If without holiness no man shall see the Lord (Heb. 12:14); and
if holiness is not to be attained by any natural development or
self-effort, then the regeneration of our nature is absolutely
necessary. This change, which enables us to be holy, takes place
when we are born again.
Man is conscious that he does not have this holiness by nature; he
is conscious, too, that he must have it in order to appear before
God (Ezra 9:15). The Scriptures corroborate this consciousness in
man, and, still further, state the necessity of such a righteousness
with which to appear before God. In the new birth alone is the
beginning of such a life to be found. To live the life of God we
must have the nature of God.