live only to serve You and devote myself to You. My whole life belongs to You.” That commitment must not be partial or gradual. It must be whole from the beginning. Then, the process of maturity is what enables us to fulfill it. But the commitment must come first.