‘But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.’—2 COR. iii. 18. THE subject of personal holiness is one of overwhelming interest to all those who really desire to walk with God; it is also one which requires our most careful study, for in it lies the chief difficulty of the daily Christian life of the greater number of true believers. They know the truth, and love it; they prize their Saviour far above all that the world can give; they are ready either to live or die in His service; but yet they are so conscious of the power of indwelling sin that sometimes they are led almost to doubt the reality of their Christianity, and begin to question whether they really love their Lord at all. For the help of such persons it seems clearly a duty to look carefully into the subject, and I pray God that He may help us to do so this morning. This text will supply us with so much instruction that we will not attempt to examine other passages, but will endeavour to gather from it the standard, the progress, the means, and the power of Christian holiness. May God so bless His word, as to make us holy by His Spirit! * * * * * I. THE STANDARD. How many a noble ship has been lost through some inaccuracy in the compass! If the compass points too much to the east or to the west, the most careful commander may wreck his vessel. And if the compass of the soul is in a wrong direction you will find it very hard to walk in a right path. Now, in this text the one standard is the image of the Lord Jesus. We are said to behold the glory of the Lord, and to be changed into His image. There cannot be a doubt that this refers to the Lord Jesus Christ, and that by His glory is meant His grace. If there were, it would be settled by these words in John, i. 14: ‘The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us; and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.’ The great manifestation of the glory of God is in the grace and truth of the incarnate Word. If, then, we would be holy, as God is holy, we must be changed into the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. When we are like Him we shall be holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners; but not before. So you will find that, when persons speak about their sinlessness, it may generally be traced to their adopting a low standard of holiness. Sometimes people will set up their own experience as a standard, and really seem to think that we are to receive their accounts of their own experience as if it were another Bible. Sometimes we read of a perfection, not absolute, but ‘up to the measure of to-day’s consciousness.’ Accordingly I have read of one described as an eminent Christian, who ‘said that a few days more would make twenty-one years