Holiness

Matthew 13:15,
"For this people's heart is waxed gross, and
their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes
they have closed; lest at any time they should
see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
and should understand with their heart, and
should be converted, and I should heal them."

MATTHEW 13:14-23

The word "waxed" means "to become
gradually more intense or to increase" and
shows that this condition of the heart is not
something we are born with or that strikes
us suddenly.
It has to be nurtured over a prolonged period
of time.
This is why we should not violate our
conscience, even in small things.
Guarding our conscience will keep us
sensitive to God and will stop our hearts
from becoming hardened.
If we will stay faithful to God, even in the
small things, then we will be faithful in the
more important things also.

Keeping the commandments doesn't affect
God's willingness to love us, but it affects
our awareness of how much He loves us.
If we live in sin, our conscience becomes
defiled and it condemns us.
It's not God condemning us, but our
conscience.
God still loves us.

John was speaking of this same thing in
1 John 3:20, when he said,
"For if our heart condemn us, God is greater
than our heart, and knoweth all things."
However, as far as this earthly life goes, our
awareness of God's love is everything.

We must keep Satan from blinding us to the
love of God.
The most effective way of doing this is to
give no place to the devil through sin.

John went on to say in 1 John 3:21,
"Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then
have we confidence toward God."

Holiness is essential in keeping our hearts
assured of the love of God (1 John. 3:19).
It's the nature of a Christian to walk in the
light and not in darkness.
When we are rightly informed of who we
are and what we have in Christ, holiness
just naturally flows out of us.

That's our nature.