You can’t get holy in a hurry.

Actually, you can get holy in a hurry. It happens immediately when you turn your life over to God. At that moment, because Christ paid the penalty for your sins, God sees you as righteous. Your sins (past and future) are gone. This is positional holiness–how God sees you.

But when we say, “You can’t get holy in a hurry,” we’re talking about practical holiness–the actions and attitudes in your life. Even when you allow God to direct your life, you will still be tempted to act according to your old nature. All of your old undesirable habits and thoughts won’t immediately vanish.

While positional holiness happens immediately, practical holiness happens gradually as you align your thinking with God’s precepts. As your thoughts change, your conduct will change. You will find increasing evidence of holiness in your life as you remain diligent in your devotion to God.

But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God–who chose you to be his children–is holy.

1 Peter 1:15