Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

Ephesians 5:25-27 (NKJV)

Many believers long to be holy and clean, but they are either unaware or too ignorant to rest on Christ's righteousness working in and through them. Instead, by failing to learn to walk in the truth of what Christ has done for them, they continue to feel bad and guilty.

The Apostle Paul reminds us that Christ loves His church so much that He gave His life for her and designated her as "holy and without blemish." Indeed, Christ loves us so much that He continues to perfect us in His love through His words that sanctify and cleanse us. Much like a lover whispering sweet words in the ear of his beloved, Christ brings us into true holiness and beauty by speaking glorious words of grace and truth into our hearts.

It's interesting that Paul mentions a "double cleansing" when describing how Christ sanctifies and cleanses the church "with the washing of water" and "by the word." He was borrowing imagery from the Jewish practise of baptism, in which a person must first take a ritual purification bath before being considered "ritually clean" for the second bath, which is the actual baptism by immersion. The water used for the first ritual bath was considered ritually unclean.

Similarly, Jesus became unclean when He cleansed us of our sin by taking it on Himself, so that our baptism can attest to the fact that we are "made clean" through His righteousness, without spot or wrinkle. This means that your holiness comes solely from Christ through the act ("the washing of water") and truth ( "by the word") of the finished work.

If you are a believer, you are already holy, clean, and perfect in God's eyes. Confession and lamentation about your "lack of holiness" is an act of unbelief. It only shows that you've forgotten who you are and what you have in Christ. Instead, rest in Him who loves us so much that He chose to make us His glorious bride. The joy of being loved by God gives us the passion and power to live holy lives.